The holidays are a charming time of the year. Positive vibes knock on everyone's door and smiles just welcome themselves into the family room. Coming home after a long semester of sleepless nights and a summer interning in Washington, DC is definitely the perfect piece on the puzzle. And, with the prospect of a future sneaking-in, everyone who catches my eye at the family reunion wants to know "so I heard you are going to Denmark...?" The pattern has been endearing: comments about how I am either getting taller or they shorter; a quick summary of the fact that I've been missed; an exciting outburst about Studying Abroad; and then, the Wikipedia-style questions about Copenhagen roll in. But the joke is on them, because what all these do is get me extra excited about starting my time abroad and creating new experiences aka leave and get going!
I sit in bed now, more of a measure of the amount of incredibly delicious food I consumed than of how tired I am, thinking about how Copenhagen must be, who I will meet and what sort of things I will learn. The one thing that I've learned about Copenhagen during the holidays is that I don't necessarily know too much about Denmark, and the rest of Scandinavia. What is their population? How is their educational system set up? How many cars are there? Is the stabilized, or in some cases declining, economic growth rates and population growth rates a major problem? How do you even say hello in Danish, or Thank you, or Where is the Restroom?!?! (as more wine was poured, harder questions followed). I really do not know the answer to some of these questions but they fed me wonder. Imagining what the answers could be is magical because it makes me think of what will happen between now and when those questions get answered. But for now, I wanted to share the few things that I do know about Copenhagen that happen to have cross my life so far:
I sit in bed now, more of a measure of the amount of incredibly delicious food I consumed than of how tired I am, thinking about how Copenhagen must be, who I will meet and what sort of things I will learn. The one thing that I've learned about Copenhagen during the holidays is that I don't necessarily know too much about Denmark, and the rest of Scandinavia. What is their population? How is their educational system set up? How many cars are there? Is the stabilized, or in some cases declining, economic growth rates and population growth rates a major problem? How do you even say hello in Danish, or Thank you, or Where is the Restroom?!?! (as more wine was poured, harder questions followed). I really do not know the answer to some of these questions but they fed me wonder. Imagining what the answers could be is magical because it makes me think of what will happen between now and when those questions get answered. But for now, I wanted to share the few things that I do know about Copenhagen that happen to have cross my life so far:
Copenhagen is the home for the Little Mermaid. And, no, I'm not talking about the cutesy little sea animals and under the sea parades. I am talking about the original fairy-tale with the excruciating pain of walking on blades and no happy ending. It was written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen in 1836 and has since become so well-known that there is even a statue commemorating the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. I've been a great fan of the tale. I think it's cute; this little girl fell in love, then it didn't happen, and now she is doing good deeds so she can go to heaven. Welcome to the real world, honey. |
Next I went over my Spotify playlist only to find that one of the songs that I have been listening to lately is actually from a Danish musician, Mø. Which wasn't hard to spot because of the crossed-out o (ø). I am not sure to what extent her music reflects the Danish music scene as a whole, but I like where it's going. Recently, my music taste has become a direct response to the "Top 10," "Remix Everything," "Loud Bubuzela sound" that the main Miami clubs like to over-do. The sounds that I've heard from Copenhagen so far have been the indie-electronic sounds with soulful undertones and sultry vocals that make me enjoy me time. While in Denmark I definitely want to explore it's music scene, from the formal royal jazz to the filthiest tunes in some warehouse club. I am going to really miss the Hispanic hip-and-move tunes, but fear not because the Danes won't know what hit them. | |
Given that I am an Environmental Policy major studying Sustainability in Europe while abroad, trust me when I say that there is a lot to say about Denmark and the environment! Since passing the world’s first environmental protection law, Denmark has continued its effort and is at the forefront of the development of new environment and resource efficient solutions. It's developments in alternative energy, sustainable development, and climate change are making me pretty much have an orgasm right now....!!*#..... |
Another Danish aspect that can't seem to stop haunting me is world-renowned starchitect Bjarke Ingels. Last semester some of his work was on display in Carnegie Mellon's Miller Gallery on an exhibit called Imperfect Health, that showcased the relationships between design and health in cities and their social fabric. Then, while researching for class projects and designs, his principles on playful vs practical and hedonistic sustainability kept always resurfacing. Now that I am in Miami I see plans for some of his design to be constructed here. The guy is on a roll! |
Denmark is known by many as the "happiest country in the world." If everything goes wrong and I end up in a pitch somewhere, at least I know that I will be happy. Most of this comes from a very different standard of living. Specially in terms of social wealth, the culture has very different values. All of us over on the other side should be taking note at the moment. Apparently health as a civil right, respect for the environment, cultural generosity, gender equality, biking, gay rights, and free education qualify you as the happiest country in the world. |
Ugh, now I am extra excited to get the show on the road. What have I done to myself?