After my class in Sweden ended I headed to Copenhagen, Denmark for my second class called Bicycle Urbanism. One of the perceived notions back in the U.S. that I remember is that some people thought that Denmark and Sweden are similar in culture because they are close together. While they maybe are similar, they do have their differences. In my stay in Copenhagen there was more eye contact, and more general chatter and populatedness. The weather was also very different. I was told that it rains 100 days out of the year in Denmark. One of my favorite memories was getting caught under a tent with a bunch of other people while it was raining and thundering. I got a hot dog and was eating it underneath the tent. Across from me I saw people sitting in groups underneath dining tables with umbrellas. The rain didn’t deter them, and instead of giving up and complaining they just started singing and carrying on with their meal. A favorite part of my trip was being able to ride a bike. It is really popular to ride your bike in Copenhagen, no matter rain, or snow, people ride their bikes everywhere instead of taking cars. That was the biggest culture shock compared to American culture where you drive your car everywhere, but it was nice, as an avid bike rider in the U.S. I felt really safe biking in Copenhagen, and in some instances I noticed on Google Maps that you can get to places faster by bike than with cars. I should note that I did not see any adaptive biking options for people with disabilities/abilities to ride bikes, so hopefully that will be available someday.
Living and studying abroad was a great experience! I am grateful for FEA helping fund this experience because it was my first trip outside of the US! If I had these classes in just a regular classroom environment in America, it would be ok, but having these classes abroad enlivened and enlightened the experience because I could experience the experiences they were talking about in the readings! Going through the program I have a greater appreciation for how we can travel by bikes! Although Minneapolis has good bike infrastructure, in can definitely be improved to the level that it was in Denmark!
After this, I am hoping to apply to more Master’s degrees programs, maybe some in Scandinavia? (I don’t know it might be a long stretch, but I really do love the area).
Thank you to all that took time to read my blog post, Kali