I am back in Fort Worth, TX for the holidays with family and hometown friends. ?Though cold, December had been an awesome month to witness in Copenhagen.
The Danish people get just as excited about Christmas as Americans, if not more. The daily lifestyle begins to include and often revolve around Christmas dinners and Christmas markets.? Christmas beer (Jule Byrg) is on tap at your local pub and lights decorate the city center.? The festive nature of Danish culture brings light to an otherwise dark season.
All CBS students were cramming to finishing up there final exams at different times (roughly within the first 2 weeks of December).? For the international exchange students (be reminded that international students at CBS make up a large percentage of the student body), completion of the final exam was a starting gate in a race to soak up the last bit of either Copenhagen, Denmark, or Europe in general before the inevitable return home to host countries.? For some this race included spending time with friends made of the semester to say proper goodbyes, and for others the race took form in a last minute trip to another country to experience a little more foreign culture before going back to the familiar.? I feel very fortunate to have been able to take advantage of that time to not only say some goodbyes/?seeya soon?s ?to good friends who were strangers several months before, but also to take a last minute trip to Poland for a few days to experience another new adventure before returning home.
One particular December feature I was looking forward to experiencing in Copenhagen was some classic Scandinavian snow.? Neglecting the fact that most of their snow comes in January and February, I got my hopes up for something that didn?t come until? The morning of my departure flight from Copenhagen to Dallas-Fort Worth while I was loading my host lady?s car to go to the airport, it began to snow.? Although it only lasted for 5 minutes, I stood outside and closed my eyes to reflect on all the wonderful moments, friendships, education and emotion that this semester has presented.? As the snowflakes fell, settled and melted on my face, they symbolized a sort of surreal closure to my adventure abroad in Copenhagen, while the resulting moisture brought a more literal reminder that it was time to go.
I departed from Copenhagen on December 20th and actually travelled back in time to arrive in Fort Worth that same afternoon.? Since I have returned to Texas, I have enjoyed a warm homecoming to family and friends in such a unique time of the year.? I keep in touch with some international friends and my Danish host lady.? I skyped with her on Christmas day and she was even kind enough to send me some photos of the snow covered state of Denmark that occurred promptly upon my leaving (seen below).? I am very blessed to have had such an opportunity to study abroad.
-Colby
