That's A Wrap

It's over - 5,206 words and 18 pages later, I can say I've officially completed the IARU course after submitting my final paper this past weekend. Though it was a struggle to get started (still being in summer vacation mode), I really came to enjoy compiling all the lessons and notes taken from Copenhagen and putting them into my own research project. After finishing the paper and reflecting upon the course, I can say that the topic of "global security" is definitely something I plan on pursuing in the future, maybe even for graduate work. Only time will tell...

It's hard to believe that I've been back in Berkeley for a month already. The more I think about it, however, the more I realize two weeks is too short of a time for this course to be carried out. While I loved every minute that I spent in Copenhagen, the only complaint I have with regard to my IARU class is that it was one of the shortest courses offered by the Global Summer Program. I would love to see at least a month dedicated to this topic and the professors in the future so that prospective students have more time to familiarize themselves with the city and surroundings.

With that being said, though, I'm very grateful to have had this opportunity to study abroad and meet students from all over the world. It was a truly unforgettable experience and I owe many thanks to my IARU coordinators, UC Berkeley, Professor Waever, Lise and the University of Copenhagen. To my readers as well, thank you for following me along through this journey and I hope you enjoyed these entries as much as I enjoyed sharing them. It's been wonderful :)

Back In Berkeley

It's been almost a week now since I left Copenhagen and settled back in Berkeley - hard to imagine this time last Friday I was sitting with all my classmates at our farewell dinner. We had a wonderful last night together, though. Alongside the IARU coordinators and professor, all of us students were treated to several courses at a very nice restaurant in Copenhagen. Good food, great wine and even better conversation. After our meal had ended we all went to a nearby bar and spent the last few hours talking and laughing about the past two weeks together. Sadly, the night had to end eventually and though saying goodbye to everyone was difficult, I know we'll all be staying in touch as we continue on with our studies.

Farewell Dinner

Our professor giving his goodbye speech

Group shot of our IARU class

Since I flew out early Sunday morning, Saturday was my last full day in Denmark and unfortunately it was devoted to clearing out my apartment and getting my bags ready for the trip home. I had made plans to go visit the castle in Helsingør with a few classmates but there ended up being too many last minute errands to run. After a long day of souvenir shopping, cleaning, and packing all my luggage, it was time to say goodbye to Copenhagen. Following a few hours of rest I hopped on the train for one last time and made my way over to airport. Though incredibly long, the flight back into California went very smoothly and I was able to catch up on a lot of sleep which helped pass the time. While leaving was hard, it was a really great feeling flying back home into San Francisco and reacquainting myself with a few things I wasn't able to find in Copenhagen (i.e. good Mexican food).

Now the final step left for me in the IARU program is to write a 5,000 word paper that serves as our final project for the course. The content for the paper is fairly open ended, so long as it touches upon the security theories we've discussed over the past two weeks. While I haven't made a final decision yet, I think I'll research the issue of securitization theory with regards to humanitarian intervention. More specifically, whether or not the securitization of a humanitarian threat (i.e. genocide) should necessitate action from the international community to intervene. We'll see how that goes! Once again, thank you for reading and I'll have one more update to come after I turn in my paper. In the meantime, here are a few photo highlights from my last weekend in Copenhagen and trip back.

One last stroll through the streets

Catching up with a friend from high school who happened to be in Copenhagen - small world!

Saying goodbye in true fashion

First meal back home in CA - Mexican food was greatly missed in Denmark