I’ve been in Copenhagen now for a good couple weeks (my one month anniversary is coming up! ) and although it was love at first sight, it has also been an adjustment process.
I’ve been really lucky to have made some really amazing friends so quickly. These girls make me laugh and it’s so heartening to know that girls from all over the world (US, Singapore, Netherlands, Germany, Canada) can have so much in common. Where my friends – also exchange students – are as clueless as I am, I’ve had my roommates Frederik and Ilyas to help fill in the gaps and expose me to Danish culture
Speaking of cultural differences, there are actually a lot of similarities between Denmark and home but also a lot of subtle differences. Beyond the obvious language difference, my life has fallen into an easy pattern that is very similar to my daily life back in Vancouver.
Cultural Adjustments:
- Coffee is expensive – easily $6/cup ! Nothing like expensive coffee to make me miss being able to grab Tim’s on the way to class every morning.
- Speaking of expensive, FOOD IS SO EXPENSIVE! Even though it isn’t expected to tip, going out is unbelievably pricey compared even to Vancouver!
- Good Asian food is so hard to find I’m already getting cravings. Missing being able to get cheap (and yummy) sushi on every corner – the fact that tofu isn’t commonly sold in grocery stores is a sin. Being vegetarian here would be pretty tough.
- People bike everywhere – I love it! It’s often faster to get places in Copenhagen by bike than by public transit (but beware the aggressive Danish bikers and know your road rules).
- Danes tend to be very polite and friendly but also shy and a bit hard-to-get-to-know in comparison to my North American counterparts. However, it seems to me that if you manage to break through the exterior, you will have some lifelong friends.
- People rush less and enjoy life more. I’m trying to adapt this into my lifestyle but it’s a daily struggle not to push my way past slow walkers in the street.
I’m also into my second week of school now and have noticed quite a few differences in the methods of teaching:
- Classes are much larger than they typically are back home. There’s only one section per course so everyone that’s taking a class is put into one lecture.
- Classes also overlap! Apparently it’s typical but I’m still getting used to running between classes.
- Campus is spread out across the city – sometimes I’ll even take the train between classes.
- Less time is spent on classwork while more time is spent on readings. Not sure how I feel about this.
- I miss UBC’s course structure quite a bit – probably because I’ve adjusted to it over the years – but it’s interesting learning from a different perspective.
Anyway, lots of love to everyone back home. I miss you like crazy but don’t worry about me – I’m loving life and adjusting to the differences…one impossible to pronounce word at a time.