My last day in Naples was filled with tears and worries. I said goodbye to my boyfriend and my parents and cried more than I thought I could have. I was excited to finally arrive in Copenhagen yet anxious that it would be impossible to meet anyone due to living just over an hour commute away from the city.

When I arrived at the airport, I made my typical Starbucks run and ran into a fellow DIS student, Rebecca. We waited for our flight together and rambled along about the numerous expectations and goals and fears that we had anticipated for our upcoming four months abroad. Most importantly, we both planned to sleep on our eight hour flight to Frankfurt (spoiler alert, neither of us did!)

Our arrival in Frankfurt was almost a blur to me. I just remember finding another group of DIS students who we ended up sticking with for the rest of our journey to the Clarion Hotel. I was the only person in that group who ended up being in a Homestay so we went our separate ways once we arrived and I met my host family!

I think everyone has common fears when it comes to living with another family. Will we get along? Will I like the food? Will I be able to spend enough time with them while also balancing my social life in the program? Luckily, my host family has two older boys that are around my age so it made the adjustment period very quick and easy. I almost feel like I am at home in my homestay – in many ways my host family is like my family in the way that we all make fun of each other. We communicate very well and we clearly communicated all of our expectations the second day into living together. The questions that DIS came up with to communicate topics between the student and the hosts are quite comprehensive and covers almost all potential questions that may arise living in someone else’s home. Since living in my homestay, I have also discovered my absolute LOVE for rhubarb.

I did not realize how difficult time differences and jet lag would be. I knew that I would have a six hour difference between my loved ones but I notice myself wanting to call someone on my walks in the morning and text my mom about my days at night even though it’s the beginning of her afternoon. I also didn’t sleep for the first three nights that I was here. I would fall asleep until about 3am and stay up for the rest of the night. I still had fun and long days after that but I could feel how exhausted I was. I think I have beat the jet lag now but I am more tired than I was before. It has been a constant game of catching up with sleep, making time for a social life and spending time with my host family. My advice to everyone who wants to come to this program is to sleep on the flight and also buy every single type of blister pad so you can tire your body out after jet lag without ruining your feet. The cobblestone is a killer.

Monday morning was the first day of the Arrival Workshop. DIS organized so all students would sit on the first carriage of the train. At this point, the only person I knew was still Rebecca so you know I sat myself on the front carriage of that train. Luckily, we all found each other and a group of us found our way to the location. We even grabbed coffee beforehand (which was not allowed inside the Academy of Music). Bryn, a girl who is on the train stop ahead of me, myself and a few other people stood by as we drank our coffee and almost moments later, Rebecca walked into the Academy.

I think it is important to note that most new DIS students are in the same situation as everyone else. We are all looking for new people to spend our days with. Even if other students from our home universities will be there, sometimes there are some who want to break away from the pack. Since that first day, the three of us, and now another girl Meagan, have spent so much time together exploring Copenhagen. Everyone that I have met thus far has been extremely friendly and welcoming. We are all here for different reasons but we all chose Copenhagen.

In the past five days I have had family dinners, visited Netto, had picnics in random Danish parks, seen the vast variety of baby carriages, taken the metro the correct way, travelled to Reffen to explore their 48 different food options, explored Superkilen, spent $50 on bottles of wine over sushi, and formed great connections to people who I did not know just a few days ago.

Content is the best word to describe how these first few days have been in Copenhagen. Yes, I miss my boyfriend and my family and I have those moments where I want the comfort of my loved ones, but I have also found a happiness and peacefulness that I feel like I have been searching for. And it is just the beginning. And to anyone who is studying abroad or is going into the unknown, breathe and remember who you are. Everything works itself out in the end and every experience is what you make it.