Introduction Week Social Program

Last week during our orientation ("Introduction Week"), we could choose to buy a social package which meant you could participate in a social event each evening. Ziyu and I both decided to participate because it would be a good way to meet people (even though we were probably the oldest students there). The activities were well-planned and there was a nice variety.

To participate in the social program, you had to buy a package deal for the whole week. We got wristbands to indicate we had paid for the social program and to get us into the events. The wristband is like none I've ever seen before. It's a specially made piece of ribbon. When we went to pick them up, they put a piece of metal on and clamped it to our wrist with pliers.

Here's the run-down of the activities:

Monday: Meet n Mingle
Essentially this was speed dating; you could meet a lot of people in a short time. We sat around tables and every five minutes we rotated around the table. You then spent five minutes talking to the person sitting across from you. When we came in, they made you sit at different tables than the people you came with to ensure you met new people

Tuesday: Danish Folk Dancing and Lake Party
On Tuesday, we had a lesson in Danish Folk Dancing. A group of dancers in costumes came and gave us a performance, then we all learned some dances. It was really fun. They had a live band and the professional dancers joined in with us. Especially since there were two or three hundred of us dancing in a big circle, there wasn't too much pressure to get it right. There was a lot of running into each other and laughing. Here are the dancers performing for us. This move was especially incredible: they spun so fast that the women's feet went off the ground!

After the folk dancing, there was a party at a club. The club is apparently pretty famous; it's on a bridge between two lakes in the center of Copenhagen. This was the first of two events at clubs. I can't imagine official orientation activities at an American university involving clubbing.

Wednesday: National Museum
On Wednesday, we went to the National Museum of Denmark. We had time to look around and could also go on a guided tour. I went on a tour of the ancient Danish artifacts. It was interesting to learn about the development of civilization in Denmark. One thing that I found the most interesting was that there is Viking graffiti in the Hagia Sofia, which means the Vikings made it at least as far as Turkey. I also learned that the Vikings did not wear horned helmets.

To the left is a mold used for making jewelry. The top and bottom molds are crosses while the middle is Thor's hammer. This artifact shows the syncretism that took place in Denmark as Christianity was introduced into the culture.

To the right is a series of ax heads. The stones available in Europe are different than those in North America, so these looked really different (and a lot prettier) than what I'm used to seeing in American museums.



Thursday: Buddy Dinners and Park Party
Thursday night, we had a dinner with our buddy and a few other buddies and exchange students. Two of the other buddies in my group are twins and they live with their parents in Copenhagen, so we went to their house which was in a more residential area on the edge of town. It was a nice group of people and we had a really good traditional Danish dessert: rice pudding with a cherry sauce on it. After the buddy dinners, there was another party at a club.

Friday: Movie Night
We watched a popular Danish comedy. Although I didn't get most of the jokes in the movie, I was entertained by seeing the Danish students in the audience (and some of the other Scandinavians) laughing while the rest of us had no idea what was so funny. There were definitely cultural differences and one scene in particular that I think most Americans would find really distasteful. It was a very cultural experience!

Saturday: Formal Welcome Dinner
The week culminated with a formal dinner. They did a really nice job dressing up a lobby area in one of the academic buildings.

As we came in we drew a number. All the seats were numbered, and we sat at the appropriate place. I was number 72:

There was a nice buffet for dinner. (Apparently the Danes are really into buffets). After dinner a band performed. It was a nice culmination of the introduction week.