My class left early Thursday morning for Aarhus and Ringkøbing. On the way, we stopped at The Institute for Strategy and Military Operations and had a lecture on Denmark's role in Afghanistan. From there, we continued on to Aarhus where we got to attend a lecture at the law school at the University of Aarhus. (By the way, the campus was BEAUTIFUL. It was so much different than Copenhagen University in that it actually had a quad and gorgeous green grass and a super fun student center.. Made me miss Stonehill a tiny bit!) The lecture integrated international relations/international law, and half the class was dedicated to a group discussion where we got to mix with students from the university. It was really cool that we got to actually participate in the class and share our views with other international students. It did, however, kind of make me realize that I literally know nothing about the world and the events that are happening in other countries. Politics/current events have never really interested me, but attending this class really made me want to get up to date on what's going on in the world, because there is seriously so much that's always changing.
After the lecture, we had the most delicious dinner with the students from class. They were all so much fun- some where from Denmark, but we also met people from Germany, Australia, and Italy. The interesting thing about universities in Denmark is that the ages of the students vary so much. Some were my age, 20, while others were 26+ and already had Masters degrees in something else. It's so much different than the US system of graduating high school and going straight on to college. Talking to international students about the differences is so interesting because they find our system to be pretty weird. After dinner, a few of us went out with the university students we had made friends with, and they showed us around Aarhus. Even though it was a Thursday, we found a nice place to sit and hang out, and we actually ended up running into other DIS kids too! I was really sad we only had one night in the city because it seemed like so much fun, and it's definitely on my list of places to go back to.
The next day, we went to the Headquarters of the Danish Fleet and talked to one of the commanders who deals a lot with piracy off the coast of Somalia. Definitely a favorite lecture among the class- I found it so interesting, especially because it related a lot more to my specific criminology interests!! Then we switched gears a little and went to check out ARoS art museum.
Let me just say- normally I really dislike art museums.. and most other museums for that matter, but I absolutely LOVED ARoS. One of the more famous pieces they have there is a gigantic fiberglass boy, but that paled in comparison to their most recent addition- an exhibit by Olafur Eliasson featuring basically a ton of rainbow themed works. First, we went into "The Fog Room," which was a room filled with super thick fog and you literally couldn't see more than 3 inches in front of your face. My friend Sarah and I actually ended up crashing into a wall because it was so dense. As you walked, the fog changed color, and we went from red to green to blue to purple to yellow- the whole spectrum. It was the coolest thing ever.
Sarah & me in the fog
We ended by going up to the roof of the museum, where they have what's called "The Rainbow Panorama." You can walk around a huge circle made out of different colors of class, tinting the entire city of Aarhus in every color of the rainbow. The idea is that you "become" part of the art (and also got to enjoy the most beautiful view ever!)
Rainbow Panorama
Me, Sarah, and Charlotte; teal version
In short, I'm obsessed with Aarhus and ARoS. (Here begin a few choice insightful remarks, get ready...
I thought it was so great to get out of Copenhagen, as much as I love it, for a few days. Now that it's been a few weeks, I've gotten into even more of a routine, and a lot of the things that were so exciting in the beginning were becoming commonplace. Going to Aarhus was something new, and it had such a different feeling from Copenhagen- still a lot going on, but very "hyggelig." All the people we met were so much fun, and we got a good taste of the Danish sense of humor. Other people we met out and about in the city weren't afraid to tease us for 1. being from Copenhagen and 2. being Americans. In another sense, interacting with the students there gives you a really different outlook on education, and life in general. It's normal here to take some years off to travel or to just determine what it is that you really want to do. In the US, that's kind of frowned upon I think, and many people are scared to do it. In reality, I don't think it's practical in US culture, but it's also kind of a shame. It makes me wonder what is really so wrong about wanting to go out and have adventures and explore the world... what makes that experience less admirable than going straight to a job or higher education? Oh well, enough of the insight.)
Sadly, we soon departed for our next stop- Ringkøbing. We made a quick stop at a sandcastle festival, then went to our hostel where we went bowling and roasted bread. Yes, bread. Not marshmallows. According to our professor, Danish people DO actually enjoy this activity.. The next day, we went on a walk along to beach to see the remainder of Hitler's Atlantic Wall and even got to crawl into an old bunker.
Sand!
Roasting our bread...
Quite a large, not so cozy concrete bunker..
After the beach, our last stop before heading back to Copenhagen was "The Monkey Trail"- basically a ropes course in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, many of us were not adequately prepared for this activity and ended up zip-lining through the trees in ballet flats, jeans, and a cardigan (oops.)
Overall, Study Tour #1 was a success, and I had so much fun!! The first week of October my class heads to Kosovo... bring it on!
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