A Piece of Home

It's hard to believe that we have already passed the halfway point of the semester. I have officially been in Copenhagen for over two months and have more time behind me than I have left to spend in Denmark. I am already beginning to dread having to say goodbye to my host family and leaving the plethora of tasty pastries behind. However, as time has passed, I have also found myself starting to miss the familiarity of life back home.

It just so happened that right as these feelings of homesickness were starting to emerge, my friend from home was getting ready visit me in Copenhagen! When Lily arrived, we greeted each other with excited hugs and made our way back to the house from the airport. That day, we ended up walking many miles around the local neighborhoods and little did we know how much walking the following days would also hold.

Having a friend to show around made me realize just how walkable Copenhagen is. On one of the first days of her visit, we ended up walking from the DIS Student hub, past Nyhavn and the street trampolines (of course we stopped to jump), past The Little Mermaid statue, to Østerbro station. From there we continued our journey to Rosenborg Castle where we had a lovely picnic in the park during my break between classes.

On another day of her visit, we decided to explore the Happiness Museum. It was quite small but had interesting facts and insight into the science and politics of happiness. My favorite exhibit was a room full of sticky notes. Each visitor had the opportunity to take a sticky note, write something that made them happy, and add it to the wall of sticky-notes put up by past visitors. I don't think I have ever seen so many sticky notes in one place and of course we had to add a few more to the wall!

Lily visiting was also a great excuse for me to splurge on Copenhagen treats. We tried hot dogs in Rådhusplasden, ice cream on waffles, cardamom buns, and cinnamon croissants! As two introverts in a city, stopping to play games, journal, or knit in local cafes was a great way to enjoy the city without overwhelming our nervous systems.

As the week of her visit came to an end, I felt refreshed by laughter and good conversations. Living in a homestay has been amazing but it can also be challenging to feel connected to and make friends with other DIS students. I love spending time with my host family and often choose to be present in family activities over engaging with DIS events or student led activities. There is definitely a balance between host family life and student life to be found but as of right now, I am accepting the fact that I am definitely a home body and will choose to embrace family life.