Submitted by Mia Eisendorf on the 2018 fall semester DIS program in Copenhagen, Denmark…
A big reason that I wanted to study abroad was to immerse myself in another culture and meet people completely different from myself. However, I have found it challenging so far to do that here in Denmark, since I am surrounded by other American students a lot of the time (in and around class). I do have a Danish host family, which is a great way to get close to a few local people and see how they live, but I feel like it’s hard to meet anyone else outside of that. People here don’t socialize as much with strangers in public; they tend to keep to themselves more. So I’m currently trying to find ways to connect with some more Danish people my age!
I am still having a great time with the friends I’ve made within my program. We have been walking around the city a lot and keep finding more and more cool places. I want to keep discovering new areas outside of the city center, but I’m also excited to take this weekend to relax a bit. After walking around so much every day, I could definitely use a day to rest.
One big thing that happened this week is that I finally rented a bike! It’s such a big part of Danish life that everyone highly suggests getting one. The place I was renting from had run out, so I had to wait, but I was also debating with myself. The idea of biking to and from class in Copenhagen was (and still is) slightly terrifying, since I’m not used to biking with traffic and with all these advanced bikers – it’s pretty intimidating. Today, I biked to a field study for my photography class, which ended with my bike breaking and having to get repaired… so we’ll try again at some point soon and see how that goes. But I did take the first step!
