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A Laughing Heart
Heading to the airport with my 30-inch luggage, it marked the very start of my 1-month journey away from my homeland as I parted ways with my family and friends. Almost a year ago, I registered for a course, Advanced Nonverbal Communication, at Aarhus University in Denmark in hopes of learning more about decoding nonverbal cues. I must say, this has been one of if not the best experiences in my three-year university life so far as I had a lot of fun both studying and interacting with the local students in the Scandinavian country.
First off, I have acquired greater acquaintance with understanding and utilising nonverbal cues in social settings. With a vast variety of hands-on experiences as well as assignments, we tried out the different concepts in the total communication process learnt in class to examine whether they worked the way we were told and applied them in our observational research as well, thereby sharpening our senses of awareness in nonverbal behaviours. For instance, one of the reflective reports required the synthesis of the key ideas of the journal articles given and our personal experiences to see if animals send messages through body languages similarly as what homo sapiens do. The incorporation of abstract concepts with everyday examples thus deepened my understanding of nonverbal behaviours. That being said, I have learnt much more outside of content knowledge, such as the way of life in Denmark and whatnot. In particular, knowing that Denmark is one of the happiest and most progressive countries in the world, I was curious about how locals thought about this idea and fortunately obtained some illuminating insights concerning the structural functionalism there exchanging words with the locals. It is acknowledged that despite the much higher tax there, sound social security, amongst them free healthcare and paid education, is provided by the government which serves as somewhat a safety net for the citizens, including those of lower socio-economic status. The fundamental needs of the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs are hence very much satisfied, ensuring citizens’ sheltered lives. By comparing the policies implemented in my home country and that in Denmark, the differences between capitalism- and socialism-inclined countries can be better examined, which also enlightened me about how different societies work in their own ways. All in all, I feel so glad to have taken the course in nonverbal communication to better identify one’s emotions through interpreting various cues. With more acquaintance with this field of interest, I developed wider perspectives in examining the surrounding environment and how it can affect one’s emotional status, better knowing myself at the very same time. Luckily enough, I realised I do not particularly enjoy being situated in populated areas as the high density did create unfavourable effects on me, causing stress and detrimental discomfort. Nonetheless, I have developed better coping strategies to soothe myself thanks to the advice offered by my peers and lecturer, such as looking up to obtain a greater sense of space leading to better physiological well-being. At the end of the day, I have undoubtedly learnt more about myself and the different cultures around the world, far beyond the lesson content anticipated when I first planned to study abroad. Although the time spent in Aarhus was fairly limited, the lovely memories of this one-month story will forever live rent free in my head, changing me deeply and so profoundly in many indescribable ways.
