Kristine Does Denmark

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Hi Kristine! My name is Kelsey and I am in the Graphic Design program at Portland community college. I'm from Portland Oregon and have lived here my whole life. I have always wanted to travel and study abroad, but never got the chance. I was looking through websites on opportunities to study abroad and found this website! I looked through your blog and it seemed like an amazing time. My question is, how long would I need to plan to be gone on this trip? And how much does it cost?

Hey Kelsey, thanks for the message! The average length for a semester abroad is four months (I was gone for just over four). DIS has options for full-year, semester, and summer too — so depending on your schedule/finances/curriculum, you can choose which length is best suited for you! If the time frame you choose isn’t long enough, extending your stay is a great option too! Some students stayed a couple weeks after the semester and either stayed in Copenhagen or kept traveling around Europe. I even had a friend find a design internship for the summer, so she stayed in Copenhagen for an extra three months.Finances & expenses are different for everyone. My round-trip plane ticket from Minneapolis was ~$1,100. But if you set up price alerts now for your expected flights, (hopefully since prices fluctuate so often) you can find a reasonable price. I’m actually returning to Europe in March & have been scoping our prices for a couple months — the round-trip I just purchased was $980. Obviously, choosing to travel every weekend and eat out every night is an additional expense. Train tickets from Denmark to Sweden are around $25 and my bus ticket to/from Copenhagen-Berlin was around $50, so there are nearby/cost-effective trips! If you are able to apply to the DIS Scholarships or study abroad scholarships through your school, I would definitely recommend it (DIS is a pricey program, so it helps a lot)! I don’t know the exact numbers for tuition (this also varies per person), so here is a link to the Tuition/Fees page & you can get a run-down on DIS’ 2013/14 or 2014/15 expected expenses/tuition: http://www.disabroad.org/study-abroad/fees/

Also, here is a link to the DIS catalog. Before choosing this program, I referred to my catalog a lot for reference, so hopefully it can help you too! You can request a physical copy or read through their digital versions: http://www.disabroad.org/apply/study-abroad-catalog/I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Cheers!

Kristine

[kristinedoesdenmark]

HJEM I MINNESOTA

Jeg savner Danmark. I miss rugbrød, the cobblestone streets of the Latin Quarter, & pastries -- OH MY GOD especially from Sankt Peders Bageri (Saint Peter's Bakery), what I would give for a danish or snegl from Saint Peter's right now! Just the thought of it is making my stomach rumble. And I miss movie nights with my hostmum, dearly, taking the S-Tog train to and from Birkerød and Nørreport everyday, & sooooo much more, you guys. This is just to name a few.

I have been back in Minneapolis for a couple months, survived another summer Printmaking course, and am fully immersed back into another Fall semster. Every bit of last spring still seems so surreal. Whenever I am asked about my experience, I am at a loss of for words. I miss it more than one can explain and my time spent there was beyond imagination. I think about it everyday, selvfølgelig, & I dream about returning (if any of you readers are planning a visit, I beg you to take me along!).

It's a little sad to say, but this will be one of, if not the, last of my blog posts. I'm so happy to have this blog as a record of my stay, for the friends/family I made abroad, and for the surplus of memories and photographs I have and hold as celebrations of my life there. Denmark was one of the best chapters of my life, & I'm excited for whatever is next for me. ...Of course, I wish I was returning to DIS for another semester of fun though. :) I am beyond jealous of all the incoming students this fall. I would give anything to be in their place.

Farvel! xoxo

[kristinedoesdenmark]

It seems like you had an amazing experience abroad!! I am going to be in Denmark for the fall semester and I can't wait! I was just wondering if you had any recommendations for phones while abroad? Thanks so much!!

It was beyond incredible!! I hope you love it too!! DIS has a partnership with PicCell Wireless, which is what I used when I was over there. For me, it was an easy option. You can sign up online, or when you get to the airport, & pick up your phone either at the airport when you get your arrival information from DIS, or at the school’s package pick-up. I went with PicCell’s free phone option (it’s a cheap little thing that has just basic functions like calling/texting/etc.., but you can upgrade if you want to pay more) & overall, my phone bills from my four months of usage totaled to just about $5. 

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Climbing up the Spiral Tower to see the city on my last full day! Vor Frelsers Kirke (Our Savior's Church), Copenhagen. ❤ ❤ ❤

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Frederiksborg Castle, Hillerød, Denmark. 

[kristinedoesdenmark]

A quiet, afternoon stroll through Bistrup Hegn, the small forest behind our apartment. Last time I meandered through here was when Denmark was still covered in snow. Now, in the springtime, everything is intensely green.

[kristinedoesdenmark]

A short visit to Helsingør and Kronborg Castle (the setting for William Shakespeare's Hamlet) after visiting Louisiana!

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Alberto Giacometti sculptures at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Louisiana in Denmark

Yesterday was yet another beautiful day in Denmark. Lisa and I ventured north to the city of Humlebœk to spend the day at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. The mostabsolutelysupergorgeous museum I have had the pleasure to know. Here are just a few snippets from our day. :)

We found a slide in the gardens!!

Tara Donovan exhibition... Mind-bogglingly beautiful.

Yayoi Kusama's "Gleaming Lights of the Souls" (2008).

Richard Serra's "Gate in the Gorge" (1986).

Vi ses!

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Mother-Daughter date on Tuesday! Katrine and I went out to explore the Ørestad area of Copenhagen & to admire the Bjarke Ingels architecture. We started our day with getting coffee, danishes, and heart-shaped cake pops (triple bonus!) at the Glass Market. After a short metro ride later, we ventured out on a sunny walk down Vestamager. We saw the Bella Sky Hotel, a fantastic elementary school, the Ørestad public library, Field's (Denmark's largest department store), Ingel's VM Houses and Mountains apartment buildings (in the first picture), Kalvebod Fælled (a ginormous nature reserve), & also Ingel's 8Tallet apartment building, where we stopped for another coffee at the cafe before heading back home. Lovely day, lovely day!

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Pensive Post #101

I plugged in my american cell phone this morning so it could begin charging, in preparation for my return on Saturday. Little actions like that are making the idea of returning stateside feel more surreal than anything else. After living here for just over four months, now I have to go back to Minneapolis?

Before coming to Denmark, I knew very little about the country itself. My father was more into researching about it than I was. To me, Denmark was a place on a map, another spot on the Earth waiting to be uncovered. To some, four months may seem like forever. For me, it disappeared in a flash. But those four months offered me all the time to learn and discover. It was the perfect amount to begin to see and feel the subtleties and nuances of a culture. A culture is not truly learned in a classroom or through a book, rather, it is gained by experience and exploration. My time here has allowed for all of that, and beyond more than I could have asked for.

Yesterday, I sat with a friend in the gardens outside the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Overlooking the waves to Sweden, we ate lunch while admiring Alexander Calder sculptures and watching his mobile sway in the wind that was knotting my hair to no end. With the sun in my eyes and a pair of mallard ducks weaving through our legs, waiting for a drop of raspberry cake, I began to feel nostalgic for this semester, and dreadful of how quickly my final days were winding down. I came here with no grand expectations or even much knowledge of the country itself, but in my time here, I have seen and learned so much about Denmark, and it has given me indescribable experiences and memories in return. With only 37 hours until my departure from the happiest country in the world, I'm going to do all I can to make sure this time, and these moments, don't slip through my fingers.

[kristinedoesdenmark]

I'm going to moving to Denmark with my family next summer. I'll finish my degree in textiles design. I would like to open a studio that I vould design and teach in. which kind of town in Denmark do you feel will be the best for this.

Hej! Ooh, that is so exciting (moving to Denmark & a Textile Design degree)!! ❤ I think out of anywhere in Denmark, Copenhagen would be the best. It is a fun hub for all realms of design & it is where both of my textile design instructors teach and also have their studios. :)

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Jagtvej 69 in Nørrebro, København. Shepard Fairey 2011. (I finally had time last week to find it! Painted two years ago, this peace-promoting mural was attacked, and so was Shepard Fairey. I remember reading about it and being so surprised about the hostility in Copenhagen.

http://arrestedmotion.com/2011/08/shepard-fairey-and-his-mural-attacked-in-copenhagen/ )

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Happy (belated) Type Tuesday! From the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark. I found this creative hub in the children's wing! The whole section is filled with print-outs, scissors, markers, & whatever-else kind of tools needed for these fun, typographic explorations! I was fascinated with this wall filled with their little projects!

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Skies over Birkerød. The past few days have been strange mixtures of gray and blue. (Photo: May 12th, 2013)

[kristinedoesdenmark]

Nyeste Medlem til min Danske Familie!

Meet Sascha the Hamster.

Sascha has an affinity for running laps on her wheel and scurrying up shirt sleeves. She's the tiniest member of our family, but definitely the fastest. Her hobbies include rolling around the living room in a plastic green ball, taking naps in Leo's sweatshirt pockets, and peeing on Luis.

[kristinedoesdenmark]

For my two favorite ladies! Jeg elsker dig (I love you), Mom & Grandma! See you soon!

& high-fives to Jose (my photographer)! Tusind tak!