Hello, Copenhagen!
On the 31st of May, I arrived with my father in Copenhagen from Switzerland. I had spent the last week or so traveling all over the lovely Swiss country learning the history, trying different foods and meeting new people. Now, arriving in Copenhagen, I am ready to get to work!
For the last few weeks, I have been planning additional research for our study abroad trip, trying to get in contact with people in creative fields in the United Kingdom and Denmark for interviews for my work. I will be researching two separate ideas while I am studying abroad. The first is urban agriculture and human well-being, and how the two work together in a large city such as Copenhagen, London and the other cities we are traveling to. My second research project is taking these same cities and analyzing the design of the urban systems that they have in place. I am going to then find the correlation between the well-being of people in these cities and write a paper explaining how American designers can adapt European principals to increase citizen happiness and well-being.
To be honest, before arriving in Europe I was slightly scared. Everyone in America seemed to be really worried about me going to a foreign place so far away from home, making me think that going to Europe might be a bad idea. I can say that after being here for only a few days, I feel pretty adapted and comfortable in my environment. I really am starting to understand what people say when they talk about the media not portraying situations overseas correctly.
While I have been here, I have also been gaining a lot of perspective on being a new person in a foreign country. As I walk through the streets of Copenhagen, I feel that people can tell that I am not from here. If I have to explain to someone that I do not speak any language other than English, I sometimes get an interesting look. This makes me question the way that people may judge minorities in America. Do I treat minorities unjustly? Do I make foreigners feel uncomfortable in their own home? This gave me something to think about while I am here and something to remember when I head home in a few months.