DIS: Denmark Is Super! Past Review
By A student (Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/19/2014 to 05/18/2014 with
DIS Copenhagen: Semester
The short version is that, yes, it was definitely worthwhile! I loved my weekly practicum at a local school in classrooms of 6th and 9th graders. Since that particular school was one in an area heavily populated by non-ethnically Danish people (i.e. families with origins in such places as Turkey and Pakistan), I had a really interesting first-hand perspective on the lives of immigrant youth in greater Copenhagen. I made some awesome friends through my classes, and it was so fun to be able to explore the city on foot. I also learned to appreciate the significance of ethnic diversity--despite my practicum experience, at times I was startled by how homogeneous the Danish population is, and by being a foreigner of a religious minority and a phenotype contrary to the stereotypical Dane, I often felt self-conscious. I recognize that feeling uncomfortable is part of the study abroad experience, but I didn't realize how much I had missed the presence of diversity in my life until I came home and took my first trip to the grocery store and re-encountered the American ethnic patchwork! Living with a host family was a very valuable experience. Not only did I learn a lot about Danish culture and family life, I was engaged in really interesting and memorable discussions about topics as varied as religion, nature, world history, cooking, sports, and linguistics (to name a few). My host family graciously put up with and fed my constant inquiries about the technicalities and workings of the Danish language, and provided me with opportunities to practice the language, too. On many levels we were very different people, but a lot of commonalities brought us together, too. Living the life of a commuter was simultaneously tiring, rewarding, and confidence-boosting. I loved having a neighborhood and home to call my own, and relying on trains forced me to be more careful with budgeting my time. Thanks to a lucky string of fluke events, on several occasions I was able to participate in a small music ensemble comprised of retired folk. Now I understand the old saying that "music is a universal language!!" Ironically enough, a husband-wife couple I met through that ensemble became some of the friends I cherish the most out of my time in Copenhagen. Integral to the structure of DIS programming is ample travel time, both with your class and on your own. While I know that I didn't travel as much as some of my peers, I can absolutely say that my excursions outside of Denmark were definitely among the highlights of my semester. My core class traveled together to Istanbul, where we visited many schools of all sorts (ranging from the most elite private schools to public schools in the slums) and had the chance to speak with administrators and students (and even play games on the blacktop with 2nd-graders!), and also went on fun cultural outings. I was also able to fulfill a life-long dream of a traveling to Ireland during spring break, which was absolutely incredible. I was on my own for most of that trip, which taught me a lot about myself, and definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone in a lot of healthy and rewarding ways. Something else I learned while abroad is that it's important to be flexible and patient. There were many times when I ended up needing to just go with the flow of what my host family had planned, what my teachers had scheduled for the day, and what the train schedules unexpectedly had in store at a particular moment, without questioning the reasoning behind it. I'm someone who usually relies on a predictable structure, and so needing to adapt in a moment's notice was often challenging, but also proved helpful.
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I don't recall needing any specific vaccinations for this program. I didn't have any direct experience with the Danish healthcare system (besides receiving a healthcare card, as did all DIS students), but I spoke with a fellow student who had extremely frustrating experiences with local healthcare officials. It's not my place to go into detail regarding these frustrations and interactions, but I will say that my friend said that DIS staff was supportive during these trying episodes. |
| * Safety: |
Overall, Copenhagen is a much safer city than your average American city (in fact, the city's most frequent crime is bike theft!) Central to Danish culture is independence and autonomy awarded even to very young children, and it's quite common to see kids riding trains, etc. on their own, no questions asked. Though I wasn't usually out at night past midnight (I think I might have been in the minority of DIS students), I can say that I overall felt comfortable walking from the train to my host family's house alone, as well as around the city. Danish people usually keep to themselves, and so even late at night it isn't really intimidating to run into people. Ironically, I think that the most disconcerting (safety-wise) experience I had in Copenhagen was one particular instance at about 6:30pm on a weekday night, riding my regular train route from the city out to my host family's house in the suburbs. That evening was a soccer match, and I happened to be on the same train as at least 100 (probably many more, I'm not good at estimating crowd sizes) soccer fans--I think mostly in their 20s, and nearly all male. The train was extremely tightly packed with barely any room to move, and the fans were liberally drinking beer while talking loudly, screaming (even in the designated silent cars), and banging on the windows. The train had to stop two stations before mine because of a technical problem and everyone was told to get off to wait on the platform for the next train to arrive. I was frankly very nervous with the mob-like scene that was carrying on around me during the 15 minutes or so that I stood on the platform among the soccer fans. I should note that even though the fans weren't explicitly displaying violent tendencies, the atmosphere was very intimidating and I felt vulnerable. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
Living with a host family, I was fortunate enough to not need to fend for myself in terms of basic food needs. Breakfast and dinner were automatically provided, and I was able to pack myself a lunch everyday, too (usually a sandwich and fruit/vegetables). That said, I often would supplement my packed lunch with items in the city such as additional fruit, pastries (watch out for Danish scones!!), or other snacks. Grocery stores are the cheapest places to pick up such items--avoid 7-11s if you can! DIS provides practically all students with a transportation pass that covers the cost of your trip from home to school (I think the only exception were students living right in the city center, but I wasn't ever totally clear on that). That was also a huge savings on a daily basis, since that was my main route traveled, and train tickets in Copenhagen are rather pricey. On days that I wanted to visit friends or go explore museums, etc. outside of the transportation zones my pass covered, the cost was on me. It's a good idea to get a 2-zone or 3-zone "clipcard" to have available for such excursions, since it'll save you having to buy individual tickets for each trip. If you're going far out, consider buying a 24-hour all-zone pass (I did that when I went up to Hamlet's castle in Helsingor, for example). DIS gave me and my CDD classmates a separate clipcard specifically to be used for our practicum visits, since those hours were an extension of class time every week. I can't remember the exact price, but I also remember thinking that postage stamps were surprisingly expensive. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Approximately $20 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Bring a reusable water bottle! Everyone in Denmark drinks tap water (it's so clean that people go swimming in the Copenhagen harbor!), and that makes bottled water really expensive. Many museums have days on which there's no entrance fee, so do your homework on that. Restaurants and cafes in Copenhagen are very expensive, so don't go out for meals on a regular basis. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
All of the students on the program were English-speakers, and classes were conducted in English, but my Danish teacher definitely encouraged us all to get out and apply what we were learning in class. One of the biggest bits of advice I heard all the time was to "unplug" and just listen to Danes around you on the trains and buses, etc. Between the constant stimulation of hearing my host family speak Danish and listening in on and trying to understand conversations on the train, seeing and trying to decipher roadsigns, menus, newspapers, maps, and more, going to my weekly practicum at a local school, just to name a few, were amazing ways to "tune" my ear to the Danish language. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 10+ |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Get a bike!!! I was initially too nervous about riding near cars (turns out many of the bike lanes are actually on paths entirely separate from the cars) to get a bike, but in retrospect, from my observations and from stories from my peers, it would have added so much to my experience had I rented a bike. It's so uncommon in the US to be able to get around by bicycle in the way that Danes do and can, and it's really special to observe the bikers there in action, and I'm sure so much more to try it out in person. That said, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to explore on foot and by riding the trains, since I also have had very little chances for that at home, where I constantly need to drive to get anywhere. |
