Submitted by Quinn Kirkpatrick on the 2020 spring semester DIS study abroad program in Copenhagen, Denmark…
Just short of three weeks in Copenhagen and I have a lot to reflect upon. As a UD World Scholar, I’ve been abroad before. I understand what culture shock and jet-lag are, I know the ins and outs of adjusting to a new school and living situation, however this time was a little different. Rather than being shaken up by the Danish language or confused by the very interesting shower situation in my dorm, I was surprisingly very affected by jet-lag. I assumed if I stayed up all day and slept when the Danes slept then I’d be fine, but it actually took me an entire week to sleep normally and have a normal appetite, which as one can imagine took a pretty significant toll on my health.
Due to this, I’d like to stress the importance of PACING YOURSELF. It’s everyone’s first instinct to go out and explore immediately, check out the local bars because suddenly it’s legal for you to drink, and just try everything. However, it’s incredibly important to listen to your body and understand what it needs. While I wasn’t eating or sleeping, I still wanted to spend all day walking to different monuments and go out with new people, but I decided it was best to focus on my own health first. And I’m so glad I did!
I realized that I will be here for four months, so taking a week to adjust wasn’t bad at all. I learned how to use the bus system, where to buy groceries, how to do laundry, and all of the basic things I needed to survive, while also working on getting my circadian rhythm on Danish time.
These past two weeks, I’ve been living like a classic study abroad student and enjoying the local culture! I’ve visited a royal palace, seen the Little Mermaid, had hot chocolate along the pier, been to a drag show, visited Freetown Christiania (definitely worth a google search), and so much more. It’s very easy to have fun while you’re abroad, but it’s a bit harder to recognize your needs as a college student. So for this blog entry, I’d like to give some advice to those abroad and those going abroad: take your time. Get all the boring stuff (grocery shopping, laundry, transportation, signing documents, finding your favorite study spot, finding the printer, etc.) out of the way so you can be free to spend the rest of your time abroad being able to easily balance academics, taking care of yourself, and fun very easily. Culture shock, jet-lag, and homesickness are all very real things that we like to skim over, but they can have a huge effect on your well-being if you ignore them. So have fun and be safe out there!
