More rants concering my return to Copenhagen

This morning I was thinking about yesterday's post, and I felt like I should make something clear.  Do you remember my first post back in August, where I claimed that I wasn't really suffering from culture shock?  Well, it's been almost two months since then, and I need to modify my public statement:

I am most definitely experiencing the 'negotiation' stage of culture shock.  Just in case you couldn't tell.

I don't hate Denmark by any means; I love it!  It's just getting a little tougher to clearly define my feelings and opinions about being immersed in Danish culture, and it's harder to be polite.  For example, my stomach hurt on the train this morning and I decided it would be more comfortable to prop my feet up on the seat facing me (there was no one in it).  I try to avoid doing this unless I'm completely exhausted, but there are plenty of other Danes who do it, too, so I never feel particularly bad about it.  At one of the stations, the woman across the aisle from me gets up and starts talking to me in Danish.  I knew immediately what it was about, so I put my feet down. But then she just keeps talking, and instead of saying "undskylde" and hoping she goes away, my dominant reaction was to put on the deer-in-the-headlights look and said "I'm sorry, I only speak English."  Her response was, "Ok, then.  You don't have to put your feet on the seat," and she walks away.  It was all I could do to keep myself from cruelly retorting, "Oh, I don't have to?  Well what if I want to?"  How come Danes are perceived as cold in friendly situations, but they're perfectly happy to ridicule people on the train?

But alas, I know that's an unfair generalization, so please value that question only as a rhetorical tool within this post.

And for cheerier news, I did have a good first weekend back in Denmark!  My host family--like many Danes in week 42 (they number the weeks here, and everyone knows what week people talk about when you reference the number; I think it's a very efficient planning tool)--are on vacation, but I've kept myself occupied.  I came home Friday evening and was unfortunately too exhausted to attend Kultur Natten--a monstrous annual Copenhagen event that keeps almost every cultural venue open into the wee hours.  But Saturday I managed to not only unpack all of my stuff, but I also saw Giselle--the ballet currently playing at the Royal Theater.  It was so good to hear the orchestral music!  I may have had some trouble interpreting the story, but it was definitely worth seeing just for a change in my usual plans.

My other weekend highlight was the Baltic Sea.  Since I didn't know the combination to my host-dad's bike, I couldn't go on the bike ride I had planned to with my friend Kristina.  So instead, we jogged (haha, yes, I, Katia Satterfield, actually jogged . . . -ish) to the beach.  The tide was high, lapping aggressively at the shore and the stationary dock, which I had last seen with happy swimmers when the sea was much calmer.  I just couldn't resist it:  so I took off my shoes, rolled up my tights, and ran out onto the dock, where the white spray would make clapping noises as it shot up from in between the planks.  Yes, my feet were absolutely freezing afterward, but the feeling was absolutely glorious. 

And that, is enough rambling for now.