Every semester Aalborg University welcomes new international students who come to study for a semester or two in Denmark. Because now is a time when a lot of new exchange students arrive in Aalborg, we decided to interview someone who has already gone through this herself. Someone, who is now back home, 8 650 kilometers away from us. Today, in our feature; People of Aalborg, we interviewed someone who in a short period of time became a good friend to us, the volunteers of Project 2030.
You were an exchange student in Aalborg, can you tell us more about your experience?
I am Japanese and this was my first time studying abroad. Technically I was in Denmark for eleven months. I tried to do new things — I wanted to do something that I couldn’t do in Japan and to spread my circle of communication. For example, I did volunteering at Café Smile and was a photographer for Project 2030, I travelled to 13 countries (two of them were for Workaway), and I helped during events in a Japanese cafe in Aalborg. Through those things, I could meet many warmhearted people. These people are what I love most about Aalborg.
Why Denmark?
First of all, I’ve wanted to go to Europe. Probably because I saw the beautiful view of Europe on TV when I was a child, and I liked studying European history in high school. Second, I wanted to go study abroad in a safe, English speaking country. English is not the public language of Denmark, but almost everyone can speak it fluently and I was curious why the English-speaking situation is so different from the Japanese one. Finally, Denmark is famous for being the happiest country in the world so I wanted to experience its culture.
What was the most challenging part of studying so far away?
For me, the most difficult thing was studying at Aalborg University. All the classes at my Japanese University were in English, so studying courses in English was fine, but the assignments in Aalborg University were much more difficult than the ones in Japan and I had to write a lot of papers.
Were you able to adjust to it?
Yes, somehow. I would not say my grades were good, but I passed all the courses I was taking at least. Plus, I am not afraid of writing my graduation essay at my home university anymore.
When you arrived in Aalborg, was it easy to blend in? What hardships did you experience?
I say it was not difficult to blend in with the European culture and people overall. People I met were so kind and I am flexible in terms of experiencing other cultures. But if I have to mention one hardship, it would be the transportation. The transportation was sometimes irritating and made it difficult to schedule my plans. I prefer the European way of paying for transportations (same ticket for buses and trains, able to buy ticket with a card) to Japanese usual one (different tickets for each means of transportation, while ticket machines seldom accept credit cards), but It was unfamiliar to deal with transportations that often are late, or not on according to schedule. (I have to say, Danish ones were much better than other European countries ones, though…).
Can you tell me more about the volunteering you did during your stay?
I did volunteering at Café Smile and Project 2030 in Aalborg. I did not play an important role, I was just helping to make drinks at Café Smile and taking photos for the feature People of Aalborg for Project 2030. As I said above, the biggest reason that made my study abroad memory special is the people I met through volunteering. Even if all works fine, sometimes you feel lonely when in a foreign country. At Café Smile, I could meet not only other volunteers (including other exchange students) and the owner but also customers. In Project 2030 it was fun for me to communicate with many students from various countries, and helping in events related to sustainability. I am very interested in sustainability and what we can do to realize a sustainable society in present times.
What would you say were the best and the worst parts of studying in Aalborg?
Speaking of studying, both the best and worst was doing PBL. Firstly, I think I was the only exchange student in the class so working in a group was a first for me. Secondly, it was my first time to write such long papers. However, at the same time, I made new friends and gained confidence in writing.
Would you change anything in the exchange process?
I felt like there were fewer opportunities to interact with other classmates because of the short term of studying on campus. So, if I could change anything, I would create more social events — like studying together.
What advice would you give to anyone new coming to study in Aalborg?
Join many things actively. Anything is fine, such as volunteering or going to have a beer. Since Aalborg University provides only about two months on-campus class schedule for each semester so going out by joining something is the key to meet new people in Aalborg. There are many sweet people in Aalborg, so don’t be in your room all the time, and try something out.
Lastly, if you could describe your stay in Aalborg in 3 words, what would they be?
Meeting heartful people.
Interviews conducted by: Viktoriya Dimitrova
Article written by: Viktoriya Dimitrova
Edited by: Tereza Čechová & Joelle Böttcher
Interviewee: Ayaho Katata
Photography: Ayaho Katata