Copenhagen: safe, beautiful, but expensive and cold! Past Review

By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/12/2019 to 05/10/2019 with

DIS Copenhagen: Semester

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

I am very thankful for my experience abroad, everyone should go if they have the chance! Copenhagen is an incredible city, I just found the workload difficult as my priority was to travel.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?
* Food:
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes I am very thankful for the friends I made in Copenhagen and that's why I replied yes to the above question. Despite of this, I underestimated how much traveling was important to me. If I thought this through more, I would have studied abroad in Prague where it is cheaper and more central to travel to and fro places.

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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	300-500 if traveling.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	You probably should not go to Copenhagen if you want to save money. Everything is expensive.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the 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
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	Advanced Spanish course at Midd, over 300.
How many hours per day did you use the language?	0
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants?	Living with a host family is the best way to absorb the Danish language.

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	Local Students Americans International Students
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?	Housing Safety
* What could be improved?	I loved my housing, but it would have been better if it was centrally located.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish I knew how expensive the city is.

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 Outright Urbanite A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Competing Narratives: Modern European History
Course Department:	History
Instructor:	Thorsten Wagner
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This was a great class and and advanced level course about European history. It was considerably challenging with large reading assignments and participation expectations.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Danish
Course Department:	Language
Instructor:	Charlotte Beuck
Instruction Language:	Danish/ English
Comments:	Charlotte is a lovely teacher and I enjoyed taking this class. As a Spanish minor, however, I do not think it should be required to take this course. I feel like it is somewhat a waste to take Danish for one semester, as you just forget the little you've learned. It would have been more meaningful to take another class in English.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Nordic Noir: Crime Fiction, TV Series, a, and Film
Course Department:	English
Instructor:	Janis Granger
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I took this class as Nordic Noir is very popular in Scandinavia, and I wanted to learn more and read these texts while living in Copenhagen. To my dismay, this teacher seemed to operate as if no one was taking this class because they were interested. As a result, I found her teaching style disorganized, almost negative at times, and as if she wanted to put down students, including myself, for their apparently incorrect and bad analyses of crime fiction, when she never taught us how to do it. .
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Meaning of Style
Course Department:	Fashion Studies/ History
Instructor:	Moussa Jonsson
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Moussa is an incredible teacher and I loved taking this class. We focused on the history of fashion and as a history major, I loved learning about fashion under the lense of history. Great class!
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	The Philosophy of Religion After the Death of God
Course Department:	Religion
Instructor:	Brian Sonderquist
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This class met once a week for three hours at Copenhagen University. I enjoyed taking a class in a different environment outside of DIS. It felt more authentic as I could interact with students from all around Europe. While a three hour religion/ philosophy class seemed daunting at first, as we were required to complete a 20 page final assignment, Brian's ability to foster a non-intimidating class environment in the midst of reading texts by Kirkegaard and Kant, for example, was refreshing and actually fun.
Credit Transfer Issues: