1st stop...Copenhagen, Denmark!

So thanks to my cheap or rather “frugal” Asian side, I searched far and wide to look for the cheapest tickets possible. And there was this one Chinese travel agency I went to that offered me a package to fly into Spain for about “$1600 and I throw in these barbecue pork buns!” $1600 was a little out of my budget but I did take 3 barbecue pork buns. They were bomb. And free. WIN! But I did eventually find the cheapest price for about $1200 on cheaptickets.com. But I had to sacrifice cost for time and that meant 2 layovers there and 1 layover back. It was a 2 hour layover in Washington D.C. and a 7.5hour layover in Denmark before arriving in Spain. Coming back, it was a 4.5hour layover in JFK airport in NYC. When I think about it…I should’ve paid an extra $50 for shorter layovers because reading PC Magazine and Men’s Health for 4 hours in JFK was pretty brutal.

But let’s fast forward and skip to Copenhagen! So I actually did a lot more research for my layover in Copenhagen than I did for Spain (where I would be studying). I only had 7.5hours in Copenhagen, but it IS a relatively small city and I wanted to get the most out of it.

So after hours in the Washington D.C. watching airplanes take off and land and many more hours on the plane, I finally arrived in the city of København! As soon as I landed, I was already amazed at Copenhagen’s futuristic airport. They don’t have revolving doors, but a bunch of small gates that open and close as you approach and leave, sort of like a carwash.

The one thing that I instantly liked about Copenhagen was its transportation system (I would later learn to love European transportation). There is a metro station at the Terminal 3 of the airport that takes you to the city center Kongens Nytorv in about 15 minutes which costs about $6 (warning: you can only purchase the ticket through a machine, which only accepts card).

And so I arrived in the city center at about 8AM and as soon as I walked out, I was greeted by complete emptiness surrounded by Danish architectural buildings. Nobody and nothing was out at this time except…drunk teens wobbling around the streets. No longer than I had pulled out my camera to start taking pictures did two drunkass teens come up to me and mockingly greeted me with “nihao.” It was kind of crazy too see nothing, not even bakeries or coffee shops, open at this time of the day. The only people who were out were people who had just come out of a club. It’s kind of crazy because partying doesn’t really start until 2AM and it’ll last into the morning.

Without a Lonely Planet at the time, I relied mainly on the free map provided by the metro station, which was more than enough as Copenhagen is really a city you can traverse by foot. But it was 8AM and the stores open at 10, so I didn’t have much to do except walk around and appreciate Copenhagen’s architectural beauty and environmentally friendly atmosphere. I had read earlier that Copenhagen was known for being a “bike city,” where a third of the people bike to work or school. They have this system of bikes called “city bikes,” where you insert 20kroners to rent out a “city bike” and when you return it to any one of the city’s bike racks, you’ll get your 20kroners back. Pretty cool. But I wasn’t cause I was too chicken to do it. But yeah…walking is so much better because you get have time to see and appreciate the city instead of swooshing past.

Hans Christian Andersen (author of “The Little Mermaid”) wrote many of his famous fairy tales in Copenhagen and everyone said that the Hans Christian statue next to city hall was a must see. So I rushed to see that first but when I got there…I saw it. And it was indeed a statue of him. I mean it was cool I guess. But I ran a half mile to see it. And it actually wasn’t that cool. Shit. But the Little Mermaid is still cool.

And so I kept wandering around for a few more hours until the stores started opening and then I headed back to Strøget, which is located in the center and is the longest pedestrian shopping street in Europe. When I got back, it was filled with tourists and locals and street performers. I decided to go look for a snack as my stomach was kind of grumbling, so I went towards the place with the biggest crowd and it turned out to be an ice cream stand. And so I paid $4 for a scoop of ice cream. Damn I swear like if you populate a restaurant or food stand with hella people around but they sell overly expensive shit food, I will still buy it. But I had to say…that was some pretty damn good ice cream…or maybe I made myself believe it was good since it was so expensive…

It was nice walking around and going into souvenir shops but I’m not much of a “shopping” person, especially when a plain white t-shirt costs about $20 at H&M. So I headed towards the famous Nyhavn waterfront port. Maybe it was because I was at a port because I had a sudden urge to pee. And then I really needed to go. And there was no McDonalds around. And it wasn’t China so I couldn’t pee in a bush or something. So I had to pay $0.35 to use a public restroom. Aghh…all better.

After taking the best piss of my life, I decided to use the rest of my Kroners on a boat tour around the city. It was a pretty nice day and the boat tour is definitely one thing you shouldn’t miss when you hit up Copenhagen. We went by Hans Christian’s old house and also Noma’s, which was named the best restaurant in the world. Lunch there will cost you about $105 and dinner will run upwards of $170. And our boat guide was some Vietnamese chick who explained to us the history of Copenhagen in 4 languages, which was pretty hot.

By the time the tour ended, I had just enough time to go to a souvenir shop to pick up a shot glass and leave. And so that was that…Copenhagen in 7hours. Not a bad layover.

Bottom Line: Copenhagen is a beautiful city in all aspects from its architecture to its natural surroundings. Danish people are generally super nice and friendly. It’s the perfect place for a layover because of city center’s proximity to the airport and the city’s super convenient transportation system. But one day was definitely enough for me. I’m a broke college student and I cannot survive on ice cream cones for lunch. I honestly enjoyed Copenhagen a lot and it was the “Europe” that I imagined, but there’s not much fun for young people. One day was definitely enough for me and if I come back, it’ll be years down the road.

What's Up Chink?

“What's up Chink?”

“YO...hi there...how you do my fren?"

Yeah so I must've gotten like about...55 "nihao's," 30 "konichiwa's,"9 "annyeonghaseyo's", 2 “namaste’s” and a thousand more stares in my 1.5months in Europe. But after about 2 weeks, I pretty much accepted the fact that everywhere I went, especially with a pack of about 15 other Asians, we were going to be the center of attention.

Maybe I was being super naïve by thinking that Asians were everywhere and that racial discrimination was a thing of the past (just kidding)…but I kind of expected it, albeit still culture-shocked. And maybe it was because for the previous two summers, I had traveled only to Asian countries where I fit in and spoke the language. Maybe I’ve been hanging around too many Asians (in Asia and America), so “Asian” is all I know. Maybe this…and maybe that…but it still bugged me that I was sort of a walking circus for them.

But one thing I did notice was that there WERE Asian tourists and many more Asians who ran small grocery stores and a handful of Asian restaurants…so why did we get so many much of this attention? I noticed that a group of kids would not say stare and “greet” a bunch of Asian tourists but would say “nihao” and stare at us who were younger and much more Westernized. HMMMM?

So during my first day in Europe in Copenhagen, I was both anxious and excited to experience a new part of the world. It was 8AM and as soon as I got off the metro, I was approached by two drunken teens, each holding a Carlsberg in their hand, who mockingly greeted me with “nihao’s” and “konichiwa’s” and a little bit of Spanish for some reason. And from that point on, it became a social norm for me to accept all these “greetings” and stares. I either ignored them or just responded with an English “Whatsup?”

When I think about it, I don’t know whether they were mocking us or actually saying “hello.” At times, I liked to believe they were genuinely saying “hello” because they were amused to see Asians.

And this continued on in Spain as well. Perhaps our group was mainly Asian so we always got stares. And I mean…when you go out with 10 of the only Asian girls in Spain dressed up in heels and all…I would definitely stare and say “nihao” as well.

And there was another memorable moment in Rome when a bunch of Italian kids said “nihao’s” to us. I wanted to take off my belt and whoop their asses but I replied with “hola.” Hm…WTF?

But as the stares and “nihao’s” became more ordinary, I still wondered when I would get my first “chinky eyes.” And then I got it…in GERMANY! Well I wasn’t happy when I got it but rather pissed off. But I look back at the situation and laugh about it now. So on a train ride from Berlin to Prague, just as we were departing from a station, these two guys come waddling up to our window with their “chinky eyes.” It happened so fast that I had no time to react. At first, I was like ok…then I got angrier and angrier the more I thought about it. I felt like turning into the Hulk and ripping the roof of the train off so I could run 5000mph back to that station to track those assholes down and eat them both. I really did. Then as time passed and the surrounding scenery became more beautiful and serene, I cooled down and actually thought about the situation. I mean…it was a remote town in the middle of nowhere and they’d probably only seen Asians on television so they didn’t know better. But I still wanted to eat them. Kind of. Not really.

And then I thought about it more and more…we weren’t in America where most of us are accustomed to seeing a variety of races. And then I reversed the situation as if I was a foreigner in an Asian country. Yeah, I would definitely get the stares and a lot of them but not so much the “greetings” since Asians are so passive. I remember I met a friend from Nigeria who told me about her experiences studying in China. She would always get stared at and people would go up to her and ask to touch her hair (just like in the Karate Kid!). And face it…whenever I, an American, saw a white or black guy while in Asia, I would ALWAYS stare in amazement and be like “holy shit! White guy! Black guy!”

That really is the magic when you travel abroad and visit a whole new place. At home, you live in a place of comfort and sameness without much variety. And that monotony will be the only thing you see unless you go abroad. And yes, you may and very likely will experience some sort of culture shock but that is the beauty of it. You will learn from it. You learn that there is so much out there than just you. Actually when I think of it…I do miss hearing those “nihao’s.”

Observations of Europe

So I’m currently sitting on an overnight train from Prague to Florence and decided that I would like to start my EuroBlog with a list of observations from the past 1.5months I’ve been in Europe. I would like to state that this is my first time ever in Europe and it has been quite a different experience than the ones I’ve had in the States and in Asia. But nonetheless, it has lived up to my expectations and some even more. Note that my observations may be biased because I spent the majority of my time in Spain.

So here it goes…this is a list of observations from a young Asian man in Europe:

1. “Nihao”

China, with a population of over 3 billion people, is the world’s largest country in terms of population size but apparently…Europeans have never seen Chinese people before! Well not exactly but I averaged about 10 “Ni Hao’s” or “Goniwa’s” a week in my time in Europe. At first, I was kind of offended but it eventually became a social norm for me in Europe and accepted it as a fact that unlike in certain parts of the States where there is a lot of racial diversity, there aren’t many Asians in Europe.

I remember my first day in Europe was during a layover in Copenhagen, Denmark. As I got off the metro into downtown Denmark, I was approached by two drunk 15-year olds who stared at me and slurred about 5 “Ni Hao’s” to me. I replied with “Wadddup?”

But yeah, even in Spain and in other parts of Europe, people would always stare at us, the Asians. This was especially when we went out in Spain in a pack of about 20 Asians; we literally created the first Chinatown in Barcelona located in the Citadines Hotel in Las Ramblas.

And on our train ride from Berlin to Prague, while we were departing from a station, these German teenagers wobbled up to our window and gave us the “chinky eyes” look…and I kind of blew up inside but later realized that they knew no better. But that’s the beauty of traveling, you experience cultures from around the world and you realize that no one is the same as you. And when I think about it…Chinese people are probably the most racist people in the world, so I shouldn’t complain.

2. So Sexy

I don’t know if it’s just me but…Europeans are so damn hot. Everybody is tall. Everybody is skinny (but not anorexic skinny). Everybody is in shape. Everybody has a perfect tan. I rarely ever saw anyone who was fat, never one who was obese. How is this so? I could not find a gym anywhere I went nor did I see people jogging around.

Well first of all, it’s probably because Europeans walk everywhere instead of driving. Americans rely so much on their cars (I missed my car so much), that they’ll drive a few blocks instead of just walking. And I may be biased because I was in Barcelona during the summer. I probably am biased but still…everyone was beautiful. Like hella beautiful.

3. OMG…YOU TOO ARE ASIAN! WHERE YOU FROM?

Asians love seeing other Asians in Europe. There are many small convenience stores run by Chinese people in Spain and whenever they see an Asian come in, they’ll be super happy if you speak to them in Chinese. One lady gave us a discount on water from 2euros to 1euro.

I would always stare at other Asians on the streets and other Asians would also stare at me. There was this one instance where I was drunk walking around in a club and a group of Japanese people pulled me over and bought me a few drinks…because I was asian!

4. Coca Cola…SO GOOOOOOOOD

Coca Cola in Europe is so bomb. Coke > Pepsi in Europe because in Europe, their cola is made by sugar cane instead of corn syrup…which makes the world of a difference. COCA COLA…SO GOOOODDDDDD

5. Want to dine in? THEN YOU PAY MORE!

In certain restaurants, they will charge you extra for “dining in” instead of taking out. For example, in this one crepes place in Paris, we were going to take out but decided to dine in instead. But in turned out that the dine in price was almost twice the price of the takeout crepes itself. What the fluck? Fuck that…I Chinese…I takeout and eat in alleyway!

6. Europeans don’t wear shorts? Yes they do.

LIE. I was told that Europeans don’t wear shorts by multiple online sources, but that’s a straight-up lie Rick Steves. When it’s hella hot, it’d be stupid not to wear shorts.

7 Europe cheaper than the States? NO WAY! YES WAY MOFO!!!

As a brokeass Asian, I thought that going to Europe was going to clean out my pockets and my bank account because Europe has this “stereotype” that it’s super expensive. But let me tell you, Europe is cheaper than the U.S. (in many aspects).

SUMMER SALES! SUMMER SALES! SUMMER SALES! When summer comes around, Europe has the best sales on clothing, especially Zara’s in Spain and the same with many other clothing stores. You can see how crazy these sales are just by walking into one of these stores…they are always PACKED. People everywhere. Clothes everywhere. SALES EVERYWHERE. I bought a blazer for 30euros (original price 120euros)…WIN.

And food can be a lot cheaper in Europe depending on where you go. You can get 0.50cent ice cream from McDonalds in Amsterdam. You can get a bigass doner kebab for 3.50euros in Germany. You can get a plate of Chinese food for the equivalent of 3euros in Prague.

8. Me: Can I get tap water please? Waiter: What the hell is tap water?

There is no such thing as tap water in many of the European restaurants. During one of my first meals in Spain, I made the mistake of asking for “just water,” and they brought out bottles of sparkling water. What the hell? In most restaurants in Europe, people almost never just drink “tap water” but rather they drink alcohol, wine, or bottled water.

9. What the pigeon?

So the birds in Europe fly realllllyyy LOW to the point where they’ll swoop right past your ears and scare the shit out of you. I was tempted to grab one of the birds because they kept pissing me off but fended off that idea.

10. Can I get that to go?

So unlike in the States, there is no such thing as a doggy bag or to-go boxes. People either simply finish their food or leave it unfinished. If you ask for a doggy bag, they’ll just look at you funny.

Another thing is that the portions in Europe are extremely tiny. At first, I was like what the fuck, I paid 7euros for a mini-me-size cheeseburger. I’ve learned that Europeans eat not to be full but to be content. No wonder Americans are such fatasses.

As soon as I got back from Europe, everything I ordered seemed to be extra-extra large and I was never able to finish my meal. I had gotten so accustomed to being sated that I forgot the feeling of being full.

11. Bilingual…Trilingual…Multilingual

It seems to me that most Europeans speak at least one language other than their native language fluently. And most people who I have met speak at least 3 languages fluently whereas most Americans seem to only speak English fluently. Why is that?

Perhaps it is because mastering a foreign language is a mandatory requirement in Europe. Whereas most Europeans start learning English in primary school, most Americans are only exposed to a foreign language starting in high school.

Although I took 3 years of Spanish in high school (and had pretty good teachers), it was pretty much useless in Spain. I always tried using it as a courtesy but whenever I tried, they would respond in lightning speed Spanish and all that went through my head was “feklsglekgjl puedes comprar gelljgge en la fefe de fjewlrgkjewrlgj gljkglerj grelgjlrel. Ok?” Si, entiendo…

I met some of my friend’s cousins in Switzerland who were Chinese Swiss and they all seemed to know at least 4 languages fluently. And the kids who ranged from ages 6-11 all spoke German, French, and Cantonese fluently, were learning Mandarin in Chinese school, and were all starting to learn English in school.

My goodness…if I ever have kids, I need to raise them in Europe.