It is 521 pm. I am standing at a computer in a cafe in the Humanitites building, after having just finished a 2 hour lecture on Thor, and with 1 1/2 hours until my Danish class. These are the thoughts in my head.
-That stupid project on Nordic Sugar is FINISHED. Cool, now I have a vague idea on how companies are structured... but what's its environmental impact? And must I really listen to my classmates present their companies for 4 hours tomorrow?
-The friends that I've made here are extremely casual and I've run out of things to talk to them about. Nor do people actually follow through when I initiate hanging out. The other option, however, is meeting more new people, and having the same conversation of 'What's your name? Where are you from? How long are you here for? What do you study?' And maybe insert another conversation you've had a million times before of how distances in Europe are completely different than they are in the states, a litany of all the places you've traveled while in Europe and where you want to go, how Copenhagen is different from [insert your city here], or maybe the ever favorite discussion on drinking ages and culture in different countries. (Please, DO NOT ask me about drinking ages in different countries when I return. It's got to be the most shallow conversation ever).
-meeting Danish students is intimidating. They sit in groups or pairs around the campus and in the Kantines. And I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but there are multiple campuses throughout the city, so there is no central location. And all the flyers posted in the hallways are in Danish, so I have NO idea what events are going on. That is, events or activities that aren't drinking.
Ironically, when I left my dorm this afternoon to take the train to Amagar for my Nordic Mythology class, I was really excited about being back in Copenhagen. Russia was such a culture shock, it was almost comforting to be back in City Center surrounded by familiarity: takig the metro at Nørreport Station, the smell of the pølser wagons, listening to people speak Danish and understanding only 3 words. And I was even feeling excited about my life, about how cliche it is but true that living abroad opens up your world (though I wouldn't exactly call running around Europe and living in a country that has less crime than my neighborhood in the nineties the world). Yes, I´ve been dragged far far away from my comfort zone, but I'm not sure if I was up for the challenge.
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Re: Casual friends - it's hard to make permanent/long-term friendships with the knowledge that the situation is VERY temporary. Many people stick to the small talk and don't get beyond that because they don't want to invest in something that won't last. It's hard, but I don't think I made any 'real' friends on any of my out-of-country experiences. Even the ones I added later on facebook or people I tried to stay in touch with...sort of remain in the places where I found them. This person will always be in that one bar in that one town. This person will always be on that train ride from one city to another. It's fascinating.
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