DIS Blog
Learning to make beautiful mistakes
After a second summer session in Copenhagen, Lily reflects on her experience. From her psychology course, to her Study Tour to Vienna, to exploring Copenhagen through a different perspective, she brings her time abroad to a memorable close.
Building on session 1, session 2 was still full of learning and experiences.
Spending an additional three weeks in Copenhagen has helped me get to know the city even better and feel more comfortable living there, while also encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone by taking another course with new classmates and new routines. The study tour in Vienna is definitely the highlight of this session, allowing me not only to deepen my understanding of the concepts we learned in class but also to visit another European city and experience its rich history and culture. If session 1 was an intense movie full of adventure, session 2 felt like a picture book, which is short, but every day was remembered with vivid illustrations of events and learnings.
Learning how to make a beautiful mistake
My course for session 2 was Beautiful Mistakes: The Psychology of Learning from Failure. Throughout the course, we learned various concepts related to failure, ranging from types of mistakes to concepts that promote optimal conditions for making mistakes, including psychological safety and mindfulness. We discussed how we can perceive and approach our failures differently, so we can learn and grow from them. As I had never seen a course with such a title, I was very excited to take it when I registered. In class, we did various activities, including an improv workshop, which pushed us to be more comfortable making mistakes in front of each other. Alongside the Study Tour, we deepened our understanding of what makes a mistake beautiful and how to approach our own when we make one.
About the blogger
Hi! I’m Lily, and I study Psychology and Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. At DIS, I’m enrolled in Positive Psychology for Summer Session 1 and Beautiful Mistakes: The Psychology of Learning from Failure for Summer Session 2, both in Copenhagen, and learning how to promote optimal mental health and maximize personal growth.
My blogs focus on my honest reflections on academics at DIS and on my life in Copenhagen, including the connections I’ve made with people here. I’ve been trying to write blogs that would have been helpful if I’d had them before arrival. Follow along on my journey in Copenhagen, and I hope something in my blogs will feel helpful to you!
Study Tour in Vienna
Out of everything I have done while studying abroad, the study tour is definitely one of the most exciting parts. As one of the most iconic parts of the DIS summer experience, it allows students to spend five days in a second European city with their class, applying the concepts we learned and getting to know the city. My study tour was in Vienna, which I had never been to, and I remember feeling excited since I enrolled in the course and saw the tour destination.
During the study tour, we had many opportunities to explore the concepts we learned in class in real-world settings. One of my favorite parts of the tour was the watercolor painting workshop. By practicing watercolor painting, we learned to let go of perfectionism and focus on the process rather than the result. Instead of hiding or fixing our mistakes on the paper, we were encouraged to leave them visible as part of the work itself. Although it was harder than it sounds to shift from hiding errors to accepting them, I think I became able to embrace my mistakes as part of myself even more after the workshop.
We also walked around the city as a group, exploring different concepts covered in class, and our group focused on serendipity. I already knew the concept of serendipity before taking this course, but I did not fully understand how it works until we explored it during the tour. In class, we learned that serendipity is not just about the environment giving you a lucky event, but it depends just as much on your own mindset and your willingness to actually explore what is around you. In other words, the environment may offer the opportunity, but you still have to have the capacity to notice it and act on it. During the study tour, we saw how people could miss opportunities to experience serendipity, often due to distractions like phones, and this also taught me the importance of being present and mindful of my surroundings to maximize the chance of coming across something accidental yet priceless.
One of the key takeaways from the tour and the course is that mindset really matters in any situation. Whether it is about mistakes or serendipity, how much we get out of an experience depends on how we approach it. An open and creative mind is crucial, especially if you want to maximize what you learn. I believe it is one of the most valuable lessons from my study abroad experience, which will greatly help me navigate my challenges and setbacks more successfully from now on.
Falling in love with the city of Vienna
Outside of class time, we had plenty of free time to walk around the city, which I greatly appreciated. We visited many tourist spots in Vienna, including museums and churches, which allowed me to get to know the city even more and also realize how rich it is in history and culture. Of course, my Study Tour story would not be complete without talking about the food. During the trip, we tried different local foods in Vienna, including schnitzel and apple strudel, which I absolutely loved. As a food lover, I was glad to experience Vienna’s culture not only by visiting famous spots but also by tasting its signature cuisine.
Exploring Copenhagen even more
As I stayed in Copenhagen for session 1, doing session 2 in the same city allowed me to explore parts of the area around Copenhagen that I had not gotten to during session 1, which I was really glad about. By this point, Copenhagen already felt like home to me, but there was still so much left to explore. Although I was very busy with classes on weekdays, I could still spend time visiting different spots with my friends.
Final thoughts: six weeks in Copenhagen
Looking back, session 2 taught me something different from session 1. Session 1 was about getting to know a whole new city with a different culture, building a new routine while interacting with new people, and creating my own mental map of the city. On the other hand, Session 2 was more focused on elaborating on and expanding that map, meeting more people, and understanding the area much better. Together, the two sessions in Copenhagen gave me many valuable experiences, including meeting people I will want to keep in touch with for the rest of my life, visiting many beautiful spots with views I would never be able to see elsewhere, and running a cardamom bun quest across the city. Over the six weeks I spent in Copenhagen, it has become one of my favorite cities I have ever been to, and a place I will definitely want to return to in the future.