How to move everything you own and...one little papillon to Denmark

So the time for my move to Denmark has finally come and while I started my apartment search three months in advance, I, for some unknown reason decided to leave the issue of finding movers until my very last week. Urgh! Why?!

Oh man, I f*cked up, f*cked up real bad this time. Not only did I underestimate how MUCH its going to cost to move, I also sorely miscalculated how LONG it is going to take to ship my items to Copenhagen.

I contacted three moving companies, Laser International, Allied and last but not least, UPackWeShip. Each company had its own distinct pros and cons. Allied($3000) was the most expensive and a complete moving service while UPackWeShip($1500) was the cheapest but required the owner to self pack everything and deliver the boxes to the shipping terminal. If the price wasn't bad enough, even with the fastest company-Allied, my boxes would not arrive in Copenhagen for at least TWO MONTHS!!! ah! Everyone knows that I am not the kind of girl who can bear to be separated from her precious clothes and SHOES for such a long time :(. To say the least, I was heartbroken.

After a near melt down and some furious googling, I finally found an unlikely solution. My flight to CPH was through SAS and according to their luggage rules, a passenger is allowed to take up to 5 checked lugguage at 50 lbs each. The first piece is free and each additional is $135. So I decided to bite the bullet and just lug my stuff to Denmark myself. So I single handedly brought 1 carryon, 1 overpacked backpack, 5 huge boxes and...one little papillon from Chicago to Copenhagen?! Whew! and did I mention my apartment in CPH is on the fourth floor and does not have an elevator!? So, yup, I guess I'm pretty much a badass ninja of moving since all this cost me only $665($540 for the boxes and $125 for my dog).

Even though I am beyond exhausted now, everything was worth it because all most of my beloved clothes are safe and sound next to me....well that is except for the 8 additional boxes coming in 2 weeks... :D

-A Nomad and Possible Hoarder -Ran

My trusty little travel companion

1/4 of my beautiful shoe collection-Must bring them all!

I am listening to:
"I Don't Know What I'm Doing" - Brad Sucks

20 Days

While most of me is ecstatic and looking forward to having the experience of a lifetime in Copenhagen, why is it that I can't quite seem to quiet a small but growing voice inside of me that is afraid?

Afraid of the unknown.
Afraid of failing.
Afraid of being far from all the things, and more importantly the people that I love in America.

Feeling lonely is not  a foreign concept to me. Seems like I have felt disconnected from my family and alone for the greater part of my life.  I grew up in USA, far from my extended family in China. When I was 12, my father move back to Wuhan for work and he was shortly joined by my mom when I started college at 18. So, I guess I already know all to well the emptiness one feels when loved ones are far away.

Yet here I am, 26 going on 27, about to make the biggest move of my life. Do I have what it takes as a young(am I still young?), single girl to move to a foreign country where I barely know anyone and flourish there?

Well, whether I am ready or not, its going to happen...in 20 days.

-Ran

ps.
This great international move of mine has been beyond stressful, but the hardest part by far, (even more difficult that finding an apartment in Copenhagen) is saying goodbye to the people I love. I think the only way I will make it through this is if I remember that this not "goodbye", but rather "see you later"....

I'm listening to:
"Love Rhino"- Sunny Levine

Why I am awake at 2:53 am...

Sure, I would love to be curled up, warm in my bed right now, but thanks to a 7 hour time difference I am instead pounding back a steaming cup of joe and feverishly trolling Danish rental sites for new listings. I am frustrated, exhausted and on the verge of a caffeine overdose.

So, what is all this painstaking effort for?
I am but a simple girl and I would be more than happy in a studio or a humble one bedroom. I lack bicycling skills, so I would prefer the apartment to be somewhat close to Copenhagen Business School. I think these are very reasonable requests. Yet, I have tried everything from Couchsurfing forums, expat blogs and Facebook groups to subscription online listings and apartment company websites, all to no avail. If the dark bags swelling under my eyes are any indication of my effort, then I can safely assure you that I have been trying my damn hardest. So far, my email inquiries have been met with either the all too familiar "apartment is already reserved" message or... a cold unnerving silence. When I called into apartment companies, I was told that there was a 100+ person waiting list for current listings, and nothing new is available until November. Oh and the kicker - company policy mandates that rentals are for professionals only, NO STUDENTS ALLOWED. When I pushed the the agent to elaborate on their policy, she explained that the landlords in their company view student tenants(even graduate students) as liabilities since they are often "unreliable with rent" and "irresponsible with the apartment".

WTF??! When did students become second class citizens and marginalized to derogatory stereotypes? I am having trouble reconciling this discrimination against students with my perception of Denmark as a country known for its politically correct rationale. Why do the naysayers fail to consider the fact that if a student is paying a full year's tuition up front, then they are more likely than not to be financially stable. Additionally, in order to succeed in school and gain entrance into a graduate program, graduate students are by default, responsible!

Why is it that a smart, capable gal like me, with a more than generous budget can't seem to catch a break when it comes to finding a place in Copenhagen?! To be fair, it seems that I am not the only one in this rapidly sinking boat, because everywhere I look there are post after post from desperate people(mostly students) looking from rentals in CPH. Hell, I even stumbled upon a Facebook post by a Danish TV reporter seeking students for a segment about the daunting challenge of finding a place in CPH. And I would like it to be noted that in less than half a day there were over 80 comments!

Sigh, my journey to Copenhagen has not even begun and I am already feeling defeated. As a lowly graduate student I guess I might just have to settle for a sturdy box under a bridge...

-R-

Final Month in Chicago

p.s.
During my two previous forays into Copenhagen I fell in love with the architecture, the food(oh the hotdogs!) and most of all the people. I met some truly upstanding characters in my brief stay, and it was precisely because of this refreshing open-mindedness that I chose Denmark over Sweden as the place to continue my studies. Therefor, I sincerely hope my negative house hunting experience is just a small blip in an otherwise auspicious beginning and...not a foreboding forecast of things to come.

Good o' US of A

Its no secret that I have been itching to get out of USA for ages, and now my dream is finally coming to fruition. But as the day for my departure draws near, dare I say am becoming... sentimental??

For better or worse, good o' Amurika has been my home for the last 21 years and while I have never felt completely satisfied here, I have received a great education, embarked on crazy adventures, created unforgettable memories and most importantly of all-I've made life-long friends. I must admit, America has been good to me.

July 4th, 2013-Happy 237th Birthday Amurika!

Damn, I think I just might miss this place...

-Ransie

I am listening to:
The Strokes-"This is It"

Denmark Countdown: One Month

Wow I cant believe it! Only one short month until I'm off to Denmark to embark on my year long study at Copenhagen Business School!

Excited, Nervous...and a bit frazzled, I've been trying to get everything done in time, but I have learned from experience that international travel is never mishap free and an international move is even more stressful. Lucky for me, it seems to be smooth sailing so far. With one more month to go, I am pretty much on point with the tasks I need to accomplish before departure from USA and my previous stay in Stockholm has definitely provided me with valuable insight on what to expect upon my arrival in Copenhagen. However one thing, actually quite a big thing has been starting to give me a headache. I have been apartment searching for over two months now and very aggressively searching for the past month...but still nothing! I've tried a variety of Danish websites and even paid a hefty subscription fee, but the only responses I have received were stock messages informing me that the apartment(which listed a mere 5 seconds ago) has already been reserved! How is that even possible?! Do Danes have magical Danish fingers that can somehow type and click twice as fast as mine?!

While my Swedish apartment search was frustrating and full of twists and turns, with the help of my Swedish friend, I was able to secure a beautiful apartment in Stockholm two full months before my arrival. So, then what am I doing wrong in my Danish apartment search?

Should I be reposting my ad in English? Is it because I have not included a picture of myself? Do the owners not want to rent to expats? All these questions with no answers, I can only speculate...

My budget is reasonable and I'm not a (complete) weirdo, so I really hope someone will give me a chance!

Please, please, please, travel gods answer my prayers for a beautiful apartment in downtown Copenhagen! :D

-Ran

Renior Ma, my little card shark!

I am listening to:

James Yuill- "No Surprise"

Catfish: Never thought I would see the day...

Personal information is everywhere these days, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, even LinkedIn, etc. In theory, these social media sites were created to link people with their friends, family, coworkers and other people of interest. But what happens when the information on your social media account is abused?  When your public information gets into the wrong hands, and a stranger, or even worse, someone that knows you and wishes to cause you harm, misuses your personal information for their own selfish and deceitful purposes?!

I recently started watching the new MTV show "Catfish". From Wikipedia-
"A "catfish" is a person who creates fake profiles online and pretends to be someone they are not by using someone else's pictures and information." The premise of the show basically goes like this- Person A meets online Person B, they chat, trade pics and fall "in love". Person A wants to meet Person B in real life, Person B refuses, Person A is distraught and contacts the "Catfish" show. Then Schulman from "Catfish" uses his internet prowess and tracks down Person B who finally agrees to meet Person A under the glare of MTV cameras. And guess what folks? I have NEVER watched an episode where the person turns out to be exactly like the online pictures. NEVER.

Now you can call me jaded or cynical, but if you read my blog, you know I am actually a hopeless romantic. True love is beautiful, fragile and difficult to find, so I am all for finding love anyway you can in our confusing modern world. Hell, I even joined the Swedish popular online dating site, HappyPancake.com, when I was in Stockholm this winter! And while I felt bad for the heartbroken people on "Catfish", TV is TV and I never thought something so outlandish could happen to me. But as I seem to be a magnet for crazy events lately...today I officially got my first taste of Catfish! And boy do I not like the taste!

So you ask, did I fall for a handsome stranger online? Maybeeeeeee...Ha, actually one of my keen-eyed friends alerted me to a suspicious looking profile on OkCupid.com which contained several of my public Facebook profile pictures. These pictures were stolen from my Facebook page and helped birth a scam OkCupid account, wtf!

I am angry, confused and disappointed with the moral fiber of people these days! Since when was the internet filled with such crazy people?! Or maybe the internet has always contained malicious creepers, but my naive self just never noticed until today...!  Now being a victim of "catfishing", what can I do? Scrub the internet clean of every photo I ever posted or every word I have written?! Must I delete all my social networking accounts to become immune to "catfishing"?  Really, what can a lowly common netizen like me do to protect myself against these online predators who use false pictures and lies to prey on unsuspecting victims? I looked up if fake accounts were illegal and it turns out fake accounts are only illegal if the pictures were used to commit a crime or as an advertisement without your consent. WOW.. So when we logged on, I guess we unwittingly signed away all our rights just to be part of this "community" known as the internet. This incident today has made me wonder: If it is that easy to make a fake profile, could there be other fake accounts of me out there?!  :(

I need some time to ponder these questions. So while I do not have all the answers right now, in the meantime, I will try my best to remove this fake OkCupid account:
http://www.okcupid.com/profile/julieanneful/photos?cf=profile

Whoever you are-"Julieanneful"- you better watch out, for the Catfish Catcher is closing in...

-Ran

I am listening to:
I Monster - Who Is She?

A Sunny Weekend in Chi-Town

On the way to Wells Street Art Festival

Art Festival in Old Town

Lincoln Park

A walk by the river in Streeterville

My handsome boy <3

River Walk Chi Town