At Tietgenkollegiet, there is an international aspect to life with the many exchange students that come to Copenhagen from all corners of the globe to study. Thus as a resident, you get ample opportunity to get to know other cultures – and it’s also a good opportunity to work on your English.
“Meeting exchange students is one of the best things about the residence hall: One summer we travelled in California and arrived one morning to Los Angeles. Before we had gotten a chance to find a hotel, news spread like wildfire through the city: Michael Jackson had died at the local hospital. A few hours later the city was filled to the brim with fans and reporters. No vacancies! Through Facebook we got in touch with a former exchange student from Tietgenkollegiet, and he put us up for the night on air mattresses and gave us a tour of Hollywood and the area.” Asger and Mona, residents
A meeting between people from all parts of the world
Overall, there are just about 60 international students at Tietgenkollegiet which means that 2 out of 12 rooms connected with most kitchens are rented out to exchange students. Often, the exchange students are only in Denmark for one term but this does not mean that they do not have time to become part of the residence hall life. On the contrary, many exchange students are often very interested in participating in the community and thus many have time to form close relationships with the other residents – relationships that last even after the end of exchange stay where you try to stay in contact, e.g. via Facebook or even by visiting each other.
International communication
Danish is quite a difficult language to master and even though many exchange students attend the Danish classes recommended by the universities, most communication is in English. This also applies to kitchens where many of the messages in the kitchen book is written in both Danish and English just as an effort is often made to include exchange students in common dinners by speaking English.
Get to know your own culture
An extra advantage of housing an exchange student is that you get a new perspective on your own life as a student in Copenhagen. For example, many residents describe how they suddenly discover new and exciting things in Copenhagen because they are giving their international neighbours a tour of the city.