Coming home is the real culture shock<\/em> here.<\/a><\/p>\nStrong ties to Danes<\/h2>\n
Karen has been in Copenhagen since August last year. She has put down more roots than she expected to, and aims to return here permanently.<\/p>\n
\u00bbI\u2019ve done the going abroad and coming back again thing before in my junior year in High School, but this is a different experience. I fell in love with Denmark way more than I anticipated. All exchange students come into this thinking \u2018I am going to go abroad for a year or a semester, and then I will go home and that will be my adventure\u2019, but then they don\u2019t want to leave,\u00ab she says. \u00bbI almost have to force myself to wrap things up.\u00ab<\/p>\n
Karen feels that she has particularly strong ties with Copenhagen as she has, unlike many other exchange students, managed to make Danish friends:<\/p>\n
\u00bbA lot of exchange students are friends with other international students. It is easier to leave that way, because the entire group moves on with you. You can really wrap the story up because the whole thing is ending,\u00ab she explains. \u00bbI was lucky, and unlucky, enough to make really good friends that are Danish, through my rowing club. Knowing that they are staying here when I leave is what makes it so difficult for me.\u00ab<\/p>\n
Like splitting up<\/h2>\n
According to Karen, a lot of the difficulty in going home comes from the changes in identity and maturity that many exchange students experience while abroad.<\/p>\n
\u00bbMany students on exchange want to become a new person, because nobody knows them here. You have reinvented yourself in a way by having this life altering experience, and when you get home, you don\u2019t know where to go from there.<\/p>\n
To cope with this alienation, Karen finds it necessary to distance herself from the exchange experience:<\/p>\n
\u00bbThere are lot of things you stop talking and thinking about. You almost have to put behind you all the things you have experienced, just to stay sane. You have to disconnect yourself from the experience, as depressing as that is. It is like ending a relationship.\u00ab<\/p>\n
Others unprepared<\/h2>\n
The University of Copenhagen does not provide any preparation for going home, other than goodbye parties, says Karen. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. Students find ways to cope with the idea of leaving. Having been through the process once before, Karen shares her experiences with other exchange students.<\/p>\n
\u00bbI have done a lot of explaining to others, as people really don\u2019t know what to expect.\u00ab<\/p>\n
universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n
Do you have a good story? We would like to hear from you<\/a>. In the meantime, like us on Facebook<\/a> for features, guides and tips on upcoming events and follow us on Twitter<\/a> for links to other Copenhagen academia news stories.<\/em>
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPECIAL REPORT – THE MOURNING AFTER: US student to leave Copenhagen with a good portion of denial and a ticket to come back in six months<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":22753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Return ticket makes leaving Copenhagen easier<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/return-ticket-makes-leaving-copenhagen-easier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Return ticket makes leaving Copenhagen easier\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SPECIAL REPORT - THE MOURNING AFTER: US student to leave Copenhagen with a good portion of denial and a ticket to come back in six months\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/return-ticket-makes-leaving-copenhagen-easier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" 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student to leave Copenhagen with a good portion of denial and a ticket to come back in six months","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":false,"user":false,"contributor_name":"Luci Ellis","contributor_title":"\u00a0","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>Karen Hewell from Arizona, USA, is, like so many other international exchange students, facing the prospect of packing up and leaving Copenhagen behind.<\/p>\n<p>She has been through reverse culture shock before, and knows what to expect. In spite of this, she still had to book a ticket back to Copenhagen before she could come to terms with the idea of leaving.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI have mostly been in denial about leaving,\u00ab she says. \u00bbI didn\u2019t have my plane ticket booked until about a week ago. I went home for Christmas, and all I could think about was getting back here. When it came to the time when other people started booking tickets home, I didn\u2019t want to think about it or plan leaving,\u00ab she continues.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe only way I could make myself book a ticket was to book a round trip, coming back at New Year, so I knew I only had six months before I could come back. It was the only way I could keep my sanity.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/coming-home-is-the-real-culture-shock\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">See article <em>Coming home is the real culture shock<\/em> here.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Strong ties to Danes<\/h2>\n<p>Karen has been in Copenhagen since August last year. She has put down more roots than she expected to, and aims to return here permanently.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI\u2019ve done the going abroad and coming back again thing before in my junior year in High School, but this is a different experience. I fell in love with Denmark way more than I anticipated. All exchange students come into this thinking \u2018I am going to go abroad for a year or a semester, and then I will go home and that will be my adventure\u2019, but then they don\u2019t want to leave,\u00ab she says. \u00bbI almost have to force myself to wrap things up.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Karen feels that she has particularly strong ties with Copenhagen as she has, unlike many other exchange students, managed to make Danish friends:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbA lot of exchange students are friends with other international students. It is easier to leave that way, because the entire group moves on with you. You can really wrap the story up because the whole thing is ending,\u00ab she explains. \u00bbI was lucky, and unlucky, enough to make really good friends that are Danish, through my rowing club. Knowing that they are staying here when I leave is what makes it so difficult for me.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>Like splitting up<\/h2>\n<p>According to Karen, a lot of the difficulty in going home comes from the changes in identity and maturity that many exchange students experience while abroad.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbMany students on exchange want to become a new person, because nobody knows them here. You have reinvented yourself in a way by having this life altering experience, and when you get home, you don\u2019t know where to go from there.<\/p>\n<p>To cope with this alienation, Karen finds it necessary to distance herself from the exchange experience:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThere are lot of things you stop talking and thinking about. You almost have to put behind you all the things you have experienced, just to stay sane. You have to disconnect yourself from the experience, as depressing as that is. It is like ending a relationship.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>Others unprepared<\/h2>\n<p>The University of Copenhagen does not provide any preparation for going home, other than goodbye parties, says Karen. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. Students find ways to cope with the idea of leaving. Having been through the process once before, Karen shares her experiences with other exchange students.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI have done a lot of explaining to others, as people really don\u2019t know what to expect.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n<p><em>Do you have a good story? We would like to <a href=\"http:\/\/universitypost.dk\/article\/how-share-stories-university-post\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hear from you<\/a>. 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