Today I am wearing leather pants.
Sure, I’ve worn them at home, but only on the occasional evening out. They’re the kind of Saturday night pants that you wouldn’t want to run into your minister wearing because they look just a little too edgy.
But here I am on a Monday morning in a coffee shop wearing black leather pants, and everybody’s doing it. I look no more out of place here than a Patagonia would look in Lexington.
The real kicker is that I’ve been here before, so I should be used to the fashion, right? I took the BUS 180 spring term class last year and spent two weeks growing accustomed to the chic, modern street style that is so commonplace here in Copenhagen, but a year later when packing my bags to return, I second guessed myself. Black outfits were thrown into my duffel, but so were white jeans and colorful dresses, not to mention some yoga pants and several baseball caps. I thought I must have been mistaken – that such a happy country had to have more color. But no, the cheery nature of this country has nothing to do with what color people wear or how blustery the weather gets. It’s just something in the water.
So, I have discovered that even though it is my second time in Denmark, I am going through an adjustment period once again.
This time around I know about the crepe shop and not to mistakenly order the soft ice with chocolate specks in it. I know that the wifi at the hostel is nothing to write home about but that the view from any room on the eleventh floor definitely is.
Assimilating in Copenhagen is probably much easier than it is in other cities. Everyone speaks English here, everyone is quick to point you in the right direction, it’s not actually that big of a city, etc. Even without blonde hair and pale skin, it’s easy to feel at home here – especially if you rent a bike – but there is still some adjustment that takes place every time you travel to a different place. There is a degree of uncertainty about what the next day will hold.
I truly believe that this year, we have the chance to assimilate because we’re here for longer. A month gives you time to find your favorite places to eat and work, as well as enough time to identify places that aren’t worth your time or money. I am excited to live and work in this beautiful city, and I am especially excited to become more than a “tourist.”
Hence, the leather pants.
Among the recurring themes that I have seen in these blog posts and others from past iterations of the course . . . bikes, black attire, soft ice, hygge, food, cultural adaptation, and a few others.
I do think that the cultural adaptation (the word assimilation frightens me a bit) is more relevant for BUS 391 than for BUS 180. There are several reasons for this, some of which you note. Among the most important,
1. Being there 4.5 weeks (BUS 391) allows for adaptation in ways that 2 weeks (BUS 180) does not.
2. We structure the time of BUS 180 students far more than we do BUS 391.
3. Students are older and more mature.
4. Some BUS 391 students are returning to Copenhagen for a second tour, as you are.
As a strong proponent of international immersion, we are seeing more and more students who think of study abroad as something more than “checking a box” and, in fact, make it a regular part of their four-year college experience. They may take more than one spring term abroad class AND spend a semester abroad in a partner program like DIS AND do a summer internship abroad or a summer research program abroad, AND . . .
Some of the students ultimately pursue our certificate of international immersion. If you aren’t familiar with it, think of it as “Honors in International Studies.” You can read more at https://www.wlu.edu/center-for-international-education/study-abroad/certificate-of-international-immersion.
This is one reason why I encourage students to stay put in Copenhagen during their down time and learn as much as they can about the place while there. The alternative of bouncing around Europe is appealing for other reasons, I suppose. Still, as I remind students, I’ve been to Copenhagen around 20 times, and I learn and experience something new every time. That was true last week, and I have no doubt it will be true when I get back next week too.