I wish I could pronounce this...Øresundskollegiet

So, as was promised by DIS, I got my housing assignment by e-mail today, and from what I can tell, I got pretty lucky. First, let me give you a little background about Danish dorms. What I'll be living in is called a Kollegium. Here is how they described it in the e-mail they sent me:

"A kollegium is a mixture of a dorm and an apartment building. You will find that a Danish dorm ‘Kollegium’ is much more independently set up than in the US as you’ll have your own bathroom and furnished room, but share a kitchen with 8-10 other people. The whole structure of the kollegium is very self run by the tenants. There is no maid. This means that you will get a great opportunity for learning how to structure and organize communal living as you will have to share all responsibilities as e.g. cleaning the kitchen."

Basically.....it's an apartment-style dorm. But one big difference between this and what I'm used to at Vandy is that there is no real "campus" at DIS. It's basically just a few buildings in the middle of Copenhagen. And I'm going to have a 20-25 minute commute to class, either using bike or public transportation. 8 AM classes are going to be so much fun.


This is what they had to say about my Kollegium specifically, which I found to be pretty interesting:


"Øresunds Kollegium is the largest kollegium in Scandinavia with more than 1,000 rooms and apartments. This means that you will be living in a community that offers a variety of activities and different self-organized clubs as well as a gym. The kollegium is located in an area called Amager near many other Kollegiums, and you will, therefore, be relatively close to other DIS students. Amager is furthermore ideally located within the city and it is possible to bike from your kollegium into the city center. However, the Copenhagen Metro and the city buses run frequently if you are not up for biking and the metro stop is located about 10 minutes away from the kollegium."

Sounds pretty good to me. However, in another e-mail which includes a handbook about Oresundskollegiet, I found the most important piece of information regarding my housing:

"A bar is located in the kollegium and is open every night."

I'm sold.

Anyway, I'll update more on my housing once I actually SEE it. But getting my housing information just made my upcoming trip that much more real. I have less than 8 days left in the US. My little cousin will be here for 2 of them, with more family coming for the 3rd day, possibly going to a high school reunion get-together another day. That leaves less than 4 days to pack and get everything in order. Easier said than done.

I'll end this post with my addresses in case anyone wants to send me anything (even a letter would be great!):

Small packages/envelopes:

Brian Alosco
Øresundskollegiet Room D 207
Dalslandsgade 8
2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark

Large packages:

Brian Alosco
DIS
Vestergade 7
1456 Copenhagen K, Denmark.


I probably won't post again until the day of my departure or once I get to Denmark. TTFN

The calm before the storm....or the storm before the calm?

Less than 10 days. I can't believe it. I've already started packing my bags and getting my things in order. It's all starting to get real, and that's probably why I decided to make this blog now.

My flight leaves at 5:40 PM next Thursday, August 19th from Newark, getting me into Copenhagen at 7:25 AM local time on the 20th. Between now and then, I have to figure out how to transport my entire life across the Atlantic. It's going to be crazy getting everything together, but this is an instance where the ends justify the means. I won't be back in the US until December 19th, giving me exactly 4 months to explore Europe and all it has to offer. Right now, I have no idea what to expect. I don't know where I'll be living, what classes I'll be taking, or where I'll be traveling to (besides London as part of my core course requirements and Portugal on a DIS-organized adventure trip). I am literally entering the world of the unknown. That scares me. But I know that this will be an experience that I'll never forget, and that makes me excited.

I'm not really sure how I'll make use of this blog. I'm going to try to document my experiences on here, but like I said, I have no idea what my life is going to be like abroad. I'll post as often as I can, or as often as I see fit, but I'm making no guarantees. I'm leaving this open to however I feel like using it, and any readers are just going to have to deal with that fact. Right now, it's helping me cope with my anxiety before I leave.

For the time being, I'm just going to try to enjoy the time I have left with my family and friends, eat plenty of good American food, get my bags packed, and wrap my head around the fact that I'm going to be living abroad for four months.