08/16/2022
“My time in Denmark and Sweden were incredible and I wasn’t expecting to have such profound feelings during my time there. I’ve been to Austria and Germany before but I haven’t felt the most comfortable anywhere until I went to Denmark and Sweden. In Denmark seemingly everyone works together to create an environment in which nearly everyone seems to be thriving. The city was clean; the harbor was so clean that you could swim in it. It was truly something to witness, a society that works to promote the wellbeing of its citizens because doing so only benefits society. Human rights actually exist there. Everything runs efficiently. I’ve never been so comfortable around so many strangers, many of whom shared the Danish culture with me. They taught me their drinking games, showed me the best places to dance where all the locals go. They shared with me Danish politics and were of course very knowledgable of U.S. and current affairs around the world. I learned so much about Sweden as well by virtue of having met someone who is now a good friend. In both these countries, and in the rest of the EU, education is free for its citizens, and in some cases, like in Sweden, students are paid to go to school. This was something that was truly hard to grasp, coming from such a country as the U.S.
Because I had never felt safer anywhere in terms of location and around people, I was able to be my true self and even experiment with who I wanted to be without judgment. Copenhagen is a very progressive and accepting place. Thus, I learned a lot about myself and my abilities. I discovered hidden talents and I discovered new possibilities for my future life’s course. I learned how unhappy I was living in the United States and I learned how little I needed to be happy. I’d encourage as many people to go abroad and open themselves up to the new culture and to discovering new things, because they likely will and they’ll discover new possibilities they never knew existed.”
Brandon T.
CU Denver in Denmark: Scandinavian by Design
