Farvel, Danmark. Jeg kommer til at savne min danske hjem.

Well it’s my last and final night here in Denmark and I can’t really decide how I feel. I fluctuate between feelings of elation at the idea of being home and getting to see my family and friends again and feelings of sadness at the realization that I am, in fact, leaving my Danish life behind. I’ve been abroad for about 9 months and the home that I’ve had here isn’t something I’ll ever be able to return to or fully get back. And that’s just depressing.

While I won’t miss the dreary winter weather or the lack of tacos, I’m going to miss my host family and the connection I have with them, my home in Allerød, my daily train ride, the DIS community and all of the sites Copenhagen has to offer. I can’t pretend that I’ve loved every minute of being abroad, but I do know that it was the right choice for me and that it’s been a better experience than I could have ever imagined. I’ve learned so many new things, visited so many different places and definitely grown as a person. Although I’d be hard pressed to put it into exact words, I know that I’ve changed and that I’m a different person than when I left.

Hopefully I’ll survive my “reverse culture shock” with the knowledge that one day I will return to Denmark and see my “other home” and “other family” again. It probably won’t be any time in the near future, but I’ll be back. In the mean time, I’ll keep in touch with people I’ve met here (whether Danish or American) and pour through the thousands of photos I need to sort.

Pretty soon I’ll need to turn my focus the upcoming summer and my senior year of college but for tonight I’ll do my best to enjoy my last few hours in this foreign nation and look back on my time here with happiness and accept that my nine months are somehow already over.