Four months in Copenhagen: An exchange student reflects

The sun is shining from a cloudless sky when the University Post meets up with Landon Hildebrandt in the central Fælledparken. In two weeks time, he’ll be heading home to Canada after four months on exchange in Copenhagen. When he first arrived in the city, he had a clear purpose: a student job, volunteer work, and plenty of bike rides. Not everything went according to plan, but he’s gained a few experiences along the way.

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»Coming here has made me appreciate things back home more — but I’m also going to miss Copenhagen,« says Landon Hildebrandt, adding that it probably hasn’t fully sunk in yet that it’s almost over.

Copenhagen is basically a beach town

You quickly fall into a routine. Even if you just got here — and are only here for a short time.

»At first, I was really good at exploring the city, and I kept discovering new places. But my friends and I quickly found our regular spots, and the exploring kind of got put on hold.«

Recently though, Landon Hildebrandt has once again begun venturing out into new corners of Copenhagen, thanks in part to the arrival of summer — and friends visiting who wanted to see the city for the first time.

New sides of Copenhagen have emerged:

»I actually hadn’t thought of Copenhagen as a beach town, but lately I’ve had so many lovely days just lying by the water.«

His new regular hangouts are on the harbour front at Islands Brygge and at La Banchina in the Refshaleøen quarter. And if the day hasn’t been spent by the water, it’s likely been in the Fælledparken, where he’s been soaking up the June sun on the open lawns.

Volunteering at the bike workshop

»When I look back on my study abroad, it’ll probably be the time I spent with my friends that stands out most clearly.«

Landon Hildebrandt quickly became part of a close-knit group of friends who became a key support throughout his stay. The group consists mainly of North Americans — plus one Finn. They met a few weeks into the semester and have spent most of their time together ever since. They’ve already made plans to reunite in August — in New York.

Landon Hildebrandt had hoped to find a job at a wine bar in Copenhagen, but gave up after a while. Work could wait, he decided. Instead, he chose to prioritise experiences. In addition to the sunny days in Copenhagen, he has travelled around Europe with stops in Amsterdam, Portugal, Barcelona, and Gothenburg. He came to Copenhagen because of his love for cycling, and he has explored the city’s bike lanes, played basketball, and volunteered at a bike workshop in Folkets Park in the Nørrebro district, where he helped people with repairs.

»It’s a really cool place and a great way to get to know the locals. There are all kinds of people among the volunteers.«

The volunteer work gave Landon Hildebrandt the chance to tinker with both other people’s bikes and his own, so he could get ready for a major cycling trip through Europe. Together with a friend, he’s planning to end his exchange with a bang. The plan is to cycle from Prague to Nice, with a stop in Venice along the way.

Not enough to do at university

In other words, a lot of time has gone into friends, bikes and sunshine. But of course, some of the time has also been dedicated to studying. Among the courses Landon Hildebrandt took, it was the Danish film history class that stood out as his favourite.

»I’m really into film, but I didn’t know anything about Danish cinema before, so I’ve actually learned a lot.«

It’s especially the Danish ‘Dogma 95’ filmmaking movement that caught Landon Hildebrandt’s attention. He highlights the films Italian for Beginners, Tree of Knowledge, and The Celebration as some of the top picks on his new list of favourite films.

»I ended up writing about The Celebration for my final exam. And now I’ve got a whole list of Danish films I want to watch.«

I’ve had too much free time and have sometimes missed having more structure in my daily life.

Landon Hildebrandt

Even though he’s enjoyed the teaching, it hasn’t played a particularly big role for him this semester. At times, he’s almost had too little to do. At his home university, semesters are packed with assignments and midterms, but at UCPH, he’s found that the real academic workload only kicked in towards the end of term.

»It’s been great having time for things beyond school here. But I also think I’ve had too much free time and have sometimes missed having more structure in my daily life,« he says, and elaborates:

»I miss feeling like a student. Spending a lot of time on my studies gives me a sense of academic pride. And that’s been a bit hard to hold on to here.«

At times, Landon Hildebrandt has felt guilty about not having more to do. He’s had days where he slept through the morning and stayed in bed for the rest of the day on his phone, because there was nothing to get up for:

»It’s fine for a short while, but it becomes too much in the long run, when it turns into a daily thing. I prefer when there’s something going on.«

Three tips for exchange students

Even though it’s not easy to make friends in Copenhagen, Landon Hildebrandt met most of his friend group in the city through people back home in Canada who knew someone who knew someone going on exchange to Copenhagen. If he had one piece of advice for future exchange students, it would be to use your network actively to find friends and acquaintances in the place you’re heading to.

»My second piece of advice would be to travel less. Copenhagen is an amazing city too, so it’s a shame not to make the most of your time here.«

Many exchange students, according to Landon Hildebrandt, travel nearly every weekend during their stay abroad, as it’s a unique opportunity to explore a new part of the world — especially if you’ve come from far away.

»But I think the most important thing is to enjoy the place you’re in and get as much out of it as possible.«

One final piece of advice from Landon Hildebrandt is to do volunteer work. In addition to his time at the bike workshop, he’s also volunteered at Copenhagen Dox and at Østergro — an urban rooftop farm on Østerbro.

»Volunteering gave me much of the structure I had otherwise been missing. It’s a great way to meet locals and get a sense of what’s going on in the city — and it feels good to be doing something positive.«

UCPH could do better

Landon Hildebrandt found that it was often up to him to make friends in Copenhagen.

»UCPH could definitely do a better job of welcoming exchange students. I didn’t feel like there were many opportunities to meet new people.«

Overall, the exchange experience hasn’t been without its bumps. But Landon Hildebrandt feels he’s grown from it. The many new experiences have boosted his confidence and self-belief.

»Being in a foreign country, facing all kinds of new situations and having to stand on your own two feet — it makes me feel a lot more grown-up now.«

He’s left with mixed feelings. He’s looking forward to getting back to his daily life and his friends, but he’ll also miss the places and friendships he’s come to know in Copenhagen.

»I catch myself regretting that I didn’t meet these people a few months earlier, or discover this place much sooner — because now time’s just run out.«

Luckily, there’s only one thing to do — and it’s definitely on the agenda, he says:

»I’m absolutely coming back.«