This past week was bittersweet and still eye-opening. I handed in my last paper on Monday night and enjoyed myself for the next six days. Kulor Tuesday was fun as always and on Thursday I spent the day Christmas shopping, walking around, and eating some delicious food with Syd (which turned into another sleep over). Friday was the DIS concluding ceremony and reception and was actually great. I was able to say good-bye to a lot of people as well as one of my favorite professors. I'll have to say it was the weirdest saying good-bye to my friend David, who I sat next to on the plane on the way to Europe. It feels like just yesterday I was meeting him for the first time and we were talking about how excited we were to arrive in Copenhagen. Friday night was my last "night out" in Copenhagen. Syd and I went to a place called Froken Nielson, which is open bar after paying a fee to get in and then headed over to A-Bar to dance the night away in Copenhagen one last time. It feels like just yesterday we were going out together for the first time in Copenhagen and suddenly four months just snuck right up on me.
Tonight Syd, Natasha, Natasha's friend Karen, and I had a nice hygge dinner at my apartment. I could not have asked for a more relaxed final night. We had a delicious dinner and then watched the Danish version of The Voice, which was both hilarious and impressive. Afterwards we sat around and talked over some apple crisp. Saying good-bye to Syd was difficult and just something I did not want to do. Despite the fact I'll be seeing her in less than a month back at Tufts, she was such a huge part of my experience. She was always my go-to person, someone I grew to be really close to and respect and a good 90% of my greatest memories involved have her in them.
The title of this post is "Changed" and for good reason. I will be arriving in the United States a different individual, with a new outlook on worldly issues and those around me. It might sound cliche to say but I suppose you need to experience a new culture in order to understand. I came to Copenhagen not knowing anyone and knowing hardly anything about Denmark and its capital. I know now that when I go home and someone brings up Denmark or Copenhagen, I'll be jumping in to talk about the city that became my home so quickly. I'm excited to tell my family about my experiences and what I've learned. More importantly, I'm beyond excited to see them. As most of you know I'm very close with my family. This is something I have come to treasure from being abroad. While it is difficult to leave the country that changed my life for the better, it is in fact time to go home and see my family and let them know how much I love and appreciate them.
While abroad I became involved, immersed myself in everything I could, made friends from all over the world, and gained recognition for it in the end, which exceeded my expectations. I can never say I became "Danish" but I can say I took advantage of everything DIS, Copenhagen, and Europe had to offer. I visited many countries, ate different cuisines, visited dozens of museums and monuments, watched the sun come out on several nights out, and made friends who have taught me about the importance of meaningful relationships. I learned about others, myself, and this huge world we live in. Five months ago I wrote about the little things I would miss at Tufts. Now I'm thinking about the little things I'll be missing about Copenhagen when I return to the states: the friendliness of Danes, the walks around the center of the city, church bells ringing every 15 minutes, exchanging stories with Natasha, and the apartment I've become so fond of. However, in the end, I can leave Denmark knowing I'm leaving with a bang.
I know tomorrow won't be the easiest of days (traveling with two huge suitcases never is). More so, I know that saying good-bye to Natasha at the airport will be difficult. Living with someone for four months forces you to become close and establish trust with one another and not seeing her every day will odd and sad. I was blessed to have her as my roommate. However, despite the fact that I'll be saying good-bye to one home, I'll be smiling when I land in Syracuse and go to my first home. I'll be smiling even more knowing that just about three weeks later I'll be headed to my second home at Tufts. My mom makes Christmas pretty magical at our house, with everything from beautiful decorations to an amazing Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Knowing that I'm going home to that is pretty amazing. Having this "home" in Copenhagen has made me appreciate my home in Syracuse a lot more. I can't express how excited I am to hug my parents, joke around with my siblings, and spend the holidays with Dan (he has no idea how great a Grosack Christmas is). I get giddy at the thought of going to Wegmans with my brother, Christmas shopping around town, and sitting with my parents at night talking in front of the fireplace. Of course this year did not go exactly as planned but my first post was about adjusting to change and going with it and that's exactly what I did and things turned out better than I could have ever imagined. I saw the world and now I plan on using what I've learned to change it for the better.
Hej Hej, Copenhagen. I can never thank you enough.
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