In this article, I would like to pen down my experiences so far in Copenhagen. Denmark, a cold country with warm hearts. It has been a year and 4 months since I stepped first in this city. At first, like any other foreigner in an unknown land, I was also very scared and anxious being totally unaware of what is ahead of me. The only thought in my mind was: I have to reach DTU somehow. Keeping that thought flared up in mind and keeping calm, I landed with all positivity in Kastrup airport.
The time when I came was January 2017 and at that time it was quite cold in Denmark, at least for a person coming from a place like Mumbai in India where we enjoy sunshine almost all year round and is used to a climate always above at least 18 degrees C. As I came out the airport, a chilly breeze brushed past me. It gave me chills and shivers all through my body though I was equipped with all my best winter gears. Perhaps, it was due to nervousness about landing at a new place which is very different from my home country.
For a few moments, I just stood at one place figuring out how I should reach DTU. Should I take a train or a taxi? I was not sure but after a lot of thinking I decided to go for a taxi, although the taxi fare was a little tough on my pocket it was fine for I was sure I could reach my place of accommodation quiet safely and securely. I took my room keys, the linen bag from DTU and entered my room in Campus Village. My container was really quiet and no one else was there. I had something to eat and just dozed off as I was really very tired.
I arrived 3 days late for my introduction week. Slowly, I started meeting people from my Campus Village. At first, it was difficult and funny for me to understand who was my room-mate and who was a visitor, but slowly talking to people made me comfortable. Also, the thought of having only a very small shower at the dorm, which would be shared by 10 people, just swept out of my mind. Frankly speaking, I was not sure if really anyone could stay inside these dorm rooms, which are made from industrial containers because from outside they look small. But when you enter these dorms you know it is really big to accommodate 10 people and their needs plus it is on campus, what else could you ask for?
It is not just the container but it also the hearts of the people who stay in each one of them which is really big and welcoming. The people at DTU are so welcoming and helpful that you are never in doubt because you are always in safe hands.
I got a lot of help from DTU staff all the time. The next day I met my buddy group and it was really fun. I had even more fun at the gala dinner. Then my classes began and I met the professors. I think DTU has a world-class faculty and staff. Also, the facilities in DTU are excellent. I was awestruck by looking at them. The way of teaching and group work at DTU prepares you to be a complete professional. Slowly, I learned the basic words in danish like “tak” and “mange tak” and started understanding the meaning of hygge. Every day was hygge for me because I enjoyed each and every day to the fullest at DTU.
I started liking rugbrød, getting used to the cold weather though I slipped 5 times on a single snowy day in the beginning as I was not used to walking in the snow before, getting up early to dress in many layers which I felt was an exercise for me in the beginning. Then came the summer holidays, I was excited to visit home but when I reached the airport I was feeling very strange as I was not feeling happy to go back. When the plane took off, my heart filled with the same feeling which I had when I left my home, my country to come to DTU. It was strange. When I landed in Mumbai international airport, I started missing DTU already. Every passing day in my home reminded me of DTU and I wanted to go back as soon as possible. I was so attached to DTU and my student life. Though sometimes student life is difficult but makes you very responsible and independent. Now, I meet a lot of new people, travel around Copenhagen as I would do in Mumbai. I feel so comfortable. DTU is the best thing which happened to me and I feel I am the luckiest to be in a place with world-class teachers, people, and a hygge country.
Ruchika M Singh, MSc Electrical Engineering, India