Hi all. As you can probably tell, I will be talking about my first week of school in this blog post- no pretty pictures unfortunately because I have been very busy with school, finding a job and volunteering opportunities.
This week has been one of the busiest by far. I attended my first official lecture on Tuesday :) The class was a lot smaller than I imagined- there were only around 30-40 of us! That’s the size of a section at UCSB (a section is like a smaller class where students get together with TA’s to discuss the materials in lecture and do assignments). Since I am so used to attending lectures with 300-something other students, this is definitely a big change to me! I enjoyed the first lecture. In my opinion, smaller classes allow (almost pressure- in a positive way, of course) students to participate and pay more attention.
Before I go on any further about my first week of school, I should tell you what courses I am taking this semester (or ended up with). Firstly, I am taking 4 courses at two different universities: Copenhagen Business School and Copenhagen University. I am taking:
- Visual Communication – at CBS
- Retail Marketing – at CBS
- Psychology of Job Stress – at KU
- The Feeling of Being (Consciousness) – at KU
The lectures at CBS are a little bit bigger, ranging between 30-50 students while at KU, the lectures are really small. I haven’t attended Psychology of Job Stress yet because it starts next week, but in my Consciousness course, there are only around 25 of us- which is ridiculously small to me. I have also heard from a few friends that some of their Psychology courses at KU have 12-15 students… I seriously cannot wrap my head around that! That is so crazy. There isn’t even a section at UCSB of that size (or at least none that I’ve been in). I am really enjoying the courses and definitely look forward to attending lectures. For example, the Feeling of Being is probably my favorite one so far! The course is somewhat a combination of Philosophy and Psychology. During our first lecture, we explored and discussed whether or not consciousness is a metaphysical phenomenon or involves brain processes. It was very interesting because there are no solid answers so we were allowed to freely think and discuss our opinions!
Aside from my courses, I have been on a search for a job and volunteer opportunities. I had applied to Urban Outfitters earlier in August- just a few days after I arrived in Copenhagen, actually. I met an English girl who encouraged me to apply. This opportunity was extra attractive to me because I didn’t need to be fluent in Danish! I had a group interview on Thursday and I would say it has by far been the most interesting interview I have had. It was very laid back and informal. Fingers crossed- I hope I did well! This may seem like a simple retail job, but to me, I see it as an opportunity to really integrate into the city, formally settle in, make new friends from all over the world, while making some extra cash because Copenhagen is extremely expensive! In addition to my job search, I have also emailed a Student House located downtown called Studenthuset! I have a friend who currently volunteers there and she loves it, so I decided that I should try it out as well. Their volunteering opportunities vary- so I am not exactly sure what I will be doing. Some opportunities include: helping out at the bar, language cafe, and meets & greets (a dinner event they host every Wednesday or Thursday, I believe). My first introduction course will be this Thursday- so I am excited to meet new people and see what this opportunity has to offer! My friend and I are also exploring other volunteering options, but as of right now, I don’t want to overwhelm myself.
As you can tell, everything has been going really well! I have been meeting really awesome and down to earth people. It is great being an exchange student because you constantly get to meet people through the many events the universities put on.
Well, I will talk to you next week! The weather is gorgeous right now, so I am going to go to the park and read for my courses. See you soon, hej hej!