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Becky Rasmussen "As a journalism major, everyone kept telling me how many study abroad programs the J-School offered. But I've never been content to follow the crowd. I wanted to go somewhere different, but I also wanted to be able to take my classes in English. As soon as I came across the pamphlet for DIS, I was hooked. So far, it's been a program that few MU students participate in. But it was certainly worth taking a chance. "Through DIS I was able to experience a truly unique culture that many Americans know little about. I think DIS can be an option for everyone considering study abroad. It offers the choice of a host family stay (which I loved) or a kollegium stay (which is similar to a mix of dorm/apartment housing.) Class offerings range from humanities and political science to medicine and international business, all taught in English by Danish professors. My schedule consisted of courses such as European Conflict and Security, covering such things as NATO and international terrorism, and Criminal Justice in Scandinavia, where I learned all about Denmark's unique "open prisons." Courses include numerous field studies, such as a trip to the Russian embassy or a visit to the Royal Danish Ballet. "Copenhagen is a city of contrasts. Downtown is situated right on the water and is full of quaint cobblestone streets and ancient buildings. Meanwhile, Copenhagen is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Denmark and in northern Europe. Danes love to have a good time, and this attitude can't help but spill over into your study abroad experience. They never take anything too seriously; you can feel free to call your professors by their first name, and then go out for a beer with them after class. "I came back from Denmark with a new sense of independence, new friends from all over the U.S., and a "second" family a continent away. There are too many good things to say about DIS- so feel free to contact me for more information. (I think I saved practically everything from my time abroad!)" E-mail: blrdancer@yahoo.com. 
Molly Dircks "The one question I hate answering (and of course the one that was and is asked most often) is, "Why did you decide to go to Denmark?" I could never really satisfy the person asking this (especially if he/she was Danish), because it is not that great a story. I am an advertising major and needed journalism credits; there are only a few programs to choose from to get them, and I didn't want to go to the UK. That left Holland and Denmark, and having Dutch heritage, I decided on Holland. Unfortunately, I would have had to go for a full year. So Denmark it was. "What I do love answering is "How did you like it?" I LOVED it. I loved my school, my classes, my friends, and my neighbors. "THE SCHOOL - The Danish School of Journalism (Dan marks Journalistikhojskole) is a small school devoted entirely to all disciplines of journalism. The building itself is German functionalist and reflects the Danes' values of simplicity and, of course, functionality. It was made entirely of concrete and was lit nearly entirely by natural light. We called it the bunker, but it really grew on us after a while. "The program was an international program taught in English. There were fourteen of us, everyone a foreigner to Denmark. We had six Estonians, two Russians, one Pole, one Norwegian, one Dutch, one Lithuanian, and two Americans (including myself). Our semester was divided up into 4 three-week workshops, 1 two-week workshop, and a one-week introduction. Our first workshop was conducted half in Copenhagen and half in Aarhus. We covered a demonstration against the new Israeli ambassador, Carmi Gillon, who had conducted over 100 acts of torture. We then got to meet with various politicians in Parliament and attend a press conference. "Our second workshop was all about stereotypes. It was the most interesting and fun workshop of the semester, just because of some of the great discussions we got going with such a diverse group. "Our third workshop was about the European Union and Integration. We spent two weeks in Estonia, using their situation as a case study. Our last workshop was multi-media, where we used everything we did in Estonia to make a website. You can see it here: http://manila.djh.dk/discover. For both of these classes, a group of 12 or so Danish students joined us. "After Estonia we had two weeks (which I managed to stretch into over 3) to travel wherever we wanted. It was a great opportunity to break away from the group and do your own thing. When we got back, we had risk reporting, and then multi-media, which I have already mentioned. "THE CITY AND EXPERIENCE - Aarhus is a town of about 250,000, many of whom attend the university or some other school. Denmark, and Scandinavia in general, is a very expensive country, so we didn't eat out or go out drinking much. What we did do was tour the town every chance we had. It is really quaint. There was a big two-week festival in September, and it is very scenic. Buses in Denmark run on a very strict schedule and adhere to it. If the schedule says the bus will be there at 1:24, it will be. The bus system there made it easy to get wherever we wanted to go (and they have night buses on the weekends running till 3 or 4 am). We also spent A LOT of time having parties with people from our class. We all lived in different parts of the city, so it was a really great way to get to know people REALLY well. I made friends there that I will keep for my lifetime." E-mail: mollydircks@hotmail.com. |
