Yara Eliyan
I have always had a fascination with Northern Europe because of their lifestyle, architecture, and overall ‘vibe’. I wanted to get first hand experience in a city that combines its urban planning, transportation, and energy to make a sustainable city. Much of my time in classes is spent using theory and case studies to understand good design practice and it is not often we get to go out and experience it first hand.
Getting to Copenhagen late August I was greeted by warmth I didn’t expect, and did not get used to as my first five days were by far the warmest of my whole time there. Luckily I was busy figuring out how the metro worked, lugging hangers, bedding, and groceries to my apartment while I awaited my appointment for my bike rental. My first couple of days in Copenhagen were overwhelming; I got to meet some of the other people in the UCEAP UCPH program, people in my building, and get a feel for the city. It was setting in that I just moved across the world for four months. In the moments I felt alone I occupied myself exploring and making an active effort to reach out to the people. On the last semi-warm day I had school orientation where afterwards I knew what I had to do to cement my new adventure before it was too late. I packed my swimsuit and made my way to Islands Brygge Harbour Bath where I took a plunge into the icy, refreshing canal for a swim. Exhilarated by the feeling and seeing everyone so happy enjoying the sun I felt like I had truly made the right decision in my study abroad at this moment.
Throughout my time in Copenhagen I was able to make many meaningful friendships with people I would have otherwise never met. I lived in an all international student housing building, Mariendalsvej, which facilitated a great atmosphere to meet people from all over the world whether they were studying abroad for a semester, year, or for their masters. My flat mates consisted of men from Spain, France, and Germany, and another girl from Japan. We had weekly roommate dinners every Sunday where people would take turns cooking a meal that represented where they were from or their culture in order to facilitate recipe sharing and getting together. Some of the UCEAP students I had met my first week became some of my closest friends while abroad and to this day. Many of us realized we had classes together and shared interests and reasons for studying abroad. Traveling, exploring, and all the intricacies that come with it creates such a bond I will truly never forget with these people. During my time abroad I was able to travel to Lund, Stockholm, Rome, Florence, Milan, Prague, Amsterdam, Bergen, London, Paris, and Berlin. I used trains when I could, especially within trips like throughout Italy and coordinated to visit other friends studying abroad where they were.
I was enrolled in two Danish culture courses: Sustainable Development in Denmark and Danish Urban Design and Architecture. The Danish culture classes were set up with international students in mind cultivating an environment to learn from different peoples perspectives, backgrounds, and education. My classes also had excursions which were essentially field trips that really got us to engage and physically experience many of the things we would discuss in class. I got to go to the Louisiana Modern Art Museum, Maritime Museum, Malmo Sweden, a horticulture commune, and many other places throughout the excursions. There were self-guided tours of different areas we would be talking about each week so I would meet up with my friends and we used these assignments as great ways to get to know different parts of Copenhagen we otherwise wouldn’t have. My friends and I quickly discovered new favorites sharing with each other the bakeries, cafes, and bars we have tried. Two of my favorite traditions my friends and I took up was going to a board game cafe where we got to play all types of board games, codenames being a crowd favorite, while getting snacks and being able to get anything from tea, hot chocolate, to a beer or gin and tonic. The other was a weekly trivia night hosted by a pub where we got to come in teams and play four rounds of trivia about all sorts of geography, pop culture, music, movies, and general knowledge.
I got involved in Studenterhuset which is a cafe and bar that is meant to be a place that cultivates a community for students of higher education learning in Copenhagen. I volunteered as a Barista/Bartender for about three months. Besides the technical skills I learned, I also got to meet a lot of other international students as well as Danish people on my shifts whether they be fellow volunteers or shift leads. I was able to learn about a lot of the specific Danish cultural events, foods, and norms from the locals who were very sweet and loved to share stories as well as learn about my background.
Some of my family and friends from back home came to visit me in Copenhagen and it was so special to show them around the place I had made home and introduce them to all the new people in my life. As my time came to a close in Copenhagen I was devastated to leave, but a friend back home put it into perspective to me as something to be grateful for. Being sad about leaving somewhere means I was able to make friends, memories, and a lifestyle that I had fallen in love with which is something to be proud of. As I move into my final semester of college I am taking this sentiment with me for my next adventure post grad. Wherever and whatever it may be, I hope to create a similar feeling to my time in Copenhagen.
Yara Eliyan is a fourth year Sustainable Environmental Design major with a City Planning minor and certificate in Design Innovation. She has been a part of various design clubs and currently a member of Epsilon Eta, a co-ed environmental professional fraternity. Her interests include resilient design, sustainable cities, and their intersections with environmental justice.
Nordic Center at UC Berkeley 