3 Days To Go!

In exactly three days from now I will be en route to Copenhagen! It still feels unreal. I spent the last three months playing with the idea of going abroad, never really fully acknowledging what that would mean, and waiting for the moment when it would be all feel “real”. Well, I’m not quite at that moment yet, but my passport is ready and I’m furiously trying to stuff four months worth of my existence into 1.5 bags.

This past week I’ve really enjoyed savoring American/Texan experiences. I went to San Antonio and walked the Riverwalk and ate too much Tex-Mex food and was serenaded by a mariachi band. I ate at Whataburger (a Texas classic) and marveled at how strange American food can be (Spicy ketchup? Honey mustard sauce? Probably unheard of in Denmark). I’ve started making a list in my head of foods that probably won’t show up at the Copenhagen grocery stores: grits, good tortillas, avocados, pico de gallo. I’ve sweated through the last few weeks of 100+ temperatures, looking longingly at the Copenhagen weather forecast which shows highs in the 70s.

As soon as August started I was waiting anxiously for my housing assignment. It was hard for me to picture myself in Copenhagen without knowing where I would be living. I was so happy to learn that I would be living in the Public Health Living and Learning Community, my top choice. As part of the LLC I will be in apartment style housing in the center of Copenhagen, just a five minute walk from the DIS Campus, gyms, restaurants, and more! I’m grateful for the central location and the chance to live with 24 other students who share my same interests. Every week my LLC will get together for activities and educational discussions, including visiting the UN office in Copenhagen, discussing eating habits in Denmark, and cooking meals together. I’m excited for the educational opportunities and the greater independence I’ll have living in the LLC. I’ll have to prepare and cook my meals, contribute to cleaning, and figure out public transportation to get where I need to go, something that I have not yet had the opportunity to do at Bryn Mawr.

My academic program, Health Delivery and Prioritization will take me to Helsinki, Finland, and Tallinn, Estonia, two countries that I would never have imagined visiting. I have family and friends studying and living across Europe and I’m hoping to take advantage of my vacation time to visit them. My LLC will take a camping trip to northern Denmark in late August. Core course week will take me to western Denmark, and each Wednesday of the week to a different activity and event in the city of Copenhagen. There is so much to look forward to in my upcoming semester!