Happy Hygge

After a quick trip to Tiger to pick up all of my notebooks and pens, I can officially say I’m back in Student Mode©️. Classes began last Thursday, and so far I’m really enjoying them. My core course is New Media and Changing Communities, and so far we’ve done a lot of hands on, collaborative activities that have been really fun – yesterday we built Lego towers to represent our different views on how media shapes the world! This is the class that I’ll be traveling to Sweden and Dublin with, so I think it’s great that we’re starting off with a lot of fun group work so we can all get to know each other.

I’m taking two classes for my Women’s Studies minor – Human Trafficking in a Global Context, and Pornography in Scandinavia. My HT professor is VERY cool. She is like the definition of Danish Chic – she is a human rights lawyer who has her own law firm and represents people who have been trafficked for free if they get in trouble with the law. I think our whole class is enamored with her. But I have to say my Pornography class has probably been my favorite so far. The curriculum for that course is SO interesting and totally brand-new to me. She gave us a study to read the other day about understanding reciprocity in heterosex; it was the weirdest thing I have ever read for a class, but I loved it.

I’m also taking Glued to the Set, which seems like a really interesting look at European & American television (I only have this class once a week, so this is the only class that I haven’t spent very much time in so far). I already have a presentation tomorrow about a TV show that changed my life, and doing an academic presentation on GLEE is like a dream come true for me. My other class is the Danish Language & Culture class, and I LOVE my professor, she is clearly enthusiastic and passionate about the class, but is also very patient! Pronunciation is HARD. I’m learning how to count and describe myself in Danish though, which is definitely something I never thought I’d know how to do!!

My dad came to visit me last weekend after being in London on business. It was really nice to him again, but I think seeing him made me feel a little more homesick than I was before! I’ve been having a very smooth transition, and I’m happy that I already have some friends that I can turn to and do fun things with to distract myself (case in point: our Bachelor viewing parties… can y’all BELIEVE Corrine got a rose??)

My dad and I went to the National Museum of Denmark (GREAT history museum if you’re into that, which my dad definitely is), the Glass Markets for lunch, and the changing of the guards at the Queen’s palace, so it was a busy day!! The Women’s March was also on Saturday, and I was so happy that there was a march here in Copenhagen! It was a very proud day – I didn’t march, but we caught a glimpse of all the women around Christiansborg in the afternoon. An important day in American history, and I was glad to not feel left out of it by being in Copenhagen.

Well, we’re here! Everything was smooth sailing on the trip over, and now I’m living in the beautiful city of Copenhagen. It still feels very surreal, but I could not be more excited about the coming weeks here!

I usually hate the “orientation” phase of beginning someplace new, but the past few days haven’t been boring at all! We’ve had a lot of time to explore our surroundings and get used to the city, in big groups and on our own. I’m living in the Performative City LLC, and I absolutely love it so far. I live with 11 people, 9 girls + 1 boy + 1 SRA. I feel like we skipped past all the uncomfortable small talk and are already at the exciting part of having new friends, where every story you have is a new story and you get to discover all the things you have in common. We’ve already coordinated a Bachelor viewing party for tonight – last week’s episode was “To Be Continued”! We can’t miss the rose ceremony!!

My roommate, Jess, is a full year student, so she already knows a lot about Copenhagen which is EXTREMELY HELPFUL. She has taught me everything I know about the city busses, the metro, the train, renting bikes, local bars/restaurants, how to pronounce basic Danish words… she’s been the real MVP this week. Nothing has been too confusing (if you’re used to commuting in a city, it’s a pretty similar experience), but it’s nice to have someone to save you when you’re on the verge of embarrassing yourself.

(above: Lindsey, Jess, Sydney, me, and Anna out and about)

I’m really happy with my housing – not only is the dorm itself beautiful, but I love living in a small community like this. The house is really structured, with chores charts and weekly meetings/activities, which I really like because it forces me to stay engaged and help me get the most out of my short time here.

The only thing that’s been really messing me up is the jet lag – I just can’t seem to catch up on my sleep! Today has been the chillest day so far, but tomorrow is Academic Orientation so it’s another busy one. I’m glad I’m not just sleeping my days away, but I definitely need to take a few more naps before my internal clock will be caught up!!

Copenhagen is gorgeous and colorful and wonderful. I’ve never traveled without my family, and exploring with students my own age has been so much fun. Right around the corner of my dorm is the Round Tower (Rundetaarn) where you can catch a glimpse of all of Copenhagen. Also inside the tower is the Museum of Broken Relationships, a totally fascinating exhibit full of artifacts from relationships that have ended (as seen on The Bachelor last week… so topical!) Here’s an overlook of Købehavn from the top!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

So here’s how I chose Copenhagen:

In 2016, my New Year’s resolution was to BE UNCOMFORTABLE. There’s this expression, something like “life begins where your comfort zone ends,” and I decided to try and embrace that by purposefully putting myself in situations that would make me feel insecure and vulnerable.

As a result, 2016 turned out to be a monumental year for me. I auditioned for my school’s sketch comedy group on a whim and made it – now, they are a group of my best friends and sketch practice is the best part of my week. I shaved my head (!!!), something I had been considering doing for years but never had the courage to commit to. I went on a summer service project to Mississippi, which was honestly the most challenging and draining experience of my life.

Every time I tried something new, whether I succeeded or failed, felt good – I had never considered myself to be unadventurous, but I loved the feeling of pursuing life. There were things to learn everyday.

I’ve always wanted to study abroad, but I had never given any real thought to where I would go. When my junior year started to roll around, I just found myself saying “London” when people asked where I was going, because that’s where my friends were going/Fordham has a school there/everyone speaks English, etc etc etc. I was excited by the idea of studying in London, because I had been there before and I loved it. I knew there was nothing to be afraid of; it was already conquered terrain.

Realizing that changed everything. Upon realizing that, that going to London would be fun and adventurous and life-changing, but not deeply and truly CHALLENGING, I knew I needed a new plan.

Copenhagen was the first city that came to mind. I knew that it was gorgeous, that they had an interesting culture surrounding my two main topics of study (Film/TV and Gender Studies), and I’d never been. I did more research and fell in love with DIS’s program, which had everything I wanted in a study abroad experience and more. The rest, as they say, is history.

I know that I’ve made a good choice – I’m yet to meet anyone who has something bad to say about Copenhagen. Everyone I know has a friend/sibling/cousin who has visited/studied/lived in Copenhagen and they ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!!!!!! However, the aggressively positive response I’ve gotten makes me naturally skeptical. I want to absolutely love it there. In many ways I expect to absolutely love it, or else I wouldn’t have applied. But at the same time, I have plenty to be nervous about. I’ve been reading books about Denmark (current read: The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell) and studying Duolingo vocab everyday, but it’s still impossible to visualize exactly what it’s going to be like. I have to pack light and leave the comforts of home behind. I am a notoriously picky eater and I’m unfamiliar with Danish cuisine. I have never been away from home for more than two or three weeks at a time.

As I write this, I am only a week away from departure, and everything I do feels like a panic THIS-COULD-BE-THE-LAST-TIME-I-DO-THIS-THING-FOR-FOUR-MONTHS!!!! moment. Part of me knows that every feeling of anxiety and uncertainty is good, it’s healthy, it prepares me for the future, but also part of me feels like being uncomfortable was 2016’s problem! New year new me! Why am I still doing this to myself!!!!

I am excited/anxious/so ready/unprepared, I definitely need to buy a new pair of winter boots before I leave, and everything is about to change!! It’s going to be chaotic and wonderful!! I can’t wait to read this in four months and say silly Colleen, there was never anything to be worried about!