"It's Dark in Here"

It's Dark in Here

Shel Silverstein

I am writing these poems

From inside a lion,

And it's rather dark in here.

So please excuse the handwriting

Which may not be too clear.

But this afternoon by the lion's cage

I'm afraid I got too near.

And I'm writing these lines

From inside a lion,

And it's rather dark in here.

Ok, so I am not really writing this from inside a lion. I'm in Copenhagen! Finally! I'll spare you the details of my last 24 hours of wakefulness - yes, I'm running on empty - and just have you know that I am happy and safe and about to have the best night's sleep known to mankind. And while I am not in fact inside a lion, my room is very dark. This is a) because it is nighttime and b) because I mistook the electricity box in my room for a safe (as if they would really provide us with safes in our rooms! What was I thinking!?) 

The first thing that caught my attention walking down the hallway of my apartment building this morning were the Shel Silverstein-inspired murals and poems decorating the walls. I have fond memories of reading his books growing up and for some reason this was very comforting. It is always nice to discover familiar things in unfamiliar. This particular poem, "It's Dark in Here," came to mind as I scrambled around for half an hour trying to figure out how to turn the electricity back on. I really did not want to navigate my first shower in Copenhagen in the dark (trust me - in retrospect, this would have been ugly).

Besides sorting out my lighting situation, I spent my first day settling in, meeting other students, and exploring the neighborhood around my kollegium. Some highlights: 

• The terrace with picnic tables off of my hallway
• Cool Danish furniture in my room
• Bicycles everywhere!
• Being able to say that I've been to Iceland
• Teaching myself to fix my leaky toilet
• Lots and lots of closet space
• My $10 raspberry-orange smoothie at an outdoor cafe
• One of my best friends from school (Hannah) living five flights up the stairs
• Trying to buy yogurt and winding up with cottage cheese (OK so this was a low-light, and for those of you aware of my deep fear of cottage cheese, almost disastrous)

Here are a few pictures of my home for the next four months...

Before (above) and after (below)

View into the room from the outside hallway and bedroom door

Desk and pictures

Closets...

And more closets!!

Bathroom

View from my bed - each of the nine window panes opens out!

I guarantee you my room will continue to be a work in progress for a while. I want to make it feel cozy and as much like home as possible. Plus, I inherited the Martha Stewart decorating gene from my mother :)