#mentorprogramme

Fabian Potthoff is an international exchange student from Germany. He was one of the much treasured volunteers at the Spring semester 2015 Cabin Trip. Fabian and his fellow volunteers did an awesome job in preparing and executing the trip, and we simply could not have done it without them. Read about his experience here - who knows, maybe you want to help out at this semester’s Cabin Trip?

Fabin Potthoff

Friday, 6th March 2015 , the clock just turned 3 pm.

The sun flooded the communal room; outdoors you can just hear the sounds of nature — apart from the monotonous noise of the highway from afar. It should be those last quiet moments before a voice echoes through the whole Cabin: “The bus is coming! The bus is coming!” In a few minutes, around 60 people will inhabit this place and hopefully experience a memorable weekend …But this is actually not the beginning of this story …

 Months before, at a mentoring workshop.

I myself am an exchange student and I had a great team of mentors last semester which has warmheartedly welcomed me to Copenhagen. In one of our many meetings, my mentor told me how he had supported the last “Cabin Trip” and how much fun he had doing it. Since I now also became a mentor, I did not want to miss this experience and signed up as a volunteer.

Since the start of the Cabin Trip was not far away, meetings followed quickly. So two weeks later a motley crowd of volunteers and board members have met and distributed the field of duties. Everyone could decide where they wanted to help and also how much effort they wanted to put into it. This was one of the greatest strengths: Everyone just had to do as much as they could. Time-dependent problems were taken seriously and every time someone could quickly step in if needed.

At every meeting all the creature comforts of a student were present: Cola, beer, lots of coffee and cookies! In these brief and ever fun meetings we talked about accruing tasks and created schedules for the bar and the kitchen. There was once an extended meeting many participated at with a slight hangover from the Fridays’ bar tour the day before. Luckily there was pizza and coffee—some proper hangover killers!

 Now back to the beginning of this story.

It took exactly 90 seconds after the first “The bus is here”chant: a horde of people stormed into the communal room and rushed to the drinks and chips-laden table. Here it should be mentioned that a small group of fearless volunteers went to the cabin a day before, waited for the food supply and prepared everything.

But now that all arrived, we volunteers were in great demand: it finally got started! We presented ourselves as their counterparts and told them a bit about the stunning program awaiting them. Soon after, the participants moved to their rooms and we volunteers opened the bar and started preparing dinner.

Of course, as volunteers, we were not always roped in. We had enough free time and could enjoy the whole trip, participate in the activities and come into contact with people from many countries around the world. However, to support the others was oftentimes so much fun that you  helped each other anyway. Whether at the bar or in the kitchen.

During the trip, new friendships were obtained between us volunteers, and everyone discovered their strengths and weaknesses. Everyone is good at something. Cooking, photography, bartending or managing social activities. Perhaps there were one or two who realized that they’re more like “epicures” and not suited for organizing  or supporting others. That’s also fine and quite natural.

Thanks to our excellent preparation and strong but friendly company between all of us volunteers, it was a simple task to master this trip. We certainly have managed to make it, for the majority of participants, an unforgettable trip.

At the party Saturday night, the alcohol flowed freely and there was dancing and singing until after 4 am. Especially the midnight snack became increasingly popular and provided a refreshment, so everybody was able to continue dancing. 

On the last day, even during cleaning, all participants had fun. When they entered the bus to head home, one could only see happy and satisfied people.

For a volunteer, this is always the highest reward: The time one has invested has paid off and brought to many a great experience—including oneself!

It was an incredibly wonderful experience, all things considered. Volunteering was a lot of fun. I can only recommend to assist the QA Programme in something, ’cause as the recent proverb has it quite appropriately: “Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you’re part of a team!

Sounds like fun? You can sign up for this semester’s Cabin Trip here: http://qaprogramme.dk/event/qa-cabin-trip-autumn-2015/

This first blog post of the semester is written by Robert Fechete. Robert is the president of the QA Programme. As an international student himself, coming from Romania to study a Masters in Film Studies at the University of Copenhagen, he knows a thing or two about the needs of international students. Robert has been the front man in implementing the new ideas and structural changes, the QA Programme has gone through during the summer. 

As the first blog post of the season, I would like to welcome everybody to a brand new autumn semester here at KUA. The QA Programme is also starting a new season in its development, as over the summer the board of 14 delightful and hard-working students have restructured QA so that it is easier to cut through the technicalities and confusions with the university and get directly to you.

Remember that you are in a new country, with new food, a new style of life and a new culture. Here at QA we celebrate diversity, so we suggest you bring everything that makes you unique with you, however keep your mind open for the whole adventure that is the Danish Cultural Experience. You might find yourself surprised by how this or that is done, by how this or that person behaves, and when you do, remember that they feel the same way about you and it is these marvelous differences that make KUA a great place to be. You will discover, you will learn, maybe you will be surprised and sometimes you might even be shocked, but you most certainly will return mentally vaster and culturally richer. Perhaps even spiritually fuller, as the stories of students coming for one semester, falling in love with everything and returning later are innumerable. It might be your first introduction to becoming a global citizen, a personage of the world, a cosmopolitan.

In this we will assist you with everything you need, all different kinds of events, trips, parties and fancy dinners so that you are welcome whatever ambiance it is that you prefer. And if it happens that we don’t have an event quite to your liking or you would like to try a traditional home event in Denmark, we will facilitate you with everything you need, from funding to human support, to the necessary network.

All you have to do is say so.

Robert and some of the volunteers at the spring cabin trip 2015.

I started my association with the QA Programme by becoming a Mentor and offering to help with some extra tasks and volunteer at certain events, because I thought these were cool students getting something done. That put me on a two and a half year path of meeting some of the greatest and most interesting, intriguing and sometimes downright strange individuals I have ever encountered. We have shared journeys and holidays and inappropriate jokes at the dinner table and an endless parade of memorable life moments. Slices of time and space that I will always carry with me and that have taught me immeasurably more than any university ever has.

Robert showing his helpful nature while serving cake at the Danish birthday party. 

I share my story just so I can say that it is not isolated. There have been hundreds of students who started new here, just like you, and who ended up finding long-term friends who they continue to meet up and adventure with. A certain degree of culture shock is inevitable, but you don’t have to be lonely, depressed, miserable, there is a full world out here and it is wonderfully friendly to students, both Danish and foreign.

All you have to do is make the plunge and join us. Show up, say hi to people, and we will take care of everything else. :)

Tom is one of our more experienced mentors. For a while now he has actively participated in the Academic Platform, where he has been a part of creating many interesting and popular events. This is a little insight in how a mentor can use their skills.

Tom and his team on the Cabin Trop of Spring 2015.

 This spring term I have been a mentor for the QA Programme.  My job has involved providing support to eight International Students. We have met up for dinner and participated in events organised by QA. I have enjoyed seeing students  enjoy their time on exchange.

My other responsibilities include working on the Academic Platform. It is a team of mentors and mentees who plan events for students along academic lines. We organised a Culture symposium (debate) with the question: motion "Can you be a citizen of the globe while maintaining a national identity?"  This process has improved my networking and organisational skills which are very useful to gain for your CV. As a group we had fun discussing ideas and seeing our event come together.

I would recommend becoming a mentor and joining a platform as it is a great way to make friends and develop new skills.  The process for applying to become a mentor is now open and the following link provides more information.

http://qaprogramme.dk/signup/

Jacob A. Johansen is a mentor turned board member. In his daily QA life, he is one of the coordinators of the Language Exchange platform. He has also been a big part of planning this semester’s Cabin Trip. This is his QA story

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  For me my initiation into the QA was quite coincidental and I remember it quite vividly since it happened on my birthday two years ago. After a day of studying, I found myself with a few hours to kill before meeting some friends for a drink. As I was heading out of the main building, I saw a speed friending event going on, and decided to check it out.

The event was arranged, not surprisingly, by the QA-Programme and I was soon chatting away with a bunch of international students. For me this was a brand new experience, since I never had any contact with the International students at university even though I knew there were plenty. And at that time I never heard about the program at all.

A few weeks later, an acquaintance of mine introduced me to some of his mentees from Japan. Intrigued by the social interaction and cultural differences that I saw between them I decided to check it out for myself. Mainly because I wanted to improve my social and language skills.

Therefore, I signed up with the program. And, what a ride it have been since then. The first semester in the program were mostly fun and games with little to no work for my part. I socialized with my mentees and those from other groups alike, volunteered for the cabin trip and had two mentees living on my couch when they were homeless.

I never felt overwhelmed, the gratitude from the mentees and the fun we had together easily outweighed any inconvenience or expense I had. That was when I realized that I was hooked and joined the board and started seeing how much of a difference the mentors actually do. 

After joining, the board the amount of time I spend on the program have only increased. I now plan events, man the office and hold endless meetings but still all good fun since I am lucky to do it with my fantastic fellow board members.  

Willem Beks, one of our mentors in the QA Programme, is a Dutchman studying in Copenhagen. Some time ago, he approached us with a dream he had: to share a traditional event from his home country with Danes and internationals in Copenhagen. His hard work and skilled coordination payed off, because the first Copenhagen Cantus sold out early and turned out to be a huge success. This is an account of the event in his words. With rumours of a repeat event, perhaps a new tradition is born, one not to miss.

The first ever Copenhagen Cantus took place a little more than a month ago. The sweet taste of beer, the voices joining in harmony, and a wonderful memory have not left my mind since.

I can still remember how the idea was received with cheers during one of the Social Platform meetings. And from that moment onwards, the cantus was set in motion. The organization was eased by my committee of random students - including other mentors in the Social Platform, and after pushing and pulling, months of meetings and beers, the cantus was ready to take Copenhagen by storm.

On the big day, together with my friends who had flown in from the Netherlands,  we went over the songs once more. After preparing the Main Hall at Studenterhuset, we rewarded ourselves with a quick bite at McDonalds. As the crowd shuffled in, I sent out the last tasks for the committee members, straightened my tie and broke the ice for the evening with a final shot of Schrobbeler.

Hosting a traditional event in a foreign country, having friends and friends-to-be standing shoulder to shoulder, and seeing a plan come together made this an experience that went way beyond my imagination. Not in a lifetime could I have dreamt of the first Copenhagen Cantus being such a success and the morning after, despite the hangover, I woke up the happiest man alive.

Finally, I would like to thank the committee for their contributions, Studenterhuset for hosting us, the I*ESN’ers that found their way to Copenhagen for their enthusiasm and last but not least the QA Programme, for helping me make my dream come true.

Now if you were so unfortunate that you could not participate yourself, or if you just want to relive the memory of that crazy night, then I hope this aftermovie of the cantus will quench your thirst! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvK3KwZQBKg&feature=youtu.be