Visiting a popular street in Copenhagen near the canal.

Author: Annabel Brooks | Majors: Political Science, Psychology | Semester: Summer 2023

My name is Annabel Brooks and I’m in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and majoring in political science and psychology. For the summer 2023 term, I was able to study abroad in Denmark and Sweden through the DIS study abroad program.

I was initially drawn to the DIS study abroad program in Scandinavia because of the unique classes they offered. The list included niche subjects that highlighted facets of Scandinavian culture. Classes ranged from Nordic Mythology to The Psychology of Happiness. Knowing that Scandinavian countries are consistently ranked as the happiest places in the world, I had to get to see for myself why this might be. Being from a place like the U.S., I had often heard about the welfare system in Denmark and Sweden. Watching many aspects of the American political system fail, and I was curious to see if the grass was really greener on the other side.

The program offers classes in two countries and includes a study tour where you travel with your class to another country. In Denmark, I took a class called Social Change and Active Citizenship. This class was very interactive. It featured a collaborative style of learning where we had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the Danish community. We visited a folk high school, collaborated with teachers at a teaching school, volunteered at a cafe for the homeless, and participated in a democracy festival. This class taught me about the Danish culture of trust and community. Through interactions with Danes, we learned that there is a high level of mutual trust in Denmark. You might see an infant sleeping in a stroller out on the sidewalk, a small child biking to school by themselves, or a yard sale with no one manning the shop. Is this level of trust the reason they are so happy here?

My class in Sweden, Psychology in the Courtroom, was no less interactive. On day one, we went to the Stockholm courthouse where we watched a trial proceed in Swedish. We followed the flow of the courtroom, focusing on the mannerisms and interactions, since we didn’t know the language. In this class, we also traveled to Iceland where we learned more about the criminal justice system. We met with lawyers, police officers, probation officers, and professors and learned about their prison system. I was eager to take this class because through my classes at UARK, I have learned about the flaws in the American justice system that lead to high levels of incarceration. Being imprisoned in Iceland, and Nordic countries in general, is incredibly different from being imprisoned in the United States. In Iceland, they have different levels of imprisonment, focused on rehabilitating prisoners rather than ostracizing them from society. Imprisonment in Iceland occasionally looks like a maximum-security prison but can often allow prisoners a lot of agency and freedom. Prisoners often have the freedom to cook their own food, garden, have a job, or complete community service in place of a prison sentence. We also learned a lot about false confessions and the interrogation methods used in the United States that might accidentality induce false confessions.

I’m so grateful that these professors threw us into professional situations where we had to learn how to swim. In these classes, I was given the opportunity to learn from teachers, lawyers, probation officers, social workers, politicians, and even people experiencing homelessness.

I got to experience many aspects of Scandinavian culture that I would have missed out on if I didn’t study abroad. There were several differences I noticed between Scandinavian culture and American culture. Scandinavia seemed much more laid back. While I was rushing to class on the metro, I noticed less urgency in many local residents. In almost all situations with professionals, we were told to call them by their first name. Many Scandinavians also seemed to live in the moment. While traveling around Copenhagen, I would often notice many adults sitting down for a meal and a drink at any time of day. When I dined in at a restaurant, I would often get strange looks from waiters when I asked for the bill with food still on my plate. I tried to remember to slow down and live like a Dane. Transportation was also incredibly different. Walking and biking to work was very popular, especially in Copenhagen. Learning to navigate grocery shopping, public transportation, and life in foreign languages was a great learning experience. It was really special when I got the chance to attend cultural events like the Midsummer celebration in Sweden.

This program was incredible! The professors were passionate, and the classes were so unique. I was able to expand upon my previous knowledge of politics and psychology but also learn about topics I had never heard of. My advice would be to make an appointment with the study abroad office even if you aren’t certain you want to study abroad. I also highly recommend applying for as many scholarships as possible. I was lucky enough to receive funding from the Honors College and my department.

While my utopian image of Scandinavia wasn’t 100% accurate, it was still pretty amazing to me. This trip allowed me to meet amazing people, learn about the world, and develop new interests. I learned so much about Scandinavian politics and culture and learned about the U.S. political system from a different perspective. Overall, there are things we can learn from Scandinavia and things they can learn from us. I am sad to leave Scandinavia but happy to enter the land of free public restrooms and most importantly, good Mexican food.