I efteråret læste Sarah Mirrow fra Elon University på DIS og boede hos familien Nielsen i Rødovre. Det blev 4 måneder, som langt overgik, hvad Sarah havde forventet; hyggelige stunder i hjemmet, ture til nær og fjern og et fantastisk indblik i dansk kultur, som har sat sig i Sarah. Læs interviewet med hende nedenfor – på engelsk for at få alle sproglige nuancer med.
How has your Homestay experience been meaningful to your study abroad experience as a whole?
“My homestay was the best part of my entire study abroad experience. It was wonderful to come home at the end of every day and spend time with a family — it felt like I had such a strong foundation. It made me feel safe to try new things and step out of my comfort zone to know that I had people with me who had my back. My host family showed me more of Copenhagen and Denmark than I ever would have seen on my own. I learned so much about Danish life and culture and what the day-to-day routine of people in another country looks like. More than that, my host family welcomed me into their lives and their hearts. It was the most meaningful experience to leave home with one family and return home with two.”
What are your favorite experiences you’ve shared with your host family members?
“I can’t even think of one since there are so many. I loved all the little things, like cooking together every night and teasing each other in the kitchen. Setting the table and making sure my host dad always got the pink plate. Curling up on the couch and drinking way too much tea and watching Matador and Badehotellet. There was one night where my host mom had her cousins over, and my host sibling, Mat, and I (being the only people of our age) ended up sitting on the floor in the kitchen for hours laughing and making jokes and folding paper Christmas stars. I loved texting Mat “want any carrots” at almost midnight and then eating them on the carpet in the hallway outside our bedrooms and complaining about bad tv shows.
We did bigger things too. We took a family trip to Sjællands Odde and had the best time making pancakes for dinner in our rental cottage. They took me to Copenhagen Pride, to Rosenborg Castle, and to Tivoli. I took my host sibling on my “farewell tour” of the city and we had the best time exploring all the places I loved even though it was freezing outside. If I had to pick one favorite memory it would be making a gingerbread house with Mat one morning. We put on Christmas music and danced around the kitchen and made the most perfect gingerbread house ever (not the most beautiful, but the most perfect). I’ve already thought of at least four new favorite memories in the time it took me to write that one down. I’ll just say it was four months of favorite experiences with some of the best people I’ve ever met.”
Do you have favorite Danish expressions or traditions? Any that you will bring home with you?
“Tarteletter! I brought a whole package of the pastries back with me and my host dad taught me how to make the filling. It is my favorite Danish food, so I had to bring it home with me. I’ve definitely brought some Danish culture home with me. I (mostly incorrectly) quote Flickering Lights (Blinkende Lygter) to myself and laugh when no one at home understands. We had a Danish Jul celebration the night before I went home and I want to keep dancing around the tree and the house for every future Christmas. I’ve also definitely increased my tea-drinking habits, which I can only blame on my host mom (Perch’s tea for life!). I know that no matter where I go now, I’ll always bring a little Denmark with me.”
No matter where I go now, I’ll always bring a little Denmark with me.
Sarah Mirrow, dis-studerende i 2022
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