Hej!
So this has been a very...interesting week. The United States Presidential Election happened. I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about the results. There is a myriad of reasons why they were disappointing to me, but the one positive that I see coming from all of this is that so many people have responded by taking a stand of solidarity, and overall making it their mission to love. People fight and disagree about so many things, and it’s so easy to let a spirit of divisiveness into our communities. But I think we can all agree that love and family is the most important thing in the world. When I first came to Denmark to study abroad, I wanted to see how I could find those things here in this country. So Iet’s take a look at where I found them this week in Copenhagen. So this past Monday, as I’ve been doing most Mondays this semester, I went to a dinner/bible study at the ICC Church House. It’s so nice to have a good, small community of people that I can share a meal with every Monday. We can get so busy sometimes, and we all might have hectic weeks ahead of us, but this is a time when we can all sit down and just enjoy each other’s company for a little bit. We’re not all DIS students, so this is the only regular time I see many people in this group, so I’m really glad that when we all get there, the first thing we do is eat together and catch up. There are always candles lit which makes a nice atmosphere. Participating in a bible study abroad is also really cool because we are all such different people. We are a range of ages, from a range of different countries, and a lot of different backgrounds. But we are all united in our faith and a love of Jesus Christ, and that connection is powerful and amazing. I know that it’s much easier to notice the ways that people are different from us, because differences stand out. It’s much more incredible, however, to think about the ways we are the same, the things that connect us in spite of our differences. I have this connection to people I couldn’t have even imagined myself meeting just a few months ago. After our time here, we are going to go in so many different directions. Yet we have shared meals together. We have talked about our faiths, and our understanding of God in our lives. And we will forever be connected by four months together in Copenhagen. There was nothing extra special about our time this past Monday, but this week I’ve really reflected on how much I like spending my Monday evenings this way. I’ve made good friends, eaten good food, and learned many things. The semester is quickly coming to a close, and I only have a few Mondays left of the semester. I’m looking forward to making them count. I’ve also been talking a lot with friends, both here and back home. The nice thing about being in a study abroad program with other American students is that when hard things happen back home, you know where to find other people who understand exactly how you’re feeling. The entire time I’ve been here people have been asking about the presidential election. Non-Americans are interested, not only because of the media circus this election has been, but because the results do impact people outside of the United States. Still, it’s a little bit tiring talking to Danes about it. I feel like I’ve had to be able to explain my own political views, explain and defend why we had the candidates we did, and give a lesson on American politics and how things work. With my fellow American friends, however, I know if they ask me about the election, they are really just asking how I’m doing and offering support if I need it. This week I’ve been really glad to have other American students abroad with me. I’ve also been really glad that modern technology allows me to keep in contact with my friends from home as well. I’ve gotten to talk with friends and send one another messages of love. I also finalized plans this week for visiting my best friend later this month, which I am so excited for. She’s studying abroad in Edinburgh, so I can’t wait to share my Scotland adventures with you guys. I’m so grateful that I have such amazing friends. I’m glad that I made new ones while studying abroad. Building a support network with other study abroad students is so important when you go abroad. My fellow study abroad classmates are the only ones who understand what it’s like to be in a foreign country during Fall of 2016, and those are the people to turn to when you don’t want to explain yourself or justify your feelings - you just want to be. There are definitely both pros and cons to studying abroad in a school for only students from American colleges, but I think I’m pretty glad for it right now. If I were to describe this week as having a theme, it would definitely be family. Of course I talked a lot with my mom and my sister after the results of the election. Despite the bucket of crazy that’s probably awaiting me when I get back to the States, a large part of me can’t wait to be home just so I can see my mom. I miss curling up on her bed and invading her personal space. Thank God for Facetime, because I’ve had the chance to talk to her as face to face as you can get while being on two separate continents, and it’s been awesome. She even got to say hello to two out of three of my host siblings. When I wasn’t talking with my family at home, I was experiencing being a part of my family here in Denmark. I’ve had a couple of good conversations with my host parents, talking about all sorts of things. I’ve played a lot with my host siblings. Three year old Ellinor likes to come into my room, turn off all the lights, and play hide-and-seek. There aren’t really many places to hide in my room, and she literally hides in the same exact spot every time, but she really enjoys it and her reaction every time I find her makes it a lot of fun for me as well. Yesterday in particular was a good day for experiencing “hygge” with family and friends as I went with my host family to two different birthday parties. The first was for a six year old boy, a friend of the family. After eating some food and cake we went to the skate park to run around on our scooters, bikes, and roller blades. I raced Ingrid (and lost) and Ellinor showed me how fun it is to go down the ramp while sitting on the scooter instead of standing. It was really fun, adults and kids skating around just goofing off. After that birthday we went to another one for my host dad’s cousin. I got to meet a lot of family, although there were too many of them for me to remember everybody. But everyone was really kind, and I got to play a few games with the other young adults that were there, including Disney Trivial Pursuit (my team lost, but only because we were holding back to give the other teams a chance to win, obviously). Yesterday was a really long day, but it was so much fun. It was a day that focused on the things that matter - laughter, playing, friends, family, good food, good conversation. Those have always been the most important things to me, and now more than ever I want to focus on them. At the end of the day, this is what I want to take with me from my time here in Denmark. At the end of the day, that’s what I want to find at home. That’s what I want to give to other people. Now it’s approaching Thanksgiving season. I’m happy to say that I know exactly what I have to be thankful for. Until next time, Vi ses!
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Hej, This week in Copenhagen definitely hasn't been the easiest. I wouldn't necessarily call it a bad week, because I had plenty of really good moments too. It was definitely a realization that studying abroad isn't a fairy-tale break from reality. I'm still living real life, and sometimes that means there are going to be moments that suck. Sometimes it was just the build-up of small little things, like leaving my cellphone, which had my DIS card (that nice little card that lets me into the buildings) in it, at home or getting lost when it was really important for me to get to my destination on time. Sometimes it was an intense feeling of loneliness, or this idea running through my head that I'm not doing study abroad "right" because my experience isn't looking like someone else's. Self-doubt is something that I've really been struggling with this week, but I'll share with you guys a couple of the things that helped me pull through: 1. My mother I may be far away from home, but the great thing about living in 2016 is that I can call my mother with ease whenever I need her. Just because you're abroad and focusing on experiencing where you are doesn't mean that it's not important to keep in touch with those back home. There are people here who I know will listen if I say I want to talk, and DIS has good resources if students are stressed or need to talk. But nothing beats talking to my mom, and nobody can quite understand me like she can. Sometimes you just have to break down and cry or vent to your mom, and hopefully it helps you like it did me. My study abroad advice is to definitely keep close the people who are most important to you, even if they cannot be right there beside you. 2. My faith Having a relationship with God is so important for me, especially in these moments of self-doubt. I've been so lucky that I've found a church here that has really been a blessing, especially today. It was exactly what I needed, to take this hour long pause in the middle of all of my mess and to be reminded that God is still here with me, and will be no matter what I'm going through. If faith is a part of your life, it is not something you have to give up when going abroad. God doesn't just exist solely in America. Coming here and becoming part of a faith community has not only given me a moment of pause, but also a great new group of friends from all over the world, bonded by our shared faith. It's really amazing and so helpful during tough moments (it's also a great way to break the American bubble of being a DIS student). 3. The Good Moments Just because there are bad moments doesn't mean they aren't sitting there right beside really great ones. I called this week a roller coaster of emotions because there were high points, and holding onto those moments are what's going to help me look towards the light at the end of the tunnel. So, I'll just share a few of my favorite good moments this week:
So, that's been my week in Copenhagen. Maybe not the best week, but that's okay. I'm still having an awesome time, and I'm still looking forward to so many more adventures further on. Can't wait for the next week in Copenhagen! Vi ses! Hej! So this week I actually spent a little bit of time outside of Copenhagen. One of my favorite things about DIS, and part of the reason why I chose the program, is that travel is built into the semester. There are four major travel breaks: Core Course Week, Travel Weeks 1 and 2, during one of which is your core course's Long Study Tour to another country, and then Thanksgiving break which you can use to travel or not. This past week was Core Course Week, so I'm going to share with you all of the things that made this past week really fun, an great learning opportunity, and an amazing bonding experience. It was an insanely busy week (and I'm still very tired from it), so I'll focus on a few key takeaways/favorite moments from the visits each day. Day 1 We got up bright and early to leave on the bus at 8:30 in the morning. We didn't actually leave at 8:30 however, as one of our classmates, Mark, was around forty minutes late. "Where's Mark?" was definitely a recurring theme of the trip (shoutout to Mark, aka the dad of CMC :P). Then we drove for three hours to get to our first site, Bakkeskolen, in Kolding. We got to talk to some fourth graders and help them practice their English, got a tour of the school from a few seventh graders, and then sat down with their class for a good ol' conversation about the American presidential election (because unfortunately there is no escaping it, even when you leave the country). Two main takeaways from that site: 1) Danish school's really value the child's environment as an important part of their education. Though the school was low SES, it was a very nice building with nice classrooms and relaxing lounge spaces for the students. It was interesting to see that priority 2) Though the school was labeled as an international school, neither the student body nor their curriculum met my expectations for what it means to be international or multicultural. It definitely sparked some interesting discussion in my class about what a multicultural space should be. After the school we visited Koldinghus, a royal castle from the 13th century. We got to learn a lot about its history and see some of the beautiful rooms inside it too! Day 2 Now we were in Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark. Our school for the day was Søndervangskolen, a school where 85% of students have an ethnic background other than Danish and many nationalities are represented. We got to talk to some of the students during a tour, and later during a session where we talked with them about being young in America vs being young in Denmark. My main takeaways: 1) In Denmark bilingual is often used as a synonym for not ethnically Danish. What does that mean in a country where everyone also speaks English and usually one other (Western) language? What does that mean when my fifteen year old tour guide, a Muslim boy who honestly looks more like me than an ethnic Dane would, speaks five different languages, something I wish I could do? What does it mean for these students to be minorities in Denmark? 2) In this school all students are given an iPad for use during their entire schooling. In the US, something like that might be seen in a private school where students pay a hefty tuition. Here, it was reasoned that these students should be given an iPad because they were from low SES backgrounds and were less likely to be able to afford this learning tool on their own. 3) School lunch in Denmark is significantly better than school lunch in America. While fourth grade me was eating mediocre pizza and some corn off of a plastic tray, these students were served rice and curried chicken on actual plates, and it smelled delicious! Next we went to ARoS, the art museum in Aarhus. We didn't get as much time in the museum as I would've liked (so I definitely need to plan a trip to go there again), but the exhibits I saw were amazing. It's also just such a beautifully designed museum. I'll share my favorite moments from here in picture format. For the night we stayed at a hostel, which was actually more of a really nice campsite. We ate dinner and then a few people went canoeing. Then we made a fire to make snobrød, which was literally us roasting bread on a stick. It was kind of hard to get the bread to be cooked all the way through without being burnt, but it was still a lot of fun. My cabin mates and I then spent the rest of the night watching Danish iCarly and some German soap opera about a guy we're pretty sure was an Amish pirate. Good way to end a great day. Day 3 Today was a very nature-filled day, and we started at a cool nature center that showed us a lot about how much kids can learn and benefit from being in nature. We then split into two groups to visit different schools, and I got to visit a Danish forest kindergarten. This one wasn't actually in the forest (although some actually are), but it was such as cool place. My top favorite moments from here: 1) Just watching children be free and playful. The moment we drove up we just saw a group of kids running around in nothing but their underwear, simply enjoying life. I could definitely learn a thing or two from them. 2) I got to practice my Danish with a couple of four year olds, and even though I couldn't engage in any longer conversation with any of them, I could introduce myself and learn their names. Honestly I was happy that they understood me and actually responded! After the forest kindergarten we hopped back on the bus to spend the last two days back in Copenhagen. Day 4 was just our normal practicum visits. I promise I'll do a post on that soon, but just a sneak preview to let you know how that's going: On Thursday I had to break up a fight between a couple of first graders. So...
The final day of Core Course Week was mostly a debrief, talking about all of the things that stuck with us during the tour. Some of it was the fun moments, the good food (we ate at really nice restaurants). Some of it was the problematic things we noticed in the schools, especially regarding multiculturalism. All of it was really interesting and helped me to even more shape my personal interests in child psychology. This was such an amazing week. I saw some really cool schools, saw some different places in Denmark, and I got to spend a lot more time with my classmates. I really love my CMC class, and I felt the bonds really forming during this trip. Hopefully these will be lifelong friends, even though we are all from all over the place. This was a really long post, but it was a really long week filled with lots of amazing moments. Hopefully it was interesting. I definitely can't wait for my Long Study Tour in London. For now I'll look forward to my may adventures in Copenhagen until then. Can't wait to share some more with you guys! <3 Vi ses! Hej! First of all, I would just like to say that I think I'm really beginning to get the hang of Copenhagen. I think the highlight of my week is that a couple of tourists asked me for directions, and I was actually able to help them! This is officially my city! This week was a pretty busy week for me, so I'm going to focus on the food. Before I got here, I really had no idea what to expect food wise. A part of me was afraid that Danes at nothing but raw fish all day, or something weird like that. I am happy to say that Danish cuisine is absolutely delicious, and generally very healthy. I feel like I eat so many more vegetables with my host family, which is a good thing, if unexpected. This week included several wonderful food discoveries. On Monday I went on a "Coffee Crawl" with a few new friends from Hillsong Church. We were basically introduced to a couple of really nice little coffee shops around Copenhagen. I'm not much of a coffee person, but but these places were really awesome, and one served really good coffee ice cream. Apparently it is only more recently that cafes and coffee shops became a big thing in Copenhagen, but now they are everywhere in the city. So, whether you're looking for a caffeine break or just a cool place to hang out with some friends, there are plenty of places around the city just for you. Another very important food discovery: Denmark really knows how to do pastries. Bread and baked goods are literally my reason for life, and Denmark does them so right. You cannot come here without eating a kanelsnegl, which is a cinnamon roll (or more accurately, a cinnamon snail). They taste delicious when you get them from the bakery, and they taste especially delicious when you have them home made by your host mom. My host mom, Franca, is a great cook, and I love when she makes fresh bread and other treats. Between me and my host siblings, they definitely didn't last long. Another surprisingly good place to get a kanelsnegl is at 7-Eleven. 7-Elevens in Denmark are nothing like the ones back home. Besides just looking cleaner, they seem to have a lot more items and a serious bakery section. It's a great idea if you need to make a really quick breakfast run before class. This week I also went to a couple of BBQs, both hosted by churches in Copenhagen. They were great primarily because of the company and getting to meet other students from different universities in Copenhagen (I've met people from Poland, Australia, Sweden, Macedonia, the Netherlands, and so many other places!), but they were also awesome because of amazing food. On Friday I got to eat a hot dog the Danish way, which includes ketchup, mustard, remoulade, fried onions, and pickles (though I opted out of the pickles - blegh!). I'm not sure what about it made it the best hot dog I've ever eaten, but I am completely sure that it was actually the best hot dog I've ever eaten. It must've been the remoulade, because my vegetarian friend just ate a bun with that and fried onions, and she also enjoyed it immensely. I wonder if they sell it at all in America... Not only have I been eating delicious food made by other people, but this week began my family's new weekly tradition of having me cook dinner on Thursdays. Every now and then we get a pre-planned week of recipes, so I didn't actually have to plan the meal myself. I just had to follow the recipe given to me. This is what the instructions looked like: I wasn't completely thrown to the wolves here. Franca helped me translate the ingredients beforehand and helped me to read some of the other instructions. The meal itself (chicken, potatoes, and vegetables) wasn't actually that difficult, and it ended up tasting really good. I have now added a new recipe to my repetoire, and I also now know the Danish words for onion, carrots, and oven-bake. Today was a pretty good end to a long but fun (and delicious) week. I began the morning with a Swedish apple cake/pastry, which was really good. Later we went to the circus, where the snack of choice was popcorn and fruit snacks. One of the kids' friends from school was also with us and made some more kanelsnegle for us while we were there. I will never get tired of cinnamon snails! We walked back home from the circus, which was good, because it helped to burn off some of those snails that have been accumulating in my stomach. For lunch I finally tried herring, a very Danish thing. My host parents always seem a little surprised that I'm so quick to say yes whenever they offer me something to try. I'm of the opinion that I should be willing to try almost anything at least once. Some things I won't like, like this really nasty ammonia licorice hard candy (Why do Danish people like this?). Other things, like the herring, I will like (although that's something I'd still eat more in moderation). You never know if something is good until you try, and I am happy to say that a lot of Danish foods I really do like. The day ended with a birthday party for my host dad's nephew. It was a small affair, just the family (and me), but it was really nice. Danish flags decorated the place, which is very important to do for a person's birthday here in Denmark. We ate a great dinner, involving a potato dish with bacon and a broccoli salad with bacon. Someone must've told them about my love of bacon before hand, because it felt like that meal was prepared just for me. Afterward we had cake, a delicious tart of chocolatey goodness with some berries on top, so that it looked healthier than it was. Overall it was a great time, and I got to meet a little more of the family. If there's any conclusion to this post, it's that meals are a wonderful thing to take advantage of. They are a great way to meet new people. They're a great way to get to know old friends even better, and just spend time with people. They're also a great way to push yourself to try new things. Danish food isn't as weird as I thought it would be. Some things are different, and many are the same, but I have discovered a lot of new things that I really, really like. If anyone reading this is coming to Copenhagen any time soon, explore the city and try everything you can! Until next time,
Vi ses! Hej! It's been two weeks since I've arrived here in Denmark, although it feels like it's been so much longer. I guess that means it's already really starting to feel like home. A lot has happened this week, from really starting to get into my classes, to the DIS Activities Fair, and adventures exploring Copenhagen. So here's a little bit of what I've been up to: Sunday started with the Homestay Network Jumpstart Event, which is an event for Homestay students in the same general area to get to know one another a little better. Being in a homestay is great, and I really love my host family. However, being in a homestay can be a little bit isolating. During the orientation days it definitely felt like the students living closer together in the city had already formed their friend groups. I had definitely met a lot of really nice people, but I hadn't found that group of people I could say I'd be spending most of my time with. I didn't know who I'd just go and hang out with. I feel like I've got a better sense of that now, though. First, I have some really awesome people in my core class, and I think I'll become great friends with them. I also met more people at the Jumpstart event, including Emma, who is pretty cool and doesn't actually live too far away from me. We even learned that her host brother goes to the same school as my host brother! Overall it was a fun day filled with games, food, and some new friends. Monday and Tuesday were full days of classes, and now we're really starting to dive into the material. Monday also brought about my first academic paper which is due in less than a week now. The topic is pretty interesting for me though. I'm researching and writing about different childhood theories for my CMC course. The really interesting thing that I learned in those days, however, was that it is a pretty normal thing for Danes to put ketchup on pasta. Now, this semester, I'm be conscious of trying new things and doing things as the Danes do, so I tried a taste of this pasta with ketchup. While it wasn't awful, it is definitely not the way I'd prefer to eat it. Luckily my host mom also made normal spaghetti sauce as well. Wednesday was a day of adventure for me, because I had no classes! At DIS, Wednesdays are reserved for field studies (Amen to field trips for college students!), and since those only happen on a handful of Wednesdays according to what classes you're taking, most of my Wednesdays are free to explore Denmark as I see fit. Today I spent the day with Emma and a few new friends. We started the day with breakfast at St. Peter's Bakery. I have no idea what the pastry I ate was called (luckily it was enough for me to just point at what I wanted), but I do know that it tasted delicious. Afterwards we went to the botanical gardens, which was so beautiful to walk through. There were some really cool plants, some with leaves the size of nine year old Asbjørn! There was a small pond in one part of the gardens, and when we were done exploring we just sat out on the dock and hung out a little bit. The weather was nice, the company good. That wasn't the end of my Wednesday adventure, however. After the gardens we walked to Papirøen (Paper Island) for lunch, a nice spot near Nyhavn (that place you see when you google search "Copenhagen"). We ate at Copenhagen Street Food, this amazing marketplace of food stalls with dishes from all over the world. Whether you're in the mood for Korean Barbecue, Mexican, or some traditional Danish smørrebrød, you will find what you're looking for here. I will definitely go back, probably many times this semester. After lunch, and killing a bit of time walking around H&M, we attended the DIS Activities Fair. It's basically an opportunity to see and join different clubs and extracurricular activities that DIS and Copenhagen offer. I'll share a little more about these once I officially decide what I'm going to participate in, but it was really good in helping me attempt to solidify a weekly schedule. During the Activities Fair is when I had my interview to become a DIS Blogger (spoiler alert: I was chosen as the official DIS Blogger for CDD!!!). After the fair we hung out a little at the Studenterhuset, a hang out spots for both Danish and study abroad students. It's a pretty chill place, a nice spot to just spend time with people, maybe get some work done. My Wednesday ended with a quick dinner at Max Burgers (a better version of McDonals which leaves you feeling not as guilty about eating fast food). All in all it was a great Wednesday, if a busy one. It was definitely good exercise since we basically walked everywhere, and according to Emma's Fitbit, we walked over 21,000 steps! Like I said before, I will have amazing legs when I come back from abroad.
Similar to Wednesdays, I don't have classes on Thursdays. However, I do have Practicum for CDD. I had my "first day" this Thursday, although it was more like a small orientation and figuring out my schedule for while I'm there. I got to see the school and meet a few of the teachers, and I sat down with the headmaster to figure out which classes I'll work with when I'm there. He was really nice about trying to make sure that what I was doing was tailored as much as possible to my own interests, which are basically little kids and artsy stuff. So, I'll be working with first through fifth graders in music and Danish classes. I'll have my first really involved experience in practicum starting next Thursday, so there will probably be much more to talk about then. I won't give all the small details, in order to keep the school's privacy, but who knows all of the crazy things that could happen working in a class with kids! I'm excited! My host family and I decided that it would be nice if occassionally I walked the older two, Asbjørn and Ingrid, to school in the morning, just to see what their school is like and to spend a little time with them in the morning. I did this for the first time Friday morning. The school is just a five minute walk away, so it took no time at all, even with Asbjørn being silly and trying to trick me into going the wrong direction. I got to see their classrooms, and I played a quick game of Four Square with them and some of their classmates before the bell rang. It was a nice start to the day, and after several hours of classes, I got to come home and relax with my family. We all got cozy on the couch and watched Disney shows in Danish (including Donald Duck, or "Anders And" who isn't understandable in any language). It was a great way to end a long school week. I have a good feeling that next week will be just as fun, if not better. Can't wait to share more adventures with you guys soon! Vi ses! |
AuthorOn ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. Part of my heart I'm leaving behind in the United States. Join me as I take the rest on an amazing adventure to Copenhagen, Denmark! ArchivesCategories
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