Re: Do I have to do homework if I study abroad?

Monday, August 12th, 2019

Copenhagen, Denmark 

Welcome to new readers, and welcome back to the old! I am off on a semester-length study abroad in Copenhagen, and will probably be posting about once a week AKA way more regularly than usual. Grady, Mom, and Dad all came with to drop me off, and squeeze in one last summer vacation. I'm trying to keep my emotions under control because I don't want to be the one girl that first, brings her parents, and then second, bawls the entire day. No 21-year-old cry baby antics hopefully... Friend goodbyes were hard enough! But I'm holding it in. Emotions on a tight leash. I'm okay. I'm okay. (I'm still gonna cry though) 

Grady and I at our hotel in Copenhagen

Now I'm going to be straight with you, it's day one, and not much has happened yet. I haven't moved in or met with anyone from the program. We just flew in today and got some pizza. But I thought I'd give you the low down and answer some FAQs. 

Why aren't you going to Paris? 

This is actually one of the first questions I get asked because I am a French major and have spoken french since kindergarten. The answer is, I would love to spend a semester in Paris or somewhere else in France, but I have other opportunities in the future to spend an extended amount of time there, and I already spent a month there in J term. So not Paris this time but it's one of my great loves I suspect you'll get another Paris post in the near future.  

Why Copenhagen? What are you studying, if not French? 

I chose Copenhagen for a few reasons. First, because I knew they had a really strong media and communications program. I'm a media minor at St. Olaf College, and their media program is growing, but pretty small. It's not offered as a major. So I thought I could get some more experience elsewhere. Second, because my family on both my dad and mom's side is from Denmark. I'm trying to make great-grandma Pete and great-grandma Ida proud! Plus, Frida, my lovely third-cousin-once-removed (stop trying to do the math there) lives in town. 

How long are you gone? 

Oh, I don't know I don't have my return ticket yet. Let's see how much I like it here and I'll play it by ear. (But probably mid-December) 

What university are you at? 

I am actually here through a really popular study abroad program called DIS, and they have their own campus. Classes are Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, and Wednesday is set aside for "field study" because the classes here are pretty experiential. #FieldTrip! Each applying student selects a core course, which is their academic Homebase for the year, and with that group, you take two study tours, one to Sweden and one that is course-specific (mine's Brussels!) 

Where are you living? 

I'm living in something called an LLC or Living Learning Community, which is a cohort of DIS students all living in the same house, and each house is themed. I'm in the Arts house! You do different activities and outings with your housemates. I'll post some pics when I have them. 

Could you do a homestay?

Ya, I could have chosen a homestay. DIS actually has like, 6 different housing options. But I might have been commuting 70min each way from school, and that didn't sound like very much fun to me. I wanted to be able to go out with friends (here's to hoping I make a few! *cheers*) without having to stress about catching the last bus home. My LLC is pretty close to central Copenhagen and only a 12min walk from the DIS campus. 

How will you meet locals then? 

I don't have a homestay, but I DO have a visiting host family. This means that I don't live with them, but we will have dinner or go on an outing or two each month. My host family is a mom, Mette, with two boys, Christian, 15, and Viggo, 12. They've already invited me over to dinner and I am so excited to meet them! And of course, I can't wait to see Frida and meet a few of her friends. 

Despite my slightly misleading first paragraph about crying, I am so excited for this adventure. The first few days might be a little emosh (Grandma "emosh" is short for emotional) but then we'll be just fine over here. Denmark IS the happiest country in the world, after all. I wanted to take a second to thank my mom and dad for helping make this possible, and thank all the people who have offered me advice and well-wishes and support going into this semester! Thank you thank you I couldn't do this without you!

Talk to you all soon, 

Cristiana