Viking Holiday

For my thirty faux birthday, my husband and I in true Viking style, took to the sea for a weekend of leisure. We sailed to Oslo to check out Norwegian country.

This was especially fun for me as I was surrounded by my own little Norway in the Midwest as a child. I grew up next to a little town called Westby, where a lot of Norwegians settled. Names like Hansen and Petersen were very common to me in school which is probably one of the reasons I have felt right at home here in Scandinavia.

Sailing into Oslo I also realized why they must have felt right at home when they settled into the US. Wisconsin is a spitting image of Norway. For a second we felt like we were on the Mississippi River, not the Oslofjord Bay. Hills and valleys of green speckled with houses of yellow and red. It was beautiful, and actually made me a little homesick.

Change of Dress

Summer has finally bestowed its lovely self upon Denmark and I am happily smiling while I sweat it out. AC is not the norm in this earth friendly country which means the buses and trains are stifling and sometimes it's hard to sleep at night, but who needs sleep when you have warm summer nights to enjoy!

I never thought I would get a chance to bust out my summer dresses, tank tops, and flip flops in this Scandinavian land, but the past month or so has been absolutely gorgeous and provided plenty of opportunities to soak up the rays.

One thing that is definitely different however is how strong the sun is. In the Midwest we only need to be wary between 12pm and 2pm. Here, I can sit out after 3pm and still get tan, or burnt.

Another thing that is different is how young everyone dresses. Leggings and stripes can be seen in all seasons, but my favorite is when I see modern and stylish women in their prime years of life not afraid to show a little leg. Now that's something to aspire to!

Back to School

After a year of planning and waiting and insisting that I qualify - I have finally been accepted to a Masters Program at Copenhagen Business School. This was a close call and a battle almost lost because of the differences in my American education but I am happily toting my bags to summer school so I can 'officially' be accepted come Fall.

This means I have to take my nemesis of a class called Accounting and then the subject that is like breathing to me called Marketing. Why Marketing is a requirement completely baffles me, but I knew I was two tiny little nothing points short on the requirements in Accounting. So I am struggling through. Actually the subject matter isn't so bad, it's the time intensive problem solving that sucks the life out of you.

My professors are American, so I get a little taste of home during each lecture and while I still sometimes want to throw my Accounting book into the bin, I channel my good friend in the USA, the CPA, and try to appreciate the language of Accounting.