Hej!
For those of you surprised by my fluency, don’t worry! That’s one of just two Danish words in my vocabulary; the other is tak which means “thank you!”
My name is Janet Haver and I’m currently studying with DIS in Copenhagen for Session 1. Back home in the States, I’m studying Media and Journalism at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a focus in Public Relations. Since many of my classes at UNC-Chapel Hill are centered only on journalism, I wanted to use this summer to explore classes in different arenas!
I’ll be spending Session 1 with DIS in Copenhagen taking Children with Special Needs, an education course focusing on childcare and special education systems in Denmark and comparing them to American systems. Throughout the class, we combine lectures with travel throughout the country, visiting local schools and professionals with experience in the field!
For Session 2, I’ll be traveling to Stockholm to study in a psychology class focused on political behavior. During this course, we spend one week in Berlin on our study tour! This tour enables us to observe the course material first-hand, both from an educational and cultural standpoint.
I started the process of searching for study abroad programs a long, long time ago. I knew I wanted the experience of studying internationally, but I had no idea where I wanted to look for programs. I can remember having at least 15 different tabs open on my laptop of programs on nearly every continent… well, not Antartica. But you get the point.
It wasn’t until my mom randomly suggested Scandinavia that I found out about the programs offered through DIS. “What about those Scandinavian countries,” my mom said. “I think people always like going there, what kinds of programs do they have?”
While I doubt she recognized how powerful this comment was, I have to say I’m incredibly grateful for her advice. When I found out DIS offered a summer program, I knew it was the best option for me! I perform with the UNC Marching Band during the school year and wasn’t going to be able to study abroad during the semester due to my commitments with the band. As such, studying abroad during the summer was the perfect fit; it gave me the chance to study internationally without hurting any of my prior commitments.
And now that I’m four days in, I have to say it again: “Thank you mom!” Studying with DIS in Copenhagen has been a terrific experience this far, and I’m certain it can only get better. I’m loving my class and being able to explore this beautiful city afterward definitely gives me something to look forward to. Everyone here seems to be cheery, always smiling and willing to help you translate the street signs when you’re really, really lost.
I’m looking forward to continuing my summer studies with DIS, and can’t wait to share them!