One Hawk’s time abroad is a chance for adventure

When I thought about leaving home for four months to live and study in a foreign country, I was terrified. A million thoughts ran through my head: what if I get homesick? What if I don’t make any friends? What if my friends at home forget about me?

I’m blessed to have a close-knit family who I can always depend on, but this was the first time I would truly be on my own, and the thought of that was very unsettling.

At the airport, I latched on to my parents like a little kid being dropped off at the first day of kindergarten. Despite the preparation, research and advice I’d gotten from people, I still felt like I wasn’t ready.

But I knew it was something I had to get over (especially because I had already paid for the plane ticket and would have nowhere to live for the semester if I tried to go back to St. Joe’s). I gathered myself and my luggage, walked through security, and at that point there was no going back.

The nerves faded with every town, ocean and country I passed over on the plane. There was no going back, so I had no choice but to be excited about the amazing journey I was about to embark on.

I landed in Copenhagen, Denmark on a rainy Saturday night with what felt like fifty pounds of luggage and major sleep deprivation.

The next morning, after the introductions, fun facts and icebreakers with everyone on my floor, I got to explore my home for the next four months.

My first moment in the daylight of Copenhagen is one I will never forget. After taking the metro to city centre, I rode the escalator up to street level from below and looked around at the beautiful Danish architecture, clean streets and people eating outside despite the freezing temperature. I immediately felt at ease—I was home.

Now two months in, I know how to use public transportation; I look both ways before crossing the bike lane, and I know to bring my own bag when I go grocery shopping.

And yet, as much as I love being in this new place, I find myself missing home every once in awhile.

I miss seeing the familiar faces every time I leave my house and walk around campus. I miss being able to read signage on the street and pickup snippets of small talk in public. I miss my dog. I miss the familiarity of the culture, customs, and food. I even miss Campion Dining Hall some days.

It’s comforting to know how much I have waiting for me when I come home in May.

I’m only halfway through this semester, and I still have so much to see. With every cold, rainy day, mental breakdown, realization that Danish is quite impossible to learn and homesick moment I have, it is still an experience I wouldn’t change. 

I can confidently say being abroad isn’t changing me, like people usually say when they return home. I’m learning a lot more about myself and the world around me, but I am still me.

The boundaries of my comfort zone have been pushed constantly since my arrival, with talking to strangers, trying exotic foods (pickled herring is surprisingly very good, by the way), attempting to learn the language, using a bike as my main form of transportation and volunteering alongside Danish students.

With every new site I see, new person I meet or place I visit, I take a moment and realize that I’m in the middle of making a memory that I will look back on for the rest of my life.