Master Mind

Today is the beginning of the next two years of my life in Denmark. The first lecture in Strategic Market Creation at Copenhagen Business School begins.

Most everyone that goes to university in Denmark graduates with a Masters degree, so this was a logical decision when it comes to career, coupled with the fact that I have been wanting to go back to school since I started working in the real world.

Intro week was last week and besides feeling really weird talking about my 'husband' while in college, I was impressed with the material we will be absorbing ourselves with over the next two years, and the classmates I will work with on a weekly basis.

Project work is a common method used in the Danish educational system which is very different from the independent study in most American universities so that will be different for me, but in a good way. It's very practical and realistic in terms of preparing you for the real world.

Another bonus is the fact that I have a 'husband' who enjoys learning more than anyone I know, which means he will be available to bounce questions or theories off of regularly. That's one competitive advantage I wouldn't have, had I gone back to school right after my Bachelors.

Seriously Missing Summer

I moved to Denmark a year ago in May. When I arrived it was rainy and cold and I could not under-stand for the life of me how the women could wear sandals and pretend it was summer. June 09 wasn't much better, but we lucked out for our wedding with a little bit of sunshine. By the time we made it back from the States in August we enjoyed a few more weeks of warmth.

This year has been my first official, full summer in Denmark and I knew not to expect the humid highs of the Midwest, but I was anxiously anticipating the day I could actually wear a summer dress. Those days arrived sometime in July, and lasted pretty much exactly one month. It is late August and long gone are those summer dresses.

When you come from the Midwest you live for your summers. The season starts at the Memorial Day holiday (late May) and ends with Labor Day weekend (end of August). Sometimes we're even lucky enough to get a little Indian Summer in September, but either way you can pretty much count on at least three months of nice weather.

Those summer months get you through the long, hard winters. So when you reside in Denmark and live through one of the coldest winters on record in 25 years, you need a little more than one month of summer.

Sister Visit

My baby sister took her very first flight EVER to come visit me in Denmark. If anyone knows Steph, that shouldn't surprise them. She's always been a daredevil and has never really been afraid of anything.

It has been an absolute pleasure to watch her absorb an entirely new culture, country, and language which she has wholeheartedly tried to speak. Especially when we were visiting my husband's family, who speak little English. She even made up a new word: "Velbetak." It's Velbekomme and Tak all rolled into one. Thanking and Welcoming someone all at the same time. Brilliant!

Any time friends or family visit, it gives you a chance to do all the touristy things you haven't tried yet, which I am very much looking forward to. Things like going to see the Crowned Jewels at Rosenborg Castle or taking a tour of Christiania to learn the history of how an abandoned military barracks could turn into an "Alternative City" based on communal living and freedom.

However, the best memories are those moments when you see your loved ones experiencing something for the very first time, like swimming in the ocean.