Reunited with Denmark – Fund for Education Abroad

The last couple of weeks flew by with a simple blink of an eye and it wasn’t until I stepped foot in the airport that I was grounded back into reality. During the past semester I felt torn about my abilities of being able to study abroad in Denmark. Life circumstances such as money and leaving family and friends made things challenging for me. But the universe had a plan for me and I knew that at the end of 2021 when I received news that I received two scholarships that would help with my expenses to study with DIS. The path that was opened up to me was as clear as daylight and all I had to do was make the first steps.

Returning back to the airport, I stepped foot on my first flight from Boston to Newark, and my second one direct to Copenhagen had followed. Despite my prior visits to Denmark, this one stood out from the rest. Sitting on a plane with quite a lot of other excited and anxious DIS students, I found it insanely hard to relax. It had been two years since I last saw Denmark and the country’s promising culture had a hold on my heart. I always believed and joked that in another life I was Danish because more and more parts of me had been left there every time I returned home. When I heard Danish being casually spoken again by other flight passengers and the flight attendants, I started to feel at home again. To my surprise, compared to last time, I was able to understand more words that were being spoken and this excited me for the future months to come. A major motivator for me to go through DIS’ program was not only the unique courses, but because I would have the opportunity to take a higher level Danish language class AND be able to actively practice it.

So after an eventful two days of settling in, with the help of an amazing friend I was lucky to know here in Denmark, I started my DIS journey. As I write this, classes have yet to begin since we have a few days before the semester to settle in and participate in days long orientation. I got my many books for my courses I will be taking this semester.

I’m very much looking forward to these courses and classes will start in a few days from when I’ve written this. DIS has such a cool and unique program that allows us to actively participate in Danish society as well as use the city of Copenhagen as our classroom. I’ve always been more of a hand-on/visual learner so I can really see myself succeeding here. Despite the current pandemic conditions of the world, the program has made me feel really safe with in-person events. We are required to wear a mask in any indoor setting and we are encouraged to test twice a week to ensure that we can isolate when it’s appropriate. I’m looking forward to sharing more about my experiences here and the many things I’m inspired to learn within the coming months!