What has felt like only a couple of seconds in Copenhagen, Denmark has been almost a month now. Everything about the city feels so surreal and perfect to me. From the summer weather to the active biking and running community to the cleanliness of the city, I am envious of the locals who are lucky enough to call this place home. My genuine love for the city seems to have also facilitated my biggest struggle throughout this journey—the understanding that I am not truly a part of this admirable community but instead am an obvious outsider.
No matter how hard I try to blend in with the local crowd, I am noticeably American. I have come to learn that small talk is not a part of Danish culture as it apparently is in America. While I want to converse with locals and learn about their daily life, they oftentimes want nothing to do with me and give weird glares even if I ask for help finding the train. I am humbled every time I grocery shop and have to pull out my google translate just to find out what type of deli meat I am looking at, and even more so when the cashier asks me a list of questions and I have to respond after a few seconds of thinking with, “sorry?” (the Danish language is incredibly hard to learn by the way, even after months of practice on Duolingo). I tried to really immerse myself in the Danish culture and bike around the city as my mode of transportation, only to find out that I do not know my way around without a map and am not nearly fast enough to keep up with the locals. I had to learn the hard way not to wear pants on my bike, even though all the locals do, after I got my pants shredded in my bicycle chain and had to ask a very kind Danish man to help me rip my pant leg out. Essentially, I leave my apartment each day prepared to embarrass myself in one way or another, but that’s just part of being a tourist, right?
While each day can be slightly humiliating here, I also realize that experiencing success and failure in this new environment of mine is the only way to truly learn about it. If I brought a reusable bag on my first grocery shopping adventure, I would not have had to carry my groceries in my hands for 5 blocks, but I also would not have realized to the same extent the incredible effort that Denmark makes to be more sustainable. If I had not aimlessly wandered around the street market in search of a women’s restroom only to find out I had passed the all-genders restroom line multiple times, I would not have realized to the same extent the importance of equality and inclusion for all people in Denmark. Each mortifying experience I have had here has allowed me to better understand the culture around me, and in some odd way has allowed me to feel even more connected to this new environment. Plus, being a tourist gives me something to laugh about at the end of each day.
I am so excited for the next two months of my adventures abroad! Please continue to follow along.
