good things come to those who volunteer

In my wealth of new knowledge on positive psychology from all of 2 classes so far, I've learned that performing acts of kindness improves one's overall well-being (I'll have to write more on my classes in general at some point). I've always been under the impression that giving up time, etc for someone is good not just for them but for me, too - helping others makes me happy - so it's nice to know that science confirms my experiences. At any rate, I decided to take some chances and get involved with some volunteering here in Copenhagen. 

The first was, to be entirely honest, a bit random. I found about this group called CPH Volunteers that helps with city-wide events and decided to give it a shot. So I got in touch with them before I got here, and a couple of days ago I found my way over to their office. I was paired with 3 Danish volunteers and we trekked down to the main train station where we handed out pamphlets for the upcoming Fashion Festival. Being still one of my first days here, I didn't really know any Danish (not that I suddenly know all that much more now) but I jumped right in and smiled my way through handing out pamphlets at the entrance to the station. If nothing else, though, I'm now very familiar with hearing the words "tak" and "nej tak" (thanks and no thanks) and learned how to say "you're welcome" (du er velkommen). That afternoon I also experienced the kindness of the Danes... After striking up a long conversation with me on the way to the train station, one of the other volunteers offered to take me to the Visitor's Center when we were done and get me some more info on Copenhagen. He was under absolutely no obligation to do so but went out of his way to walk me there, explain things, and walk with me back to where I needed to go to get home. 

The second is actually something I'll be continuing to do throughout the semester. I'll be working at an after school program for Danish teenagers (13-15 year olds) who need help practicing their English. In Denmark they start learning Danish in about 3rd grade but, as with any language, sometimes you just need extra practice to be more confident in your abilities. That's where the after school program comes in. Basically all I/we do is talk in English. Pretty simple for me and good skill-building time for them. I'm a huge fan of teenagers so getting to know them was (and will be) a lot of fun. And I also like that the location of the program is 45 minutes away from where I live. Most people might dislike it for being farther away. But since I live so close to where I have classes, it's actually really nice to have a reason to go farther away, take public transportation (for the most part I can just walk places) and see the outskirts of the Copenhagen area. 

With both of these things, I've found that volunteering is a great way to meet new people (by that I mean the local Danes) and that it "widens my horizons" a bit to experience a different side of the city that I wouldn't get to otherwise - sort of the more every day side of things that, as an abroad student, I probably wouldn't be exposed to without opportunities like these. So, guess we'll see where else the path of volunteering takes me while I'm here!