To say that studying abroad is a once in a lifetime experience is an understatement. I am truly blessed with the opportunity to study and live in the beautiful city of Copenhagen, Denmark. Studying abroad has completely transformed so many aspects of my life that I never thought could be transformed. I have begun to question parts of my identity like what does it mean to be an “American”? I have grown to appreciate the simple things in the United States like smooth peanut butter, cheap but good coffee, or finding stationery supplies in any store that you go to. Denmark has also something really great to offer that I wish existed on the same level in the United States…a green lifestyle.
For starters in Copenhagen everyone and I mean EVERYONE bikes everywhere. There are bike lanes in the city, bikes for sale on almost every block, and at any given moment you can stop and count hundreds of bikes anywhere day or night. If people don’t bike, they generally use some form of public transportation. There are trains, buses, a metro, and a regional rail train. You can get almost anywhere in Eastern Denmark and it is generally very reliable. This convenience and reliability is so different than good ol’ SEPTA. Denmark also relies a lot on renewable energy primarily by the use of wind turbines. When you buy a plastic bottle for instance, you are charged a tax for that bottle. The cool thing is that if you bring your bottle back to the grocery store to recycle, you get a store credit that equates to the tax you paid for the bottle. Denmark also charges you for plastic bags if you buy something from the store. The bags are very durable however and made to be reused many more times. Most Danes use reusable bags when they go to the store anyway.
So back to the original idea of challenging what it means to be an “American”, I don’t have an answer for what it means to be “American”. I do however think about the culture of the United States. Compared to other countries, we are not very green. I can’t count the number of times I have went to the store and double bagged my groceries because, our bags are cheap plastic that doesn’t hold more than a few things. I could have brought my own bags, but that is not really a culture that has become popular yet. You get the idea of where this is going though. When you compare how green Denmark and its people are to the United States, the states could definitely take a lesson or two on how to be better. At some point we all have to take steps towards trying to live a greener lifestyle…or in Denmark’s case bounds forward.