SUNDAY// arrival
Sunday I arrived in Copenhagen on my own, outside of DIS pick-up hours, for which I am so thankful. Taking the metro was infinitely easier than waiting for DIS to get 30 kids on a bus. As I mentioned in my previous post, I am again living in the Arts LLC, but now in a different building, just a few blocks away from the last.
I now live in an apartment with 11 others (!!!) but thankfully I have privacy in my single– a real single this time, not a fake one connected to a double!! We shared 3 bathrooms and one kitchen, and a large kitchen table and and even larger common room. So much room for activities!!!! I’m pretty excited.
WEDNESDAY //
Wednesday evening I went to a free design lecture at the Copenhagen Institute for Interactive Design. I had gone there on a field study for my design thinking class, and really enjoyed hearing about their humna-centered approach to design. The lecture was split into two parts, the first focused on redesigning the housing market to focus more heavily on user experience from initial conception all the way until re-sellng of the home. The lecture was interesting, but it was a lot of information to pack into a 30 minute powerpoint. The second lecture was far less organized, a series of design projects that the lecturer had participated in, as well as a retelling of his sailing race across the Atlantic Ocean. As far as I could tell, the only design-related fact was that “everything was made of carbon fiber” but it was super entertaining nonetheless. A lot of the projects sort of had a “design because we can” vibe, but the presenter himself acknowledged this so it was chill.
THURSDAY // classes
First day of classes! I started with Watercolor class with Søren, who was wonderful as always. The majority of the class is full-year architecture students like myself, and I’m happy to already have friends there. I love watercolor class already and wish we met more often than once a week.
I had a 15 minute break for food before I had to go to my Creative Industries class down the street. The 29 person class is the largest I’ve attended at DIS so far, but I didn’t really mind. Highlights included the professor, who seemed funny and engaging, news that we would be attending a concert at Vega for a field study, and the description of our main project to design a product for DIS to be sold at the front desk. I’m excited not only for the opportunity to design a product, but also to learn and practice selling my ideas to a potential client. I think it will be a great way to improve my confidence and presentation skills.
That night, I went to a yoga class at fitness.dk, fearing the worst and hoping for the best after learning the class would be taught entirely in Danish. It was a pretty standard class, so we followed along fine, but hopefully I’ll be able to relax better next time.
FRIDAY // classes
More classes. First today was Danish II. I wasn’t sure if I actually wanted to stay in this class, but after meeting the teacher and hearing about the class structure, I decided to stay. If I ever want to move back to Copenhagen and get a job here, I’m going to need to know Danish, and I might as well take the opportunity now while its available.
I had a longer break today before studio. This semester I am taking Interior Architecture Foundations. I switched out of the Design Studio, after realizing over break that I was incredibly anxious over it. As much as I would like to push myself, I don’t think it is smart to take a class that I feel I am underqualified for, in which my peers will be much farther along already in their architecture education. I was so relieved to find out I could switch into Interior, and since the Foundations class is combined with the Design studio, there will still be similar opportunities to challenge myself and grow as a designer. I really like Tina, and my old professor BB is in the same studio, just across the hall. The majority of the class is Chinese students who attend Pratt, and they only hang out with each other, but there are a few other Americans that I can speak English with. In preparation for our first assignment, we went to the National Gallery (SMK), the site of an furniture exhibition we will each be curating and designing. This is the type of work I want to do, so I am really excited about this project.
We went out to Nørrebro that night and ended up at RUST, and nightclub and bar that plays techno music on two different dance floors. I was really excited to bring my friends here for the Afrobeat night, and it ended up being a great time. The club was full but not too crowded, and we danced for nearly 3 hours, taking breaks only to cool down outside. On one of these breaks, we met some Danes, and I got to practice my Danish! I spoke Danish to Siggy, and she would answer in English, but she was happily surprised that I knew a few phrases and told me my accent was pretty good as well! That may have been the highlight of my night, and we added each other on Facebook to practice language in the future.
SATURDAY //
Saturday we marched! Copenhagen held their own Women’s March in solidarity with the one in Washington. I wasn’t sure what to expect at my first protest, but I know Copenhagen to be a safe city, and once we arrived any of my worries were replaced with excitement. I really couldn’t stop smiling, it was amazing to see such a big crowd in a foreign city! The police escorted us from the U.S. Embassy to the Danish parliament building. It was pretty cold, but we didn’t mind. It was good to feel like I was doing something, and a few ex-pats I spoke to agreed, explaining that throughout the election they often felt helpless to be so far away.