I am an American.
For the past 21 years, I have lived among people with a very similar culture to my own. Of course the U.S. is pretty diverse and every family differs in regards to specific holiday celebrations, family dynamics, and other elements of life, but overall almost everyone I've interacted with has lived a lifestyle influenced by American norms. Up until this point, my cultural identity has never been put into another context (at least for a very long period of time). That is all about to change because, as I'm sure you are aware of if you are on this blog, I am moving to DENMARK.
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Do you know what today is?!
The very first thing I did when I woke up this morning was to check my email. This is not a regular routine - I typically have coffee and breakfast and stay in bed for about a half hour trying to calculate how many times I can click snooze before actually getting up, but today was different because today we got our HOUSING ASSIGNMENTS! DIS really likes to build the suspense by not telling us where we are living until ten days before we arrive in Copenhagen. This is because they read through all housing essays to match students with the option that best suits them. While that is really special and ensures everybody has the best possible experience living abroad, it does take longer and I have been anxiously awaiting the news for months now. Which sweater is better?
With two weeks to go until I leave the country, I can no longer convince myself that it is possible to procrastinate just a little longer, in favor of binge watching Criminal Minds on Netflix. And so commences my packing-induced confusion and panic, wondering how can I possibly fit all my giant, fluffy sweaters into one suitcase? After a thorough google search, many former students of study abroad (and general world travellers) have provided me with the answer: I can't. That is not the answer I was looking for, but it can be difficult to satisfy your confirmation bias when no confirmation is provided at all Is this real life?
Three weeks from tomorrow, I will be crossing the ocean and moving to Denmark for four months. For what felt like the longest time, I browsed through different programs, stalked Pinterest boards offering endless study abroad tips, and made tons of lists of the places I would visit, trying to find the perfect program for me. I finally found DIS, but even as I made my way through the application process and post-acceptance materials, it never fully hit me that I would be leaving Rochester and living in a foreign country for an entire semester. As I deal with the final details of packing, finances, health, and all that exciting stuff, it's becoming more and more real, but I honestly don't know if it will fully hit me until the plane lands in the Copenhagen airport. |
Hi Everyone!I'm Lydia, a 21 year old college student studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark for the spring 2017 semester. I'm excited to spend the next few months adventuring around Europe, and it'll all be documented here! Feel free to look around. Archives
June 2017
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