The days in the last two weeks of my time in Copenhagen went by quickly and seemed to blur together. With finals week, I entered what I affectionately refer to as survival mode, in which school comes in most cases before, food, sleep, and socializing. But here at DIS, I’m able to strike a better balance than I do at Midd.
There have been some difficulties in the past few weeks. It’s definitely hard to be staying while everyone around me is leaving. I can’t remember dates so well, but there were definitely some highlights that stand out.
Final presentations for Architecture were a blur, but I wound up proud of the work I produced and definitely improved my presentation skills over the last time. It all ended with the Architecture and Design department social, which was a really nice opportunity to catch up with people from my study tours that I hadn’t talked to in a while, and better connect with the people who would also be staying the full year.
Then there was a lot of studying for my Danish oral exam. Alexander is the best and helped me out with all that I asked until I felt confident, and then helped me even more until he was satisfied I was ready.
Finals were broken up by our LLC project. The entire project was focused on experiencing Copenhagen through various senses, and the piece I collaborated on with Helen and Jordan was meant to evoke the “touch.” We distilled our memories and experiences into visuals centered on the hand in particular, making the molds by dipping our own hands into warm wax. The physical process of making the piece was pretty difficult, but we emerged with only a few burns and a great finished product. We proudly exhibited our work to each other and to the other students, and ended up winning the competition. Despite the stress of organizing the project, I loved how it turned out and was so glad for the opportunity to work with so many talented individuals.
Then finally, I could focus on writing my Surveillance paper, which was at times, tedious and difficult, but mostly, enjoyable, and I’m really happy with the end result. I am so glad I took that class, and a bit sad that it’s now over, but I look forward to talking with Karen again next spring.
Writing my Danish paper– my final final– was made bearable by a visit to Café Miao, a cafe that’s home to 8 or so cats that run around freely to the delight of the café patrons.
FINAL THOUGHTS //
It was a bit strange to be in this environment of endings and goodbyes when it was not really a feeling I could relate to. My last two weeks I could focus on academics without really worrying about seeing the last things on my to-do list in Copenhagen. I’m really glad that I get to go back, but it also felt like a good time to take a break. I’m really looking forward to traveling in Spain next week, and also to going home to my family. There have been ups and downs this semester, as there have been every semester, but overall, I am happy, thankful, and excited for the coming months.