PRE-DEPARTURE JITTERS (COPENHAGEN EDITION) #HogsAbroad in Denmark

Hello all! In the spirit of The Traveling Papaya launching again in LESS THAN A MONTH, and because I finally have some free time since finals ended, I figured I should write up a quick Pre-Departure Jitters post. At the end of my time in France, I looked back at the Pre-Departure Jitters post that I had written before arriving, and it was really interesting to see my expectations versus my reality. So, I figured it would be fun to do again.

For those of you that don’t know yet, I am spending next semester living in Copenhagen, Denmark and learning about European politics. I am so insanely excited to jump back across the pond, and I feel a lot more confident now because it is my second study abroad. However, that is not to say that there are still not some concerns, and that I still don’t have some goals to set for myself.

The thing I am most concerned about for next semester, is avoiding FOMO and loneliness about back home. I know that it might seem crazy to be scared of feeling FOMO while literally living my best life, but I know that coming back, my relationships with my friends from home will be different and I don’t want to grow apart form the people I care about. I also am worried about managing the frugal side of me in a city as expensive as Copenhagen. I want to be sure that I don’t miss out on life opportunities while worrying about not spending money. As always, it is nerve-wracking to go on a program and know nobody, so I am of course worried about making friends. However, I am sure that I will easily find people.

Now that the concerns are out of the way, here are the goals for the semester. While they are very general, they are things that I will always be sure to keep in the back of my mind while abroad.

1. Make new friends that will last a lifetime (this is a given, and one that hopefully won’t be too hard for an extreme extrovert like myself)
2. Immerse myself in Danish culture. Although I am going to be studying strictly with non-Danish students, I want to challenge myself to also make sure that I enjoy the Danish culture and truly feel that experience.
3. Be academically satisfied. I am so excited to learn about international politics from a perspective that is not American, and I need to make sure I take advantage of this viewpoint.
4. Stop freaking out about monetary prices, and see the real value of the experience.
5. GET OUTSIDE OF MY COMFORT ZONE. This is the most important goal for myself. Over anything else, I need to constantly push myself outside of my comfort zone, trying things I normally wouldn’t want to do. I know that I will learn the most about myself from doing this (evidenced from my time solo-traveling… which was definitely not within my comfort zone), and I can’t truly grow without doing things that make me uncomfortable.

That’s all for this post. While I might make another pre-departure post before I go (whether it be packing tips or more excitement), I am going to assume that I won’t post again until Copenhagen.

So, SEE YA IN COPENHAGEN (AH!)

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Maya is a senior International Studies major, spending the spring 2018 semester in Denmark through DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia.

Read more from Maya at travelingpapaya.wordpress.com

Don't miss your opportunity to study abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/.