Spring...Yes....No...not really...Its just confusing.

So...Its the last week of class as I mentioned in my last post and I'm still busy getting things prepared for finals. My portfolio is due in two weeks on Friday, but I'm going to turn it in early to go on a side trip, details to follow after, but the ticket was really cheap. One thing I find that most US students absolutely hate here, myself included is how your grade is dependent on one final assignment at the end of the course or semester, but that seems to be the common thing here in Europe. Where as in The States we have multiple assignments and tests in a course throughout its duration to determine our final grade.

Now to explain the title of this post:
1. Denmark is in Northern Europe(meaning its wet, rainy, cloudy, etc)
2. Its Denmark, its between the North and Baltic Seas so its weather is affected by their temperatures and the weather coming off of them.
3. And this one is from the Danes I live with "Det er Danmark!" in English "It is Denmark!"

But when it does get warm and the Sun comes out its very beautiful and nice for watching sunsets. Here are some pictures for you all:



Overall the First two Months has been a lot of fun and I'm enjoying the time and experiences over here. There are 3 1/2 months left and I'm looking forward to them.

That's all for now. Fill you all in on what's happening next week.

Classes are almost done!

Hey Everyone,

Just the next update! Classes are done next week and then its the time to work on projects and papers that are due starting in April tell the end of June. The due dates depend on your classes and your schedule of exams. As for me this past Friday I had a group presentation on the discourse of the "War on Terror" Speech by President Bush for my Social and Political discourse class. Overall it went very well and the group worked perfectly together. We also did well in the presentation and was complimented by the instructor in that we covered everything she was expecting and then some. So that was a nice relief.

Sorry up front for the lack of adventures and photos these past weeks, just have been busy with school, preparing for final papers and projects. But since classes end next week and April is typically a big travel month for students, especially the week of Easter holiday, I will post some then for sure if not sooner. Will hopefully be going to Copenhagen, or København in Danish, soon to see the capital. But don't know when yet.

Wish I had more to share right now but that's all for now folks. Back to the grind for me.

Sun and Vikings!!!!!

So the Sun has been out for the past couple of days with little to no cloud cover! You have no idea how rare that can be here, but since spring is finally starting I hope to see more of it. This past Saturday  was a trip to the local ancient viking burial grounds Lindholm Høje just outside of Aalborg. It was really cool to see some of the local history and how the vikings lived in Denmark. One thing you'll notice here in Scandinavia and especially Denmark is that they love their Viking past. On Sunday I took a trip with a few other International students to Hals, Denmark on the East coast only about 40 kilometers from were I am in Aalborg. It was cool seeing the Baltic Sea on a nice warm sunny day and when I say warm I mean about 10 degrees Celsius or 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

One thing that will happen to you over here on an extended stay for travel, living, or study abroad is you will learn the metric system really fast and get used to it. Since everything is divisible by 10s it makes doing and understanding distance and weights really easy. You will also get used to the different way dates are written. For example 03/11/2014 is written as 11/03/2014. Here in Europe the day is first, month, then year, and its important not to think the day is the month for the number 12 and under as when you buy food it might go bad soon then you think. I made that mistake for the first week and learned the hard way.

With classes starting to wind down everyone is talking and planning traveling as I mentioned in the last post. I have no set plans yet, but will be sure to share some of the cool photos and stories after the adventures. :)

Now for some Photos as I promised:

These are from  Lindholm Høje and the adjacent museum. 

These are from Hals, Denmark on the East cost:

Half way done with classes and Spring is on its way.

So the beginning of March marked the half way point of classes for some Danish Students and all the ISEP students here at Aalborg University. Since physical classes are only 8 weeks long as I explain in my earlier posts, and we started at the beginning of February, by the end of March classes will be down. As for what students have to do for finals depends on your classes. For ISEP students your finals are different for every class. Some are papers, and projects while other are Pass/Fail. It can be very confusing at first but its a system that is different then what we are used to in the US. As for myself I have a paper and a portfolio project assignment due for two of my classes, while the others are submitting assignments as we go along with classes and attendance. Most of my final work is due in Late April, but the due dates can range from late April to the end of June when the Semester ends.

As for what most students do here, the beginning of April is popular for traveling to celebrate the end of in-person classes and then again in May and June to the beginning of the fall semester, which usually starts in late August early September. After travel, students come back, get back together with their groups and complete their projects and/or papers. One thing I've noticed about the Danish culture and student life is they are very laid back about doing things. They do not stress about everything at all times, they like to take their time and its not uncommon for them to just go somewhere in Denmark or to another country for a regular or long weekend to relax and get away. Something that I have embraced myself, as some weeks depending on classes and things you need to do you can have a lot of work or non at all for periods of time. But overall classes for me are very interesting as I'm taking Discourse(the study and use of language) for social and political use, the theories and methods behind them, a class in Scandinavian culture and history to know the region better, and intercultural communication.

Once I get a chance to download and sort through all my photos I will post some pictures and this next weekend the ISEP program run through the ICS office in Aalborg University is taking us to some Viking burial grounds just outside the city.