Year Abroad 2011/2012 chat thread

OP

Original post by CPH<3

I am definitely feeling better. Down to only sneezing now, so it’s all good :P I don’t even know what the cup violence was about. He gave me a drink, and apparently I thought he deserved to get the empty cup back in his face. I do silly things when I’m drunk. It was only a plastic cup though, so it’s not that bad!

Hahahaha about time to get a bike :wink:

1000 is really cheap, you’ve definitely made a good deal there. Remember to get some cycle lamps for it too so you can use it at night, the police are pretty strict about it :P I have been stopped without them once, and that lead them to figuring out I was biking drunk, which was another stupid 500kr. fine.

Ooooooh I see, that is a bit awkward :P but at least it seems like he got the message, let me know how awkward it is tomorrow :wink:

Danish guys are a bit lazy, they rarely approach you unless they’re really really drunk, but just charm them with your accent, I’m sure that’ll work. If you’re brave enough you should just go up to them, they’ll be friendly, I promise!
I usually go out with all the other exchange students, and we have some VERY protective guys who literally push other guys away when they come over, so no luck yet. I am planning on finding one with a sexy accent and bring him back to Denmark with me though, that’s my goal! :P We did meet two guys who then ended up stalking us and kept calling our flat until like 5 am… a bit creepy. So no luck yet.

Yay, glad to hear it :smile:

Lol...we need to go out when you're back in CPH...you sound pretty funny when drunk!

I knoooow. It's so pretty :suith:

Yeah, I'm planning to get some lights and another lock in Tiger tomorrow before/after class. So how much is the fine for cycling without lights? And it's only 500kr for cycling drunk?! I thought it would be more than that. Also, is it normal to cycle home after a night out/kollegiet party?

It actually wasn't too bad. He caught my eye in class and winked, but that was as cringey as he got. Oh, but he did explain that his friend's leaving thing ended up being a dinner and not a party 'so that's why I didn't message you'. Think it's going to be ok though :yy:

Hmm, maybe I will. My friend managed to get some random Danish guy in LA bar to buy her a drink a couple of weeks ago. I was really impressed!

I know what you mean about going out with other exchange students...I'm finding it hard to make friends with Danes, but I guess maybe it's the same with exchange students everywhere? I think we should do a boy exchange: I'll send you a nice English guy and you can put a word in with an attractive young Dane for me.

Apologies for the creeps, by the way...where did you meet them?

Oh my, I saw this really good looking guy on the train on the way home from Danish class just now. I imagined him being something like 22-25. Then he sat down and put his arm around this girl who must have been about 8. His daughter. How do you Danes look so damn youthful?! I swear everyone looks so young, until they reach about 60. Where are the middle aged people???

Reply 143

Sorry to hijack conversation but I was wondering... I'm doing my year abroad next year, and I really want to work as a language assistant with the British Council. I hate the idea of an Erasmus programme in a university, I can't really afford it and I don't imagine enjoying it either, so don't want to do that. No offence meant to Italian universities, I just don't want to :tongue:

In your university how many who applied to the British Council got it? Hoping that everyone that wants a post gets it, but on the website it says there are only 50 posts, and there's more than 50 Italian students in my university alone :tongue:

Reply 144

OP

Original post by conway!

Sorry to hijack conversation but I was wondering... I'm doing my year abroad next year, and I really want to work as a language assistant with the British Council. I hate the idea of an Erasmus programme in a university, I can't really afford it and I don't imagine enjoying it either, so don't want to do that. No offence meant to Italian universities, I just don't want to :tongue:

In your university how many who applied to the British Council got it? Hoping that everyone that wants a post gets it, but on the website it says there are only 50 posts, and there's more than 50 Italian students in my university alone :tongue:

No need to apologise...it's just like one big conversation because only CPH<3 and I are posting in here :p:

I have never heard of this scheme before so I'm afraid I can't advise/help at all, sorry! Hopefully someone on here will have an idea...

What is it that you hate so much about the idea of doing Erasmus?

Reply 145

DanBrwn

11

Hi,

Im going to be studying in Manhattan, New York from November 2011 untill April 2012

Anyone else going to be in NYC while Im there?

Reply 146

Original post by >Anna<

No need to apologise...it's just like one big conversation because only CPH<3 and I are posting in here :p:

I have never heard of this scheme before so I'm afraid I can't advise/help at all, sorry! Hopefully someone on here will have an idea...

What is it that you hate so much about the idea of doing Erasmus?

I'm a reasonably shy person, and find it difficult enough to talk when I'm at my own university. If it was another language and another country I'm quite sure I'd be stuck in my room most of the time :tongue:

Plus, I'd like a break from studying for a bit...

Reply 147

CPH<3

Original post by >Anna<

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500 kr. for no lights as well, so do remember them :P And it is definitely normal, I’d say most people bike home ‘cause it means you won’t have to wait for bus/metro/train, and it’s so much faster to bike than to walk.

Oooh, it sounds like he likes yoooou! Too bad about the party, I’m sure it would’ve been a fun night :wink:

there’ll probably be another one soon.

Wooow, that is impressive! Well done, Danish guys almost never give out drinks – British guys are so much better when it comes to that :P

Hahahaha, boy exchange is a deal! As long as he has a British accent I’m not picky. We met the creeps when we were sitting outside our apartments after coming back from a night out. They randomly walked by, and I thought it was a great idea to yell out: “ARE YOU BRITISH?”.

I’ve never noticed we look young, I will definitely start to look for middle-aged people when I get back!

How’s it going with pronouncing ‘uge’? :P

Original post by conway!

I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about that program either :frown:

Reply 148

OP

Original post by CPH<3

500 kr. for no lights as well, so do remember them :P And it is definitely normal, I’d say most people bike home ‘cause it means you won’t have to wait for bus/metro/train, and it’s so much faster to bike than to walk.

Oooh, it sounds like he likes yoooou! Too bad about the party, I’m sure it would’ve been a fun night :wink:

there’ll probably be another one soon.

Wooow, that is impressive! Well done, Danish guys almost never give out drinks – British guys are so much better when it comes to that :P

Hahahaha, boy exchange is a deal! As long as he has a British accent I’m not picky. We met the creeps when we were sitting outside our apartments after coming back from a night out. They randomly walked by, and I thought it was a great idea to yell out: “ARE YOU BRITISH?”.

I’ve never noticed we look young, I will definitely start to look for middle-aged people when I get back!

How’s it going with pronouncing ‘uge’? :P

I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about that program either :frown:

Ouch! Ja, jeg købte et par cykellygter fra Tiger i går . Jeg elsker Tiger :suith:

Today is the day of reckoning..my travel pass ran out yesterday so I have to start cycling everywhere from today..getting lessons in how not to be run over at junctions later :p:

I got a drink from a Danish guy last night! My mentor invited me out with her and her friends last night, and I took a friend to. We went to Francis Pony (gonna assume you know it)...man, their apple martinis are lethal! But yeah, one of my mentors guy friends, who just happens to be rather attractive, was chatting to me and my friend at the bar and made us try this shot..I can't remember what it's called, but they described it as 'like jagermeister, but worse'. And it wasn't fisk...that's all I know! So we were happily chatting to him (and you were right about Danish guys being very friendly) and then this girl came up and hugged him from behind in a he's-my-boyfriend-back-off-b*tch*s kind of way, so we left them to it. Turned out she was just drunk and kind of trying it on with everyone. She came to talk to me later and stood so our faces were about 20cm apart and kept touching my boobs...and that was my first encounter with a CBS student :wink:

Honestly? That's you're only criteria? I can definitely arrange that..
I'm not too fussy. But preferably he should be nice, tall and pretty :daydreaming:

Oh, you really do sound funny when drunk...were they first years? They probably thought all their Christmases had come at once!

Middle-aged people just don't exist here, I swear. Unless someone's over about 60, they just look like they're in their 20s or early 30s! I pointed this out to my friend last night and her reaction was 'OMG, you're right!!!'

Danish is a nightmare. I feel like crying every time I'm in that class :emo:

I had to read something in class yesterday and she made me repeat about 50% of the words more than once!

Are your classes still super-easy?

Reply 149

OP

Original post by conway!

I'm a reasonably shy person, and find it difficult enough to talk when I'm at my own university. If it was another language and another country I'm quite sure I'd be stuck in my room most of the time :tongue:

Plus, I'd like a break from studying for a bit...

Hmm..well I do think that, to an extent, Erasmus kind of forces you to become more outgoing. But I can, obviously, see why you'd be concerned. I'd never even heard of this program that you're talking about, so maybe it's only open to very few universities?

Reply 150

Original post by CPH<3

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Original post by >Anna<

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Thank you anyway - I wasn't sure if your flags matched your location or your actual nationality, so if you're not British that would explain it :smile:

I've got a meeting in three weeks about it, I'll ask the speakers then.

Reply 151

OP

Original post by conway!

Thank you anyway - I wasn't sure if your flags matched your location or your actual nationality, so if you're not British that would explain it :smile:

I've got a meeting in three weeks about it, I'll ask the speakers then.

I'm British, but I'm on exchange in Denmark at the moment. Good luck with it! :smile:

Reply 152

screenager2004

14

Hows everyones' years abroad going so far?

I don't really know how I feel about mine truthfully. But it's still early days!

Reply 153

oxymoronic

19

Original post by conway!

I'm a reasonably shy person, and find it difficult enough to talk when I'm at my own university. If it was another language and another country I'm quite sure I'd be stuck in my room most of the time :tongue:

Plus, I'd like a break from studying for a bit...

If those are your concerns, how do you think you'd be teaching a bunch of Italian teenagers? If you work as a language assistant for the British Council you're expected to teach and plan lessons. These teenagers will be equal to or worse than the teenagers you'd get in UK schools and many will probably being forced to do English rather than it being an optional subject.

I'm not saying that this would be horrible or a bad thing to do at all, more that if you're worried about going to study at university which is an environment you already know where you'll have a ready made group of friends in the other ERASMUS students, that opting to do a British Council placement seems an odd choice. I did ERASMUS a few years ago and I'm now a teacher back in the UK. Standing up in front of a class and being the expert teacher is scarier and far more challenging than turning up to a few classes as an ERASMUS student.

How do you see that you wouldn't be stuck in your room all of the time if you were a language assistant? Arguably, its harder to make friends then as you're not entitled to university accommodation (if its available in your town) like ERASMUS students so you won't have a ready made set of people to socialise with and even if the ERASMUS people don't get uni accommodation, they'll still have a ready made set of friends as the exchange people all club together very quickly regardless of where they're living in my experience. As a language assistant, you'll have a "harder" timetable than an ERASMUS student (from the experiences of my friends anyway) which means your life will be a bit more restricted as you'll be expected to be in school and plan lessons, meaning you'll spend more time in your room organising this aspect. I have friends who did a British Council post and an ERASMUS semester and they have all said that the experiences are very different. With the British Council you may end up in a small town, living in a little room above the school and pretty much left to your own devices where to make any friends at all you have to really push yourself to speak to local people and find out things whereas with ERASMUS, your social life is already prepared for you and there's loads of other people in exactly the same position as you.

You'll probably also find that studying doesn't really exist as an ERASMUS student or its a lot less than you're used to.... I did pretty much nothing on my year abroad on the academic front and still came away with the equivalent of a first. I only went to postgraduate level courses as I found the Bachelor level ones more like school than uni and even then, the Masters course were no difficult than I'd done in first/second year in the UK.

Reply 154

Original post by oxymoronic

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Thank you very much for replying!
I can see why you'd think British Council placements would be more daunting than an Erasmus one. It might sound weird though but I'm more comfortable with a teaching environment - I've been a teaching assistant for a year and a half and I'm happy doing it, although to be fair my experience only goes to kids as old as 12 or 13, so possible 17 year olds are going to be scarier :tongue:

You've definitely got rid of some of my fears about Erasmus though - I was thinking that I'm struggling this year to keep up when the classes are mostly in English, never mind if I go away and try do a history course in Italian, but it sounds like it's not like that. I think I'll apply for a British Council place (as my first choice) but I won't be scared if I don't get in and get an Erasmus place instead.
Again thank you :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 155

OP