A Semester of "Hygge"! June 10, 2023

By Ava S (Psychology, Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/16/2023 to 05/13/2023 with

DIS Copenhagen: Semester

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

One of the most worthwhile things I learned while studying abroad was how to fully function (cook for myself, find a healthy routine, balance work and social things) in a busy city. Also managing my time with traveling and schoolwork took some getting used to, but once I found a routine that worked for me, I was having an amazing time.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I think that the rigor of DIS does not compare to Middlebury, which was nice to take a break from the competitive academic climate of Middlebury.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	DIS was incredibly organized, especially in planning our short and long study tours with my Core Course. It made the experience of traveling with my class and teacher very special.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I was placed 30 minutes outside of the city, with a borderline unsanitary bathroom. While my roommate and I got along super well, we were both underwhelmed by the living quarters. Furthermore, we had signed up for the "Residential Community" housing option, hoping to forge new friendships with our flatmates. However, because each room was a two-person mini apartment, the layout was not conducive to making friends with the people who lived around us.
* Food:
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Danish culture, especially in the winter, is very reserved. This took some time to get used to but after a while I warmed up to the culture.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	Copenhagen is incredibly safe, I rarely, if ever, felt unsafe my entire time living in Copenhagen.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes DIS is a super well-organized study abroad program. The classroom buildings are located right in the center of the city which makes it fun to walk around between and after classes. Furthermore, the Study Tours with my Core Class were so well-executed and I loved every minute of them. All in all, DIS is a really great study abroad program and I would highly recommend it to students hoping to study abroad.

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 is an incredibly expensive city, and even if you are putting in a conscious effort to budget your money, it is challenging to do so just given how expensive baseline goods are, not to mention food/drinks/etc
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Keep track of your expenses! It's easy to get lost in the excitement of shopping/eating/going out while abroad, but it really pays off to keep close tabs on your spending, especially in a city as expensive as Copenhagen.

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?	None
How many hours per day did you use the language?
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants?	Listen to the language you are studying in tv shows, movies, or youtube videos (with English subtitles). This will really help your comprehension skills as well as just familiarizing yourself with the 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	Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Traveling with Core Class Field Trips Reffen!
* What could be improved?	Housing More city tours Budgeting tips
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I think one of my biggest challenges while studying in Copenhagen was managing my budget. I wish I had known how expensive the city is so I could come in with more realistic expectations with my spending.

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:	Danish Language and Culture I
Course Department:	Danish
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This class was incredibly challenging. Given that nobody in the class had ever spoken or studied Danish before, the way in which the language was taught was not very conducive to our learning. I found the assignments incredibly challenging for a beginning language course... especially Danish which is a very hard language to pick up on.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Cyberpsychology
Course Department:	Psychology
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I absolutely loved this class and our wonderful teacher. I found her lectures very engaging, and our assignments enriching. Furthermore, getting the opportunity to travel to Amsterdam with our class was so incredible, as served as a great supplement to the content we were learning in the classroom. We were assessed based on our weekly reflections, participation, and a final presentation.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Anthropology of Food
Course Department:	Anthropology, Environmental Studies, Food Politics
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I found this class to be very interesting. The instructor designed the assignments to ensure we understood the theories behind what we were analyzing. So we had a few papers, and then one final TED talk. I really enjoyed the content of this course and would highly recommend to anybody interested in the course.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Postcolonial Europe: Narratives, Nationalism, and Race
Course Department:	Literature, History, Anthropology
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I would give this course a ten star rating if I could. "Postcolonial Europe: Narratives, Nationalism, and Race" was by far my favorite class I took while abroad with DIS. Not only were the instructors incredibly smart and interesting lecturers, but the content of the course was super relevant to our everyday living in Denmark. The class basically uncovered a legacy of Danish colonialism highly covered up by social/political dialogues in the country. We had many field trips to various museums, art galleries, and movie screenings which were all very interesting and really stimulated my learning.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Ethical and Scientific Legacy of the Nazi Medical Crimes
Course Department:	Ethics, History, Public Health
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This class was super interesting. The instructor was a witty professor. My only piece of feedback is I wish he would have the students discuss our reading in small groups and then having a larger class discussion, versus just jumping right into individual questions in front of the whole class.
Credit Transfer Issues: