Six Months With the Girls at Kalundborg Collegium
The women are all in their 20s and come from Greece, Mexico, India and China, and as the semester is ending, they share their thoughts on living and studying in Kalundborg as Helix Lab Fellows.
Much of the Fellowship’s social life revolves around the communal kitchen, they say.
“We play music, laugh – it’s loud,” says Maria Teresa Santos Ramiraz with a smile.
“There’s always someone there,” Estefania Iberra adds. “Even if we eat at different times, people gather to talk, cook, or just hang out.”
Early on, the Fellows planned to have dinner together every Tuesday, but it became an almost daily ritual.
The concept of eating together soon turned into themed dinners where each Fellow introduced food from their home country. “For the Indian dinner, Chetali, who is from India, was the head chef and told us what to do,” Estefania explains. “We all helped, while listening to Indian music.”
What followed was an organic, tight-knit connection. Dinners turned into traditions, spontaneous kitchen conversations became daily rituals, and shared experiences built trust.
“We include the boys as well, but the girls are a strong unity. There’s a sense of loyalty and closeness between us,” Estefania says.
A Learning Environment
While social life at the collegium has been rich, it’s also been a support structure for personal development.
“We’re all going through the same steps – lab work, writing – so we understand each other,” says Sandra Castillo Castaneda. “If someone is struggling, they can ask for advice, and everyone understands.”
For Maria Teresa, the experience has been transformative: “It’s the first time I’ve been far from my family. I’ve grown a lot personally. I’ve learned that I can do things on my own.”
Chetali Sonkusale agrees: “And I’ve become more open-minded from living with people from different cultures.”
Sofia Stratinaki from Greece adds, “In the beginning, I was working a lot and staying in Copenhagen. But over time, I learned that the Fellowship was more than the project. The dinners, the plans – it gave me balance.”
Meeting the Danish Work Culture
As a part of their projects with local companies in Kalundborg, the Fellows were introduced to Danish work culture, which also brought its own lessons. Many of the Fellows noticed the cultural differences in work-life balance and expectations.
“I was surprised at first when everyone left work early,” Estefania says. “In Mexico, extra hours and working Saturdays are normal. Here, the day ends earlier, and it's not expected that you continue working at night.”
“There’s a sense of structure,” adds Maria Teresa. “You have fixed hours, and after that, you’re free. It’s very different from home, where vacation days are limited, and the workday often stretches into the evening.”
For Estefania, adapting to this system also meant taking on more personal responsibility: “At first I thought I’d get more direction from my supervisors. But I had to learn to take charge, make decisions, and take risks – and figure out solutions when things didn’t go as planned.”
Chetali shares a similar experience: “I was used to working in teams, but here I had to handle things more on my own. It taught me a lot about leadership and problem-solving. Professionally, it’s the first time I’ve led a long-term project alone. I had to take initiative and solve problems on my own, which has taught me a lot.”