FIRST WEEK IN COPENHAGEN

GLYPTOTEK

On Tuesday's the museum is free!

I’ve officially been in Copenhagen for a week, it’s been a whirlwind. It feels like I’ve been here for months, and yet I still can’t believe this is my new home for the next four months.

After arriving in Copenhagen, a DIS bus drove us to our residential community. Mine is in Nørrebro, a quaint yet fun neighborhood in the north of Copenhagen. It’s about a 10-minute bus ride to DIS.

I live in a residential community with 30 DIS students, we’re separated into five apartments with six people each. The first day all I could focus on was unpacking and not falling asleep. After this, I spent the next few days exploring Nørrebro with my flatmates during our neighborhood scavenger hunt, figuring out public transportation, and walking around City Center, where DIS is located.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

Walking around and exploring has probably been one of my favorite parts of being in Copenhagen. Most of the time I don’t have a set destination or plan.

After class one day, my friend and I walked down Strøget, the longest world shopping street. We were surprised by the Royal Guards music band marching down the street during the daily changing of the guards.

Another day, we decided to walk down to Nyhavn, the canal with colorful houses that shows up whenever anyone looks up Copenhagen. Going to class in such a central area has allowed me to discover a new part of the city every day. After going to Nyhavn, I walked to the famous trampolines and ended up at the Black Diamond, Copenhagen’s library, and my new favorite study spot.

Getting to know so many new people has been a huge highlight this week. While at times it can feel overwhelming and like I’m back to freshman year of college, I’ve also had a lot of fun meeting so many people. From my roommates to people in my classes, it’s been awesome to be surrounded by a completely new group of people than I’m used to.

THE LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Culture shock is very real. Throughout the next few months, I’ll be taking note of my experiences and giving my advice. While I absolutely can’t generalize an entire culture based on a few interactions, there are a few things I’ve noticed in the past few days that can lessen the shock if you’re aware of them.

I’ve always said the biggest cultural experience you can have in a new city is going to the grocery store. With every trip to Netto, I slowly realize different parts of the Danish culture.

For example, don’t buy a ton of food. A lot of Danish people get food for that day only. Also make sure to take reusable bags with you, not only do plastic bags cost money, but they’re also terrible for the environment.

While public transportation in Copenhagen is incredibly organized and not too difficult to get the hang of, I’ve already gotten lost a few times. Figuring out the right direction to go in and deciphering the pronunciation of the stops has taken a bit to understand. Google Maps has become my new best friend and I highly recommend having it downloaded before arriving in Copenhagen.

Missing home. This is a weird one. I think everyone does a great job of talking about the amazing parts of being abroad. And while there is no shortage of that, it’s also important, to be frank, and transparent. Not everything is great all the time and it’s ok to feel off, tired, sad, or homesick.

I definitely miss my friends and family, the comfort of being in a familiar place, hearing a language I understand, and hanging out with people who fully know me. Going to a new country is a huge change and doing it alone doesn’t make it any easier. My biggest advice is to talk about it with the people you trust and love and let yourself feel sad at times.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in people’s Instagram highlight reels. But just because people look happy or post about their amazing time abroad, does not take away from the fact that they can be homesick and sad. For the next few months, I’m going to try my best to be completely frank about how I’m feeling.

This week has been overwhelmingly positive and so much fun, but as the week is coming to an end I’m starting to really miss home. I think this is a natural part of going abroad, and keeping it to myself would only do me a disservice.

Writing all this out has been incredibly therapeutic and I’m excited to have it so I can look back on it after this experience ends. I’m so excited to take on the challenge of studying abroad and getting to experience life in a new country and culture!

Hej Hej for now!