Liz's European Adventures

As a result of my trip to India, I began having stomach issues. They began in India, and were still occuring once I had returned to Denmark. They had been going on for a week or so and were not getting better. I did some self-diagnosis via the internet, and that prompted me to be semi-concerned.

One of my Danish friends helped me call my doctor's office and spoke to a nurse in Danish. They asked me lots of questions about my symptoms, and the nurse said she needed to speak to the doctor and then call me back.

Needless to say, when the call was returned, they said to pack a bag and go to Skejby Sygehus (hospital), and that my room would be waiting for me.

We arrived and I had a variety of tests done. They were concerned that I may have malaria - I ended up staying overnight and was released in the morning. The hospital was very nice and clean, and everyone was friendly. There was not too much of a language barrier, so that was nice. Healthcare is free in Denmark, so the whole thing did not cost me anything, but because it is free, they don't just send anyone to the hospital - it has to be something they are concerned about.

I received my tests results a few weeks later...and they could not find anything! Oh well, chalk that up to another cultural experience!

Not too happy with my Danish hospital food

Although I was pleased with my Danish breakfast

Sniff, sniff. Tear, tear.

In the waiting room

The sign outside my building

I went on a study trip to Delhi, India for the first 10 days of April with students from my study program. It was mainly first year students - my roommate Christina and I were the only second year students to go on the trip.

A majority of the time was spent in Delhi - and this is where we visited companies also (Bestseller, which is a Danish clothing company; the Danish embassy; Inito Technologies). We also took a couple day side trip, and completed the 'Golden Triangle' tour - we went to neighboring cities of Agra and Jaipur, where we saw many monuments and forts, as well as the....Taj Mahal!

I must say, India was tough for me. I truly did not realize that people live like this - in such poverty. The hotel we stayed in, in Delhi was a bit dirty, with salamanders crawling on the walls and dirty sheets and towels. The realization that I have a certain comfort level and standard of living began at the hotel. But i felt bad for complaining, because then I took a step back and realized that hotel truly was luxury for the Indians, and that made me feel bad that I was unhappy staying there. We would take a step out of the front door, and dodge cows and bulls and steaming cow piles, as well as puddles of stray dog pee. Immediately you were dirty from the dirt roads. It was truly culture shock for me.

It was amazing seeing how other people lived. One morning, we were on a bus early to start heading to our destination for the day, and I witnessed the morning routines of many locals. A child was being bathed naked on the sidewalk. Someone was brushing their teeth; men were peeing against the walls everywhere. Someone was washing their hair crouched next to the sidewalk. People literally sleep in the street or the sidewalks - that is their home.

People basically attacked us and begged everywhere - to the point that it was semi-uncomfortable. People would grab our hands and touch us. One Indian woman asked one of the Danish girls to hold her baby, and they took a picture. Apparently being photographed with a white person is a sign of good luck and future riches. Everywhere we went, we stuck out like sore thumbs. They stared at us, took pictures of us. We did the same of them, but ours were out of respect, curiousity and possibly admiration. Often times, they were making fun of us. Although we could not understand the language and what they were saying, it was obvious they were making fun of us. Body language speaks volumes.

I also managed to get sick somehow, although I am not sure how. I was very aware and tried not to do anything that would make me sick, but I managed to catch something, some sort of stomach bug while in India, which resulted in an overnight stay in Denmark upon arrival home.

This was the biggest culture shock of my life. In normal city areas, I managed to see monkeys hanging out, an elephant walking down the street, cows and camels too. When driving through the country, there were dried dung pieces everywhere. Kids were running around with no pants on. Home consisted of army cots and simple tarps overhead, if they were lucky enough to have shelter. Very, very different. I am so happy I went to India, but I don't have any major desire to go back anytime soon.

I think the pictures and videos below are the best way to highlight the trip.