My third month in Denmark is met with the same surprise as my first and second month: where did all the time go? I didn't even realize it was my third month until language school today when it was brought up. Three months for a total of thirteen full weeks here. I thought it'd be interesting to give little pieces of advice for an exchange year, one for each week I've been here:
- You'll embarrass yourself a lot, whether it's because you misunderstood something or didn't realize a certain etiquette; learn from it, laugh about it, apologize if need be, and move on.
- Step up and make plans with friends - your classmates may be shy so that means you have to be the one to reach out
- Speak as much as the language as possible - you'll mess up, you'll pronounce loads of words wrong, and people will try to speak English but prevail and you'll see your language skills improve immensely. Trying to participate in class will help - it's hard if you don't understand the language at first but the more you participate, the more you'll interact with classmates and thus it'll help improve your language.
- SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK, COFFEE HELPS WITH THE NO-SLEEP THING.
- Food is meant to be shared. Family and friends will appreciate effort you put into making food from your home country, even if it tastes nothing like what it did in the U.S.
- Don't be afraid to try new food and new things - you might not like the liver from lunch but the 9 km bike ride to Copenhagen may just be the most fun thing you've done.
- Embrace the culture but keep your morals
- If you share Reese's with your friends who've never had them, you might just lose your whole supply of Reese's (but it's okay because Danish chocolate is even better).
- Know which train to take/ your travel plan BEFORE you get on the train, or you might need to ask multiple people for help once you think you've reached your destination.
- But then again, if you have a free day and adventurous friends, getting on and off random buses and seeing where they lead is sure a fun way to spend that free day.
- 3 months can feel like both 3 days and 3 years, depending on your attitude towards your exchange.
- Say yes to everything (within your morals, of course) and you will be able to live to the fullest and happiest.
- Although strangers at the start, these people become your family and closest friends. You may not be related by blood, but that doesn't mean that they don't have a special place in your heart.