Classes

Ah classes...these are the real reason I'm going abroad, right? To study? Well, yes, I suppose so.

At DIS, there are a variety of core courses which you choose one of and along with each course are two study tours to various countries. I am taking Psychology of Happiness and my study tours will be to Western Denmark and Milan, Italy. Here is the description of this class:

What does science reveal about happiness? What are the possible pitfalls of a psychology of happiness? This course is an examination of recent psychological research in the rapidly expanding field of positive psychology. Students will explore constructs of well-being and happiness and consider the ways that positive emotions influence cognition, health, wealth, and social relationships.

Honestly, this class really is one of the main reasons I chose DIS. I get to study happiness is one of the happiest countries in the world!

Besides the main course, each student chooses multiple electives. I will be taking

Developmental Neuropsychology

20th and 21st Century Danish Architecture

Danish Language and Culture

European Urban Design Theories

At Knox I generally stick to science as much as possible, with only necessary detours to one history class and a few dance classes, but now that I have the chance I am trying to broaden my sights a little. Also, not that this reeeeeally matters, but my grades this semester won't affect my actual GPA. Finally, a chance to learn for the sake of learning. Little known fact about me...I'm awful at art. Just awful. But I adore architecture and I'm psyched that I get to take a real class in it. Now my only fear is being way out of my element while being surrounded by architecture geniuses. Hope I don't have to draw anything.

I haven't signed up for it yet, but I'm also thinking of taking a class titled Sustainability in Austrian Architecture. It's a 1-credit class that includes a study tour to Austria and Germany. I just don't think I can pass up something as awesome as that...so signing up for that might be a little Christmas present to myself.

I will know my schedule better once I get to Denmark but I do know that we don't have class on Wednesdays because some classes take field tours (field trips for college kids) around Copenhagen and Denmark. I think my Urban Designs class will have a couple of these tours.

Until I find something else to tell you about, hej hej! (in Danish, hej=hi and hej hej=bye, go figure!)

Where I'm going...and why

While the plane issue resolves itself (a.k.a. I browse through pages of possible flights and try to make a decision) I better fill you all in on the background that led up to this adventure. I never really dreamed of going abroad the way some children did...until my roommate innocently asked if I'd go with her to the Study Abroad fair. Of course I went (because I am an awesome roomie, right Emma? ;) and I was actually taken aback by how cool the programs looked, especially the ones where I wouldn't have to learn another language. I would absolutely love to be fluent in Spanish and go to Costa Rica, but honestly, certain neurons just haven't connected well enough for me to do that. Therefore, I pretty quickly narrowed it down to an Australia program and Danish Institute of Study Abroad (DIS) in Denmark. Unlike other programs, DIS is not a university and it is only for students studying abroad, so I will be studying with other Americans, not Danes. The professors are mostly Danish, although some are visiting from American universities. All the classes are taught in English, except for the Danish Language and Culture course which is highly recommended but not required. Students have the opportunity to go to nearby Danish universities for certain classes, but all of mine are located at DIS, which is in the heart of Copenhagen.

DIS offers multiple housing options and I have chosen to live with a host family. About 10 days before I leave I should get an email telling me the family I have been matched with and I think I will be free to contact them. I barely remember what all I listed as preferences when I was filling out the housing information but I know I said I would love to live with a family that has children. Honestly though, I will be happy no matter what type of family I get. I am just so thrilled that people are willing to open up their homes and share their culture. I will live with them the entire 4 months.

So I basically chose Denmark because it has DIS and DIS was everything I wanted in a study abroad program: awesome classes to choose from, built-in study tours and independent travel time, lots of social opportunities and chances to integrate in the culture and meet Danes. But the more research I have done, the happier I am that DIS is in Denmark. Denmark is a cozy little country, about 1/3 the size of Maine (which means it's also smaller than IOWA!) and it has a population of about 5.5 million. Copenhagen is the capital and is home to 1/5 of all the people living in Denmark. The currency is the kroner (or the DKK). Denmark has incredibly high taxes that pay for awesome benefits like free health care and free education, although perhaps I should wait until I need to make use of this free health care to see if it is all it's cracked up to be. Denmark is one of the happiest countries in the world, but I'll talk about that more when I discuss my classes, one of which is Psychology of Happiness. Denmark is a leader in sustainability and I am hoping to take part in the famous 'bicycle culture', where people ride bikes in rain or snow, morning or night, no matter what.

Well I should probably call it a night, sorry for this terribly long post. I hope you know now everything you wanted to about Denmark, DIS and why I picked this particular place to spend 4 months of my life. I will write all about my classes in another post one of these days.

First Glitch

Today I woke up to an email from studentuniverse saying that the airline has changed the schedule to my upcoming flight and unfortunately that has caused a misconnection somewhere between Omaha, Chicago, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. Uh-oh. Apparently all I have to do it call an agent to discuss other options...so we will hope it is that easy. Better get to it.

Welcome to my blog!

Since I have a few days here to relax/recover from getting my wisdom teeth removed, I figured this would be the perfect time to get my blog ready for my upcoming adventure. In 27 days (on Jan. 15th) I will be departing the U.S. and flying to Copenhagen, Denmark where I will live and study for the following 4 months. On one hand I have been anxiously awaiting this since last year when I finally got the email saying Knox was cool with me heading off to study in a foreign country. On the other hand... now that it's nearly here, (pardon the cliche) I can't believe this is really happening. In less than a month I will be living with a Danish family and going to classes in downtown Copenhagen. My head is swirling at the thought of it (although that might have something to do with those pain meds I've been taking for the last few days). Even though I am incredibly excited, I can't deny the fact that I will inevitably make (a lot of) stupid mistakes and I might even sometimes wish I was back in cozy Post Hall of Knox College with all my familiar friends. Bear with me if any of my posts reflect feelings such as these- I know they will pass and I am very optimistic that at the end of my trip I will not regret any of it. Nevertheless I am bound to have a few of those days where I fall off my bike into the mud while it's raining or I offend a Dane by saying something completely American and want to curl up in a dirt hole or I unknowingly order a $20 hot chocolate or I can't find my way to my first class and end up arriving late (which I hate doing) and embarrass myself in front of all my classmates. Yeah, those days are bound to happen. But the way I see it, those situations are all just a part of the experience and I might as well just take them with a smile. Let's hope that philosophy lasts longer than the many-hour plane ride it will take for me to get over there :)

I'm going to write separate posts all about DIS and the classes I plan on taking so I will wrap up this little introduction. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave me questions or comments anytime!