{"id":3902,"date":"2015-06-08T11:25:10","date_gmt":"2015-06-08T10:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarragonaexperience.com\/2015\/06\/08\/helle-kettner-danish-student-that-has-lived-in-tarragona-for-the-past-11-years-when-i-walk-into-the-part-alta-i-shiver-and-tell-myself-all-right-im-home\/"},"modified":"2015-06-08T11:25:10","modified_gmt":"2015-06-08T10:25:10","slug":"helle-kettner-danish-student-that-has-lived-in-tarragona-for-the-past-11-years-when-i-walk-into-the-part-alta-i-shiver-and-tell-myself-all-right-im-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarragonaexperience.com\/en\/2015\/06\/08\/helle-kettner-danish-student-that-has-lived-in-tarragona-for-the-past-11-years-when-i-walk-into-the-part-alta-i-shiver-and-tell-myself-all-right-im-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Helle Kettner, Danish student that has lived in Tarragona for the past 11 years: \u201cWhen I walk into the Part Alta, I shiver and tell myself: all right, I\u2019m home\u201d."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Helle<\/a><\/p>\n

Helle Kettner<\/strong> is a young Danish girl that arrived in Tarragona<\/strong> in 2004 willing to learn some Spanish and then, after a few months, go back to Denmark<\/strong>. It\u2019s been getting on for 11 years since that moment now, and Helle<\/strong> is still in Tarragona<\/strong>. Five years after she arrived, she starting studying a degree in Communication in Universitat Rovira i Virgili<\/strong> (URV<\/strong>), Campus Catalunya. Once she had finished, and refusing to go back to her country, she took a master\u2019s degree in Strategic Communication, and she\u2019s currently in the middle of her doctorate, after being awarded a grant by the university. Within the field of Communication there\u2019s a sport that drives her crazy: \u201cMy line of research is communication and main cycling races<\/em>\u201d. A part from working in the URV<\/strong>, Helle Kettner<\/strong> runs a radio programme in R\u00e0dio Ciutat de Tarragona<\/strong>: Tr\u00f3jkat<\/em>, a culture and music magazine that presents interviews to music artists that come to Tarragona to perform. Helle<\/strong> has yet another passion: N\u00e0stic<\/strong> (Tarragona\u2019s football club). So it\u2019s not Aalborg BK<\/strong>, nor Kobenhavn<\/strong>… It\u2019s Br\u00f8ndby IF<\/strong> and N\u00e0stic<\/strong>. We guess Carles Cort\u00e9s<\/strong>, Quim Pons<\/strong> and Joan Alfons L\u00f3pez <\/strong> have something to do with it, her radio colleagues during the club\u2019s game broadcasts, through the very same radio station. Helle<\/strong> may not know it \u2013or maybe she does\u2013, but she is a true Tarragona<\/strong> girl.<\/p>\n

\"Campus<\/a><\/p>\n

Helle<\/strong>\u2019s most personal Tarragona<\/strong> moves between the area where she studied and the city\u2019s Part Alta, in which she admits to feel like at home. The first picture she sent shows Campus Catalunya (in URV<\/strong>). \u201cI am aware that this is not one of the most beautiful places in the city, that\u2019s for sure, but it is a very special place to me. The Rovira i Virgili is important to Tarragona because having a university of this quality makes a city stand out. To me, Campus Catalunya means a lot to me, specially the Communication area, because they welcomed me and gave me a chance to do this PhD\u201d. Kettner explains that before signing in, she had to master the language (she\u2019s got an excellent level of Catalan), and that once she was in, she felt surprised by \u201cthe teachers\u2019 closeness<\/em>\u201d. \u201cWhen you start a degree in a country you don\u2019t know, using a language that is not yours, that holds you back a bit. However, the way teachers dealt with me is very rewarding, since it made me feel like at home<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Portal<\/a><\/p>\n

The second spot where Helle<\/strong> takes us is just a few metres from Campus Catalunya. \u201cI chose Portal del Roser as one of the most spectacular spots in Tarragona. It\u2019s part of the Part Alta area that, to me, is a truly magic place in the city. When I walk into the Part Alta I shiver and tell myself: all right, I\u2019m home; this is what the Part Alta means to me. I used to live here and walking under the Portal del Roser arch was a true privilege I could not believe. Every morning I used to tell myself \u2013How luky I am to live in a city with such a beautiful structure, atmosphere and light\u2013. Walking under it every morning, and seeing those mountains in the background, behind Campus Catalunya, was simply stunning. Tarragona is located on a privilege area, by the sea, but also very near the mountains. It\u2019s spectacular!<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

\"Circ<\/a><\/p>\n

In order to get to Helle<\/strong>\u2019s third location, we move into another neighbourhood. \u201cMy third picture shows Tarragona\u2019s Cap\u00e7alera del Circ, since it is the best tourist attraction in the city in my opinion. Together with Pont del Diable, Cap\u00e7alera del Circ is my favourite monument. I think is it a pity it is not that known abroad. I realise about that every time I\u2019ve got my family or friend around from Denmark, and they get shocked about the city, and all its beautiful places. I love Tarragona more and more every day, but getting my family and friend\u2019s reaction when they visit the city for the first time is simply incredible and it makes me feel very proud<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

We decided to finish the Helle<\/strong>\u2019s interview by taking her to Tarragona<\/strong>\u2019s Antic Ajuntament (former Town Hall), today home of Tarragona\u2019s Tourism Board<\/strong>, and the starting point for many tourists visiting the city and willing to know more about it, despite many of them will only stay for a few hours or days. \u201cI am a true Tarragona lover, from the very first day I arrive here. At the moment though, I\u2019ve never made the actual decision to stay for good, but I\u2019m not even thinking about it. I do this, then that, I might then finish this and then that\u2026 and this is how years go by. It\u2019s been 11 years now since I arrived here, but the thing is that Tarragona makes you really fall in love with it, it is an ideal city to live in. What I love the most is its lifestyle, they way locals live their lives and they way they understand things and the way to live them. That\u2019s what really fascinates me about it, and that\u2019s why I love it. Oh! And to me, having to choose only three spots in the city was tremendously difficult because, in fact, every spot in Tarragona is incredible<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what we said before\u2026 Helle might not know about it \u2013or maybe she does\u2013, but she is a true Tarragona<\/strong> girl. And let it be for many years! Tak, Helle<\/strong>!<\/p>\n