Thirty on Thursday.
Getting ready for my graduation commencement. Although I graduated in December, I had to wait until June for the commencement.
I turned 30 last Thursday.
This is my little family
My little girl loves to snuggle up to us.
In other news, I am going to Copenhagen on July 6.
Suddenly, I find myself looking forward to a month-long stay in Copenhagen – and I don’t mean the small town in New York (Holy crap, there’s a Copenhagen, NY?!). I am having a hard time believing this. I waited forever to tell you guys because I was worried I might somehow jinx it. I’m not even excited because the realization has not yet set. I might start getting excited on my second day overseas. I tend to have a pretty slow reflex. We leave on July 6th and I am taking my sweet time getting ready for the extended stay. I still haven’t told my apartment manager! Eek!
It won’t be playtime all the time, of course. I recently made the decision to pursue a career in public radio and I want to study up on the industry while preparing to somehow weasel my way in. If you ladies happen to know anyone who might be able to hold that door ajar for me, I am at your mercy!
I also hope to keep this blog updated frequently with reflections of my experiences and, of course, lots and lots of illustrations.
The one thing that saddens me is that I can’t take Bella with me. We thought of flying her over but I get terrible thoughts about her freezing to death or dying from sheer fright in some crate inside the loud belly of a plane. Even as far as cats go, Bella is the least mobile of them all. She cried nonstop on the 2-hour drive from Eugene to Portland. It was like a broken alarm clock.
Concerns about the trip
This won’t be my first time in Europe. However, this is my first time actually living there, even if it’s for only a short time. I’m still worried about how much to pack. Since we’re planning on taking a couple weeks off to backpack through several countries, the boyfriend thinks we should pack light from the get-go, as in carry-ons only. However, my counter-argument is that we’re going to be living in one hotel for at least three weeks – possibly longer. Unless we’re planning on hoboing it up full-time, it’s simply unrealistic to plan on bringing only carry-on bags. I could do just fine with two pants, two shirts and a set of pajamas for two weeks. However, when you’re not even sure if you’ll be there for a month or two, packing for a two-week trip doesn’t sound smart to me. What would you do in this situation?
Another concern is having a mobile phone. Would I be able to unlock my Blackberry Curve 8310 and purchase a prepaid SIM card in Copenhagen? I’m also curious to see if there are any advantages of having a Google Voice number while overseas.
What else should I do? Should I find volunteer work? What sort of work could I find, being only able to speak English and Korean? Should I just stay home and paint? Should I turn blogging into a full-time job, exploring sights and interviewing locals? Should I start going to Catholic church again just to make friends? Should I join their choir? That would make my mom real happy.
One of my buddies Chi is actually from Denmark. I’ve been pestering her with questions since I first found out I might be going there. I am pretty excited about seeing her in person. I’m probably going to cling to her for dear life like Speedo on Booby.
How many readers are from Europe? How many from Denmark?
Related posts:
I am alienman. Writing a small blurb about myself is the hardest thing to do. "Blurb" is a funny word.
GoldfishCake is NOT accepting sponsors or advertising at this time.
First things first, congratulations to your 30th! And to going to Denmark. I think? It’s great anyway!
I can only recommend to listen to your man. It’s always best to pack lightly, especially when you are going for a longer time. It will mean that you will buy new things (clothes among them anyway), and you’ll be having a terrible time getting them back home. A full suitcase has never really helped anyone. Ever. I know from plenty own experience.
And I’m from Germany. If you happen to pass by Munich, I’m here
OMG! Congrats on turning 30, commencement, and freakin’ Europe!!!
You don’t need a full suitcase. Bring basics and shop as you need there – you’re not on a deserted island
I would get a SIM card there, if possible. It’s the cheapest option as far as I’ve seen.
I’m sure you’ll get by just fine w/ English. Chi knows English pretty well and she’s in Denmark
Say “hi” to her for me!
As for public radio, probably chat w/ the locals about radio stations in the vicinity and go from there?
Anyways, girl, good luck and keep us updated!
I definitely agree with V., packing lightly is very important. When Cam and I went to NZ in 2008 for 21 days, we not only brought a huge backpacking pack, but a smaller school-sized carry on backpack. We ended up having to get a storage unit while there because we couldn’t carry around that much crap without a car.
It’s definitely better to underpack than to overpack, you can always buy things that you need while there, and that way it’s just easier to travel around with. Definitely bring carry-on only, unless you plan on bringing your own shampoo/liquids, then you’ll have to check it. But! If you do have to check because of that, make sure it’s a suitcase than you can easily lift or carry for extended amount of time.
I am so excited for you! That’s soo soon too! Is it necessary to tell your apartment manager? I don’t think they would need to know.
Um…bring your entire wardrobe. I’m serious! you’ll never know when you’ll have to go to dinner with royalty! you ARE in Europe after all, they still have royalty there…I think.
It’s all good and well to say “oh just shop as you go along” but unless you’re rolling in cash, I wouldn’t recommend shopping for clothes in Europe, it can get pretty expensive.
Good luck with the new career!
Your skin is looking sooooo good! n Bella is looking sooooo round xD
You better keep us informed about your travels!
Happy belated birthday! And wow, Europe? Thats so exciting! I would have sided with Zach but usually I end up not being able to fit within the restrictions anyway, especially with the liquids rule & my skincare routine…
Maybe check out some articles? I’ve seen some on some blogs such as this one: http://www.fabulouslybroke.com/2010/04/the-5-laws-to-packing-lightly/
Happy birthday!! So jealous you’re going to Copenhagen; I wanted to go there after I went to Rome, but it didn’t pan out. And congrats on heading into public radio!
I think if you know you’re going to be backpacking and have no place to store things while you’re traveling, you might want to pack light. Backpacks can get pretty heavy pretty fast!
hiya, and welcome to Europe.
You might want to speak to Jennifer from http://lifeandlensofbeauty.blogspot.com/ she just stayed in Copenhagen for 6 months.
Just to let yo know. Copenhagen is cold!!! bring a mac jacket (burberry type) as the temperature drops really low. I’d say it is below 20′c most of the time. No need for thick jacket but bring a jumper with you.
there’s H&M if you need to shop for clothings in Copenhagen, and people speaks English no problem. Denmark itself is small so you might find you run out of sights to see within 1 week, so maybe consider 3-4 days flying off from denmark to somewhere else in Europe. Check cheap airlines i.e. ryanair, easyjet etc
I’m from London and been to copenhagen 2 years ago around summer. All i remember was the food was really expensive (there’s literally no oriental food or if there’s is very expensive and not yummy) and cold…
Congrats on turning 30 from a fellow just-turned-30 reader (living in the UK at the mo’).
As for the trip – if it was me, I’d stick to carry on only because I’m always paranoid about losing my luggage. And I never seem to wear all the clothes I take with me anyway.
Thanks for giving my boyfriend something to gloat about, guys.
“Any more of your readers agree with me today?”
I’ll heed your advice and pack as light as possible. I don’t count on buying more clothes there, though. You’ll just have to put up with tons of pictures of me wearing the same 3 outfits
Congrats on graduating and happy belated birthday! Enjoy your trip to Denmark!
holy crap im behind on your posts
how the heck that happened…I do not know…
buuuuuuttttt….
happy VERY FREAKING belated birthday alienman
all these years of stalking you has been fun.
I mean following. yes…
and I wish you all the best in this new adventure
can’t wait to read more…which I will be doing now as Im catching up on the new posts!