What's an elk?

March 20th: the first official day of spring and the half-way point of my semester. I've been in Copenhagen for exactly 2 months and have exactly 2 months to go. I don't know whether to react with "I can't believe I've been here that long already" or "Have I really been here that long - because it feels like I just got here." 

Either way I feel like I can definitely call Copenhagen my home. Or, rather, add it to the list of places that I've acquired as "homes" over the past 4 years. I'd like to think that I fit in pretty well here, too. I'm always flattered whenever Danes approach me and speak in Danish. That's a sure-fire sign that I look like I belong here at least (and there's definitely tourists around so it's not like it's assumed that everyone who passes by is a local - or at least that's what I've told myself). So apparently I've got my clothes and demeanor going for me even if I don't quite have the language thing down. Because I really have no idea of how to give directions to someone in Danish or how to carry on a conversation about a charity organization that I get solicited to support. Not things that you learn in a basic Danish course. 

On the flip side, on my weekly ventures to speak English with Danish middle school students, I've run into some interesting conversation topics leading to the need to explain things I've never had to explain before. Like what elk and moose are (which I thought I could explain by saying that they were giant deer - until I had to explain what a deer was) or what fried chicken is (by the way, it doesn't sound as appetizing when you explain how to make it) or what french fries and chips are (and the confusion between British-English and America-English terminology didn't help at all). Or here's another one: what an "American" cookie is like and the fact that it can come in so many varieties beside chocolate chip. Oh, and by the way, they don't have chocolate chips here so I had to explain what those were, too. Good thing there's a thing called pen and paper and skills I've acquired via many games of Pictionary.

In honor of the first day of spring, I tracked down a "spring in Copenhagen" picture from  Google. This flowers galore shot of Rosenborg Palace has yet to come, but I did eat lunch in this park yesterday, and it was warm and sunny albeit very windy (the lettuce from my salad started blowing away at one point).