Finding Comfort in Copenhagen
By: Sharon Luo, Wharton ’23
Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
Sharon in one of the Semester Abroad Global Correspondents writing and sharing her experience abroad during the Fall 2022 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.
Phone carrier? Lebara.
Grocery store? Føtex.
Favorite new restaurant chain? Joe & The Juice.
I could go on and on, but you get the point. The first week of my life in Copenhagen was full of change. No familiar brands like AT&T and Trader Joe’s were there to comfort me. Instead, public Wi-Fi and Google Maps helped me get a new Danish SIM card and led me to a local supermarket. Seeing all these new stores and brands excited me, but figuring them out was time-consuming. It was going to take some time to adjust to my new home.
Fast forward, and I’ve lived in Copenhagen for over a month. What was once unfamiliar has become familiar. Obtaining a SIM card was straightforward (you can grab one off the shelf at 7-Eleven!), and weekly trips to Føtex have become the norm. Also, I finally know my way around campus, which feels like an accomplishment in itself. 
However, it took me several weeks to get to this point of familiarity. The first few weeks of studying abroad mimicked the beginning of freshman year at Penn. Everything and everyone was new to me. Introduction Week was the new NSO. Solbjerg Plads is the CBS version of Huntsman Hall. Cafe Nexus is parallel to Stommons. And instead of the Quad, I now live in Porcelænshaven – still trying to get the pronunciation right on that one!
Looking back on the past month, I’ve become more independent. Under my parents’ wings, I took my phone plan for granted. This time, I set it up on my own. Taking a Danish class has helped me learn simple vocabulary and phrases, which means I rely on Google Translate less. Slowly but surely, I’m building my life in Copenhagen.
This semester has also made me more resilient already. Three weeks ago, while participating in Danish Sports Day at a local park, someone stole my phone from my bag in broad daylight! Eighty other exchange students were there and no one witnessed anything. I went from having a device that could do everything to not knowing the directions back to my dorm.
In that moment of loss, my newfound exchange friends comforted me as I panicked about being phoneless. Some lived in the same dorm as me and navigated the way home. One friend had an old phone that I borrowed while I waited for a new one to arrive. I am grateful to have met such kind people who aided me in this unfamiliar situation. Their reassurance helped me realize I’m strong enough to bounce back from these unfortunate circumstances. Things will be okay.
From my experiences so far, I’ve learned change is not easy. Finding comfort in a new city and familiarity with the unfamiliar is a process. But armed with the knowledge that there are supportive people around me, I’m starting to get comfortable in Copenhagen and look forward to what the next three months will bring.
The Semester Abroad (SA) program offers undergraduate students the opportunity to study in a new global community through extended study for a semester or year. Penn Abroad partners with top institutions around the globe and collaborates with Penn’s undergraduate schools to offer programs for students across academic disciplines.