Letters from Abroad Home is in CPH

While listening to DAMN, Kendrick Lamar’s new album (a must listen for all) I write this on a bus heading to the city of San Sebastián in the Galicia region of Spain. San Sebastián is on the coast, and I cannot wait for all the Vitamin D, something very precious in Denmark. Because Copenhagen is so north, during the winter the sun sets in mid-afternoon and in the summer near midnight. Right now, we have about 15 hours of sunlight but it’s still quite chilly so the jackets and pants are the move.

Living in CPH (Copenhagen) has been awesome. It’s one of the safest cities around and the Danes I’ve met are friendly and open-minded. The city of Copenhagen is quite small and quaint, perfect for wandering in and out of shops on a lazy afternoon. I’ve been living in Denmark for just over 3 months now and I wish I could stay for a couple years! Word on the street is it takes years to find a place to live in CPH, so the opportunity to study here is incredible. I live in a Kollegium which is a dorm like structure, with all the rooms being single apartments. Kollegiums are where most Danish university students live, so it’s really cool to live in a spot with “locals” (many students come from outside CPH) and other foreign students.

Studying abroad in Europe has the wonderful advantage of easy, and quick travel, which means you get see so much culture! No matter where you decide to go, there is loads of history, beautiful sceneries and lovely people to be experienced. It’s not a bad problem to have to decide which countries to visit on vacation. With all the travel breaks our program (DIS) gives us along with my classes, I have become at least 40 times more knowledgeable about Europe and the world. I study politics and culture (anthropology) on campus and abroad. Taking classes in these disciplines abroad has broadened my USA educated mind, for the better. To be quite frank, I didn’t even know the geography of Europe before going to Denmark. That didn’t seem strange to me because I wasn’t from that area nor did I visit it often. Having a global perspective doesn’t necessarily mean you have to travel the world, just knowing about it; but traveling sure does help.