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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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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