|
Share Your Experience: Denmark
My Danish Roots
I decided to study abroad for a variety of reasons.
I wanted to learn about a different culture, I wanted to experience engineering outside of my campus, and I wanted to have a semester of fun! As I reflect on my experience, I feel that I have accomplished my goals and have gained a better perspective on life.
I wanted to learn about a different culture.
Denmark was a perfect fit for me.
It was not too big, classes were in English and my brother was only 3 hours away studying in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Danish culture is truly unique among the Scandinavian countries as well as the European Union.
Because of its small size, the Danes have a great respect for their land and resources.
In addition, the Danish traditions such as the mid-summer festival, Jul day, which marks the first sales of the annual Christmas beer, and the season of candles, are special to each person.
The language was the most interesting to me.
It is a very difficult language to learn and since only five million speak Danish, it is not a world language.
Consequently, English was commonly used.
The woman whom I lived with and her family were my greatest teachers of the Danish culture.
I enjoyed hearing about the history and traditions.
Overall, the Danish culture forced me to appreciate how others live and also the everyday conveniences that I take for granted.
I wanted to experience engineering outside of my home university.
The Denmark Technical University or DTU was where I spent the majority of my time.
It was a very big adjustment at DTU.
I was extremely impressed with the academics and professors.
I was able to take classes that I would not have been able to take at my home university.
I am positive that these studies, which were mainly environmental, will help me see problems with a different perspective.
The only disappointment in this abroad engineering experience, was my own inabilities to recognize that technology is not the
same in each country.
I assumed that because I was enrolled at a technical university it would have the same standards as with any technical universities in the US.
Honestly, I became very upset about the conditions at first.
As the semester passed, I inquired about the conditions and understood the differences.
I realized that the government, presence of company support and the culture directly affect the technological standards at a university.
Inside the academics, I had group projects.
I was exposed to four or five cultures at once.
Being able to collaborate with other students, where English was their second language, was challenging.
Engineering and problem solving skills are not always the same for each person — this is true in any culture.
The key was being able to understand each person's work habits while utilizing their talents but also to respect their opinions.
After this experience, I feel that I could work with anyone.
The exposure of engineering outside the US and working successfully with other cultures has been an invaluable experience for me.
I wanted to have a semester of fun.
When contemplating whether I should take a semester to work or to go abroad there was no question in my mind.
I have the rest of my life to work and going abroad was an opportunity that I could only do at this point in my life.
I definitely had a semester of fun.
I met so many great people from all around the world.
I made friends that I know I will always keep in touch with.
I did have the opportunity to travel; however, it was not as much as I would have liked.
One of my favorite things to do was to just walk around Copenhagen to see the beautiful sights.
I won a scholarship through a company called ABB.
With this I had the opportunity to visit the ABB site in Denmark.
It was so neat to talk with a few of the employees and understand what ABB does in industry.
I was very fortunate to have this added experience.
When I think of Denmark and DTU I will always remember the daily lunch meetings in the Kantine, the train rides into the city, the Tuesday night ritual of Pizza Hut and the Cellar bar, my host family and most of all the wonderful people that I met.
Without a doubt, my experience in Denmark changed me as a person as a scholar and as an employee.
I have learned many lessons from the culture the academics and from my friends.
One of the greatest lessons is to be proud of who I am and where I come from but also to remember that differences are unique.
Denmark will always be with me and I hope to one-day return to my Danish roots.
Megan C. Gibbs, January 27, 2002
|
