The End

Well, four months later and I'm all set (well, kind of) to return to the States tomorrow. It's crazy to think how long it's been since I've been in the United States! This post will probably be pretty long and sappy but it is really the only way I can even begin to describe this past semester. I'll try not to get too mushy! First, I can't believe it is over already. It flew by! Once we started traveling almost every weekend, the days just seemed to pass at twice the speed. I remember saying during long study tour, "that's it, it's over. Study abroad is over," because I knew how quickly the weeks were going to go by from there and I was right.

I wrote this entry sitting at DIS with my friends (they are studying; I am simply distracting them and providing amusement on their study breaks). Writing this post is turning out to be a lot harder than I anticipated. While I am excited to go home, it has really hit me these past few weeks what an amazing experience I have had here.

Before solidifying my decision to study abroad, I talked to a lot of my friends who went to Denmark to hear their take on it. They all said, "you have to go! It's amazing! It will change your life." My one friend told me that she couldn't even describe it; it was just awesome. Now I know exactly what they meant.

Last semester at school wasn't exactly the highlight of my Gettysburg career. I was in some pretty tough classes, injured throughout the cross country season, and missing all of my classmates who were abroad in the fall or had graduated last spring. Thinking back upon it now, I definitely was not the brightest ray of sunshine on campus. Let's just say, I needed to get away, so going abroad couldn't have come at a better time.

It didn't take me very long to love studying abroad. I'll admit, the first week or two was a little tough, trying to feel comfortable in a stranger's home. I remember going to the opening ceremony the first day and seeing my friends -the first thing we all said to each other was how hungry we were because we were too embarrassed to take a second serving at dinner or more than one slice of toast at breakfast! We got over that soon enough though.

So, what exactly was my favorite part about studying abroad? It's way too difficult to pinpoint one thing. I came to Europe with my best friend, and I couldn't be happier about that (obviously), but one of my favorite parts was meeting new people, both from other schools and Gettysburg. We all had a blast traveling together, exploring Copenhagen and sharing the funny and awkward encounters we had with our host families or other Danes. Whether we were doing something stupid in Spain or attempting to study for an exam, I can honestly say I think I spent half of my time here peeing my pants from laughing so hard.

I also loved learning about the Danish culture and trying my best not to look like a “stupid American” all the time. It was so interesting to learn about all of the traditions and the way of life in general here because it is actually a lot more different than you would expect. I can proudly say that I did not get hit by any cyclists (although I had a very close encounter...while on my bike). I also bought a few groceries yesterday and managed to trick the cashier into thinking I was Danish and checked out without using any English (only two phrases were necessary: Hej and Nej, tak!) Speaking of groceries, I bought a package of this thin chocolate to bring home that the Danes like to put on toast for breakfast. It's delicious. I've memorized the list of train stops (Peter Bangs Vej is still my all time favorite) and I have my bike commute down to a science. I also got to experience another Danish birthday celebration –mine. It is a Danish tradition to wake the person up while singing a birthday song and waving Danish flags. My birthday also happens to be a national holiday, so my host parents had off from work. I woke up pretty early on my own though and since I didn't know for sure if I would be woken up, I figured I should get up instead of awkwardly lying there, already awake and waiting if they came in. So, I went for a run. Turns out they came to get me and I was gone! When I came back they were waiting for me with a nice breakfast and a birthday song, but I was totally embarrassed!

The more I think about it, the more I think my favorite part of being abroad was traveling all over Europe. I got to see so much of the world and I think I really took advantage of it. It was a blast being all on our own, having no idea where we were and just relying on our developing street smarts to get by. I've learned that transportation systems are not as mind-boggling as I once thought. Once you learn how to navigate one, you can figure out all of them. We didn't speak the language most of the time, which made traveling even funnier. I also never realized how much work actually is involved in planning a trip -from finding a flight, booking a place to stay, planning what to do, gathering directions and transportation information...it's a lot! I don't think I ever gave my parents enough credit. I've picked up on so many little tips this semester, that I think I could write a, "How to Travel Europe on a Budget" (for instance: share beds in a hostel for a cheaper room) or "Europe for Dummies" book. So, what exactly was my favorite city? It is way too hard to pick one. They are all so different, which makes traveling Europe so exciting...nothing is ever the same! So, I decided that I would just give out some city superlatives instead, so no one is excluded. Here it goes:

Prettiest city: Vienna

City that was much prettier than expected: Amsterdam

City with the best history: Berlin

Wildest city: Madrid

Most unique: Barcelona

Cheapest city: Poznan

Most expensive city: Copenhagen (of course!)

City with the sketchiest “sketch” area: Poznan…we nicknamed one area Iran.

Best crepes: see previous blog post

Best food in general: Paris

Greenest city: Amsterdam (based solely on the number of bikes)

Best "Africa" (just ask me if you're interested): Madrid

Most likely to get lost in: Copenhagen (It may be small, but half of the streets are not labeled and the maps are impossible to read!)

Best transportation system: Copenhagen
Worst transportation system: Ryan Air

Worst transportation system (aesthetically speaking....all were very efficient): Paris, Berlin, and Poznan’s trams…They are so crowded and hot, and Europeans kind of smell bad and.. you get the point. Gross.  

Best outdoor market for cheap stuff: Madrid (El Rastro)

Best outdoor food market: Vienna (Nasch market)

Best tour: Berlin

Best hotdogs: Copenhagen. No contest.

City I liked more than I thought I would: Vienna

City I felt most like currywurst in: Berlin

Best bowling alley/boringest city: Ebeltoft, DK

Windiest: Smorum

Coolest architecture: Barcelona

Best sightseeing: Barcelona, followed closely by Paris and Vienna

Most chic: Copenhagen

Biggest flirt: Madrid

Prettiest palace: Vienna (Schonbrunn and Hofburg)

Most likely to get your wallet stolen: Madrid

Most adventurous: Sweden

Best city to take artsy pictures in: Amsterdam

Also- an interesting note: I have officially been to the two largest red light districts in Europe: Amsterdam and Hamburg. New fun fact?

Anyways, I could ramble on for awhile about my past four months, but I will try not to. I certainly had the time of my life, and it really was too amazing to put into words. As far as changing my life, I guess I could say it did, but I probably won't realize in what ways until I get back to the United States. I'd like to think I'm the same person -I don't think I have changed that much! If anything, I have learned a lot about myself and maybe am just a more improved version of myself. I've definitely become more independent these past few months and I feel a lot more comfortable and confident in new situations.  As cliché as this sounds, I really do feel a lot more cultured, just by going out and seeing all of these things, interacting with different types of people and immersing myself in a new way of life. I think being at a school as small as Gettysburg can easily put you into bubble. There have been weeks at school where I have no idea what is going on outside of the vicinity of our campus, let alone the country or the world. I’m hoping that I will no longer fall victim to bubble syndrome when I return to school next fall. I also think going abroad helped to give me a new perspective on things. I didn't realize how "American" my views on the world were (if that makes any sense?) and it has been so interesting to learn about things from a Danish or European point of view. Finally, I think I've realized that there is a lot more to life than getting good grades, which was pointed out by my Holocaust & Genocide teacher. I obviously worked really hard to make sure I maintained my grades while studying abroad, but I was definitely less stressed. The classes were not as hard, so that clearly was a large part of it, but this was also the first time that I actually just let myself skip a reading if I didn't have time and not worry about it. It's not to say grades aren't important, but sometimes I think we can forget to have fun and enjoy it. Hey, I'm not going to be this young forever! Danish society is a lot more easygoing and laid back -they like to take their time with things (they don't even jaywalk when the street is clear!) and are just so much more relaxed. I think just the right amount of that has rubbed off on me.

Before I finish up with this post, for your enjoyment, I decided I would make a list of some of the highlights of the many random/silly/ridiculous/stupid things that may or may not have taken place in Copenhagen or on another trip, some of which I “forgot” to include in previous posts.  I’ll keep it short!

February: Napped outside of Copenhagen Central Station (huddled in a pile with friends) because we missed our last train and it closes down from midnight to 5 am on weekdays. A kind homeless man woke us up to inform us that the station was open and we could catch our train home. How nice of him.

Biked into a car because the wind was so strong it blew me over.

Went dumpster diving in the middle of the night to find the leftover pastries that the bakeries get rid of every night (no, this is not something that I made up myself and yes, we hit the jackpot!)

Slept in the same clothes that I ran in for a week straight over travel break because we insisted on packing in backpacks (no judgments, please).

Sang karaoke with a stranger to a song I have never heard of before in my life. Thank goodness this is not on video.

Used a free sample market as my lunch.

Late night bike riding.

Tagged along on a Danish student only pub crawl. We were technically invited.

Missed my train that I was 15 minutes early for because I was standing on the wrong side of the track. The train was parked in front of me the entire time.

Wore so many clothes on the airplane to get through the gate-check that I thought I was going to pass out.

It's been an awesome four months here, and I can't believe I considered not coming at one point. I am definitely going to miss it, but I am so excited to be back in my own home, see my family and friends and go back to everything and everyone at Gettysburg for senior year (how am I a senior already!?). I also am really looking forward to the weather back home. I'm still wearing the same thing I was wearing in February (I never actually wore the shorts I packed...what a waste of luggage space!) and I can't say I will miss the wind too much. I'm looking forward to being able to actually hear my music when I go running. Regardless, I will remember this experience for a lifetime and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to study abroad with. Hey, maybe I'll even start biking to work! I guess the only thing left to say is...well, vacation is over!



P.S. I hope everyone enjoyed following along... Thanks for reading!