Best Six Weeks Of My Life Past Review
By Emma Baske (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) - abroad from 05/24/2016 to 07/02/2016 with
DIS Summer in Scandinavia
It was absolutely worthwhile. I had never been abroad long enough to really immerse myself in the culture or take time to explore a city beyond the main tourist attractions. I not only learned a lot about Danish culture, I learned a ton in both of my classes, gained a lot f confidence in my ability to navigate and entirely new environment by myself.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Both classes I took, Psychology of Criminal Behavior and Positive Psychology, were incredible. The instructors were very knowledgeable and passionate about their fields, and did an amazing job keeping the class engaged while teaching us a lot and getting us to think critically about the subject in a very short amount of time. I think the work load was appropriate for the amount of time allotted to each class, because we learned a lot without sacrificing too much of our free time that could be used to explore the city and immerse ourselves in Danish culture. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My residential community, Holmbladsgade, was so nice. It was relatively far away from classes, about 30 minutes including walking if you take the metro, but it allowed me to see a part of the city I probably wouldn't have seen if I hadn't lived there. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The most integration I felt with the local culture was when commuting to and from class or other areas of the city, eating in little cafes, sit and relax in a park, or go out at night and talk to the Danes. Since all the students were North American, we did not have much interaction with the Danes in class. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I thankfully did not have any health emergencies while abroad, but I didn't need any vaccines and Denmark doesn't have any pressing health issues that I had to worry about. |
| * Safety: |
Copenhagen is a pretty safe city. Of course everyone should use common sense and not travel alone at night or when going out, but I felt perfectly safe walking around by myself during the day. The biggest thing I would stress to future students is that Denmark does not have any laws about consent and their laws against sexual assault are pretty lenient. Danes are not aggressive people, but if you are drunk and go home with someone, sex is sort of implied. So just keep that in mind. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
DIS is a great program, and Copenhagen is a beautiful, lively city with so much to do. I loved every second of it. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Copenhagen is a pretty expensive city. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Try to cook your own meals as much as possible during the week rather than go out to eat all the time. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I had known how much I would love it so that I could sign up for all three sessions. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Avid AdventurerThe wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal. |
