Meet Me in Copenhagen ♥ Michelle

When traveling to a new country, there are bound to be cultural differences and since I’ve gotten to Copenhagen I’ve noticed quite a few interesting differences that stand out the most to me. Here’s a list of 10 differences between the U.S and Copenhagen from so small it’s almost silly to very large cultural norms that seem to impact almost every interaction.

1. Yogurt comes in milk cartons: Except for some greek yogurt that I have seen, in Danish grocery stores the yogurt comes in the carton containers right next to the milk. When you don’t read danish and there’s not always a picture of a banana or a strawberry on a the carton, sometimes it is very hard to tell the difference between all the milk variations and the yogurt; luckily, Danish people are very nice and if you ask which milk is heavy cream and which one is yogurt, in my experience they are always very friendly and interested to hear about how it is not the norm for yogurt to come in cartons in the United States.

2. It’s not common or necessary to tip in Denmark: while tips are always welcome, it’s not common to tip because, as I understand, the people working in the service industry are actually paid living wages. In the U.S. waiters rely on tips as their hourly wage is almost nothing, but in Denmark a tip will not determine if they will make ends meat that night or not. 

3. Danish people love their hot dogs: this one I was really not expecting, but truly there are hot dog stands all over the place, from the airport, to the streets, to ice skating rinks (see picture below). I have not tried one yet, but before I leave Copenhagen I will make sure I take part in this unexpectedly large part of Danish culture.

4. Dogs are rarely on leash and it’s not common to ask to pet a dog: the fact the dogs are rarely on leash is really amazing, because while there are not as many cars as one would expect in a large city, it is still a big city with lots of people and bikers and streets for dogs to run away on, and yet the dogs are so well behaved they sniff what they want and never stray too far or in the wrong direction. The dogs are also sooo beautiful which makes the fact that people don’t often pet stranger’s dogs very difficult for me. I love dogs and back home in Boulder or at the University of Puget Sound, if there’s a dog around it’s expect that someone will ask to pet it, so adapting to this cultural norm has definitely been a struggle for me. 

5. The 7/11’s in Denmark are incredibly nice: When I saw my first 7/11 in Denmark I thought it was a different chain with the same name because there was no way in hell that was the same 7/11 that I knew back in the States with barbed wire around the parking lot. But shockingly it is the same chain and I now love 7/11s. They’re a great place to grab a cheep and tasty salad (yes I did say salad from 7/11), a warm come of coffee or coco, or some pizza late at night when that’s just what you need to hit the spot. My flatmates are also obsessed with the taquitos at 7/11. One time my friend Harry went in to the 7/11 and asked for “the rest of the taquitos”. There was I believe 12 taquitos left and while he shared with our friends he also gave them to people who needed them in the area. 

6. The impact of taxes: I knew that Denmark had high taxes, high social benefits, and high levels of happiness, but before I lived in Copenhagen for a few weeks I didn’t really realize how much of an impact this structure has on people’s everyday interactions. I was talking to a Danish person at a cafe and they explained how people are nicer each other in Denmark than other individualistic societies because they know that through the taxes they support the other and the other supports them; so if you hurt someone in a way you are also paying to heal them. Now I’m not sure that every Dane would agree with this statement, but I have noticed that Danish people are generally very kind and do seem to appreciate all the social benefits, like healthcare, parental leave, education, etc. 

7. A lot of adults and families in Copenhagen don’t own cars: This was really a shock to me because I don’t think I have been somewhere else where it was the norm for adults and families to not own cars. My visiting host family told me this about Copenhagen and while I was in shock at first, it actually makes a lot of sense. Biking is so common and the public transportation of metro, trains, and busses are so reliable and extensive here that having a car is a lot less sustainable, cost effective, and convenient way to travel than biking or using public transportation!

8. There are a lot of children around and they all wear adorable snowsuits: I seriously can not emphasize enough how cute these little snow suits are. The kids toddle around in them but also look so cozy! I’m also very impressed with how often kids are out and about, especially really tiny babies, when it so cold outside. This topic came up in my Gender and Sexuality in Scandinavia class and my teacher explained that in Denmark doctors encourage parents to take their babies out as soon as they can, as it’s good for their health to be outside and good for the parents to socialize. There is definitely a cultural difference here as the idea that babies should be protected from the harshness of the outside and all the possible diseases is much more common in the United States. 

9. Vanilla as a bean: I love to bake and a common ingredient that is required to bake is vanilla extract. Maybe it is just because I shop at one grocery store (Netto) or I just can’t seem to recognize the extract when I see it, but vanilla does not come in the little black bottle with liquid inside, it comes as a full vanilla bean in a little glass tube. I’ve just been cutting the bean open and scraping the insides into whatever I’m baking hoping that it’s not too much or too little. This method could be very wrong, but the bean smells good and I haven’t died yet, so I think it’s okay :). 

10. Hygge: This danish word/concept is pronounce hyoo-guh and represents a mood of coziness and contentness. A place when you’re likely to feel hygge is when you’re at your favorite cafe (perfectly decorated with plants and real candles) chatting with your friends sitting in a comfy couch next to a fireplace all while sipping on the perfect hot chocolate, not having anywhere else to be. You can feel in Copenhagen the conscious efforts in stores, restaurants, cafes, homes, or really anywhere you go, to provide a sense of hygge. If you ever visit Copenhagen I recommend The Living Room Cafe to see if you can experience the hygge there! 

So there you have it folks. I’m sure the longer I am in Denmark the more I will notice, but for now I hope you enjoyed these top 10! 

This past week was spent with my core course class, Positive Psychology (section A), in Copenhagen and in Aarhus (a city in Western Denmark). From learning about the non-profit, Cycling Without Age, to walking around downtown Copenhagen to see how architecture influences people and the community, to participating in a figure drawing class, to visiting the infamous ARoS art museum, to many group meals and bus rides, and to spending time in a unique community living group, it was a week of learning and experiencing that I will not forget. While it would be a ten-thousand-word blog post to go into detail about everything my class did, I will pick a few of my favorites to tell you about. 

The city of Aarhus, the second-largest in Denmark, has the modern art museum ARoS. It is 10 floors and is filled with a large variety of art from film, to sculpture, to immersive rooms and optical illusions, to impressionist and religious paintings, it really has it all! It also has a well-known color wheel skywalk at the top of the museum (see some of my classmates and in the wheel below). It was really interesting to see how different types of art pieces and exhibits can affect your wellbeing so drastically. One picture may make you uncomfortable or distressed, but another can make you feel at home or happy. Why is that? Do people experience art the same way? How can art be used in the treatment of mental health? These are some of the many questions that arose in relation to positive psychology while touring the museum. 

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When traveling back from Aarhus my class went to visit the community Svanholm. We had a tour around their grounds and farms to see how living in a community where meals, childcare, economy, and so on, is all shared affects wellbeing and happiness. Svanholm describes their mission as follows;

“Our basis is formed by common ideals concerning ecology, income sharing, communal living, and finally, Self Government. We are still a part of the outside society, we invite our nabours to harvest-marked, Christmas-marked, etc., and we participate in commitees and the social life in the schools and local area, as well as some of us join political parties, NGO’s and global movements. Realizing some of our ideas of a better society at Svanholm can actually give us inspirations to formulate goals and strategies for the outside society for which we also feel a responsibility.” (https://svanholm.dk/english)

This ideology is very unique and it was quite impactful to be able to meet the people who live there, see the difference in their cows, taste the wholeness of their grains and vegetables, as well as to feel the peace that one may find in their gardens. While this type of living situation is not for everyone, it is important as a class of aspiring psychologists to see firsthand how different living communities can positively affect people’s wellbeing. 

This trip was also a great opportunity to be able to get to know my classmates, professor, and intern advisor, outside of the classroom and immersed in different learning environments. In March I will be traveling with this same group to Edinburgh, Scottland and I can not wait! It is a really great group of people and the immersive learning experiences are truly unparalleled to anything I have previously experienced. 

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Holy cow has this week and a bit been another whirlwind! Some highlights include renting a bike for my four months here (and I bought a helmet, yay!), almost crashing on my bike but not (yay!), going to Sweden when I didn’t have class on a Wednesday, cooking some pretty tasty tomato basil soup along with some other meals, having my first full week of classes, going to the independent activist record label, Demos, with my Music LLC, touring the popular area of Nyhavn with my flatmates, taking a canal tour, stumbling upon a super cool live blues venue, walking around the city to places like Nørrebro, bumping into Copenhagen fashion week outside of The Round Tower as I was walking to the grocery store (very unexpected), playing round after round of card and board games in my living room with my flatmates, and enjoying each day as I simultaneous develop a routine and try new things. 

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I can say after my first full week of classes that I really enjoy each of them. I find the professors and the course work really unique and interesting. I already feel like I’m learning theory and knowledge that can be applied to the type of clinical work that I am interested in doing as a career. Due to the curriculum structure at my school, the classes are very research centered and statistically based. While this is, of course, valuable, I feel reinvigorated by the opportunity to study psychology that is more tailored to my interests and future counseling career goals at DIS. I have been especially loving examining case studies in my Psychology of Crisis class and Psychology of Human Sexuality class. The professors at DIS are experts in their field and work every day with the material they teach, so I constantly feel like I am absorbing so much priceless information from them. In my Identity Lab class this past week we conducted an exercise in empathy with our classmates, and while it was emotionally intense, it was truly an experiential learning experience that I will never forget. Next week my Positive Psychology class will be having our first core course week where we will spend the first half of the week in the city of Copenhagen and the second half of the week in an old Danish town, Aarhus. I can’t wait to learn hands-on here in the city and in a new place. I will make sure to update you all as soon as I get back!

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I think one of my favorite things about Copenhagen is making a plan to go to one place, but finding about 17 other incredible and unexpected things along the way. For example, this weekend my flat and I planned to go to the popular Copenhagen waterfront, Nyhavn, and on the way, we saw these steel igloos on the side of the road. We saw people coming out of them so of course, we went over to take a look. When we ducked in through the little door, it was one of the most incredible sites I have ever seen (see picture featured below). We also saw an ice skating rink to the side of the path with a sign that had icons that portraying “no shoes” “no drinks” and “no hotdogs” (people in Copenhagen really love their hot dogs!). I also love seeing people biking with the carriages in the front and what they put them in. So far I have seen children, suitcases, dogs, adults, groceries, and a large musical instrument (I find it very amusing and am constantly on the lookout).

In my first day of class in my core course of Positive Psychology, my professor said that live is lived in moments. I feel that this first week in Copenhagen has been a whirlwind of moments- beautiful, stressful, exciting, tiring, exhilarating, special moments. In my first week I have met lots of new people, moved in to the most beautiful flat that already feels like home, gotten lost on a 3 minute walk to the grocery store, gone to the free living town of Christiania with my music llc and professional musical advisor, found the infamous copenhagen street trampolines, attended the DIS orientation, cooked dinner for my flat mates, attended talks hosted by DIS on how to live like a local, went out to a local bar with recommended by a friendly Danish woman on the street, meet my visiting host family (a wonderful couple who live in Frederiksberg and got married last weekend!), and had my first day of classes. Like I said, a whirlwind!

Copenhagen is such a beautiful city, it didn’t take me long to realize how special the place, people, culture, and school are. Although it’s a little jarring to wake up at 7:30 and for it to still be dark out, you can see the sunrise while you’re out and starting your day! Here was the sunrise when I was walking to the DIS Orientation at a really cool old circus venue.

My flat is on the third floor of a building that is older than the United States of America! While the location couldn’t be more ideal for city living, the architecture is also incredible, the flat is surprisingly spacious, and the eight other students who live there I can already call my friends. I cooked dinner for them on Tuesday night and had a blast cooking as well as sharing our first home cooked meal together.

My health app has been very impressed with the amount of steps I have taken this week, but I have to say there’s no better way to explore Copenhagen than on foot! I have only taken the metro once, and although I was terrified at first to attempt it on my own in a new place with a a language I don’t know, it was surprisingly simple! Here are some highlights from my walking adventures!

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I was a little nervous for my first day of class, and although I have only had three today (since we start on a Thursday), my nerves are already calmed by my excitement to learn from the incredible professor and in immersive and experiential ways. I can’t wait to write about my classes, more city adventures, and yummy food in my next post. See you all in a week, tak!