“Ashley, I’ve got a feeling that we’re not in Massachusetts anymore.”

The start of March is upon us and I’m reflecting on the current week of the semester. The end of February marked the first of two travel weeks during the semester with DIS. Depending on your core course program, one of the two weeks is spent outside of Denmark with your class. During this time you spend the days traveling through a different European country and participating in activities and excursions that act as a hands-on approach to your area of study. My Sustainability class travels during the second travel week so this week was a vacation week! Most of my classmates planned their time to see the surrounding European countries on what I’d like to call a quick visit and a backpackers paradise. Being the girl I am, I opted for a more intimate time with Denmark!

So what have I been up to?

My entire week has been spent exploring Denmark’s western side. I’ve come to really appreciate the smaller cities of this country. Prior to my semester abroad, I’ve spent roughly four months living in Denmark’s tenth largest city, Roskilde. Through my experience I was able to get an idea of the Danish lifestyle outside the fast paced city of Copenhagen.

Returning back to my travel week, I’ve decided to spend it in Denmark’s “City of Smiles”, Aarhus. It’s also the second largest city in the country. Copenhagen has around a population of 1,295,686 while Aarhus’ is only around 269,022. The difference between the two is quite overwhelming considering that Aarhus is supposed to be the second largest. It really puts into perspective how large the United States cities are in comparison to European ones. My home states’ capital, Boston, has more inhabitants than that of Aarhus!

This week in Aarhus has been really great! I’m lucky to be friends with some Danish people here and so I’ve been staying with them in their apartment. Some noteworthy places to visit are Aarhus’ Domkirke (A very old church in the center of the city), Aarhus’ walking street with many shops to look into, AroS art museum (with the iconic rainbow ring on the roof where you can overlook the city), Aarhus university, and many other interesting sights. Despite not being anywhere close to the intimidating size of Copenhagen, Aarhus still manages to have plenty of activities to entertain a “stay-cationer” such as myself.

My favorite activity so far has been the AroS art museum. This semester I am taking a course focusing on curating art and pieces for museum exhibits so I’ve been really interested in exploring the Danish art scene. I admit, because I am new to art history and I’ve found challenges with understanding the logistics to the inner workings of museums, exhibits, and installations. I’m really excited to be taking a course like this because I am considering it as a future career goal and being able to take this “elective” course feels like a good introduction.

With that said, I’m ending this blog here with the words from The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy Gale:

“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore”

These words have never been more relatable until now!