Hello everyone! It’s been quite a week for me, mostly consisting of thinking about the future—from the more exciting arena of summer plans to the uncertainty of corona virus.
To start on a more chipper note, I’ve secured a little more direction as to what my summer plans will be! I just received word that I’ve been selected for a research grant with my home institution to conduct scholarly research in literary archives over the summer. This opportunity will give me the chance to spend some time at my home in Massachusetts, working at archives in Boston and Western Mass, and will also take me to Austin, Texas for a couple of days! I couldn’t be more excited for the chance to get paid to do scholarly research (the dream for someone who aspires to be an academic) and also, to have some financial security going into the summer. I’m still applying for internships but I also just scheduled an interview with an organization that I worked with last summer and love with my whole heart. So overall, a lot of really incredible opportunities coming my way! It’s put an optimistic spin on the week to say the least.
Now, for what remains largely uncertain: corona virus. DIS has been very communicative with us about what they know and what we can do to stay safe, but we simply don’t yet know what the virus is going to look like—from how it will impact travel to the state of affairs in Denmark and how our home universities are going to respond, there’s just a lot left up in the open. And a lot of wonder if we are going to be able to finish out our semester in Denmark. Which is scary, because I absolutely love and treasure my time abroad, and feel so lucky to be living in Denmark right now. Last week, one of my best friends, who was actually planning on visiting this weekend, was sent home due to the outbreak in Italy. It’s scary to watch people I know pack up their bags and to think about responding to a situation that’s so unknown in a place I’m still unfamiliar with. But again, there’s just a lot of factors outside my control. I’m choosing to focus on what is in my control: appreciating my time abroad while I have it, spending time in the city, taking precautions with travel and hygiene. There’s really nothing to do at this point but hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
But this week, even in all its uncertainty, has shown me time and time again how much I appreciate being abroad—from the blue skies above me and my friend as we chatted on our walk down from Vestergade to the cheeriness of my DIS professors, I couldn’t be more grateful to be where I am right now. So I am going to fight as hard as I can to stay in the moment, and to all of you abroad, I encourage you to do the same. Today I’m trying to live up to that by spending some time in The Royal Library, somewhere that had been on my Copenhagen bucket list for quite some time. The Royal Library consists of The Black Diamond, or the newer portion of the library, and the older section, both which I was intent upon exploring. I also just took in the beautiful blue skies and spent some time in Slotsholmen, the royal neighborhood in Copenhagen.
Gammel Reading Room–or the Old Reading Room in the Royal Library 
Inside the Black Diamond
We can take Corona Virus seriously without allowing it to creep its way into every conversation we have. And besides, worst comes to worst, we have access to free Danish health care. We can’t predict the future but we can be cautious, thoughtful, and present today. Stay safe and well everyone.
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Hej from Denmark! 