I have only been in Copenhagen for a month, and I already love it so much. Because I haven’t travelled yet, I have been spending this month getting closer with new friends, and getting to know this amazing city! I’ve lived in New York City my whole life. One of the things I love most about it is that, once you know the city well enough, you can feel completely at home in a place that would feel large and intimidating to someone who doesn’t know it. And after a month of getting used to the metro and learning how important it is not to jaywalk here - because you will get hit by a bicycle! - I am starting to get that same NYC feeling in Copenhagen!
I am also really enjoying all my classes this semester, because of both the subjects and the teaching style of my professors. Professors here want their students to feel equal to them, so classes are much more casual and lighthearted, which makes learning about subjects that I am new to really enjoyable. I have been particularly out of my comfort zone in my art and Danish classes, but I am also learning the most in those classes because I am such a beginner. For most of my time in college thus far, I have been focusing on particular subjects and gaining in-depth knowledge about them. It’s been really refreshing to learn so much in such a short amount of time about things that are completely new to me. One of my favorite school days so far has been going to Telia Parken, the home stadium of FC Copenhagen with my “The Beautiful Game: Soccer in Contemporary Art and Culture” class and getting a full tour!
Over the weekends, my friends as I have been doing touristy activities around the Copenhagen area. So far I have been able to see three beautiful castles, take a day trip to Malmö, Sweden (the home of Zlatan Ibrahimović!), and have delicious gelato and pastries in different neighborhoods. Earlier this week I spent three days in Aarhus, a city in northern Denmark with my core course “Medical Practice and Policy.” In Aarhus we visited museums and talked to different doctors about the Danish health care system and how it compares to that of the United States. We visited a general practitioner, a psychiatrist, and a surgeon. It was inspiring to see how passionate each of these doctors were about improving the health of their patients and intriguing to learn about some of the things the Danish health care system does differently than the US.
This coming month my classes will start to pick up even more, and I’ll be traveling for a week to Budapest and Vienna with my “Medical Practice and Policy” class. I’m also looking forward to traveling with my friends in Europe for the first time and seeing a few soccer games!
Willa In Denmark
