lost and sleep deprived

The first two days in Denmark have been unremarkable except for my inability to sleep and not get lost. I arrived around 8:30 local time and took a taxi over to the hotel. The taxi driver had the honor of being the first person to question me about why people in America hate health care. He also made fun of me for being unable to pronounce the name of the dormitory (Tietgenkollegiet) that I will be staying at once school commences. In fact, he asked me to repeat it just so he could have a good chuckle about it. I figured both events would happen but within the first 20 minutes? Guess I should go ahead and get that maple leaf patch.

Once I arrived at the hotel is was 9:00 or so local time. Which means it was about 12:00 in the time zone that I was used to. I didn't want to fall asleep and screw up my sleeping routine so after a brief breakfast, unpacking some clothing, and realizing that my laptop battery was not suitable for the adapter I had brought (a fact evidenced by the now no-longer working adapter sitting in the corner of the room) I decided to take a walk around the city. I also decided not to bring a map with me. Like all mistakes in my life it is directly attributable to the fact that I am an idiot.

The streets were littered with discarded fire works. It makes me wish I had decided not to be cheap and had flown out of the 30th so that my New Years would not have been spent on a plane. Danish people love fireworks as much as trashy people from the south. They had cool fireworks too--not just poppers, sparklers or snakes. I also liked that the pond was frozen solid yet there were a bunch of ducks just hanging out there, not giving a fuck, like the pond was liquid.

I was also surprised because there was a serious lack of snow. Not on the ground or the roofs. I had asked the taxi driver about it earlier and he told me that as soon as it stops snowing they immediately remove all of it from the road and salt it to hell and back. Good for them, snow sucks.

After walking for an hour or so I decided it was time to head back. It was around this time that I realized I had no idea what the name of the street was where my hotel was located. "No big deal" I thought to myself, "I'll use landmarks to find my way back to my room." Spoiler alert: I had no idea what the fuck I was doing. My one hour adventure turned into a three hour adventure where I was within a block on my hotel and still couldn't find it. I tried to retrace my steps to no avail. In the end I hailed a taxi driver who lectured me on the importance of knowing your address. I am the worst possible ambassador for America.

I returned to the hotel at 4:00 and fell asleep. So much for trying to keep a healthy schedule. I woke up at 11 and went out to try and find a place to eat. My first meal in Denmark: Indian food. Nothing else was open. I wish I had gone to one of the hot dog carts my brother raved about before I had left. At that point it was 11:30 and I could not go back to sleep. I spent the next 8 hours laying in bed trying to sleep while watching American TV shows trying to pick up on a few words from the translated subtitled. I think I can say "yes" now.

I went downstairs for breakfast only to discover that at some point in between King of the Hill and a National Geographic show that it had begun to snow. So much for my plans to rent a bike and explore the city. When it stopped snowing I walked down the street to try and buy an adapter for my laptop. None of the stores within a 5 minute walk had any leaving me forced to walk back to the hotel defeated as the snow began to fall again. After another hour or so I finally figured out (I asked the hotel clerk) how the bus system works. With a map in my back pocket I went out to try and find a store that would sell an adapter.

If you think that I didn't find a way to get lost again you do not know me at all. My ability to read danish begins and ends with telling the difference between Østerbrogade and Østbanegade. Thankfully they are with a 5 minute walk of one another because I picked the wrong one. I was able to buy a new power cable and was on my way back to the hotel as someone who successfully navigated the city transportation.

Except not so much. I got on the right bus but heading the wrong direction. The bus driver was nice enough to let me stay on while he went back the other way without charging me more. Which was good because I did not have anymore DKK on me. It was a 15 minute bus ride to get to Østerbrogade and an hour to get back home. When he offered to let me off at the metro station since the train would be faster I declined not wanting to get lost on yet another medium of transportation.

A few more hours passed before I went out to grab dinner before an early bed time. My logic being that since I hadn't slept in almost 24 hours at this point I could go to bed somewhat early and wake up early with my sleep schedule aligned to the country's time zone. My adventure to getting food led me to nearly buy a meal full of just deserts because I went to the first place that I saw doing take out. I realized my error and decided that I should try and avoid early onset diabetes. I found a place that had Smørrebrød in prominent letters and since I had read on Wikipedia that people in Denmark love those sandwiches I went in to buy one. The sandwich? Meh.

As an added kicker, my plan to catch up on my sleep schedule failed as well. Seeing as how it is 4:22 am as I write this my plans for an early bed time led me to wake up after only 7 hours or so of sleep. I think I'm going to either rent a bike tomorrow or take the bus down to where my school and dorm are so that I can be at least a little familiar with the area. After all, I am going to get lost again.