Arriving in Scandinavia

As soon as one sets foot outside the airport Scandinavia says hello with a freezing wind that goes straight into the bones. Locals welcomed me as I walked through the streets with my luggage waiting for it to be time to do the check-in at the Airbnb. Danish people are extremely happy to have foreign students in their country, everybody is happy to give directions or translate things for students. On the very first day, I could feel I was in a very different, but very welcoming country.

Immediately I could tell I was in the right place to learn about sustainability. Big wind farms are visible from the air before landing, plastic bags are nowhere to be seen, plastic bottles are very expensive, and the bicycle is the preferred method of transportation. Danes environmental consciousness is evident everywhere you look. Supermarkets, pharmacies, and stores display prices on small digital screens to minimize the use of paper.

The professor is probably the highest caliber professor I've ever had during my college career. Christian has extensive real-world experience, he is actively working with the major companies in the world to address the issues we discussed in class. When I introduced myself to the professor and mentioned I was from Miami, he started talking about how global warming will affect the city and how insurance companies are responding to it. Every conversation we had was regarding ESG, it truly was an immersive experience.

On the cultural side, I was not expecting interior design to be such a big thing in Denmark. On every comer, there is a homeware, furniture, ceramic, or some sort of interior design store. This caught me by surprise and I wanted to know more about why interior design is such a big thing for the Danes. After researching online and asking people in the streets, I came up with two answers. First of all, Ikea's HQ is right across the bay in Malmo, Sweden. So there are a lot of people in the area who work in interior design. Secondly, Denmark doesn't have many, or any, natural resources. The lack of natural resources prompted Danish people to want to improve, with design, the resources they import from abroad.

Copenhagen is an eclectic city that has something to offer to everybody. The city receives tourists with joy and enthusiasm and rewards them with a plethora of hidden secrets in every corner.