Hi! My name is Rebekah Reynolds. I am a senior Interior Architecture student at the Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design with a minor in music. This summer I participated in the Danish Institute of Study Abroad (DIS) in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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I have been studying in Denmark for almost two months now, and there is this phrase I have begun using quite a bit since arriving in Denmark, c’est la vie. Now you may be saying, “but that’s French, not danish!”, and yes that is true, but somehow it has become a saying that I now associate with Denmark… oh well. Another thing you may be thinking is “that’s not the most positive outlook” or maybe “what even does that mean?”. C’est la vie translates to “Such is life”, and I would argue that rather than a negative outlook on life, it is a way of stating that not everything in life is in your control, and that’s ok. This is something I have learned constantly in my journey abroad, starting all the way back to the application process.
I first applied to DIS during the spring semester of 2020, with plans to travel that summer. Within 4 hours of receiving my letter of acceptance into the program, I received an email informing students that due to COVID-19, no UARK students would be studying abroad that summer… c’est la vie. This is how I ended up studying abroad the summer after my senior year, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Fast forward to arriving in Denmark. After many flight delays and stressful hours in the airport, I finally arrive in Copenhagen, only to be told that my luggage did not arrive with me. I spent my first week in Copenhagen with only my carry on bag, wearing the same two t-shirts and jeans, and you know what, I couldn’t find it in me to care! I thought “ why on earth should I be torn up about my lack of luggage when I’m in Denmark on a life changing journey?”, c’est la vie. And not to worry, I did eventually receive my luggage! (Pro tip- pack your carry on as if you will lose your luggage for a week).
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Moving on to the first time I actually heard someone say the words c’est la vie on this trip. When studying abroad through DIS, you go on a 1 week study tour in different countries (I went to Norway and Sweden), and it is basically a jam packed week of travel, meeting new people from other classes, and good times. What you can not expect is to feel well rested for the entirety of that week. After a particularly long day of travel (I’m pretty sure we were awake for 18 hrs), a professor used c’est la vie while discussing the trip and it caught on. I wish I could remember the context, but alas I was just a little tired.
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At this point in the trip I had realized that life going in an unexpected way had become a trend for me. This was something that a planner like myself usually did not enjoy, and yet every time life had taken an unexpected turn, amazing things came from allowing myself to let go and continue on. I came to Denmark without any close friends, and will be leaving with a group of friends that will be with me for life. I woke up each day with no specific plans, and let life decide what would happen. I branched out from my usual design habits in the studio and benefited greatly in the learning experience. I lived life to the fullest by not allowing myself to get caught in expectations but instead staying grounded in the now. C’est la vie.
Now I have to come back to reality, and begin this new chapter of life as an official working adult. And though I am sad to end this chapter of travel and school, I enter this new one with the wisdom that life isn’t in my control, but it’s better off that way. How else are you supposed to have fun? And so I leave Denmark with these parting words, c’est la vie.
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