copenhagen + me

My hairdresser told me a long time ago, when I managed to squeeze myself in for an appointment last minute: "You are a persistent girl, Lana." I didn't know what to make of this then, but today I undoubtably call it my best quality.

It was two summers ago on a flight back home from Italy that I had made up my mind in ten minutes flat: I would go visit Copenhagen the following summer. I didn't know much about Copenhagen before those ten minutes, but an in-flight travel magazine gave me a glimpse and I wanted - needed - more. The article wrote about this city in such a fresh light and presented a dynamic, sustainable, and gorgeous city to me. I texted this to my best friend as soon as I got off the plane that day. About a month later, we already has a running list of places to visit.

And we went!

We were less like tourists and more like pretend residents. We rented an apartment, grocery shopped, cooked (baked, even!), and laid around on the grass for hours staring at all the intimidatingly stunning Danes. And we biked. We biked a lot. All we did was bike! I imagined myself living in this city, having favourite cafes,  eating the most delicious meals, shopping on Sundays, studying on the weekdays, going out for beers at night... These daydreams dominated my mind all fall and winter.

It was a constant back and forth in my mind when I was trying to decide whether or not to apply for an exchange (even though it was one of my goals). I would be able to choose three cities from all over the world, but my heart was only really set on Copenhagen, especially after actually seeing the city. The day finally came when I got an email stating that applications were due at 11pm that night. I sighed nostalgically. I had already convinced myself that I wasn't going to apply. Fortunately, I was with a group of great people when I opened up my email, and they had convinced me in about five minutes that I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by just applying.Ten minutes later, I was talking to my favourite professors asking them for a reference. 11pm came, my application was submitted, and I had a totally satisfied smile on my face. I did the right thing.I repeat: I did the right thing. A few days ago, I heard back from the exchange office and....I got accepted to do a semester abroad!!!

I am not sure how I will get through the next year knowing that I'll be living in the best city in the world so soon... but it will be worth the wait.

See you so soon, Copenhagen.