by Sofia Christensen
My summer at the Copenhagen Business School was unlike any other. I have visited Denmark numerous times throughout my life but living in the heart of Copenhagen for six weeks allowed me to experience the city in a different way. I have never lived in Denmark, but all of my extended family lives in Denmark and thus I have visited almost every year of my life. Even as I had been to Denmark and was accustomed to some Danish traditions and foods, living in Copenhagen showed me a side of the Danish lifestyle I had never experienced. Living in Denmark for the summer as a student at CBS truly changed my perception of Denmark and the Danish people.
One of the lessons I learned quickly after arriving in Denmark was that Danes base their activities on the weather. Living in California my whole life I was so accustomed to planning out my weeks in advance as the weather is consistent and predictable. Planning a beach day a week out is easy during the summer in California as the weather is generally always nice. I quickly learned that habit wouldn’t work in Denmark where the weather ranges immensely every day.
My peers and I quickly gave up on the weather apps which were always wrong and would make plans the day of depending on the weather. While it took some adjustment it soon became an aspect of life I valued. Everyone in Denmark seemed to never take nice weather for granted, I was amazed to hear that everyone took off work at 1pm to enjoy the nice day in the sun. I spent many of the warm Danish summer days swimming in the canals and eating ice cream. The appreciation of sunlight and warm weather was something I had taken for granted being a California native, but now I still try to appreciate days where the weather is nice by spending time outside.
It Is pretty well known that Copenhagen is a bike friendly city, and I truly couldn’t have imagined living in Copenhagen without a bike. Biking allowed me to get a sense of where I was and live at the same pace as the other Danes. It was inspiring to see everyone biking rain or shine to everything from the grocery store to classes and work biking was a consistency in the city. One of my personal favorite things was watching women bike in dresses and long skirts, it spoke to the way that biking isn’t considered a workout but more a convenient means of transportation throughout Copenhagen. I started biking everywhere, even in dresses, and it was much more seamless than I thought it would be. Biking also offered an easy way to spend time outside each day which I really valued.
The cohesion of the city and the people that lived in Copenhagen was another thing I found shocking compared to the United States. People were always so orderly in everything they did, and I rarely saw people breaking social norms or rules. The Danes never littered, didn’t cross the street until the walk sign came on, and always stood to the right on the escalators. I found peace in the predictability of people’s habits, and it was nice to be able to walk on the escalators when I was running late, something I miss now that I am back in the United States.
Overall, it’s hard to describe all the little changes I noticed and experienced in Denmark that left an impact on me. I would say the greatest take-away I have is the happiness and the peace that most Danes seem to carry with them. One of my program leaders described it as Danes have a tendency to “protect their inner peace”. The practice of making my happiness a priority in my life is something I have tried to hold onto even as I am no longer living in Denmark. My summer in Denmark is a time I will always cherish. I loved the various farmers’ markets and vintage shops that appeared sporadically through the city and the endless ice cream shops there were to try, each somehow better than the last.
Sofia is a 4th year at UC Berkeley, double majoring in Business Administration and Media Studies. Sofia is the VP of Sustainability for the Haas Business School Association and is interested in pursuing a career in marketing post-grad.
Nordic Center at UC Berkeley 