Eating Pastries and Loving a Country Most People have Never Heard of Past Review

By A student (Social Work., The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 05/22/2013 to 07/05/2013 with

DIS Copenhagen: Semester

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I learned that the American way is not always the right way - that there are some areas that America really needs to improve on that other countries are doing really well. It was definitely worthwhile to realize that there are cultures where you can leave your baby out on the sidewalk while you shop inside a store and you don't have to worry about crazy psychos stealing him or her. Overall, I gained a new perspective on many aspects of life that I wouldn't have gained without venturing out of the US.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	None

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I learned a lot from both classes and loved how DIS really integrated Copenhagen and the rest of Europe into the course material
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	DIS did a good job of taking care of each student and as far as I saw, everything ran smoothly
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	The housing was fairly standard, although I liked how students were spread across Copenhagen. The roommate pairing could have been better.
* Food:	Food was not provided in our housing and eating in Copenhagen soon became very expensive. Additionally, it was difficult to find "authentic Danish food" - I mostly ate international food similar to what you would find in the US
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	It was very difficult to meet Danes and truly integrate into the culture, especially given the fairly short amount of time. I got to know the city of Copenhagen but not really the culture.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I never felt unsafe in Copenhagen; this is not to say that I didn't have to be smart and use my head but the city is overall very much more safe and trustworthy than the US and other European cities.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget? (1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)	Copenhagen was an extremely expensive city, although I knew that going into the program
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	$100-200
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Avoid eating out as much as possible, since Danish cuisine is not that different from the US. If you do eat out, try smaller meals like the hot dogs, pastries, sandwiches, etc. Bring toiletries and that type of stuff from home, instead of buying it in Denmark.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?	0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	The variety and topics of the classes How they take care of pretty much all aspects - housing, transportation, etc. The study tours being part of the classes
* What could be improved?	More ways to get to know all the students in the program More emphasis on the Danish buddy program More adventure tours that didn't focus on outdoorsy things
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Try not to compare your experience with other people's experiences - each person is different and each program is different and each country is different. Especially given the shorter length of time, I sometimes felt that I wasn't doing enough "cool stuff" or taking advantage of Europe enough, which may have been true but I also was comparing myself to my friends. I should have realized that I'm my own person and what I'm getting out of a study abroad experience isn't going to be identical to what my friends are getting out of it.

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.	The Academic or Linguist You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Genocide and the Holocaust
Course Department:	Sociology
Instructor:	Torben Jorgensen
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Human Trafficking in a Global Context
Course Department:	Sociology
Instructor:	Anne Brandt Christensen
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:
Credit Transfer Issues: