Short Study Tour to Western Denmark

On Thursday, I got up at 5:15 to take the train into Copenhagen and begin my Short Study Tour to Western Denmark with my Positive Psychology class. One of the (many) reasons I chose DIS was for it's Study Tours - traveling built into, and around, the academic curriculum. From what I gather, it's a pretty unique opportunity. Not only will I be traveling to Scotland for a week later on in the semester, this past weekend I got to see parts of Denmark that I definitely would not have to if it weren't built into my course. Below is a map of Denmark that shows all of the cities I traveled to (Åarhus, Esbjerg, and Ribe)

We drove first to Åarhus, the second largest city in Denmark where we visited the Åarhus University Hospital to hear about Mindfulness and it's effect on Bodily Distress Syndrome (from what I gather a hybrid of Somatic Disorders and Anxiety Disorders, among other things) from a researcher of the topic. The talk itself was kind of dry, and we didn't really explore Åarhus aside from this visit, so it definitely wasn't the highlight of the trip. 

On the drive to Åarhus, we crossed over a really long bridge that I don't remember the name of, and the sun came out for a moment! 

Next, we went to visit the Kaos Pilots, an "alternative professional school that provides leadership education" to see Positive Psychology theories in practice. According to my Study Tour handbook, "Students at Kaos Pilots spend two years working on developing their personal leadership skills through group work, stimulations, and projects. In their third and final year, they create a small business or organization using their strengths, competencies, and passions to fill a demand they see in the market." 

Whew. I know that was long, but I hope it was worth it, because the visit definitely was. Sara, our contact person, was really fun and engaging. With her Kaos Pilots training she has started an organization that helps kids who have moved internationally become acclimated to their new environments, something she felt passionate about as the child of diplomats. 

Positive Psychology is focused on, among other things, helping people flourish in life through discovering their passions and strengths. To give us a sense of how Kaos Pilots teach students to do this in the context of entrepreneurship, Sara had us write down the first 7 things that popped into our heads when we thought about our passions, what made us angry, and what our talents were. From those lists and with the help of friends, we came up with a unifying theme for each list (passion, anger, talent) to get an organic sense of where our potential strengths might lie. 

Walking street in Esbjerg 

On Friday, we drove to Esbjerg, where we got to walk around for a bit before our visit to the Esbjerg Business School. The Business School is really more of an education center for teenagers with troubled childhoods. Using theories from Positive Psychology, the students are taught about things like self-esteem, living in the present, and not letting their past negatively effect their present or future lives. We heard some of the students talk about their experiences at the school, and it was really inspiring to see Positive Psychology applied in such a great way. 

Viking man at the Ribe viking museum 

After our visit to the Esbjerg Business School, we drove to Ribe, the oldest town in Denmark. That night I walked around Ribe with some friends and got some dinner before going on a Ghost Tour of the town, which was really more of a walking history tour lead by this old man wearing what looked like a vicars outfit and told really excellent stories. Although the stories were good, it was incredibly windy and kind of rainy, so it was nice to go and sit in a pub afterwards just to get out of the weather! 

On Saturday, we visited the Viking Museum and then had a few hours to explore Ribe on our own (luckily the rain had stopped and the wind had died down). 

One of the many winding cobblestoned walking streets in Ribe 

You can't imagine how happy I was to find a Salvation Army, in the oldest town in Denmark no less. And yes, I did buy something (for 15 kroner - or about $2.70 - a great deal, in Denmark or in the States!)

Typical Danish scenery: gray sky, Danish flag, adorable buildings, water. 

Ribe Cathedral 

The building on the left is a public bathroom. Even the bathrooms are cuter in 1000 year old towns!