I’m writing this from “COFFEE INDUSTRY” a Swedish café approximately two blocks from my apartment. It’s well lit– seemingly rare for the cafés here–and has funky music, but the vibe is very relaxed. The upstairs space is quieter and less crowded. I’m relaying these details because they are important. H and M and I checked out 7 cafés before settling here to do homework. Some were too loud, or too crowded, or too formal, but COFFEE INDUSTRY seems just right, for now. We’ve decided we’d like to avoid visiting the same places twice, but this seems like a great go-to study space during the day.
Helen and Mara are my flatmates. I live in a lovely apartment with them, and 3 others. We are all part of a larger group of 20 that makes up the DIS “Arts Living and Learning Community.” I know its only been a week, but I already feel comfortable in both my apartment and in this larger group. We are similar enough to already be comfortable in each other’s company, but different enough for things to be interesting. (We do all essentially dress the same, though. Lots of black, trying to look Danish rather than American). I’m thankful to be surrounded by other artists/individuals interested in art, and have a community similar to Chromatic back at Midd.
The apartment itself is really nice– white, modern, minimalist, filled with motel-room prints and Ikea furniture. We plan on putting our own art up on the walls soon. I live in a single room, but it’s off of a double where Mara and Lily live. I have to pass through their room to enter the hall, but I’m happy to have a private space while still having roommates.
SATURDAY + SUNDAY // arrival + LLC EVENTS
After 18 hours travel time, I was exhausted, but still excited to have arrived in Copenhagen. Our very first experience was lugging our suitcases off the bus and through the unusually crowded street to our apartment. Studiestræde (study street) was the site for the Pride Parade block party, and our windows were shaking from the music. Sunday morning was group brunch with the whole LLC, and that afternoon was an LLC scavenger hunt. Our SRAs gave us a list and 2 hours to interact with the city and the locals. My group/flatmates and I tentatively took the s-train, talked to strangers, borrowed a bike, and forgot to stop for lunch. It was worth it though, because we won! Who knew arts kids could be competitive? Our prize is a bakery gift certificate to La Glace, a super fancy pastry shop.
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY // orientation
Copenhagen is beautiful and I quickly realized we have the ideal living situation– we are in the heart of the city, and have a 2 minute walk to classes. (theres no true “campus,” just DIS buildings scattering a 2 block radius) Danes are very cool and attractive, but largely homogenous in appearance. Us Americans stick out, despite our best efforts. Everyone speaks English, though.
THURSDAY + FRIDAY // classes + some academic distress
In summary, I immediately loved 2 classes, am concerned about 1, and dropped the last. My art history course and Danish class seem great– no surprises, very nice, very blond Danish professors.
I really did not like my Integrated Climate Change Planning class.
- A lot of the classes are going to be bike tours of the city. this is fine except biking in Copenhagen seems scary (esp. large groups) and I don’t have a bike and I really don’t think I need one. I live in an area with 3 different modes of public transportation, and a 600kr public transportation card for the area. This makes me really want to spend $200 dollars on a bike that I’m scared to ride. (Have I mentioned Copenhagen is expensive? COPENHAGEN IS EXPENSIVE. not the bikes but in general)
- I am the only design major in that class– most students are environmental studies/science majors and after introductions I just had war flashbacks to the remedial environmental architecture course I took last semester. This is also fine except every single assignment in the class is group work, which is problematic when half your classmates live an hour away. I felt very relieved after dropping.
- The class I added instead, in contrast, seems really exciting. Its called Innovative Design Thinking, and we apply design principles to determine business solutions. I’m really excited to learn about business strategy, as it’s a crucial part of a career in architecture (I have to convince people to let me design and build cool stuff). This will be very different from any class I’ve ever taken, or will get the opportunity to take at my home university. My first class is tomorrow.
Most complicated is that I feel overqualified for my core course. The architecture department is divided into “Foundations Studio” and “Design Studio.” I applied for Design, but got placed in the lower level, Foundations. I didn’t mind, the division separates liberal arts students from students in design institutes/programs. I did not expect, however, that the majority of the students are not even architecture majors, and very few have any architecture experience.
Since I came to Copenhagen specifically for the architecture program, I am surprised to find that I have the most experience of the 10 in my class. While I don’t mind collaborative work with individuals who are less experienced, I want to be in a situation where I am challenged academically by the program and have the most opportunities to learn from my peers as well as from my professors. I am going to try to switch classes, but I am worried I may still be under qualified for the more advanced class. I will be talking to the professors.
On the bright side, if I can’t switch, the project 1 prompt seems super cool.
SATURDAY //
Helen and I both heard great reviews about GRØD, a gourmet porridge café here in Copenhagen. We decided to go on Saturday morning with Lily and Mara for brunch. Happy to find that the café was part of a much larger food market called Torvehallerne. There’s a mix of cafés, bakeries, wine shops, produce markets, meats and cheeses– basically anything you want, you can find at one of the 50+ stands. After breakfast I bought a small stick of chorizo from a genuine Spanish food stand. Not out of homesickness, just out of wanting something that reminds me of home. It is delicious and I’m trying super hard not to eat it all in one sitting.
In the afternoon we had our first Arts LLC event with our coordinator. She took us to the Chart Art Fair at Kunsthal Charlottenborg. They had exhibits of furniture/decor that blurred the line between art and utility, as well as a very large exhibit of contemporary pieces by various artists. I’m starting to get a better sense of Scandinavian style of design, and look forward to learning more.