Patrick Jacobsen
If you would have told my past self that I would end up spending a semester abroad in Copenhagen, he would have balked. Before the fall of 2022 I had never left the United States, except for a brief foray to see the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls. In fact, I had never truly lived on my own due to my situation as a commuter student. Despite all of this I decided to take a chance and go abroad to the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) for my fall 2022 semester. Part of this decision was down to a sense of urgency stemming from the fact that UC Berkeley Environmental Science majors generally need to stay for their final three semesters to take university specific courses. However, my decision to go abroad was also motivated by personal aspirations. Early in the pandemic I discovered that I have a Scandinavian connection in my family, specifically a Norwegian one. As I learned more and more about the place my family had come from, I realized that visiting a Scandinavian country would be the best way to satiate my curiosity.
The first few days after my arrival in Copenhagen were the most challenging ones for me. On the first day my eSIM card failed, leaving me to navigate to my dorm on my own. On the second day, I managed to crash and break my bike the day after I had it delivered. On top of all of that, there was a putrid smell coming from somewhere in my dorm room that I could not pinpoint. However, I quickly found how welcoming Denmark is to first timers like me. The public transit in Copenhagen is amazing. All the signage is in English and there is a single transit card for the buses, subways, and S-trains. This meant that despite not having data on the first day, I was able to use station signage and my transit card to get to my dorm. With this two-hour crash course completed, I had mastered the basics of Copenhagen’s public transit system. Combining this mastery with a bike and Google maps grants you access to all of Copenhagen, most cities in Denmark and even some cities outside of Denmark such as Malmö, Sweden. Coming from the car-dependent land of the “free”, the Danish public transit system and the Copenhagen bike road network (yes, I said bike road!) made me feel truly independent despite my situation as a money strapped foreign student. As my stay progressed into its second day, I learned firsthand that the Danes themselves are just as friendly and accommodating as the transit system they have built.
In addition to speaking English, most Danes are happy to help foreigners in need. For instance, after getting my bike the day I arrived I managed to crash it into a pole the very next day while picking up bedding. As I brushed myself off an older Danish lady immediately came over to see if I was okay. Upon learning that I didn’t know how to refit a loose bike chain, she spent the next few minutes of her time instructing me how to do so in English. I was so grateful to have someone there for me in that vulnerable moment and glad to know that my fears of being totally isolated in Denmark were completely unfounded.
Even Danes who weren’t fluent in English were extremely accommodating. For example, once I had reported the smell in my dorm room, my building manager John immediately started helping me. Despite struggling with English, he was determined and spent the next five months trying to pinpoint the smell, calling in plumbers, and moving me into smell free apartments when he could. Although the smell was frustrating, I always felt that there was someone there for me and that something was being done about the problem. By the end of my stay, John and I had become good friends through our shared struggle against the stench and had even exchanged Christmas gifts.
As a first-time international student, I found that Copenhagen was the perfect place to take my first steps towards independence. The transit system lets you anywhere in the city and beyond, freeing you from the confines of car centric infrastructure and allowing your exploratory musings to become reality. Most importantly, the Danes are kind and accommodating to a fault whether it be an average person on the street or a member of your study abroad support team. This means there will almost always be people around to help when you get into a pickle. I can’t emphasize enough how wonderful an experience studying abroad in Copenhagen was. If you’ve never studied abroad before and are looking for an unforgettable adventure, you should put Copenhagen at the top of your list.
Patrick is an East Bay resident pursuing a major in Environmental Science and a minor in Geospatial Information Science and Technology at UC Berkeley. He is particularly interested in using remote sensing to understand the spread of invasive plant species in arid California environments. His hobbies include film photography, record collecting, hiking, and drawing.
Nordic Center at UC Berkeley 