These first two stops, besides being filled with some of the best food I’ve ever eaten, were filled with heart-warming reunions and new connections. My senior year of high school, I befriended Barbara, an exchange student from France. Although she was in the middle of her oral exams this summer, we were able to catch up for a few hours in France.
Then, in Sicily, my family and I visited the small town of Chiusa Sclafani where my great-grandfather was from. When we arrived, we were shown these ginormous handwritten record books that contained all types of information about my great-grandfather and his family and were told we still had relatives in the city. Then, they called those relatives. That day, I met my cousin Sabrina, a biologist studying hematology. It was like I was living in a movie. Embarking on the trip, I would never have expected to find family all around the world, but it was a trend that continued.
After a few days in Sicily and France, I arrived in Denmark. As we arrived just before the Tour de France was set to start, Copenhagen was electric. I walked in the gardens surrounding Rosenborg Castle, visited the iconic Nyhavn Harbor, said hello to The Little Mermaid, and swam in the Copenhagen Harbor. I quickly fell in love with Copenhagen. While it certainly helped that it was sunny for over 17 hours each day, I loved all the sights and quirks. For example, Denmark is known for its cyclists. Because cars are taxed so heavily and there isn’t much space to park in most cities, nearly everyone rides bikes. They have stoplights in the bike lanes, and I even saw people riding down the harbor on bike-looking-rafts! Hot dogs are also big in Denmark, a fact that I never came to understand. On some buses, they have signs to specifically say that you cannot have a hot dog while on board.
After spending a few days in Copenhagen, I took a three-hour train ride to Aarhus (sidenote: the public transportation in Denmark is amazing. Make sure to get the Midtraffik app to purchase your tickets because most machines at the bus stops and on the buses only take coins). For the first three-weeks, I took a class on ecofeminism. Prior to this class, I didn’t even know what ecofeminism was, but through a flipped classroom style in which we read classical texts and critiques before coming to class to discuss, my understanding grew exponentially. This class was a challenge in that the black and white decisiveness of STEM would no longer cut it. Most of my classmates studied anthropology, dramaturgy, sociology, and literature. From them, I learned how to interact with texts and theory in the grey space where multiple things can be true at once; where you must analyze not only the text but also how and why you are perceiving the text the way that you are. My professor and classmates were amazing! I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to take this class. I left more open-minded, with a new perspective on feminism and what roles I can play, and with a greater ability to critically analyze philosophical ideas.
Our final project in this class was to present an experiment of imagination – how we would create and carry out an ecofeminist project. One of the groups’ presentations was on creating a non-profit, volunteer run café. With my American mindset, I was confused how this would ever work, how they weren’t just asking people to work hard without pay. To my surprise – they already exist in Denmark! After class, my peers and I went to Café Mellemfolk, a feminist, non-profit, entirely volunteer-run café. I fell in love. They served free-trade coffee and delicious vegan food. I became a regular at the café, playing board games, doing homework, and befriending a few of the volunteers (one of them even has family in Boulder – again, what a small world!). I was glad to have my perspective changed. A non-profit, volunteer café is possible, and they don’t even have a hard time staffing it. I’m still not sure if a concept like this would work in the US. I would hope it would, but I think it is easier for something like Café Mellemfolk to work when citizens live in a place that has a large social safety net and protections for down and vacation time.
Once Ecofeminism ended, I participated in a two-week course on Cross Cultural Negotiation. This was a very different course than Ecofeminism. There was not any homework, and there was less emphasis on theory in order to provide time for practice. This made the class engaging in a different way – every day for two weeks, I had to prep and carry out a business negotiation. Although I do not plan to work in communications or business, I found this class very useful. Before, I hadn’t ever had protected time to work on my communication skills, so with the daily exercises, I quickly improved my clarity and emotional intelligence and learned how to balance maintaining relationships with achieving a goal.
Outside of class, I visited many sites around Aarhus. AU Summer University was excellent at both planning social events as well providing information to go out on your own expeditions. My new friends and I visited Aros (the art museum known for the ginormous rainbow on the top floor), KØn (the Women and Gender Museum), and the Marselisborg Forest that is home to lots of deer! We also went to the Mosegaard Museum which ended up being my favorite museum! It is where the anthropology students typically have classes. It houses information on human evolution, different religions and customs, and the Vikings.
Once my classes ended and before departing for home, I spent a few days with a Danish family. My cousins in the US have hosted two generations of Danish foreign exchange students over the years (a woman and later her daughter). I was very fortunate to have the chance to stay with them. Not only did they act as amazing tour guides, taking me to Roskilde and later to Bakken, the oldest amusement park in the world, but they taught me how to make several traditional Danish recipes. They even made their traditional Christmas dinner, with a rotisserie pork and everything, the night before I left. I am indebted to them for the immense kindness they showed me. I am so grateful to have them a part of my global family!
In conclusion, I know it’s cliché to be the person that goes abroad and comes back saying that it changed their life, but it’s true! Between the actual classes and the day-to-day experience of living in a new place, this trip was one big learning opportunity. So, to finish up my blog post, I thought I’d share a few of my takeaways:
1. Ask the locals for their food and café recommendations. Even if you don’t end up going there, it’s always a good source of conversation.
2. Buy yourself the gelato. Always.
3. The world will not end if you make a mistake, and chances are you’re smart enough to figure it out. That being said, it’s probably just good general practice to make sure you’re getting on a bus that’s heading the right direction…
4. Push yourself to make the first move. People might not always be the first to say hello, but they’ll almost always continue a conversation. Even though it may feel odd, it’s not, it’s how you meet people.
5. Allow yourself to be spontaneous. Life happens outside of the hour-to-hour schedule you make for yourself, so when opportunities come knocking (literally), tell yourself why not and go. If it’s not for you, you can always go back home.
Summer 2022 was one for the books. Thank you, Hugh and Michelle, for providing me with the opportunity of a lifetime!