In my Danish class yesterday, we had this exercise. I thought it would be fun to write the Danish expression, then the literal translation, and then the "real meaning" translation. A lot can be learned from such exercises about a country/language/people, and about how useless it can be to look one word up in the dictionary at a time, instead of having the ability to translate entire expressions.
1. Han aner ikke en pind.
He sees not a stick.
He knows nothing.
2. Han har sommerfugle i maven.
He has butterflies in the stomach.
He is excited and a little nervous.
3. Han har det som blommen i et æg.
He has it like the yolk in an egg.
He has it really well/He is very protected.
4. Der er hul i hovedet at købe aktier nu.
It is a hole in the head to buy stocks now.
It is very stupid.
5. Dér ligger hunden begravet.
There lies the dog buried.
We have here the explanation.
6. Han tog benene på nakken.
He took the legs on the neck.
He goes his own way.
7. Han har meget om ørerne for tiden.
He has a lot on the ears these days.
He is busy.
8. Han har ti tommelfingre.
He has ten thumbs (by the way, "Ti Tommelfingre" is what "Home Improvement" was called in Danish)
He is very impractical.
9. Han har taget billetten.
He has taken the ticket.
He is dead.
10. Der er ingen ko på isen.
There are no cows on the ice.
Everything is OK.
11. Hans planer gik i vasken.
His plans went in the wash.
Don't matter none.
12. Slå koldt vand i blodet!
Throw cold water in the blood!
Take it easy!
Of course one of the first things I noticed was that all of these examples used the male pronoun "han", and did not use the female pronoun "hun" at all. I think that the "cows on the ice" expression was the most interesting, as in everything could be going wrong, but at least "there's no cows on the ice!". This goes a long, long way in describing the Dane's (in general) quality of always looking ONLY on the bright side of things. For a realist and pragmatist, this can be soul-crushing.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The Day Before the 1st Advent Sunday
President Obama got a little roughed up in his basketball game yesterday -- an elbow to the mouth -- and had to get 12 stitches for the wound. This is totally embarrassing, like when during the premiere of Quantum of Solace, Daniel Craig had just injured his arm and walked the red carpet in a gawdawfully ugly sling.
The Danish People's Party proposed making students pay back their student grant money if they work outside Denmark within the first 5 years of finishing school. I think I'll send an app to them. This proposal applies to ethnic Danes too. In general, the government wants to cut one year off the amount of time that students can receive grant money, which is now something in the neighborhood of $1000/mo for 6 years. Believe me, folks: $1000/mo does NOT go very far here, in the land of overpriced items and the highest taxes.
Speaking of overpriced items, the government gave a resounding "NO!" to allow big-box retailers in the country. A huge reason to have them was to increase the competition, and give consumers fairer prices. I've lived this long without WalMart, I guess I can live a bit longer without it too. But it's getting hard, with being allowed only one free checked bag on flights to/from the US. And as for the argument that big-box stores will destroy the local shops, well I'm not shopping at the mom-and-pop stores anyway, because they don't have what I want. It would, however, increase the competition with the 'small-box' Danish grocer retailers, like Coop and Dansk Supermarked.
And with that said, breakfast is ready. Enjoy the snowy weekend, and stay warm!
The Danish People's Party proposed making students pay back their student grant money if they work outside Denmark within the first 5 years of finishing school. I think I'll send an app to them. This proposal applies to ethnic Danes too. In general, the government wants to cut one year off the amount of time that students can receive grant money, which is now something in the neighborhood of $1000/mo for 6 years. Believe me, folks: $1000/mo does NOT go very far here, in the land of overpriced items and the highest taxes.
Speaking of overpriced items, the government gave a resounding "NO!" to allow big-box retailers in the country. A huge reason to have them was to increase the competition, and give consumers fairer prices. I've lived this long without WalMart, I guess I can live a bit longer without it too. But it's getting hard, with being allowed only one free checked bag on flights to/from the US. And as for the argument that big-box stores will destroy the local shops, well I'm not shopping at the mom-and-pop stores anyway, because they don't have what I want. It would, however, increase the competition with the 'small-box' Danish grocer retailers, like Coop and Dansk Supermarked.
And with that said, breakfast is ready. Enjoy the snowy weekend, and stay warm!
Friday, November 26, 2010
It's SNOWING!
and snowing and snowing. The first snowfall of the year hasn't yet stopped. Of the area that I shoveled 1.5 hours ago, at least 1 inch of snow is now covering it.
It's so pretty, the snow. But the street view was pretty chaotic this morning at rush hour. I felt so sorry for the cyclists on the stretches of street without a proper bike lane. They made their way through the slushy muck as car drivers, most stupid enough to not have cleared the snow off their lights, tried to go as fast as possible. Idiot drivers.
This weekend looks perfect for spending the nights in, with a mug of gloog (mulled red wine with rum, silvered almonds, and raisins) and some æbleskiver (basically pancake balls).
It's so pretty, the snow. But the street view was pretty chaotic this morning at rush hour. I felt so sorry for the cyclists on the stretches of street without a proper bike lane. They made their way through the slushy muck as car drivers, most stupid enough to not have cleared the snow off their lights, tried to go as fast as possible. Idiot drivers.
This weekend looks perfect for spending the nights in, with a mug of gloog (mulled red wine with rum, silvered almonds, and raisins) and some æbleskiver (basically pancake balls).
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving
Just want to take a moment and say "Happy Thanksgiving"! My favorite holiday of the year, it's all about eating and eating. And if you have great relatives, getting to eat with cool folks. My aunt's birthday falls around Thanksgiving, so an extra dessert included chocolate birthday cake!
Here we hosted a big Thanksgiving meal last week, but I am thinking about getting some turkey (despite nearly almost having finished turkey leftovers) for tonight. There's still sweet potatoes that need eaten, too.
This year I'm spending most of the day sending out applications. Hopefully next Thanksgiving I'll also be thankful for a fantastic job. (Or at least, just, if only, some kind of job.)
Cheers and remember to take a moment and be thankful for what you have in life.
Here we hosted a big Thanksgiving meal last week, but I am thinking about getting some turkey (despite nearly almost having finished turkey leftovers) for tonight. There's still sweet potatoes that need eaten, too.
This year I'm spending most of the day sending out applications. Hopefully next Thanksgiving I'll also be thankful for a fantastic job. (Or at least, just, if only, some kind of job.)
Cheers and remember to take a moment and be thankful for what you have in life.
Friday, November 12, 2010
UNSTOPPABLE
That's all I wanna say today: UNSTOPPABLE UNSTOPPABLE UNSTOPPABLE!!!!!!
Messrs. Denzel Washington and Chris Pine star in this action flick that was filmed in my hometown of Bellaire, Ohio.
In fact, many scenic shots were filmed from an old high school friend's mom's backyard. And one of the extras is tattoo extraordinaire Ron Meyers. Seriously, if you're in the Ohio River Valley, or visiting soon, go to him if you want a tat!
So, a BIG shout out to the 'Blair folks, and looking forward to giddily making my way to the cinema, sing-songing, "'Yo home to Bellaire!
Messrs. Denzel Washington and Chris Pine star in this action flick that was filmed in my hometown of Bellaire, Ohio.
In fact, many scenic shots were filmed from an old high school friend's mom's backyard. And one of the extras is tattoo extraordinaire Ron Meyers. Seriously, if you're in the Ohio River Valley, or visiting soon, go to him if you want a tat!
So, a BIG shout out to the 'Blair folks, and looking forward to giddily making my way to the cinema, sing-songing, "'Yo home to Bellaire!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
It's that time of year!
"Busy" has been the key word of late, which is more than fine with me, as I would entertain just about any kind of distraction from really noticing the increasingly shorter days and pitch blackness before dinnertime.
It turned out that my union OK'd the Danish class. I was looking forward to it as an opportunity to network with employed Danish people, for a change, but wouldn't you know it - all but one of the other classmates is also foreign! And we are all unemployed except for the German nurse. (My nurse sister got all the ability to deal with germs.)
In any case, this is an interesting class, and I have learned a few things so far.
That aside, I have been invited to five social events over the weekend, one of which is Christmas cookie making!!!!!!!
This year also will mark the fourth Christmas away from Ohio/in Nyborg at the in-law's. The first year my mom sent a lovely care package filled with my favorite Christmas cookies. Each year, she gets together with her friend and they bake up a storm! Among the many types of cookies, gingerbread men with meringue icing is my FAVORITE! Here is a link to the recipe.
The last two years I have attempted to recreate this recipe on my own, but with limited success. I remember it was quite a chore just to find the ingredients at the stores! Here is a cheat sheet:
1. shortening = butter. Ain't no such thing as Crisco here, folks (not sure if that might be due to some kind of rules about partially hydrogenated oil, but that's another story). And ALWAYS use organic butter. It has a much better taste, and you feel less guilty about eating desserts, if you know there are not any pesticides or hormones in those fat cells.
2. molasses = mørk sirup (dark syrup). This can be found at your bigger stores, such as Kvickly and Bilka.
3. white vinegar = klar eddike. While one-liter bottles of colored vinegar are everywhere, the white stuff costs about three times as much, and therefore can be found at the 'nicer' stores, such as Kvickly. I wonder why it costs more than the other kind, because they had to add coloring to the cheaper kind!
4. ground cloves = nelliker. At your typical discount stores, such as Netto, Fakta, and Rema 1000, you can find a small array of baking goods, such as flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, pepper, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla pods. But for anything more exotic than cinnamon, it is once again necessary to go to a bigger store that carries the vast assortment of Santa Maria spices. Thank GOD for Santa Maria's spices!
5. confectioner's sugar = flormelis (powdered sugar). These come in boxes of 500 grams, and I have discovered that each box is 2 cups.
6. meringue powder = ? This one I have yet to find here in Denmark. So I save valuable suitcase weight and bring some back each year.
Another baking ingredient I have yet to find here is cream of tartar. It is called "vinsten" (lit. wine stone), and I have found it only on a Dutch website. Last summer I had trouble finding it in Walmart and Kroger (why isn't it next to other products that make things rise, like baking soda and powder?). So my mom and SIL presented me with several containers of it before I left.
While Denmark is known world-wide for its pastries, the art of baking desserts is not a big "thing" here. For example, little kiddie birthdays are celebrated with a layered whipped cream and apple dessert, topped with crushed macaroons and presented in a big clear bowl (it is called "lagkage", lit. layer cake, but the only cake I've seen in it is a thin round that you can buy pre-packaged). The kiddies also have "boller" (buns) with hot chocolate. These buns are more like something I'd eat with soup. But hey, it all reminds me of hot buns Daniel Craig in the film "Layer Cake". And that is a welcome daydream in the midst of high-pitched children's shrieks and yells (which are never, ever absorbed by carpet or furniture in these wood-floored, minimalistic Danish homes with very tall ground-floor ceilings).
The "boller" are also split in half and buttered beforehand. That is to say, before the guests arrive. I suppose it is a nice traditional thing to just be able to sit at the table and grab a buttered bun, but my germophobicness is triggered, and I have trouble wanting to eat something that was cradled in another person's hand. Not to mention the forced eating of another person's ideal serving size of butter (or worse, non-organic butter, or at the very worst, margarine!) I mean, do they have any idea how much work on a treadmill it will take to burn off those calories?!
While there are plenty of pastry shops here called "bageri" (bakery), I have yet to see a bakery that fits my definition of the word. Without any such thing as sheet cakes covered in delicious butter cream frosting, cupcakes, donuts, or cannolis, I cannot get too excited about the bakeries here. Oh how silly I was to have taken the many Italian-inspired bakeries for granted in the Ohio River Valley! And while there are a few boxed cake mixes, they aren't any comparison to Pillsbury's or Duncan Hines'. I have been forced to learn how to make cakes from scratch!
Cake making and decorating in Denmark seems to have a good following online with other bloggers. While several websites exist for baking ingredients and supplies, I have not seen an actual storefront with these products. Isn't that interesting? Once again, thank goodness for IKEA, which has very inexpensive baking tins, cookie sheets, cookie cutters, and a cake decorating set.
As far as Christmas cookies go here in DK, check out this website, which shows the "brunkager" (lit. brown cakes), "pebornødder" (lit. pepper nuts), "vaniliekranser" (lit. vanilla wreaths) and more. The Danish Christmas cookie is thinner, drier, flatter, and unfrosted, compared to American Christmas cookies.
So this weekend I am really looking forward to making some real Christmas cookies and candy! I really thank my friend for inviting me over to do this. It should be a lot of fun. And if she or I had a cookie press, I would most certainly try to make the "vaniliekranser", which are one of my husband's favorite Christmas cookies.
It turned out that my union OK'd the Danish class. I was looking forward to it as an opportunity to network with employed Danish people, for a change, but wouldn't you know it - all but one of the other classmates is also foreign! And we are all unemployed except for the German nurse. (My nurse sister got all the ability to deal with germs.)
In any case, this is an interesting class, and I have learned a few things so far.
That aside, I have been invited to five social events over the weekend, one of which is Christmas cookie making!!!!!!!
This year also will mark the fourth Christmas away from Ohio/in Nyborg at the in-law's. The first year my mom sent a lovely care package filled with my favorite Christmas cookies. Each year, she gets together with her friend and they bake up a storm! Among the many types of cookies, gingerbread men with meringue icing is my FAVORITE! Here is a link to the recipe.
The last two years I have attempted to recreate this recipe on my own, but with limited success. I remember it was quite a chore just to find the ingredients at the stores! Here is a cheat sheet:
1. shortening = butter. Ain't no such thing as Crisco here, folks (not sure if that might be due to some kind of rules about partially hydrogenated oil, but that's another story). And ALWAYS use organic butter. It has a much better taste, and you feel less guilty about eating desserts, if you know there are not any pesticides or hormones in those fat cells.
2. molasses = mørk sirup (dark syrup). This can be found at your bigger stores, such as Kvickly and Bilka.
3. white vinegar = klar eddike. While one-liter bottles of colored vinegar are everywhere, the white stuff costs about three times as much, and therefore can be found at the 'nicer' stores, such as Kvickly. I wonder why it costs more than the other kind, because they had to add coloring to the cheaper kind!
4. ground cloves = nelliker. At your typical discount stores, such as Netto, Fakta, and Rema 1000, you can find a small array of baking goods, such as flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, pepper, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla pods. But for anything more exotic than cinnamon, it is once again necessary to go to a bigger store that carries the vast assortment of Santa Maria spices. Thank GOD for Santa Maria's spices!
5. confectioner's sugar = flormelis (powdered sugar). These come in boxes of 500 grams, and I have discovered that each box is 2 cups.
6. meringue powder = ? This one I have yet to find here in Denmark. So I save valuable suitcase weight and bring some back each year.
Another baking ingredient I have yet to find here is cream of tartar. It is called "vinsten" (lit. wine stone), and I have found it only on a Dutch website. Last summer I had trouble finding it in Walmart and Kroger (why isn't it next to other products that make things rise, like baking soda and powder?). So my mom and SIL presented me with several containers of it before I left.
While Denmark is known world-wide for its pastries, the art of baking desserts is not a big "thing" here. For example, little kiddie birthdays are celebrated with a layered whipped cream and apple dessert, topped with crushed macaroons and presented in a big clear bowl (it is called "lagkage", lit. layer cake, but the only cake I've seen in it is a thin round that you can buy pre-packaged). The kiddies also have "boller" (buns) with hot chocolate. These buns are more like something I'd eat with soup. But hey, it all reminds me of hot buns Daniel Craig in the film "Layer Cake". And that is a welcome daydream in the midst of high-pitched children's shrieks and yells (which are never, ever absorbed by carpet or furniture in these wood-floored, minimalistic Danish homes with very tall ground-floor ceilings).
The "boller" are also split in half and buttered beforehand. That is to say, before the guests arrive. I suppose it is a nice traditional thing to just be able to sit at the table and grab a buttered bun, but my germophobicness is triggered, and I have trouble wanting to eat something that was cradled in another person's hand. Not to mention the forced eating of another person's ideal serving size of butter (or worse, non-organic butter, or at the very worst, margarine!) I mean, do they have any idea how much work on a treadmill it will take to burn off those calories?!
While there are plenty of pastry shops here called "bageri" (bakery), I have yet to see a bakery that fits my definition of the word. Without any such thing as sheet cakes covered in delicious butter cream frosting, cupcakes, donuts, or cannolis, I cannot get too excited about the bakeries here. Oh how silly I was to have taken the many Italian-inspired bakeries for granted in the Ohio River Valley! And while there are a few boxed cake mixes, they aren't any comparison to Pillsbury's or Duncan Hines'. I have been forced to learn how to make cakes from scratch!
Cake making and decorating in Denmark seems to have a good following online with other bloggers. While several websites exist for baking ingredients and supplies, I have not seen an actual storefront with these products. Isn't that interesting? Once again, thank goodness for IKEA, which has very inexpensive baking tins, cookie sheets, cookie cutters, and a cake decorating set.
As far as Christmas cookies go here in DK, check out this website, which shows the "brunkager" (lit. brown cakes), "pebornødder" (lit. pepper nuts), "vaniliekranser" (lit. vanilla wreaths) and more. The Danish Christmas cookie is thinner, drier, flatter, and unfrosted, compared to American Christmas cookies.
So this weekend I am really looking forward to making some real Christmas cookies and candy! I really thank my friend for inviting me over to do this. It should be a lot of fun. And if she or I had a cookie press, I would most certainly try to make the "vaniliekranser", which are one of my husband's favorite Christmas cookies.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Election Day Hangover
Woke up to the news that Ohio Governor Ted Strickland lost, as well as Congressional Representatives Zack Space and Charlie Wilson. I was glad to hear, however, that Debbie Phillips was re-elected to the Ohio House of Representatives.
After being asked pre-November 2008 a multitude of times, "Why did Americans vote for Bush?!/vote Republican?" and trying unsuccessfully to explain the main reasons (putting gay marriage on many state ballots, for example, which led to answering the question, "Why is gay marriage so bad?!"), I have decided to follow another course of action in the certain upcoming interrogations.
I will simply respond, "Sorry, I cannot talk about this. You'll have to ask someone else."
Because really, haven't we all expected more from the Democrats in the last two years? It's absolutely shameful.
After being asked pre-November 2008 a multitude of times, "Why did Americans vote for Bush?!/vote Republican?" and trying unsuccessfully to explain the main reasons (putting gay marriage on many state ballots, for example, which led to answering the question, "Why is gay marriage so bad?!"), I have decided to follow another course of action in the certain upcoming interrogations.
I will simply respond, "Sorry, I cannot talk about this. You'll have to ask someone else."
Because really, haven't we all expected more from the Democrats in the last two years? It's absolutely shameful.
Friday, October 29, 2010
How did it get to be October 29 already?
Another four weeks has whipped by in a flash. I sometimes feel like I'm in the time warp that you see in some movies, where they quickly flip calendar pages in order to signify the passing of time.
I wish I had something really fantastic and positive to say today, but it is the end of another month, and I am still without a job. In fact, a couple days ago was 1 year since I defended my thesis. Who in the hell would have known then that it would be so unbelievably impossible to get a job?
A ray of sunshine came across me a few weeks ago, as I saw an ad in the paper for free Danish courses - for those adults who would like to brush up on office/business Danish, and learn how to get through a good book faster (note: also for native Danish speakers!). But navigating the bureaucracy between the a-kasse union, the Job Center, and the Ramsdoll Group (to whom the Job Center outsourced my case) has been a complete and total nightmare. No one seems to know anything, and kicks me over to the next guy to answer the questions. I think I finally got some resolution today, which does allow me to take the class (and not lose unemployment benefits), but who the hell knows. The most hilarious part of this is that the a-kasse needs me to fill out a form about the course, and of course I do not understand about 20% of it...which is exactly the reason I want to take the course!
So much red tape involved, just for those of us who take the initiative to improve ourselves and have a better chance of landing a job.
The good news is that the next two months' social calendars are filling up pretty fast. Being busy with birthday parties, babies arriving, and Christmas cookie baking will help pass the time. I just need to kindly request of my friends to never bring up the topic of my unemployment, or I might just lose it (and no one wants to see that).
This week did have two very high notes: the Santana concert at Stadium Arena Fyn on Monday, and a wine tasting at Magasin on Wednesday. The concert was simply incredible: it was lovely to witness people who excel at what they do, having such a good time showing off their amazing skills to others. I danced so much, my knees have been complaining since. And the wine tasting (of 2 whites and 6 reds for a very inexpensive price) was the first I've been to in Denmark. It reminded me of the great ones that Andrew put on at the Ohio University Inn years ago.
Tomorrow brings a Halloween party, which should be fun, if nothing like the Halloween block parties in Athens. Hoping everyone has a safe and spooktaclar weekend. Now I need to go buy some candy.
I wish I had something really fantastic and positive to say today, but it is the end of another month, and I am still without a job. In fact, a couple days ago was 1 year since I defended my thesis. Who in the hell would have known then that it would be so unbelievably impossible to get a job?
A ray of sunshine came across me a few weeks ago, as I saw an ad in the paper for free Danish courses - for those adults who would like to brush up on office/business Danish, and learn how to get through a good book faster (note: also for native Danish speakers!). But navigating the bureaucracy between the a-kasse union, the Job Center, and the Ramsdoll Group (to whom the Job Center outsourced my case) has been a complete and total nightmare. No one seems to know anything, and kicks me over to the next guy to answer the questions. I think I finally got some resolution today, which does allow me to take the class (and not lose unemployment benefits), but who the hell knows. The most hilarious part of this is that the a-kasse needs me to fill out a form about the course, and of course I do not understand about 20% of it...which is exactly the reason I want to take the course!
So much red tape involved, just for those of us who take the initiative to improve ourselves and have a better chance of landing a job.
The good news is that the next two months' social calendars are filling up pretty fast. Being busy with birthday parties, babies arriving, and Christmas cookie baking will help pass the time. I just need to kindly request of my friends to never bring up the topic of my unemployment, or I might just lose it (and no one wants to see that).
This week did have two very high notes: the Santana concert at Stadium Arena Fyn on Monday, and a wine tasting at Magasin on Wednesday. The concert was simply incredible: it was lovely to witness people who excel at what they do, having such a good time showing off their amazing skills to others. I danced so much, my knees have been complaining since. And the wine tasting (of 2 whites and 6 reds for a very inexpensive price) was the first I've been to in Denmark. It reminded me of the great ones that Andrew put on at the Ohio University Inn years ago.
Tomorrow brings a Halloween party, which should be fun, if nothing like the Halloween block parties in Athens. Hoping everyone has a safe and spooktaclar weekend. Now I need to go buy some candy.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Fantastic headlines today!
The fourth miner has just made it above ground!!!! Thank goodness the New York Times has a live feed of the rescue operation. The story merited all of about 60 seconds at 7:30 on the national TV news this morning. I waited, wondering HOW in the world they would inevitably insert something Danish into the story. It happened when they said, "The first miner was rescued at 5:30 Danish time."
All of the news sites this morning had massive headlines about the miners' rescue.
Far below these jubilant headlines, however, was a curious one: "Danish People's Party wants to allow smoking in restaurants!"
Say whaaaaa??
It's true. Smoking was finally banned here a few years ago, except in places like very small bars, where one can smoke anywhere in the bar. Some larger bars have converted a small area into a smoking room, which really is almost as disgusting because the amount of smoke is too much even for the smokers, and they leave the door open. At the local mall here, a restaurant even has a glass smoking box, which of course does nothing to eliminate the odor, but may serve to give extra attention to the smoker. Whether it is praise for being special, or ridicule for having such an unwanted habit is unclear.
Back to the story. Here is a quote from the politician Liselott Blixt (my own translation):
Wow. That's the only thing I can think to say without launching into a diatribe about everything that is wrong with what she said! Well except for the part about the health care worker helping the patient hold his/her cig. Why can't they just do that when they are both outside in the smoking area?
I also wonder if smokers and non-smokers can live together in peace and harmony, as she states, then why can't Danes and non-Danes?
I would really love to write more on this, but I need to make it to the gym.
At least now we all know how to get the crinkly facial skin of Pia.
All of the news sites this morning had massive headlines about the miners' rescue.
Far below these jubilant headlines, however, was a curious one: "Danish People's Party wants to allow smoking in restaurants!"
Say whaaaaa??
It's true. Smoking was finally banned here a few years ago, except in places like very small bars, where one can smoke anywhere in the bar. Some larger bars have converted a small area into a smoking room, which really is almost as disgusting because the amount of smoke is too much even for the smokers, and they leave the door open. At the local mall here, a restaurant even has a glass smoking box, which of course does nothing to eliminate the odor, but may serve to give extra attention to the smoker. Whether it is praise for being special, or ridicule for having such an unwanted habit is unclear.
Back to the story. Here is a quote from the politician Liselott Blixt (my own translation):
"I myself smoke only at parties. So I really understand the irritation when one must stand outside in all types of weather. There must be better ways we can solve this. We all certainly can be here all together, both smokers, non-smokers, and ex-smokers. ... Why should all the smoking patients be thrown out of the hospitals? Why must the smoking personnel at nursing homes not help the elderly and the sick, if they want to smoke? Why can't they help patients with sclerosis and hold their cigarette for them? I am entirely behind the effort that we need to protect those who do not want to be exposed to smoke, but this is inhuman. We need to try to do better."
Wow. That's the only thing I can think to say without launching into a diatribe about everything that is wrong with what she said! Well except for the part about the health care worker helping the patient hold his/her cig. Why can't they just do that when they are both outside in the smoking area?
I also wonder if smokers and non-smokers can live together in peace and harmony, as she states, then why can't Danes and non-Danes?
I would really love to write more on this, but I need to make it to the gym.
At least now we all know how to get the crinkly facial skin of Pia.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Autumn
Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. Probably because I was a nerd and loved starting new topics at the beginning of the school year.
Although September was the coldest one Denmark has had in the last 12 or so years, the temps are not falling too dramatically yet. With averages in the 50s (that's 10˚-15˚C) and not too much rain or overcast skies, this month has been brilliant so far.
The waning sun casts a golden glow at this time of year. The leaves on the trees are dying a long, graceful death. Those that have fallen make a crunch underfoot.
Halloween decorations, more than last year, are on store shelves. I have intense cravings for hot chocolate or warm apple cider (spiked with some spiced rum, of course!). I kick myself for not having brought back some mini marshmallows from the States.
I also miss tailgating at the Ohio University football games. Cold light beers washing down the warm brats. Delicious. But football (American style) does not exist here, nor does proper sauerkraut for the brats. Same goes for a good light beer.
Sure, the length of daylight hours is quickly slipping away. Already the sunrise is at 7:34 and sunset at 6:18 p.m. I have made a 3-month calendar with the sunrise and sunset times. Forewarned is forearmed, so I hope to not suddenly be surprised by the time of the Winter Solstice, which has a sunrise at 8:38 and sunset at 3:39 p.m. And sunrise should be put into quotes, because at that time of year, the gray skies are typically overcast with thick clouds, impenetrable to the sun's rays of light.
Knowing what lies ahead makes me appreciate this golden sun now even more. Last year, for three weeks beginning at the end of October, the skies were overcast and rainy every single day. I shudder in the fear something like that would happen again.
Having spent my entire life in southeastern Ohio, at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, hills were everywhere. On a return drive from North Carolina, we were stuck in traffic in the mountains of West Virginia. I felt suffocated. Everywhere I looked, there were towering hills, extending as far up as one could see. But we inched forward, and were soon enjoying a new, more open, landscape.
Denmark, on the other hand, is quite flat. The highest point of elevation is 560 feet high. As a cyclist, this is great. But on the days of overcast skies, I feel the same suffocating feeling. At least in Ohio, one can drive further up the hill to not feel so surrounded. Here, one can feel doomed to suffer the domed sky's mood.
Is it really any wonder our ancestors worshiped the sun?
Although September was the coldest one Denmark has had in the last 12 or so years, the temps are not falling too dramatically yet. With averages in the 50s (that's 10˚-15˚C) and not too much rain or overcast skies, this month has been brilliant so far.
The waning sun casts a golden glow at this time of year. The leaves on the trees are dying a long, graceful death. Those that have fallen make a crunch underfoot.
Halloween decorations, more than last year, are on store shelves. I have intense cravings for hot chocolate or warm apple cider (spiked with some spiced rum, of course!). I kick myself for not having brought back some mini marshmallows from the States.
I also miss tailgating at the Ohio University football games. Cold light beers washing down the warm brats. Delicious. But football (American style) does not exist here, nor does proper sauerkraut for the brats. Same goes for a good light beer.
Sure, the length of daylight hours is quickly slipping away. Already the sunrise is at 7:34 and sunset at 6:18 p.m. I have made a 3-month calendar with the sunrise and sunset times. Forewarned is forearmed, so I hope to not suddenly be surprised by the time of the Winter Solstice, which has a sunrise at 8:38 and sunset at 3:39 p.m. And sunrise should be put into quotes, because at that time of year, the gray skies are typically overcast with thick clouds, impenetrable to the sun's rays of light.
Knowing what lies ahead makes me appreciate this golden sun now even more. Last year, for three weeks beginning at the end of October, the skies were overcast and rainy every single day. I shudder in the fear something like that would happen again.
Having spent my entire life in southeastern Ohio, at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, hills were everywhere. On a return drive from North Carolina, we were stuck in traffic in the mountains of West Virginia. I felt suffocated. Everywhere I looked, there were towering hills, extending as far up as one could see. But we inched forward, and were soon enjoying a new, more open, landscape.
Denmark, on the other hand, is quite flat. The highest point of elevation is 560 feet high. As a cyclist, this is great. But on the days of overcast skies, I feel the same suffocating feeling. At least in Ohio, one can drive further up the hill to not feel so surrounded. Here, one can feel doomed to suffer the domed sky's mood.
Is it really any wonder our ancestors worshiped the sun?
Friday, October 1, 2010
October 1, 2010: Busy News Day
I will spare any excuses for not writing lately.
Today's news brought a few interesting topics that I would like to share.
Conservatives to People's Party: We don't want your kind in these here parts!
The biggest is that the Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen, who is also the Conservative party leader, said that her party would quit the government if the nationalist Danish People's Party would get any ministerial posts. Now Lene is not a stranger to the news. She was raked over the coals a few months ago for failing to appear at certain events where foreign ministers of other countries were gathered. After that, her husband received a lot of press for his taxes. I did not really pay much attention to either of those story's details.
The current change of heart is due to vast differences of either party's stance on four main issues: EU politics, tax politics, the size of the public sector, and reforms in areas such as pensions. Of course, I would have hoped that another reason would include the People's Party stance on immigration, but that may be wishing too much as after all, it's the Conservative party we're talking about here.
The other day I walked to the train station. On the side walls under the overpass are two huge plastic frames that protect the advertisements underneath. Every so often a People's Party ad is installed there. Without fail, someone always rips off the plastic cover, removes the ad underneath, and vandalizes the ad. The other day, someone had ripped off the facial area of the People Party's leader, Pia Kjærsgaard. Hm.
Well maybe now the People's Party knows how it feels to be unwanted and blocked out of places they want to be.
Danes are getting FAT fatty fat fat!!!
I take twisted pleasure in this, because we all know that Americans are known for their largess and repudiated for it. Colin Farrel's character in In Bruges provides a great example of what Europeans think of the vastly obese American. Here's a link to the clip, which cannot be embedded here.
And we all know that everybody loves to hate America. Well guess what, you haters? You're following America's lead to becoming overweight and even obese. ha, ha! In Denmark, 41 percent of men and 26 percent of women are overweight; 11 percent of men are obese, and 12 percent of women are obese. The stats thrown around for the U.S. are two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and now the number of obese is overtaking the number of "simply" overweight. Looks like Danish women are aspiring to American numbers.
All kidding aside, this is no joke. Being overweight is not easy, and leads to a whole host of various problems. Good thing one of the world's leading diabetes medicine companies, Novo Nordisk, is HQ'd here in DK. Also I should add something else from the article: while Danes are getting fatter, the rate is not as fast as other industrialized countries. An Oxford Uni researcher theorizes that the social safety net is also what has slowed the rate. My two cents is that all of the biking helps too.
From NYC: Riding a Bicycle is Now Chic and Hip
Gone are the days of poor spandex-encased bicycle messengers being the only image that pops into New Yorker's minds when they think of cycling in the city. Eco-conscious young women are making environmental and style statements as they pedal around town, writes the New York Times. Here's my favorite quote, from the owner of a bicycle shop:
I admit, when I first came to Copenhagen nearly four years ago, the number of cyclists was quite shocking to my car-driving eyes. I'll never forget seeing out the corner of my eye a HUGE belly seemingly floating in the air. I turned and looked and saw a VERY pregnant woman cycling on the bike path. WOW! The city of Odense has been named the friendliest city for bicyclists, as it has more than 500 km (310 mi) of bike paths.
This NYT article, I found, was quite humorous. After all, every day all over Denmark cyclists of all ages, shapes and sizes (and modes of fashion) use their bikes to drop off the kids at day care or co-bike with their little one to school, go to work, go shopping, and return home. Not the latest chic and hip novelty, like in the Big Apple.
"Come Again?"
The last eye-catching article of today reveals the results of a Uni of Copenhagen study that focused on mapping out the gazillion dialects of Denmark. Us foreigners learning Danish hear it all the time when we complain about Danes switching over to English as soon as they hear our foreign accents, "Even Danes sometimes can't understand each other!" To which I always wanted to reply, "Uh, but do they start speaking English to each other? NO! They open their ears and try to understand!" But I kept my mouth shut, because arguing is useless.
The little country of Denmark, where Hamlet found something rotten, is geographically a little smaller than my home state of Ohio. I grew up in the central eastern part, where a typical Midwest accent is found and usually had, although some pick up "hillbilly", "hill jack", "redneck", or Ohio River accents. When I moved to southern Ohio, I was struck by the difference in accent. We were not that far from Kentucky, that was for sure. And good luck flying into Columbus, stopping at the nearby McDonald's drive-through and understanding the typical accent that greets you there. But it all works out, and you are soon munching on fries.
Denmark has a population of 5.5 million; Ohio has 11.5 million. The capital of Copenhagen is home to 1-2 million residents, depending on how you draw the borders and such. So that leaves a lotta land for the remaining residents. That, coupled with the number of islands that make up the country, it seems not surprising that a lot of regional accents have developed.
For further information, visit the study's website, which contains this fabulous section where you can "train your ears" to understand the different accents. An even better part is this section, which discusses how you, too can understand Danish with a foreign accent!
"Prost!"
I would be remiss to not mention that October = Octoberfest! Yes, as much as the Danes love to trash talk the Germans (and with good historical reason, of course), they love their beer-laden tradition! I am going to an Octoberfest celebration this evening, my very first one. This does not mean that we have not had special Octoberfest beer, as many beer companies produce them, which can be found at the grocery store. But it does mean I will experience yet another cultural experience, and that is somewhat interesting, even if the overwhelming tobacco-free smell of pilsners and lagers reminds me of stupid drunk college kids.
Today's news brought a few interesting topics that I would like to share.
Conservatives to People's Party: We don't want your kind in these here parts!
The biggest is that the Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen, who is also the Conservative party leader, said that her party would quit the government if the nationalist Danish People's Party would get any ministerial posts. Now Lene is not a stranger to the news. She was raked over the coals a few months ago for failing to appear at certain events where foreign ministers of other countries were gathered. After that, her husband received a lot of press for his taxes. I did not really pay much attention to either of those story's details.
The current change of heart is due to vast differences of either party's stance on four main issues: EU politics, tax politics, the size of the public sector, and reforms in areas such as pensions. Of course, I would have hoped that another reason would include the People's Party stance on immigration, but that may be wishing too much as after all, it's the Conservative party we're talking about here.
The other day I walked to the train station. On the side walls under the overpass are two huge plastic frames that protect the advertisements underneath. Every so often a People's Party ad is installed there. Without fail, someone always rips off the plastic cover, removes the ad underneath, and vandalizes the ad. The other day, someone had ripped off the facial area of the People Party's leader, Pia Kjærsgaard. Hm.
Well maybe now the People's Party knows how it feels to be unwanted and blocked out of places they want to be.
Danes are getting FAT fatty fat fat!!!
I take twisted pleasure in this, because we all know that Americans are known for their largess and repudiated for it. Colin Farrel's character in In Bruges provides a great example of what Europeans think of the vastly obese American. Here's a link to the clip, which cannot be embedded here.
And we all know that everybody loves to hate America. Well guess what, you haters? You're following America's lead to becoming overweight and even obese. ha, ha! In Denmark, 41 percent of men and 26 percent of women are overweight; 11 percent of men are obese, and 12 percent of women are obese. The stats thrown around for the U.S. are two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and now the number of obese is overtaking the number of "simply" overweight. Looks like Danish women are aspiring to American numbers.
All kidding aside, this is no joke. Being overweight is not easy, and leads to a whole host of various problems. Good thing one of the world's leading diabetes medicine companies, Novo Nordisk, is HQ'd here in DK. Also I should add something else from the article: while Danes are getting fatter, the rate is not as fast as other industrialized countries. An Oxford Uni researcher theorizes that the social safety net is also what has slowed the rate. My two cents is that all of the biking helps too.
From NYC: Riding a Bicycle is Now Chic and Hip
Gone are the days of poor spandex-encased bicycle messengers being the only image that pops into New Yorker's minds when they think of cycling in the city. Eco-conscious young women are making environmental and style statements as they pedal around town, writes the New York Times. Here's my favorite quote, from the owner of a bicycle shop:
“The idea now is to look like a pedestrian on wheels.”
I admit, when I first came to Copenhagen nearly four years ago, the number of cyclists was quite shocking to my car-driving eyes. I'll never forget seeing out the corner of my eye a HUGE belly seemingly floating in the air. I turned and looked and saw a VERY pregnant woman cycling on the bike path. WOW! The city of Odense has been named the friendliest city for bicyclists, as it has more than 500 km (310 mi) of bike paths.
This NYT article, I found, was quite humorous. After all, every day all over Denmark cyclists of all ages, shapes and sizes (and modes of fashion) use their bikes to drop off the kids at day care or co-bike with their little one to school, go to work, go shopping, and return home. Not the latest chic and hip novelty, like in the Big Apple.
"Come Again?"
The last eye-catching article of today reveals the results of a Uni of Copenhagen study that focused on mapping out the gazillion dialects of Denmark. Us foreigners learning Danish hear it all the time when we complain about Danes switching over to English as soon as they hear our foreign accents, "Even Danes sometimes can't understand each other!" To which I always wanted to reply, "Uh, but do they start speaking English to each other? NO! They open their ears and try to understand!" But I kept my mouth shut, because arguing is useless.
The little country of Denmark, where Hamlet found something rotten, is geographically a little smaller than my home state of Ohio. I grew up in the central eastern part, where a typical Midwest accent is found and usually had, although some pick up "hillbilly", "hill jack", "redneck", or Ohio River accents. When I moved to southern Ohio, I was struck by the difference in accent. We were not that far from Kentucky, that was for sure. And good luck flying into Columbus, stopping at the nearby McDonald's drive-through and understanding the typical accent that greets you there. But it all works out, and you are soon munching on fries.
Denmark has a population of 5.5 million; Ohio has 11.5 million. The capital of Copenhagen is home to 1-2 million residents, depending on how you draw the borders and such. So that leaves a lotta land for the remaining residents. That, coupled with the number of islands that make up the country, it seems not surprising that a lot of regional accents have developed.
For further information, visit the study's website, which contains this fabulous section where you can "train your ears" to understand the different accents. An even better part is this section, which discusses how you, too can understand Danish with a foreign accent!
"Prost!"
I would be remiss to not mention that October = Octoberfest! Yes, as much as the Danes love to trash talk the Germans (and with good historical reason, of course), they love their beer-laden tradition! I am going to an Octoberfest celebration this evening, my very first one. This does not mean that we have not had special Octoberfest beer, as many beer companies produce them, which can be found at the grocery store. But it does mean I will experience yet another cultural experience, and that is somewhat interesting, even if the overwhelming tobacco-free smell of pilsners and lagers reminds me of stupid drunk college kids.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Hævnen: GO SEE THIS FILM!
As mentioned in my last post, I am a member of the Biografklub. The club's first film selection of the season is Hævnen, translated literally as "The Revenge" (but whose English title is "Civilization" and International title is "In a Better World").
Here is the trailer:
IMDB's plot description says
These two lines elegantly summarize the events of the film. Well, except that the father of one of the families is actually Swedish, who spoke Swedish to the Danes and English to the Africans (Hm, would a Danish-language review count that family as "Danish", I wonder?!?). I thought it was funny how he had Danish subtitles, but miraculously all of the other Danes he spoke to in the film understood him perfectly (so why couldn't Danish film audiences?!?). Well, except for when he said the name "Lars" and the woman heard something like, "Laghshhh". But she was somehow able to connect the two with little difficulty.
In reality, this usually does not happen so easily. But of course the film could not have wasted more time exploring a typical miscommunication, to the point where he would have had to take a pen and paper and write "Lars" so she could understand what he was saying.
And I am still kind of confused how Danes can understand Swedish, when in general there is difficulty understanding American-accented Danish. But I digress.
Oral Swedish and Danish subtitles aside, this film was absolutely gorgeous. I do enjoy the ability of filmmakers to make Denmark's scenery look visually stunning, as is evident in The Celebration and Terribly Happy, for example.
Hævnen, as far as I can see, does not have as yet any English subtitles or Web site information. It most likely will be exported, and I do hope that many people see it - especially
- families with young children
- especially families with young boys
- really especially families with young boys whose mothers have died of cancer
- definitely families with young children who have moved to a different country and must start anew in the school's social setting (what a nightmare!)
- certainly parents who think their children's teachers are a bunch of numnutz (not giving anything away here, but as seen in the trailer, one of the boy's two teachers try to place blame on his behavioral problems on "problems the parents are having with each other" instead of what is really happening - getting his arse kicked by a bully every day at school! I am kind of surprised that the teachers did not stupidly say that the boy's problems were due to having a non-100% ethnic Danish father! and/or having to understand Swedish)
and of course
- any fan of Ulrich Thompsen!
You will not be disappointed or bored. This is an entertaining film that also makes you think after seeing it. Issues of the other, friendship, justice, forgiveness, morality, and more will stay with you. Go see it!
Here is the trailer:
IMDB's plot description says
The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.
These two lines elegantly summarize the events of the film. Well, except that the father of one of the families is actually Swedish, who spoke Swedish to the Danes and English to the Africans (Hm, would a Danish-language review count that family as "Danish", I wonder?!?). I thought it was funny how he had Danish subtitles, but miraculously all of the other Danes he spoke to in the film understood him perfectly (so why couldn't Danish film audiences?!?). Well, except for when he said the name "Lars" and the woman heard something like, "Laghshhh". But she was somehow able to connect the two with little difficulty.
In reality, this usually does not happen so easily. But of course the film could not have wasted more time exploring a typical miscommunication, to the point where he would have had to take a pen and paper and write "Lars" so she could understand what he was saying.
And I am still kind of confused how Danes can understand Swedish, when in general there is difficulty understanding American-accented Danish. But I digress.
Oral Swedish and Danish subtitles aside, this film was absolutely gorgeous. I do enjoy the ability of filmmakers to make Denmark's scenery look visually stunning, as is evident in The Celebration and Terribly Happy, for example.
Hævnen, as far as I can see, does not have as yet any English subtitles or Web site information. It most likely will be exported, and I do hope that many people see it - especially
- families with young children
- especially families with young boys
- really especially families with young boys whose mothers have died of cancer
- definitely families with young children who have moved to a different country and must start anew in the school's social setting (what a nightmare!)
- certainly parents who think their children's teachers are a bunch of numnutz (not giving anything away here, but as seen in the trailer, one of the boy's two teachers try to place blame on his behavioral problems on "problems the parents are having with each other" instead of what is really happening - getting his arse kicked by a bully every day at school! I am kind of surprised that the teachers did not stupidly say that the boy's problems were due to having a non-100% ethnic Danish father! and/or having to understand Swedish)
and of course
- any fan of Ulrich Thompsen!
You will not be disappointed or bored. This is an entertaining film that also makes you think after seeing it. Issues of the other, friendship, justice, forgiveness, morality, and more will stay with you. Go see it!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Film Club!
Today I choose to write about Biografklub Danmark instead of more on the immigration issues, which have been in the news of late. Here's a preview of that: One of the major newspapers sent a team of "immigrant-looking" young men to 6 nightclubs in Copenhagen. They were turned away by doormen at 5 of the places. Why? Club owners do not want too many "of those kind" in their establishments, for fear of scaring off the "100% ethnic Danes". One of the reasons given was that these "types" of men are much more forward in showing their interest in women, which scares off the ("100% ethnic Danish") women. Seriously. (WHY women wearing layers-upon-layers of clothing, complete with neck-to-ankle coverage, STILL get hit on is a little beyond me - but I'll save the "lack of cleavage in Denmark" post for another time as well!) And our favorite political party, the Social Democrats, released statements saying something about shutting down these discriminatory establishments.
But I will expand on this later. Being turned away at a night club for the shade of one's skin actually happened to one of my Brazilian male classmates a couple of years ago. He and his friends took the case to the Supreme Court!
For today's main topic, Biografklub Danmark (aka Denmark's Film Club).
I love this club!!! My husband and I were members a couple of years ago, and we really enjoyed it. To fully understand why being a member is so great, one must also know the prices of movie tickets here. And of course like all other things in Denmark, they're Expensive!
For example, a Saturday matinee will run you 70-80 DKK ($12.12-$13.85 according to xe.com today). A night show is 80-90 ($13.85-$15.59)DKK. A Saturday matinee in Athens, Ohio is $5 and night show $6.50. So you can see why I have sticker shock. And I think that the next-door-town Nelsonville theatre had $4 for all shows, all the time (and I think also $1 small Cokes and popcorns).
The price here fluctuates depending on where you sit in the theatre. This is another cultural difference: whereas in the States you sit any place in the theatre you damn well please, here one must also book the seating arrangements while buying the ticket. I can see benefits with both systems, but must say that I prefer the US one more, because the seating booking system does not identify talkers, loud breathers, open-mouth popcorn chewers, nor noisy plastic-wrapped candy chompers who may be your neighbors for the expensive evening. It only identifies which seats are already taken.
Seat booking or not, my (at least) weekly habit of going to the movies was halted immediately upon moving here.
Fortunately there are at least two ways of seeing movies for cheap (if you are not a parent of a young child). One is with Telia Tirsdags, where customers of Telia mobile phones can text a code and receive buy-one-get-one free on any film from 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m on Tuesdays at participating locations. The downside of this, besides for those who are not Telia customers, is that only 2000 tickets are available nationally, and they sell out fast!
Another is with Biografklub Danmark. One pays a membership fee of 85DKK, and then receives coupons for half-off 7 already-chosen films plus 3 more Danish films. (Not necessary to take a friend along, unlike Telia Tirsdags.) These coupons can be used at any cinema, and at any showing. Sweet! This year's films include Hævnen; Wall Street; Eat, Pray, Love; Mao's Last Dancer; and Made in Dagenham.
I love going to the movies, and am really glad that we have this membership now. Athens provided a world of film experiences, quite literally. Each week the Athena theatre in uptown Athens showcased a different Artsy or Foreign Film, which showed only on Wednesday evenings or Saturday afternoons. The shows were almost always sold out on Saturdays, so I tried to see them on Wednesdays instead.
See, this proves that some Americans DO appreciate foreign language films with English subtitles!
It was also home to the Athens International Film & Video Festival, which provided a week-long film extravaganza each April. I pretty much lived off popcorn during that time, as I caught as many films as possible. Oh, to be transported to another space and time, presented in a visually stunning manner.
Odense also has an annual Film Festival; however, I have never gone. This is a little embarrassing to admit, especially because entrance is free! But unlike the Athens Film Fest, this one does not show feature-length films, but collections of many shorts. OK maybe there are one or two longer films, but they typically are not studio films.
I'm still a sucker for Hollywood glamor. And looking forward to the Club's first film selection, Hævnen, which is translated literally as "The Revenge", but whose English title is "Civilization". (Isn't that interesting??!?) Here is the trailer, which unfortunately I cannot find with English subtitles, but find that the music and acting can give you a good idea of what the film is about anyway. Besides that, Ulrich Thompsen is in it, and really, he is as good a reason as any to see a film!
But I will expand on this later. Being turned away at a night club for the shade of one's skin actually happened to one of my Brazilian male classmates a couple of years ago. He and his friends took the case to the Supreme Court!
For today's main topic, Biografklub Danmark (aka Denmark's Film Club).
I love this club!!! My husband and I were members a couple of years ago, and we really enjoyed it. To fully understand why being a member is so great, one must also know the prices of movie tickets here. And of course like all other things in Denmark, they're Expensive!
For example, a Saturday matinee will run you 70-80 DKK ($12.12-$13.85 according to xe.com today). A night show is 80-90 ($13.85-$15.59)DKK. A Saturday matinee in Athens, Ohio is $5 and night show $6.50. So you can see why I have sticker shock. And I think that the next-door-town Nelsonville theatre had $4 for all shows, all the time (and I think also $1 small Cokes and popcorns).
The price here fluctuates depending on where you sit in the theatre. This is another cultural difference: whereas in the States you sit any place in the theatre you damn well please, here one must also book the seating arrangements while buying the ticket. I can see benefits with both systems, but must say that I prefer the US one more, because the seating booking system does not identify talkers, loud breathers, open-mouth popcorn chewers, nor noisy plastic-wrapped candy chompers who may be your neighbors for the expensive evening. It only identifies which seats are already taken.
Seat booking or not, my (at least) weekly habit of going to the movies was halted immediately upon moving here.
Fortunately there are at least two ways of seeing movies for cheap (if you are not a parent of a young child). One is with Telia Tirsdags, where customers of Telia mobile phones can text a code and receive buy-one-get-one free on any film from 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m on Tuesdays at participating locations. The downside of this, besides for those who are not Telia customers, is that only 2000 tickets are available nationally, and they sell out fast!
Another is with Biografklub Danmark. One pays a membership fee of 85DKK, and then receives coupons for half-off 7 already-chosen films plus 3 more Danish films. (Not necessary to take a friend along, unlike Telia Tirsdags.) These coupons can be used at any cinema, and at any showing. Sweet! This year's films include Hævnen; Wall Street; Eat, Pray, Love; Mao's Last Dancer; and Made in Dagenham.
I love going to the movies, and am really glad that we have this membership now. Athens provided a world of film experiences, quite literally. Each week the Athena theatre in uptown Athens showcased a different Artsy or Foreign Film, which showed only on Wednesday evenings or Saturday afternoons. The shows were almost always sold out on Saturdays, so I tried to see them on Wednesdays instead.
See, this proves that some Americans DO appreciate foreign language films with English subtitles!
It was also home to the Athens International Film & Video Festival, which provided a week-long film extravaganza each April. I pretty much lived off popcorn during that time, as I caught as many films as possible. Oh, to be transported to another space and time, presented in a visually stunning manner.
Odense also has an annual Film Festival; however, I have never gone. This is a little embarrassing to admit, especially because entrance is free! But unlike the Athens Film Fest, this one does not show feature-length films, but collections of many shorts. OK maybe there are one or two longer films, but they typically are not studio films.
I'm still a sucker for Hollywood glamor. And looking forward to the Club's first film selection, Hævnen, which is translated literally as "The Revenge", but whose English title is "Civilization". (Isn't that interesting??!?) Here is the trailer, which unfortunately I cannot find with English subtitles, but find that the music and acting can give you a good idea of what the film is about anyway. Besides that, Ulrich Thompsen is in it, and really, he is as good a reason as any to see a film!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
CORRECTION
On Thursday, August 26, the Copenhagen Post changed its headline to
Several more comments had been added, most of them expressing a shocked reaction to blatant racism in the original headline, which put "Dane" in quotes. A couple of the comments expressed that all of us who saw racism in the original headline are too sensitive. Apparently the intention of the corrected headline is to show that a Kenyan broke a Kenyan-born-turned-Dane record.
What I find most interesting is that there was no addition of a Correction to that article, stating when and why the punctuation in the headline was changed. But for a paper that obviously has let their fact checker go, this is not surprising.
Kenyan breaks record of 'fellow' Dane
Several more comments had been added, most of them expressing a shocked reaction to blatant racism in the original headline, which put "Dane" in quotes. A couple of the comments expressed that all of us who saw racism in the original headline are too sensitive. Apparently the intention of the corrected headline is to show that a Kenyan broke a Kenyan-born-turned-Dane record.
What I find most interesting is that there was no addition of a Correction to that article, stating when and why the punctuation in the headline was changed. But for a paper that obviously has let their fact checker go, this is not surprising.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Xenophobia in Denmark - Everyone's Top Hobby?
Yesterday morning started out as usual: while waiting for my breakfast to cook, I scanned the headlines of many Danish newspaper sites. This one came as a shock:
One day later, only 4 comments have been posted to the article; 3 of which question why Dane was in quotes in the headline.
Who is this "'Dane'"? Wilson Kipketer, who was born in Kenya in 1972, attended Copenhagen University in 1990, and according to the article, became a Danish citizen then. According to everything else online about him, he was not a Danish citizen even in 1996, as he was not allowed to compete for Denmark at the Olympics that year in Atlanta; however, he did wear the red-and-white for Denmark in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He took the bronze in the 800-meters. And in 2000, he married his Danish girlfriend Pernille.
Fact checking aside, I could not believe how egregious, shocking, xenophobic, and utterly distasteful this headline was!
It made me very proud of my American roots. Sure, all the oldest immigrants call the newest wave of immigrants bleep, bleep, bleep, and bleeeeeep. We do take pride in our ancestors' lands by defining ourselves as Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans, African-Americans, etc. But I have NEVER seen a newspaper headline put "American" in quotes when referring to a foreign-born athlete who now is a citizen of the country, whether it's been 14 years or 14 days since becoming a citizen. We acknowledge that we are a country made up of many different peoples. Sure, there are a LOT of problems with racism and acceptance of foreigners; however, no headline would refer to an athlete who has won a medal for the US, and is an American citizen, as "American."
My question is, "WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR A FOREIGN-BORN PERSON TO EVER BE CONSIDERED A DANE?" Is there ANYTHING? Even winning an Olympic medal is not enough! (And this place needs all they can get!)
So, my next question is, "If it is so impossible to be considered a citizen of the country, why try?" Why bust your hump at learning Danish, at interacting with the Danes, at learning a new culture, if it will all be for naught? If they will always see you as naught?
USA Today wrote about the number of foreign-born athletes who were competing for the United States in the 2008 Olympics. I would like to close by directing you to it.
Many of my subsequent thoughts, vocalized, would sound something like a segment of Hell's Kitchen. "Bleeeep!! Even the English-language newspaper here?! Bleeeeeeeep racist bleeep!! Bleep them! Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeep go to bleep!"Kenyan breaks record of fellow ‘Dane’
One day later, only 4 comments have been posted to the article; 3 of which question why Dane was in quotes in the headline.
Who is this "'Dane'"? Wilson Kipketer, who was born in Kenya in 1972, attended Copenhagen University in 1990, and according to the article, became a Danish citizen then. According to everything else online about him, he was not a Danish citizen even in 1996, as he was not allowed to compete for Denmark at the Olympics that year in Atlanta; however, he did wear the red-and-white for Denmark in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He took the bronze in the 800-meters. And in 2000, he married his Danish girlfriend Pernille.
Fact checking aside, I could not believe how egregious, shocking, xenophobic, and utterly distasteful this headline was!
It made me very proud of my American roots. Sure, all the oldest immigrants call the newest wave of immigrants bleep, bleep, bleep, and bleeeeeep. We do take pride in our ancestors' lands by defining ourselves as Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans, African-Americans, etc. But I have NEVER seen a newspaper headline put "American" in quotes when referring to a foreign-born athlete who now is a citizen of the country, whether it's been 14 years or 14 days since becoming a citizen. We acknowledge that we are a country made up of many different peoples. Sure, there are a LOT of problems with racism and acceptance of foreigners; however, no headline would refer to an athlete who has won a medal for the US, and is an American citizen, as "American."
My question is, "WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR A FOREIGN-BORN PERSON TO EVER BE CONSIDERED A DANE?" Is there ANYTHING? Even winning an Olympic medal is not enough! (And this place needs all they can get!)
So, my next question is, "If it is so impossible to be considered a citizen of the country, why try?" Why bust your hump at learning Danish, at interacting with the Danes, at learning a new culture, if it will all be for naught? If they will always see you as naught?
USA Today wrote about the number of foreign-born athletes who were competing for the United States in the 2008 Olympics. I would like to close by directing you to it.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Salmonella in your eggs? Not here in DK!
USA Today reports that 380 million eggs have been recalled due to a salmonella outbreak. The article mentions Sweden and Denmark, countries that have worked on eliminating salmonella from poultry for the last 40 years.
Here's the link and my favorite quote of the piece:
Here's the link and my favorite quote of the piece:
It's a question of whether to keep the disease out or deal with it later via testing and pasteurization. Europe in general roots out the problem, the United States tends to look for post-harvest solutions, says Mogens Madsen, a food safety expert with the Technical University of Denmark.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Danish News: Loosening the Safety Net; A Clear Message to Non-Westerners; Congrats to Princess Mary
Was surprised to see on the nytimes.com homepage today a story about Denmark. Earlier this summer, some long-standing social net rules were changed. For example, receiving up to 4 years' worth of unemployment benefits was halved to 2 years, for those becoming unemployed starting in July of this year. This article mentions the type of course I am currently in, "Hurtigt i Gang". My favorite quote from the article is
Word. I can't help but feel at times that my time would be better spent at home, where I can search for and apply for jobs in peace and quiet. On the other hand, it is nice to be in a Danish-speaking environment with people whose Danish I am not used to hearing. But when more than one person talks at a time, which is frequent in our meetings around the huge conference table, all hope of understanding is lost, and my brain feels like it shorts out.
In other social commentary, an Expat in Denmark blogger has written a piece about the latest Danish People's Party grand scheme to prohibit immigrants from non-Western countries. Checking out the link is worth it, just to see the global map, and areas which are "OK'd" by the DPP (although personally, I believe that they really want to outlaw ALL immigration).
And speaking of moving from one place to another, Expat in Denmark's logo is really starting to freak me out. It's a black-and-white shot of a group of diverse-looking people, smiling at the camera, and wearing white clothes. It kind of makes me think that I've gone to heaven, and only the expats in Denmark are welcoming me. Is it freaky, or is it intentionally highly satirical???
At least, I have gone too long without mentioning the happy royal news: Crown Princess Mary is pregnant with twins. The birth is expected in January. This pleases me greatly, especially as all of the tabloid covers have shown a closeup of a very angry ex-princess Alexandra, superimposed with lovely shots of Mary smiling cheerfully. Ha! Even though Alexandra has flawless Danish, she can still be upset. I know I should not take pleasure in others' misery, but after having her perfect example hung over my head more times than I know, this is different. Plus, it's not really like she's angry about the new ex-brother-in-law's growing family, right? That would just be petty, which is below royal behavior, right?
Well that's it, a smattering of news from Denmark. I've now got to prepare for tomorrow's seminar by looking at a website of a facility that was hiring an occupational therapist. For some reason, we have to study it a little, so we can have mock interviews as part of group work. At least I think that's what I should do - like I said, too many people talking at once lead to short circuiting. In any case, I can always look busy by drinking coffee.
That has led to cases where laid-off workers spend an entire month in courses to improve their résumés, or tied up in “sit-around-and-drink-coffee meetings” to obtain unemployment checks.
Word. I can't help but feel at times that my time would be better spent at home, where I can search for and apply for jobs in peace and quiet. On the other hand, it is nice to be in a Danish-speaking environment with people whose Danish I am not used to hearing. But when more than one person talks at a time, which is frequent in our meetings around the huge conference table, all hope of understanding is lost, and my brain feels like it shorts out.
In other social commentary, an Expat in Denmark blogger has written a piece about the latest Danish People's Party grand scheme to prohibit immigrants from non-Western countries. Checking out the link is worth it, just to see the global map, and areas which are "OK'd" by the DPP (although personally, I believe that they really want to outlaw ALL immigration).
And speaking of moving from one place to another, Expat in Denmark's logo is really starting to freak me out. It's a black-and-white shot of a group of diverse-looking people, smiling at the camera, and wearing white clothes. It kind of makes me think that I've gone to heaven, and only the expats in Denmark are welcoming me. Is it freaky, or is it intentionally highly satirical???
At least, I have gone too long without mentioning the happy royal news: Crown Princess Mary is pregnant with twins. The birth is expected in January. This pleases me greatly, especially as all of the tabloid covers have shown a closeup of a very angry ex-princess Alexandra, superimposed with lovely shots of Mary smiling cheerfully. Ha! Even though Alexandra has flawless Danish, she can still be upset. I know I should not take pleasure in others' misery, but after having her perfect example hung over my head more times than I know, this is different. Plus, it's not really like she's angry about the new ex-brother-in-law's growing family, right? That would just be petty, which is below royal behavior, right?
Well that's it, a smattering of news from Denmark. I've now got to prepare for tomorrow's seminar by looking at a website of a facility that was hiring an occupational therapist. For some reason, we have to study it a little, so we can have mock interviews as part of group work. At least I think that's what I should do - like I said, too many people talking at once lead to short circuiting. In any case, I can always look busy by drinking coffee.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Network Network Network
Have not posted very much this week, due to being incredibly busy with the Hurtigt i Gang course. Who ever would have imagined that perfecting a CV would take so long? Another good thing is that as more people come back from vacation, the number of job listings has increased. But we've been told a million times this week that basically it is not what you know, but who you know: the best thing was to send out unsolicited applications and "use our network". The Kevin Bacon 6 Degrees of Separation was explained to us. (Yeah the worst part of that is our seminar leader said, "You know, Kevin Bacon...from Footloose". Not many people seemed to recognize him, but that mention put the film's annoying song in my head for the rest of the day!)
Hearing that "networking" piece of advice really kills me, because I wish that one of the first official papers I received from the Danish integration ministry and/or the university would have said, "People get their jobs through their network 70% of the time. Go forth and make connections!" That is to say, one has only a 30% chance of getting a job the traditional send-in-the-CV route. This 70% figure is said to be a little lower here on the island of Funen. I wish I would have been told these things, because I would have made a lot more attempts at trying to connect with the natives, and also built up a stronger expat network. Alas, hindsight is 20/20.
So the increasing number of job listings is a positive sign that companies are hiring. I know that at my old job, we regularly received unsolicited apps (and when we didn't, there was always an ongoing ad for sales reps. I think that was meant to light a fire under the current reps. But that is a whole other story!). In any case, although we had received unsolicited apps for a particular position, when that position came open, we did advertise for it, to ensure that all the best possible options could be considered. And having sat through NUMEROUS interviews for potential hires at my old company, I have first-hand experience of finding out that although a person is awesome on paper, doesn't mean that she/he's that way in person.
Speaking of apps, there are some that I do need to write now. Having some peace and quite early on a sunny Saturday morning is quite conducive to concentrating on them.
Just remember: if you are moving to Denmark for ANY reason whatsoever, work really really REALLY hard at making connections with all different kinds of people, because at some point, you'll need them! Your future livelihood depends on it!
Hearing that "networking" piece of advice really kills me, because I wish that one of the first official papers I received from the Danish integration ministry and/or the university would have said, "People get their jobs through their network 70% of the time. Go forth and make connections!" That is to say, one has only a 30% chance of getting a job the traditional send-in-the-CV route. This 70% figure is said to be a little lower here on the island of Funen. I wish I would have been told these things, because I would have made a lot more attempts at trying to connect with the natives, and also built up a stronger expat network. Alas, hindsight is 20/20.
So the increasing number of job listings is a positive sign that companies are hiring. I know that at my old job, we regularly received unsolicited apps (and when we didn't, there was always an ongoing ad for sales reps. I think that was meant to light a fire under the current reps. But that is a whole other story!). In any case, although we had received unsolicited apps for a particular position, when that position came open, we did advertise for it, to ensure that all the best possible options could be considered. And having sat through NUMEROUS interviews for potential hires at my old company, I have first-hand experience of finding out that although a person is awesome on paper, doesn't mean that she/he's that way in person.
Speaking of apps, there are some that I do need to write now. Having some peace and quite early on a sunny Saturday morning is quite conducive to concentrating on them.
Just remember: if you are moving to Denmark for ANY reason whatsoever, work really really REALLY hard at making connections with all different kinds of people, because at some point, you'll need them! Your future livelihood depends on it!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The accent is American. Midwest American.
We all remember this line from Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, right?
What if the person Inigo addressed responded flatly, "You know...you've got a Spanish accent!" saying Spanish like it was something icky, slimy, and gross.
I've always been a sucker for accents. Go figure. This can definitely help explain my James Bondaddiction fascination. Today while the nice CV-writing man was helping me with my CV in Danish, he tried to come up with some way to describe my Danish language skills. (Yeah, here it is normal to have abilities in more than one language, and so one rates their abilities in foreign languages on their CV, sometimes from 1 to 5 or tourist level to fluent. It is as normal as saying what kinds of computer programs one knows how to use.) Reading and writing Danish is in the bag, but my speaking skills are admittedly a little rough. My recognition is MUCH better than my recall! He said, "The thing is, your accent...."
Usually when someone tells me that I have an accent, they also add that I have an American accent. And most of the time I reply sarcastically, "Really? Because I was trying to have a Chinese accent instead..." and that always gets lots of laughs. I do like making people laugh.
But that was not the case today.
Everyone here says that Danes are just not used to hearing their language spoken by foreigners who learned it as a second language; therefore, they simply cannot understand what the foreign person is saying. Compare this to Americans, who are very used to and quite adept at understanding hundreds of different accents from people speaking English as their second language. OK maybe not the person working at the call center or your first-year math professor, but for the most part, we have an ear to understand a wide range of accents.
Whether this idea about the Danes is true or not (I vote for "TRUE!"), I do wonder if any of them think that a foreigner should NEVER have an accent. I mean, in the US, it is quite sexy for a foreigner who has lived there a long time to have an accent. In fact, it would be downright weird if a foreigner living there for a long time didn't have an accent! Here, I guess not.
One compliment I did receive today is that I do have a better handle on the language than the Queen's husband Henri from France. They've been married since 1967. Apparently he is HORRIBLE at speaking Danish. But I'll take any compliment I can get about my Danish abilities. One ex-royal family member who I do hold disdain for is the ex-princess Alexandra, the ex-wife of Prince Joachim.
Oh boy, Danes LOVE to tell foreigners trying to learn Danish aboutthat evil *itch her! Why? Well she learned Danish within ONE year, PERFECTLY, without ANY kind of accent. Whenever my Danish language school teachers told us of this success story to which we should aspire, I wanted to ask, "Well were you her teacher? No?" and demand, "Well, who were her teachers, so we can get them in here!!!"
What is ALWAYS left out about Precious Ex-Princess Alexandra's story is that she is a native English and German speaker, thanks to having been born to a set of multi-national parents. English and Danish are both Germanic languages. She has said that having German as one of her native languages helped immensely with learning Danish. What is also left out of her story is that despite having been born in Hong Kong and being educated there, she never learned to speak Cantonese. HM, how about that! Also, it is not known if she finished her university degree. I kick her butt on that one!
And for those of you who may be questioning my foreign language skills at all, I would like to add that I excelled at 2 years of French, at least 4 of Spanish, and taught myself a minimum of tourist-level Greek. Even Greek, with its weird alphabet, was a snap in comparison. My only mistake was stopping with studying those languages. Oh, what a stupid mistake!
So maybe someday I will either have an accent-free Danish speaking ability, or else be appreciated for my cute accent. Who knows. Fat chance for either happening, I think. But until then, I will continue being a sucker for those hot foreign accents. Music to my ears. When is that next Bond film coming out, anyway, and where's my martini shaker?
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.'
What if the person Inigo addressed responded flatly, "You know...you've got a Spanish accent!" saying Spanish like it was something icky, slimy, and gross.
I've always been a sucker for accents. Go figure. This can definitely help explain my James Bond
Usually when someone tells me that I have an accent, they also add that I have an American accent. And most of the time I reply sarcastically, "Really? Because I was trying to have a Chinese accent instead..." and that always gets lots of laughs. I do like making people laugh.
But that was not the case today.
Everyone here says that Danes are just not used to hearing their language spoken by foreigners who learned it as a second language; therefore, they simply cannot understand what the foreign person is saying. Compare this to Americans, who are very used to and quite adept at understanding hundreds of different accents from people speaking English as their second language. OK maybe not the person working at the call center or your first-year math professor, but for the most part, we have an ear to understand a wide range of accents.
Whether this idea about the Danes is true or not (I vote for "TRUE!"), I do wonder if any of them think that a foreigner should NEVER have an accent. I mean, in the US, it is quite sexy for a foreigner who has lived there a long time to have an accent. In fact, it would be downright weird if a foreigner living there for a long time didn't have an accent! Here, I guess not.
One compliment I did receive today is that I do have a better handle on the language than the Queen's husband Henri from France. They've been married since 1967. Apparently he is HORRIBLE at speaking Danish. But I'll take any compliment I can get about my Danish abilities. One ex-royal family member who I do hold disdain for is the ex-princess Alexandra, the ex-wife of Prince Joachim.
Oh boy, Danes LOVE to tell foreigners trying to learn Danish about
What is ALWAYS left out about Precious Ex-Princess Alexandra's story is that she is a native English and German speaker, thanks to having been born to a set of multi-national parents. English and Danish are both Germanic languages. She has said that having German as one of her native languages helped immensely with learning Danish. What is also left out of her story is that despite having been born in Hong Kong and being educated there, she never learned to speak Cantonese. HM, how about that! Also, it is not known if she finished her university degree. I kick her butt on that one!
And for those of you who may be questioning my foreign language skills at all, I would like to add that I excelled at 2 years of French, at least 4 of Spanish, and taught myself a minimum of tourist-level Greek. Even Greek, with its weird alphabet, was a snap in comparison. My only mistake was stopping with studying those languages. Oh, what a stupid mistake!
So maybe someday I will either have an accent-free Danish speaking ability, or else be appreciated for my cute accent. Who knows. Fat chance for either happening, I think. But until then, I will continue being a sucker for those hot foreign accents. Music to my ears. When is that next Bond film coming out, anyway, and where's my martini shaker?
Monday, August 2, 2010
Hurtigt i Gang (Quick Start)
Today was the first day of a month-long job course seminar. Here's the plan
Week 1: CV work
Week 2: Cover Letter work
Week 3: Job Interview work
Week 4: Job Searching work
I really hope to learn something useful, that's for sure. I also was apprehensive about the level of Danish (that I'd be able to understand), but so far so good.
There were 13 of us around the big conference room table. Now why conference tables are chosen for this, instead of desks, I can only ask the designers who must have never ever had neck problems from sitting straight ahead but looking to the side.
One of the women across me caught me staring at the tea light in a clear glass holder in the middle of us. I looked down the table and saw a couple of these candles, four coffee carafes, one hot water carafe, a platter of "kernestykker" or something kind of like bagels without the holes, a wide assortment of sweeteners, teas, and jams and butter. Well as I was looking at all of that, I thought, "My goodness, this would easily be the first line item cut in the budget at any job I've had!" Because you see, this is exemplary of a typical meeting table. We were encouraged to eat and drink.
Of course part of the meeting today included each of us telling a thing or two about our professional experience, and what we were looking for now. I learned that I was definitely the youngest there, and most educated. I should put "most educated" in quotes, because that refers to a piece of paper. The vast majority of all the other participants was age 55+, and seemingly had been let go from their jobs just within a short distance of their retirement. Now here they are, for the most part "unskilled" and looking to get back in the job market for just a few, couple years more.
Sometimes I start to feel sorry for myself, but today provided a good opportunity to feel compassion for others. I cannot imagine how scary it must be to be out of a steady, full-time job, and have to face your spouse and children every day. Although there is a great social safety net here in Denmark, it cannot compare to the feeling one has with a steady, full-time job (and the paycheck also!).
So, here's to my fellow Hurtigt i Gang course participants. I look forward to learning more about them, as well as improving my skills over the next month.
Week 1: CV work
Week 2: Cover Letter work
Week 3: Job Interview work
Week 4: Job Searching work
I really hope to learn something useful, that's for sure. I also was apprehensive about the level of Danish (that I'd be able to understand), but so far so good.
There were 13 of us around the big conference room table. Now why conference tables are chosen for this, instead of desks, I can only ask the designers who must have never ever had neck problems from sitting straight ahead but looking to the side.
One of the women across me caught me staring at the tea light in a clear glass holder in the middle of us. I looked down the table and saw a couple of these candles, four coffee carafes, one hot water carafe, a platter of "kernestykker" or something kind of like bagels without the holes, a wide assortment of sweeteners, teas, and jams and butter. Well as I was looking at all of that, I thought, "My goodness, this would easily be the first line item cut in the budget at any job I've had!" Because you see, this is exemplary of a typical meeting table. We were encouraged to eat and drink.
Of course part of the meeting today included each of us telling a thing or two about our professional experience, and what we were looking for now. I learned that I was definitely the youngest there, and most educated. I should put "most educated" in quotes, because that refers to a piece of paper. The vast majority of all the other participants was age 55+, and seemingly had been let go from their jobs just within a short distance of their retirement. Now here they are, for the most part "unskilled" and looking to get back in the job market for just a few, couple years more.
Sometimes I start to feel sorry for myself, but today provided a good opportunity to feel compassion for others. I cannot imagine how scary it must be to be out of a steady, full-time job, and have to face your spouse and children every day. Although there is a great social safety net here in Denmark, it cannot compare to the feeling one has with a steady, full-time job (and the paycheck also!).
So, here's to my fellow Hurtigt i Gang course participants. I look forward to learning more about them, as well as improving my skills over the next month.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Happy Belated Anniversary to Me
Yesterday marked the 3rd anniversary of my arrival in Denmark. I brought it up in topic yesterday with the in-laws, but somehow the conversation shifted quickly and dramatically to the proposed 28 year law. I must have been too tired, because it wasn't until this morning when I thought of the proper response, "Hey! We're talking about ME here!! Aren't you glad I've been here for So Long?" Just kidding. Maybe. My treasured sarcastic wit does not usually translate so well into Danish (or maybe it does, and no one can understand my American accent). A pity, because I love making people laugh. In the end, I just sunk back into my chair and listened to the heated debate.
At the beginning of my stay here, I heard from several expats and international students that it takes at least 3 years before finally feeling like you belong to the new place. So, here's to feeling like I finally belong here. OK Denmark, I'm waiting...
At the beginning of my stay here, I heard from several expats and international students that it takes at least 3 years before finally feeling like you belong to the new place. So, here's to feeling like I finally belong here. OK Denmark, I'm waiting...
Thursday, July 29, 2010
More on the Proposed "28-Law"
My last post touched on the Danish People's Party proposal to change the "24-year" law to 28 years.
Here's some thoughts from other sources about this proposal:
Expat In Denmark: "Danish Anti-Peoples' Party Madness in 'Agurketid'"
The Copenhagen Post: "Broad Political Backing for the 28-Year Rule"
Here's some thoughts from other sources about this proposal:
Expat In Denmark: "Danish Anti-Peoples' Party Madness in 'Agurketid'"
The Copenhagen Post: "Broad Political Backing for the 28-Year Rule"
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Danish News, 27 July
Several news articles caught my eye this morning:
1. The new iPhone 4 is expected to be released in Denmark on Friday, 30 July. This is over a month later than the US and UK release dates. Why Denmark got such short-shafted treatment, who knows, but a lot of Mac-philes here are certainly happy. Then again, they probably already ordered it from German stores, which have also had the phone since 24 June. The article says that attempts to replicate the infamous antennae problems here in DK have shown no antennae problems. My guess is that the country's average sea level of 31 meters has something to do with that.
What will that pretty little thing cost? 4,699DKK for 16G or 5,499DKK for the 32G. According to xe.com, that's $820 and $959.
Of course I had been hoping to have a job by now, so that I could finally get an iPhone, but that is not how it's worked out. I am finally open to getting another brand of mobile. $820 is just ridiculous. And I am a hard-core Mac fan.
2. Nearly half of all Danes are on vacation this week. I still do not fully understand what the vacation system is (see above: lack of job), but everyone seemingly takes their 5 weeks' worth in the month of July, with some spillage into June or August. This has stupefied me, as July usually brings the best weather of the year to this country. "Hey! Let's go to southern France/Italy/Greece/Turkey and fry in the sun, instead of enjoying the breezy 75-80˚F back home!"
3. In 2002, the Danish government passed a law that is referred to as the "24-year rule". Basically, if someone wants to 'import' a spouse (like my lovely husband did!), that person must have lived in Denmark for 24 years. This age limit was made in order to limit the number of foreigners moving here at a younger age, er, scratch that, it was made to prevent the number of forced marriages in this country (which are, of course, made up of people from non-Western countries). The rule has worked so well that the Danish People's Party (don't get me started on them!) has proposed raising the age limit to 28.
4. Well the Danish People's Party must be celebrating, because immigrants from non-Western countries have had a steep fall in birth rates in the last few years. The article states:
There it is, your wrap up from Denmark on Tuesday, 27 July 2010.
1. The new iPhone 4 is expected to be released in Denmark on Friday, 30 July. This is over a month later than the US and UK release dates. Why Denmark got such short-shafted treatment, who knows, but a lot of Mac-philes here are certainly happy. Then again, they probably already ordered it from German stores, which have also had the phone since 24 June. The article says that attempts to replicate the infamous antennae problems here in DK have shown no antennae problems. My guess is that the country's average sea level of 31 meters has something to do with that.
What will that pretty little thing cost? 4,699DKK for 16G or 5,499DKK for the 32G. According to xe.com, that's $820 and $959.
Of course I had been hoping to have a job by now, so that I could finally get an iPhone, but that is not how it's worked out. I am finally open to getting another brand of mobile. $820 is just ridiculous. And I am a hard-core Mac fan.
2. Nearly half of all Danes are on vacation this week. I still do not fully understand what the vacation system is (see above: lack of job), but everyone seemingly takes their 5 weeks' worth in the month of July, with some spillage into June or August. This has stupefied me, as July usually brings the best weather of the year to this country. "Hey! Let's go to southern France/Italy/Greece/Turkey and fry in the sun, instead of enjoying the breezy 75-80˚F back home!"
3. In 2002, the Danish government passed a law that is referred to as the "24-year rule". Basically, if someone wants to 'import' a spouse (like my lovely husband did!), that person must have lived in Denmark for 24 years. This age limit was made in order to limit the number of foreigners moving here at a younger age, er, scratch that, it was made to prevent the number of forced marriages in this country (which are, of course, made up of people from non-Western countries). The rule has worked so well that the Danish People's Party (don't get me started on them!) has proposed raising the age limit to 28.
4. Well the Danish People's Party must be celebrating, because immigrants from non-Western countries have had a steep fall in birth rates in the last few years. The article states:
Twenty years ago women from ethnic minorities had twice as many children as their Danish sisters, but by 2009 their birth rate had fallen to just 1.6 children per woman, below the 1.9 rate for Danes.Reasons given are the 24-year rule and improved integration, which means that the women are going for education first, family later. I love this article, because it throws the stereotype of non-Western women having scads of kids (and glomming off the social system) on its head (hear that, Danish People's Party??), and women getting an education is never a bad thing.
There it is, your wrap up from Denmark on Tuesday, 27 July 2010.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Biking
Four years ago is when I made my first visit to Denmark. T met me at the airport, and we stayed in Copenhagen for a couple of days. Just an hour after arriving, from my hotel room's window, I looked at the city below. One of the most memorable images was that of a VERY pregnant woman, just biking along on the bike path of the street with the other able-bodied cyclists. I was astounded. Actually it was as if I saw her big belly button first, and then the rest of her maternal body on the bike. "Why isn't she in bed, feet propped up, eating bon-bons and watching Days of Our Lives?!?!" I wondered. "Doesn't she know she shouldn't do ANY physical activity in such a state!!!"
My city of Odense has been called the most cyclist-friendly city in the country. I am quite glad for this, because it means that about 95% of the way from my apartment to the university has bike paths. These provide a great deal of security for the cyclist. The paths are wide enough for two bicycles (which was also good for the people who needed to pass this slow cyclist!). The usual laws of the road apply: slow people on the right, overtakers on the left. If there's a slow person on the left, then one rings her bell, and the slow person moves over to the right (hopefully, if she isn't tuned out on an iPod!).
Helmets are not required, although I seemingly notice more and more of them. Using a mobile, whether calling or texting, is not illegal for cyclists. But it is for motorists. If you're driving, there is also no turn on red, and when one does make a right turn, it is VERY important to check the passenger's side mirror, and/or look behind to the right, to make sure to turn when there are no cyclists coming. This is also tricky, because one must also make sure that there are no pedestrians crossing as well!
Parents actually drive their kids on bikes!!! A baby 'bike' seat is attached to the back of the bicycle. For toddlers, a parent can attach a 'doggie house' (a nylon and plastic-covered type of trailer where the kids can sit down) to the back of his bicycle. I don't even want to know how much muscle that takes to power.
Another major impression for me was going to uni for the first time, on my second trip here. A huge courtyard extends out from the main entrance. It was nearly covered with bicycles. I could just imagine if every bicycle was a car, how much parking space would have been needed instead. Simply incredible to think about such things.
Before I moved here, I had not ridden a bike for 7 years! Granted, riding a bike again was pretty shaky at first, but having to bike to uni 4 or 5 days a week quickly gave me my 'cycling legs' back again. Then the moment came when I did not have to bike the 4 miles out to uni anymore. whoohoo! This resulted in nearly 1.5 years of biking only one time, and that was just for a couple of miles. I do love living in the city, where everything is within walking distance!
Now I am getting back into biking, mostly due to home renovation shopping trips to Ikea. I really like biking! This is most likely supported by the lack of rain or strong winds, I admit. It feels great to have the wind in my hair, know that I'm not using any fossil fuels, save ~$8 from not taking the bus, and get in a great workout while running errands. (A couple of big hills do exist!)
Today I biked over 8 miles while running said errands. The last part of the trip was to somewhere I had not yet been, and the bike path was located apart from the road. Biking on a paved path through a very otherwise natural setting was so calming and relaxing. I am glad that this city has so many bike paths, and I can use my body's own energy to power the bicycle to get me to the destination.
My city of Odense has been called the most cyclist-friendly city in the country. I am quite glad for this, because it means that about 95% of the way from my apartment to the university has bike paths. These provide a great deal of security for the cyclist. The paths are wide enough for two bicycles (which was also good for the people who needed to pass this slow cyclist!). The usual laws of the road apply: slow people on the right, overtakers on the left. If there's a slow person on the left, then one rings her bell, and the slow person moves over to the right (hopefully, if she isn't tuned out on an iPod!).
Helmets are not required, although I seemingly notice more and more of them. Using a mobile, whether calling or texting, is not illegal for cyclists. But it is for motorists. If you're driving, there is also no turn on red, and when one does make a right turn, it is VERY important to check the passenger's side mirror, and/or look behind to the right, to make sure to turn when there are no cyclists coming. This is also tricky, because one must also make sure that there are no pedestrians crossing as well!
Parents actually drive their kids on bikes!!! A baby 'bike' seat is attached to the back of the bicycle. For toddlers, a parent can attach a 'doggie house' (a nylon and plastic-covered type of trailer where the kids can sit down) to the back of his bicycle. I don't even want to know how much muscle that takes to power.
Another major impression for me was going to uni for the first time, on my second trip here. A huge courtyard extends out from the main entrance. It was nearly covered with bicycles. I could just imagine if every bicycle was a car, how much parking space would have been needed instead. Simply incredible to think about such things.
Before I moved here, I had not ridden a bike for 7 years! Granted, riding a bike again was pretty shaky at first, but having to bike to uni 4 or 5 days a week quickly gave me my 'cycling legs' back again. Then the moment came when I did not have to bike the 4 miles out to uni anymore. whoohoo! This resulted in nearly 1.5 years of biking only one time, and that was just for a couple of miles. I do love living in the city, where everything is within walking distance!
Now I am getting back into biking, mostly due to home renovation shopping trips to Ikea. I really like biking! This is most likely supported by the lack of rain or strong winds, I admit. It feels great to have the wind in my hair, know that I'm not using any fossil fuels, save ~$8 from not taking the bus, and get in a great workout while running errands. (A couple of big hills do exist!)
Today I biked over 8 miles while running said errands. The last part of the trip was to somewhere I had not yet been, and the bike path was located apart from the road. Biking on a paved path through a very otherwise natural setting was so calming and relaxing. I am glad that this city has so many bike paths, and I can use my body's own energy to power the bicycle to get me to the destination.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Online Privacy
Today's post has nothing to do with organics or Denmark, but with the future of our reputations in the online world. This article is very long, but even more thought provoking. What happens to us in a world without forgetting?
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Dying to be Beautiful
Yesterday the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics announced the release of a new informational film, "The Story of Cosmetics: The Ugly Truth of Toxins In, Toxins Out".
I thought that Annie Leonard, who talks to us in the film, spoke a little too much like she was trying to explain things to a 2-year-old. Then again, I have been immersed in researching green products for over a year, and none of what she says is new to me at all.
It may be to the general public. After all, everyone seemed shocked at Dove's Evolution of Beauty film in 2006. Having worked in a room with graphic designers for a few years, I definitely was familiar with how their graphics skills could transform an image. They should be called Magicians! Or Fairy God Mothers!
Another problem I have with the film is it seemingly dumps too much BAD onto the consumer, and does not give too much GOOD in return. This is a dangerously slippery slope, because many can now think, "Babies are being born pre-polluted; what could I possibly do to reverse this? Screw it, we're all going to hell in a hand basket, and I wanna use my carcinogenic products to live in the moment and look damn fine doing it!"
Yeah, yeah, write to your Congress person. Sign the Environmental Working Group's petition. Even if you do take the time to try to read the fine print of the ingredients labels, like I do, mistakes still can be made. I was so furious when I noticed last year that my bottle of Palmer's Organic Olive Oil lotion was loaded with parabens and other toxins! Now, I just use real organic olive oil as a body lotion (and make-up remover). Some new shower products here in Denmark have a "0%" or "Zero" name because they do not contain parabens or coloring agents; however, they do contain fragrance, which may as well be substituted with the word "carcinogen".
Hopefully this film will galvanize enough people to take action and change the laws. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but how has the 3-month-old BP oil spill galvanized enough people to take action and change the laws? Or even their driving habits or cars?
I hope I'm wrong. I hope consumers will make choices at the checkout and rally their representatives, and more companies will turn green - 100% - not halfheartedly. As for these types of films, how about one that gives us a testimonial of folks who have stopped using the bad chemicals and changed their lives for the better? Or make a clear list of products that are the safest? Give consumers the tools to make better choices, and sound like you're treating them with equal status while doing it.
I thought that Annie Leonard, who talks to us in the film, spoke a little too much like she was trying to explain things to a 2-year-old. Then again, I have been immersed in researching green products for over a year, and none of what she says is new to me at all.
It may be to the general public. After all, everyone seemed shocked at Dove's Evolution of Beauty film in 2006. Having worked in a room with graphic designers for a few years, I definitely was familiar with how their graphics skills could transform an image. They should be called Magicians! Or Fairy God Mothers!
Another problem I have with the film is it seemingly dumps too much BAD onto the consumer, and does not give too much GOOD in return. This is a dangerously slippery slope, because many can now think, "Babies are being born pre-polluted; what could I possibly do to reverse this? Screw it, we're all going to hell in a hand basket, and I wanna use my carcinogenic products to live in the moment and look damn fine doing it!"
Yeah, yeah, write to your Congress person. Sign the Environmental Working Group's petition. Even if you do take the time to try to read the fine print of the ingredients labels, like I do, mistakes still can be made. I was so furious when I noticed last year that my bottle of Palmer's Organic Olive Oil lotion was loaded with parabens and other toxins! Now, I just use real organic olive oil as a body lotion (and make-up remover). Some new shower products here in Denmark have a "0%" or "Zero" name because they do not contain parabens or coloring agents; however, they do contain fragrance, which may as well be substituted with the word "carcinogen".
Hopefully this film will galvanize enough people to take action and change the laws. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but how has the 3-month-old BP oil spill galvanized enough people to take action and change the laws? Or even their driving habits or cars?
I hope I'm wrong. I hope consumers will make choices at the checkout and rally their representatives, and more companies will turn green - 100% - not halfheartedly. As for these types of films, how about one that gives us a testimonial of folks who have stopped using the bad chemicals and changed their lives for the better? Or make a clear list of products that are the safest? Give consumers the tools to make better choices, and sound like you're treating them with equal status while doing it.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
"Leaving on a Jet Plane"
All day yesterday, I felt as if I was forgetting something, but could not figure out what it was.
Today, as I glanced at the calendar, it hit me: yesterday was the third year 'anniversary' of my last day at my old job.
20 July 2007 was also the last day I lived in Athens, Ohio. By that time, my husband and I had been married for almost 5 months. It was about 6 weeks after he returned to DK after visiting for a month. I would have 10 more days in Ohio until flying PIT-EWR-CPH and arriving in my new life. I couldn't wait to join my husband, but it was a lot of hard work to make this move, and difficult to say 'bye' to the treasured friends. Friday, 20 July 2007, was extremely busy and harried and filled with great memories.
My dear dear friend drove 90 miles to help me pack the night before, and continued doing so as I went off to work that morning. She is the sweetest friend (or else really wanted to see me leave, hahaha). And despite having had and participated in yard sales, donation store drop-offs, and give-a-ways, I was still left with a sizable amount of possessions. The pile was definitely NOT going to fit nicely into 2 50-lb. suitcases and a carry-on suitcase and backpack (the allowable free baggage at the time), like I had hoped. I e-mailed my dad and suggested he might want to bring my mom's SUV instead of his car to pick me up. (I had sold my beloved car a couple of weeks earlier.)
The day at work was mostly uneventful. Almost all of the sales reps were away at a seminar (THANK GOD!), and my replacement took the day off for a family event way out in the boonies with no mobile reception that had been scheduled since before she took the job. I still had to pack up the proverbial cardboard box that had once been filled with reams of glossy paper that we used for marketing materials. I packed the many photos, thank-you cards, and other mementos of the previous 6 years, like a 1940s imaged Coca-Cola mug-turned-pen holder that my sister had given to me into that box.
The 5th and 20th of the month were pay dates, and I had saved up a lot of vacation time to make that day's one whopper of a final check. My good friend met me at the Blue Gator for lunch. I remember our server gave me some suggestions of what books I should read while flying to Copenhagen. She probably did not imagine that every square inch of my luggage had already been carefully analyzed while planning which possessions to take with me. Instead, my friend and I happily smiled and nodded as we noshed and listened.
I went to the bank and deposited the check. Seeing that big number felt good, as it had been incredibly difficult to avoid taking vacation days near the end of my time in Athens. After all, my future university had demanded that I needed some intro to marketing courses, and I was taking two via Phoenix in my final weeks in Athens (which also cost a pretty penny!). This was on top of wrapping up all of the other loose ends that come with moving. My husband had visited for a month in May, and it was hard to not take more time off with him. We sacrificed, so we could have more of a cushion later.
At some point in the late afternoon, the Street Team leader had suddenly found some sort of crisis for the event that was happening the following day. With the sales reps who were also contacts for this event and my replacement being out of the office, and me hours away from freedom, she did not make much headway with solving the issue. After all, my replacement had trained for at least 6 weeks, and it was made extremely clear by all that Friday, 20 July 2007 was my last day, and the amount of input that I would have about decisions by then would have fallen to zero, zip, zilch, nada.
At 4:30, I suddenly remembered that I had some photos waiting for me at the CVS just down the street. I popped into the front office to tell the office manager where I was going, in case my dad arrived early. As was always the case, the wait at CVS took FOR-EV-ER. I thought of how this makes me not want to believe in karma, because I had always been a very fast cashier. When I finally got out of there, I hurried back to the office. As I walked down the sidewalk that lined the 2-lane one-way brick street, I heard singing from the other side: "She's leaving, on a jet plane....don't know when you'll be back again". My old boss from my part-time restaurant hostess job had spotted me and gave me this cheerful sendoff. He always knew how to make me smile.
Sure enough, my dad had arrived at the office. It was almost 5:00. A final round of hugs to the darling coworkers was in order. My dad drove to my rental, and filled up the SUV with more things I was giving away: a 1-year old LG window air conditioner, microwave, TV, a bicycle, and some small appliances that I knew the future inhabitants of the Little Denmark student rental could use. We drove around and dropped these things off at their future homes. We came back and packed the SUV completely full with my remaining possessions. Photo albums take up so much space!
My good friend's friend came by to pick up the Ikea couch and other small pieces of furniture. My housemate had complained a lot about his previous renter leaving behind a lot of his things, so I did my best to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. In retrospect, maybe he would have liked the a/c and microwave left behind.
With a small group of friends gathered, we opened a bottle of Ga-Jol licorice and had a farewell shot. Or two. We cheered friendship with each other, no matter where in the world we might be. My dad and I left, but I had one more stop in Athens to make. It was at the new apartment of the mutual friend of my husband and me, the guy who set us up on our blind date. Unfortunately he was at work at the time, but I shared a few moments on the porch swing with his wife and young baby girl. It was hard to imagine that so much had changed in their lives already: wasn't it just the other day that T and I were at their wedding reception? How time flies.
My dad and I stopped at Applebee's in Marietta for dinner, after I quickly returned some unused wedding reception items at Crafts 2000. More money in my pocket! As we sat at our table, I noticed how totally exhausted I felt - had been running on fumes for the last several weeks, and just a few hours of sleep over the last few days. I remember I ordered a chicken dish and was surprised when I discovered the chicken still had the bones in it. Oh, it tasted good. I think we forget how good chicken can taste, because we are so used to eating it boneless.
Finally we arrived back home, but the day was not done yet. We had to unload everything from the SUV, because the following morning we were leaving early to pick up his mom and uncle, and my mom (who was away helping out her sister with her blueberry farm harvest), to go to his brother's wedding in Columbus. I think it was after midnight when everything was unpacked, and we had to leave the house by 6:30 the next morning.
My uncle's wedding was one of the most holistic and spiritual weddings I've ever been to. It was in his backyard, and incorporated some lovely elements, such as chimes, the release of butterflies, and the like. It was great to meet my new cousins and aunt. One couldn't have asked for better weather. The warmth of the sun kissed my shoulders, left bare by the dress I wore at T's and my reception. At once, I felt relieved and re-energized. I would need that energy over the next 10 days - my final days back home until I didn't know when ("Don't know when I'll be back again"). My sister's new baby was just over 2 months old, too.
On my last day in Athens, my dear dear friend gave me a lovely present. Actually, two. One was a sterling silver necklace with "K" as the pendant, and the other a sterling silver charm bracelet, with one charm. It read on one side, "7-20-07" and on the other, "Love, H". Whenever I am in need of feeling closer to all the good things in my previous life in Athens, I wear that bracelet. In fact, I think I'll wear it today.
Today, as I glanced at the calendar, it hit me: yesterday was the third year 'anniversary' of my last day at my old job.
20 July 2007 was also the last day I lived in Athens, Ohio. By that time, my husband and I had been married for almost 5 months. It was about 6 weeks after he returned to DK after visiting for a month. I would have 10 more days in Ohio until flying PIT-EWR-CPH and arriving in my new life. I couldn't wait to join my husband, but it was a lot of hard work to make this move, and difficult to say 'bye' to the treasured friends. Friday, 20 July 2007, was extremely busy and harried and filled with great memories.
My dear dear friend drove 90 miles to help me pack the night before, and continued doing so as I went off to work that morning. She is the sweetest friend (or else really wanted to see me leave, hahaha). And despite having had and participated in yard sales, donation store drop-offs, and give-a-ways, I was still left with a sizable amount of possessions. The pile was definitely NOT going to fit nicely into 2 50-lb. suitcases and a carry-on suitcase and backpack (the allowable free baggage at the time), like I had hoped. I e-mailed my dad and suggested he might want to bring my mom's SUV instead of his car to pick me up. (I had sold my beloved car a couple of weeks earlier.)
The day at work was mostly uneventful. Almost all of the sales reps were away at a seminar (THANK GOD!), and my replacement took the day off for a family event way out in the boonies with no mobile reception that had been scheduled since before she took the job. I still had to pack up the proverbial cardboard box that had once been filled with reams of glossy paper that we used for marketing materials. I packed the many photos, thank-you cards, and other mementos of the previous 6 years, like a 1940s imaged Coca-Cola mug-turned-pen holder that my sister had given to me into that box.
The 5th and 20th of the month were pay dates, and I had saved up a lot of vacation time to make that day's one whopper of a final check. My good friend met me at the Blue Gator for lunch. I remember our server gave me some suggestions of what books I should read while flying to Copenhagen. She probably did not imagine that every square inch of my luggage had already been carefully analyzed while planning which possessions to take with me. Instead, my friend and I happily smiled and nodded as we noshed and listened.
I went to the bank and deposited the check. Seeing that big number felt good, as it had been incredibly difficult to avoid taking vacation days near the end of my time in Athens. After all, my future university had demanded that I needed some intro to marketing courses, and I was taking two via Phoenix in my final weeks in Athens (which also cost a pretty penny!). This was on top of wrapping up all of the other loose ends that come with moving. My husband had visited for a month in May, and it was hard to not take more time off with him. We sacrificed, so we could have more of a cushion later.
At some point in the late afternoon, the Street Team leader had suddenly found some sort of crisis for the event that was happening the following day. With the sales reps who were also contacts for this event and my replacement being out of the office, and me hours away from freedom, she did not make much headway with solving the issue. After all, my replacement had trained for at least 6 weeks, and it was made extremely clear by all that Friday, 20 July 2007 was my last day, and the amount of input that I would have about decisions by then would have fallen to zero, zip, zilch, nada.
At 4:30, I suddenly remembered that I had some photos waiting for me at the CVS just down the street. I popped into the front office to tell the office manager where I was going, in case my dad arrived early. As was always the case, the wait at CVS took FOR-EV-ER. I thought of how this makes me not want to believe in karma, because I had always been a very fast cashier. When I finally got out of there, I hurried back to the office. As I walked down the sidewalk that lined the 2-lane one-way brick street, I heard singing from the other side: "She's leaving, on a jet plane....don't know when you'll be back again". My old boss from my part-time restaurant hostess job had spotted me and gave me this cheerful sendoff. He always knew how to make me smile.
Sure enough, my dad had arrived at the office. It was almost 5:00. A final round of hugs to the darling coworkers was in order. My dad drove to my rental, and filled up the SUV with more things I was giving away: a 1-year old LG window air conditioner, microwave, TV, a bicycle, and some small appliances that I knew the future inhabitants of the Little Denmark student rental could use. We drove around and dropped these things off at their future homes. We came back and packed the SUV completely full with my remaining possessions. Photo albums take up so much space!
My good friend's friend came by to pick up the Ikea couch and other small pieces of furniture. My housemate had complained a lot about his previous renter leaving behind a lot of his things, so I did my best to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. In retrospect, maybe he would have liked the a/c and microwave left behind.
With a small group of friends gathered, we opened a bottle of Ga-Jol licorice and had a farewell shot. Or two. We cheered friendship with each other, no matter where in the world we might be. My dad and I left, but I had one more stop in Athens to make. It was at the new apartment of the mutual friend of my husband and me, the guy who set us up on our blind date. Unfortunately he was at work at the time, but I shared a few moments on the porch swing with his wife and young baby girl. It was hard to imagine that so much had changed in their lives already: wasn't it just the other day that T and I were at their wedding reception? How time flies.
My dad and I stopped at Applebee's in Marietta for dinner, after I quickly returned some unused wedding reception items at Crafts 2000. More money in my pocket! As we sat at our table, I noticed how totally exhausted I felt - had been running on fumes for the last several weeks, and just a few hours of sleep over the last few days. I remember I ordered a chicken dish and was surprised when I discovered the chicken still had the bones in it. Oh, it tasted good. I think we forget how good chicken can taste, because we are so used to eating it boneless.
Finally we arrived back home, but the day was not done yet. We had to unload everything from the SUV, because the following morning we were leaving early to pick up his mom and uncle, and my mom (who was away helping out her sister with her blueberry farm harvest), to go to his brother's wedding in Columbus. I think it was after midnight when everything was unpacked, and we had to leave the house by 6:30 the next morning.
My uncle's wedding was one of the most holistic and spiritual weddings I've ever been to. It was in his backyard, and incorporated some lovely elements, such as chimes, the release of butterflies, and the like. It was great to meet my new cousins and aunt. One couldn't have asked for better weather. The warmth of the sun kissed my shoulders, left bare by the dress I wore at T's and my reception. At once, I felt relieved and re-energized. I would need that energy over the next 10 days - my final days back home until I didn't know when ("Don't know when I'll be back again"). My sister's new baby was just over 2 months old, too.
On my last day in Athens, my dear dear friend gave me a lovely present. Actually, two. One was a sterling silver necklace with "K" as the pendant, and the other a sterling silver charm bracelet, with one charm. It read on one side, "7-20-07" and on the other, "Love, H". Whenever I am in need of feeling closer to all the good things in my previous life in Athens, I wear that bracelet. In fact, I think I'll wear it today.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
I ♥ Queues and The Customer is King. NOT.
Another for the Cultural Difference file.
Yesterday was a busy shopping day for my man and me. You loyal readers have already learned that the weeks here run Monday-Sunday; therefore, the stores' sales of the week begin on Mondays. This is except for those weeks where stores are allowed to be open on Sundays; usually the first Sunday of the month (and even then, some stores, like Super Brugsen, have very limited special offers on Sundays, but start the sale prices of everything else in their ads on Mondays). This is set to change in 2012, though.
Another huge difference between US and DK grocery stores is that many of the grocery stores here have an entire section that is devoted to "special products on offer" that the store does not carry permanently. Many of the awesome deals can be had in these bins; therefore, that is also why it is important to check out alllllll the stores' fliers and make a detailed shopping plan of attack of what to buy where.
As you probably have already guessed, the lack of having permanent shelving for these products means that once the product is sold out for the week, it's sold out. Ain't no more bein' delivered later on in the week. As a result, it is very important to shop for the special deals on Monday.
But not too early on Monday mornings, because the shipments are still being unpacked and shelved several hours after the store's opening. This has always confounded me, because my retail experience hearkens back to the days where there was a specific crew that worked during the pre-opening hours. This crew ensured that all of the products were shelved and ticketed correctly. Here, you might shop too early for the particular product you were looking for, because it might not yet have been put on the shelf. The worst part of being a shopper early on Monday mornings is that the workers actually act as if you are in their way! Oh, puh-lease! Bite me, I'm patronizing your store!
Once I asked my marketing professor about this phenomenon. Surely he was surprised at anyone noticing such a thing, but responded that here, the most important thing has to do with workers' working hours/conditions, and NOT the customer!
I worked for a few years at a department store's service desk. Oh boy, was there ever hell to pay if we were sold out of a product early on in the week. Usually we would always get another shipment of said product later on in the week. If not, we issued rainchecks to the consumer, who could buy the product later at the sale price. This said, we reserved no sympathy for the poor saps who still expected to find the huge package of Extra Quilted Pamper Yourself TP at a price of college-bachelor-TP late Saturday evening, and threw a bitch fit when they discovered it was sold out.
Another cultural difference I have noted about Shopping in DK is that people LOVE to stand in lines, waiting, waiting, waiting.... More often than not, the nimrods who designed the check-out stands made it so that a huge pillar or some other obstructing object blocks the cashier's view to see how many people are standing in line. Even if the cashier could see how long the line was growing, I am still not certain that a call for more help would be made.
So, people queue up, and up, and up. In 9.5 of 10 times, I have experienced that no one will ask the cashier to please have someone else open up another register. When it does happen, the person asking is usually 1. a 16-25 year old Danish male; 2. a Danish woman who is very tall and/or has some other kind of commanding presence; 3. a foreigner. Numbers 1 and 3 always act hurried and impatient. Otherwise, it seems as if people are completely and blissfully happy to spend large amounts of their time waiting in line.
This observation is even more reinforced when the relief cashier does open another line, but few people who have been in line the longest move over to it. ?!?!? They continue standing where they are, continuing to wait. Of course the customer who asked for another open register moves over to it, but after that, it is not at all a free-for-all rush to a shorter wait time. This confounds me even more than the workers acting like you are in their way.
Well yesterday I finally put myself into the #3 category. At least 15 people were in line in front of me, so I went up to the cashier and said, "Kan du lige åbne en kasse mere?" (Can do Lee Oh-ba-nah AIN ~as in pain~ Cass-ah meer?) Fortunately, she ran the bell, and a relief cashier came. Despite all of those people in front of me, I was second in line at the other one (and I didn't even make a mad dash over!).
What the deal is with being OK with waiting in lines for so long is beyond me. I have better things to get to, and will walk fast to get there.
Yesterday was a busy shopping day for my man and me. You loyal readers have already learned that the weeks here run Monday-Sunday; therefore, the stores' sales of the week begin on Mondays. This is except for those weeks where stores are allowed to be open on Sundays; usually the first Sunday of the month (and even then, some stores, like Super Brugsen, have very limited special offers on Sundays, but start the sale prices of everything else in their ads on Mondays). This is set to change in 2012, though.
Another huge difference between US and DK grocery stores is that many of the grocery stores here have an entire section that is devoted to "special products on offer" that the store does not carry permanently. Many of the awesome deals can be had in these bins; therefore, that is also why it is important to check out alllllll the stores' fliers and make a detailed shopping plan of attack of what to buy where.
As you probably have already guessed, the lack of having permanent shelving for these products means that once the product is sold out for the week, it's sold out. Ain't no more bein' delivered later on in the week. As a result, it is very important to shop for the special deals on Monday.
But not too early on Monday mornings, because the shipments are still being unpacked and shelved several hours after the store's opening. This has always confounded me, because my retail experience hearkens back to the days where there was a specific crew that worked during the pre-opening hours. This crew ensured that all of the products were shelved and ticketed correctly. Here, you might shop too early for the particular product you were looking for, because it might not yet have been put on the shelf. The worst part of being a shopper early on Monday mornings is that the workers actually act as if you are in their way! Oh, puh-lease! Bite me, I'm patronizing your store!
Once I asked my marketing professor about this phenomenon. Surely he was surprised at anyone noticing such a thing, but responded that here, the most important thing has to do with workers' working hours/conditions, and NOT the customer!
I worked for a few years at a department store's service desk. Oh boy, was there ever hell to pay if we were sold out of a product early on in the week. Usually we would always get another shipment of said product later on in the week. If not, we issued rainchecks to the consumer, who could buy the product later at the sale price. This said, we reserved no sympathy for the poor saps who still expected to find the huge package of Extra Quilted Pamper Yourself TP at a price of college-bachelor-TP late Saturday evening, and threw a bitch fit when they discovered it was sold out.
Another cultural difference I have noted about Shopping in DK is that people LOVE to stand in lines, waiting, waiting, waiting.... More often than not, the nimrods who designed the check-out stands made it so that a huge pillar or some other obstructing object blocks the cashier's view to see how many people are standing in line. Even if the cashier could see how long the line was growing, I am still not certain that a call for more help would be made.
So, people queue up, and up, and up. In 9.5 of 10 times, I have experienced that no one will ask the cashier to please have someone else open up another register. When it does happen, the person asking is usually 1. a 16-25 year old Danish male; 2. a Danish woman who is very tall and/or has some other kind of commanding presence; 3. a foreigner. Numbers 1 and 3 always act hurried and impatient. Otherwise, it seems as if people are completely and blissfully happy to spend large amounts of their time waiting in line.
This observation is even more reinforced when the relief cashier does open another line, but few people who have been in line the longest move over to it. ?!?!? They continue standing where they are, continuing to wait. Of course the customer who asked for another open register moves over to it, but after that, it is not at all a free-for-all rush to a shorter wait time. This confounds me even more than the workers acting like you are in their way.
Well yesterday I finally put myself into the #3 category. At least 15 people were in line in front of me, so I went up to the cashier and said, "Kan du lige åbne en kasse mere?" (Can do Lee Oh-ba-nah AIN ~as in pain~ Cass-ah meer?) Fortunately, she ran the bell, and a relief cashier came. Despite all of those people in front of me, I was second in line at the other one (and I didn't even make a mad dash over!).
What the deal is with being OK with waiting in lines for so long is beyond me. I have better things to get to, and will walk fast to get there.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Mad Men, Coming Soon
After scanning the headlines of today's news, I was held by only one story: tennis player Robin Soederling's grand run of defending his native Swedish Open title was halted in the final by Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. After losing the first set 5-7, Soederling came back to win the second; however being broken twice in a row in the third led to his defeat. Although I really dislike Soederling for beating Nadal, I do feel a little sorry for the guy now. He had a fantastic run in his homeland, but could not keep it going to win the title again.
Other than that, a whole political mess seems a'brewin'. Really, when isn't it? But all this talk of mid-term elections bringing trouble for the Dems is quite overwhelming.
So that leaves me to look forward to some escapism, starting this Sunday, 25 July. Mad Men returns to AMC for its 4th season. Yes! Although season 3 was a bit droll with Don being such a huge tool, and the blogosphere folks not really understanding Betty's predicament in the context of 1963, it ended on an exciting note that promised a lot more of why we fell in love with the show to come.
Other than that, a whole political mess seems a'brewin'. Really, when isn't it? But all this talk of mid-term elections bringing trouble for the Dems is quite overwhelming.
So that leaves me to look forward to some escapism, starting this Sunday, 25 July. Mad Men returns to AMC for its 4th season. Yes! Although season 3 was a bit droll with Don being such a huge tool, and the blogosphere folks not really understanding Betty's predicament in the context of 1963, it ended on an exciting note that promised a lot more of why we fell in love with the show to come.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Your US-DK Cultural Difference Tidbit for Today: Calendars
We're having an unusual spate of warm, sunny weather here in DK. The blue sky has been visible, which is such a treat to my eyes. The almost always-present puffy clouds, on the other hand, can feel suffocating at times (just as the foothills of the Appalachian mountains made me feel in southeastern Ohio).
Last night, as the daylight extended late into the evening hours, I thought about the differences of typical calendars published in the US and DK.
In the US, a week consists of Sunday - Saturday. Some fancy calendars may also include what day of the year it is, and how many days remain. Who uses that info, I don't know.
In DK, a week consists of Monday - Sunday. (What these differences have to do with Christianity and the importance of worshiping on the "7th Day", or when and where and why these changes were made is beyond me.) Something else VERY important is what week of the year it is. Many timelines here are measured by the number of the week. For example, a store's sale flier says, "Good for week 5". A syllabus says, for example, "Week 35: Introduction...Week 42: Fall Holiday...Week 50: Last Classes". No university student is fond of weeks 1-3 or usually 22-24, as those are the final exam weeks for fall and spring semesters.
So weekly calendars here consist of 8 columns, with the first containing which week of the year it is, the second being the date of Monday, and the last being the date of Sunday. This week's calender looks like:
29 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
This design has tripped me up more times than I can remember. It is so automatic for me to look at the last column for Saturday, that I have had to send out corrections for dinner parties that I mistakenly scheduled for a Sunday night.
At first I did not pay much attention to the number of the week. But living so far up north has changed that! Here is a link to a world map with Denmark in red, so you can see how far north it is. For those who want more precise measurements, the CIA's World Factbook gives Denmark the geographic coordinates of 56 00 N, 10 00 E.
As there are 52 weeks in a year (actually there were 53 in 2009), and the shortest day (winter solstice) falls usually in the next-to-last week of the year, I greatly look forward to weeks 24 or 25, as they will contain the longest day of the year (summer solstice). Yippee! Sunshine!!! Likewise, after late September or so, I greatly look forward to the winter solstice, as that will bring an end to the maddeningly shrinking amount of daylight that leaves us in a stupor.
Measuring time on a calendar by what week of the year it is also brings an impetus to actually do something. Knowing that it is already week 29 of the year kind of freaks me out. How are 2010's goals coming along? There's only 23 more weeks left to accomplish them! It just doesn't feel the same, to know that today is the 199th day of the year, and 166 remain. If only I could get used to finding Sunday at the end of the week.
Last night, as the daylight extended late into the evening hours, I thought about the differences of typical calendars published in the US and DK.
In the US, a week consists of Sunday - Saturday. Some fancy calendars may also include what day of the year it is, and how many days remain. Who uses that info, I don't know.
In DK, a week consists of Monday - Sunday. (What these differences have to do with Christianity and the importance of worshiping on the "7th Day", or when and where and why these changes were made is beyond me.) Something else VERY important is what week of the year it is. Many timelines here are measured by the number of the week. For example, a store's sale flier says, "Good for week 5". A syllabus says, for example, "Week 35: Introduction...Week 42: Fall Holiday...Week 50: Last Classes". No university student is fond of weeks 1-3 or usually 22-24, as those are the final exam weeks for fall and spring semesters.
So weekly calendars here consist of 8 columns, with the first containing which week of the year it is, the second being the date of Monday, and the last being the date of Sunday. This week's calender looks like:
29 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
This design has tripped me up more times than I can remember. It is so automatic for me to look at the last column for Saturday, that I have had to send out corrections for dinner parties that I mistakenly scheduled for a Sunday night.
At first I did not pay much attention to the number of the week. But living so far up north has changed that! Here is a link to a world map with Denmark in red, so you can see how far north it is. For those who want more precise measurements, the CIA's World Factbook gives Denmark the geographic coordinates of 56 00 N, 10 00 E.
As there are 52 weeks in a year (actually there were 53 in 2009), and the shortest day (winter solstice) falls usually in the next-to-last week of the year, I greatly look forward to weeks 24 or 25, as they will contain the longest day of the year (summer solstice). Yippee! Sunshine!!! Likewise, after late September or so, I greatly look forward to the winter solstice, as that will bring an end to the maddeningly shrinking amount of daylight that leaves us in a stupor.
Measuring time on a calendar by what week of the year it is also brings an impetus to actually do something. Knowing that it is already week 29 of the year kind of freaks me out. How are 2010's goals coming along? There's only 23 more weeks left to accomplish them! It just doesn't feel the same, to know that today is the 199th day of the year, and 166 remain. If only I could get used to finding Sunday at the end of the week.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Networking in DK and More Reason to Avoid Artificial Sweeteners
Two articles in today's Copenhagen Post interested me today.
The first reports findings of the Statens Serum Institute, which found that pregnant women who drank "fizzy drinks" had a 78% higher chance of giving birth prematurely. This news really shocked me, because I LOVE fizzy drinks! I could not live without my sparkling water. I love sparkling water so much that I really want to buy the fizzy drink maker machine. I love the bubbles dancing on my tongue. They make it a bit more exciting to drink water, without it being plain boring, flat water.
Here, sparkling water is called danskvand, lit. "Danish water". It comes in single serving, 1.5 liter or 2 liter plastic (yeesh!) bottles. I have yet to see something like the short green Pelligrino or Perrier bottles at the stores (maybe they are at the very high end grocery stores? Or maybe it would be impossible to call Italian or French sparkling water "Danish water", and so they'd have to come up with a new word for danskvand?). The flavor range includes lemon, cranberry, and blueberry.
Well the news was so upsetting to me (pregnant women are already supposed to give up so many things, but now this too?!), that I tracked down the source. This is what SSI reported (translated into English by Google):
OK, what?! We all know that pregnant women should avoid artificial sweeteners (actually, ALL of us should!), but how did the newspaper get "fizzy drinks" from "diet drinks"? A bit more research led me to discover that British English calls soda "fizzy drinks". OK, that makes more sense. Still, I do believe the article in the Post is a bit misleading. The SSI research applies to diet sodas specifically.
The other article of interest is about the Danish government setting up a "dating site" for expats and Danes. I'm not sure what creeps me out more about this scenario: Big Brother wants to Hook You Up, or Big Brother Pimps Out His Natives to 'Ferners. Maybe it's Allow Big Brother to Track Your Dating! yeeeeeks!
In any case, the article says that the Integration Ministry reports that 4 of 10 expat specialists are surprised at how asocial the Danes are, and that 6 of 10 say it's difficult to make Danish friends. This Ministry's goal is to make foreign workers and students stay in the country for longer periods of time.
I visited the site, letsmeetin.dk, and discovered that it is for expat singles, couples and families who want to get to know their Danish neighbors better (another misleading take, Post!). The site is part of expatindenmark.dk, of which I am already a "member". This is what they want you to answer for your profile:
- first name
- country of origin
- if you're looking for a Dane or an Expat (or both)
- geographical location (Bornholm; Fyn; Mid-Jutland; Northern Jutland, Southern Jutland; Greater Copenhagen; Southern Zealand and Lolland; Western Zealand)
- married or single
- number of children, if any
- preferred language (Danish; English; Other)
- Interests and hobbies (Adventure Sports; Art; Astronomy; Card Games; Chess; Classical Music; Collecting; Computer Games; Conversation; Cooking; Crafts; Dancing; Eating Out; Family; Fishing; Horse Riding; IT; Jazz; Language; Live Concerts; Movies; Painting; Photography; Poetry; Pop/Rock Music; Running/Jogging; Science; Sports; Travel; TV Shows; Walking/Trekking)
- one may also add her Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter/MySpace (who still uses MySpace??)/Web links.
A great flaw exists in the Interests and Hobbies section: no Drinking category! Also, another great Interest and Hobby of expats in Denmark is Bitching About Denmark, Danes, and Danish Weather, but it is understandable that this would not be an option. What about Film, though?
Well, props to the Integration Ministry for giving this a go.
I never imagined how hard it would be to make friends here. In fact, the professed lack of small talk and chit chat in Denmark greatly appealed to me! Nothing was more awful first thing in the morning at work (in the US) than having to listen to (and actually pretend to be Very Very Interested In) procreating co-workers' lengthy stories about how Johnny did in his T-ball game (everyone gets a trophy!), or what a chore it was to care for sick Susie (complete with gory details) the previous evening before we finally got down to business. I hated the types of clocks in the rooms where we held meetings, because I could look at the second hand and count the number of unreturnable seconds of my life disappearing into the abyss.
Fast-forward to my classes at the University of Southern Denmark, where everyone had already made their friends and were seemingly interested in not making any more. It was as if no one cared about anything but themselves. The amount of trash, from used tissues to empty beer cans, all over the place reinforced this idea to me. No one even cared about the person who would have to clean up their dirty, filthy mess.
If it weren't for my professor in Marketing Organizations, I am not sure if I would have made any Danish friends. On the first day of class, he made us team up with others because we would have to do group presentations later in the semester. So I approached a classmate afterward, and she agreed to be my partner. Later I discovered that she was not a "100% ethnic Dane", but had lived here since adolescence, when her family moved from another country. Ha, no wonder she was so nice to me! (Love you, F.!)
After numerous failed attempts at extending the olive branch to a "100% ethnic" Dane for friendship, I have pretty much given up on ever having a "100% ethnic" Danish friend. Their loss! So I really like where the Integration Ministry is headed with this concept. Hopefully their efforts will help make expats not feel so lonely (which can give them a huge reason to get the hell outta this Fairy Tale Gone Wrong). After all, Denmark is supposedly the happiest country on earth, and all of our friends and family back home wonder how it is possible that we also aren't always so happy while living here.
I would like to mention that my husband's family and friends ~and their spouses~ have been nothing but nice to me. I really appreciate their kindness. But it's just like a married woman and money: sure, it's nice that she can use her husband's money, but having her own, hard-earned money brings an irreplaceable feeling of independence and security. I am glad that we had to take Danish language courses, because I have made some great friendships with those classmates. The best thing is, we all have one Interest and Hobby in common that ties us together.
The first reports findings of the Statens Serum Institute, which found that pregnant women who drank "fizzy drinks" had a 78% higher chance of giving birth prematurely. This news really shocked me, because I LOVE fizzy drinks! I could not live without my sparkling water. I love sparkling water so much that I really want to buy the fizzy drink maker machine. I love the bubbles dancing on my tongue. They make it a bit more exciting to drink water, without it being plain boring, flat water.
Here, sparkling water is called danskvand, lit. "Danish water". It comes in single serving, 1.5 liter or 2 liter plastic (yeesh!) bottles. I have yet to see something like the short green Pelligrino or Perrier bottles at the stores (maybe they are at the very high end grocery stores? Or maybe it would be impossible to call Italian or French sparkling water "Danish water", and so they'd have to come up with a new word for danskvand?). The flavor range includes lemon, cranberry, and blueberry.
Well the news was so upsetting to me (pregnant women are already supposed to give up so many things, but now this too?!), that I tracked down the source. This is what SSI reported (translated into English by Google):
16 July 2010 - Artificial sweeteners give a risk of premature birth
Researchers at the Statens Serum Institute have found a link between artificial sweetener and premature birth. These findings suggest that the likelihood of premature birth is 78% greater for pregnant women who drink a liter of diet drinks or more everyday. The study is based on data from 60,000 pregnant women in Denmark participating in Better health for mother and baby.
OK, what?! We all know that pregnant women should avoid artificial sweeteners (actually, ALL of us should!), but how did the newspaper get "fizzy drinks" from "diet drinks"? A bit more research led me to discover that British English calls soda "fizzy drinks". OK, that makes more sense. Still, I do believe the article in the Post is a bit misleading. The SSI research applies to diet sodas specifically.
The other article of interest is about the Danish government setting up a "dating site" for expats and Danes. I'm not sure what creeps me out more about this scenario: Big Brother wants to Hook You Up, or Big Brother Pimps Out His Natives to 'Ferners. Maybe it's Allow Big Brother to Track Your Dating! yeeeeeks!
In any case, the article says that the Integration Ministry reports that 4 of 10 expat specialists are surprised at how asocial the Danes are, and that 6 of 10 say it's difficult to make Danish friends. This Ministry's goal is to make foreign workers and students stay in the country for longer periods of time.
I visited the site, letsmeetin.dk, and discovered that it is for expat singles, couples and families who want to get to know their Danish neighbors better (another misleading take, Post!). The site is part of expatindenmark.dk, of which I am already a "member". This is what they want you to answer for your profile:
- first name
- country of origin
- if you're looking for a Dane or an Expat (or both)
- geographical location (Bornholm; Fyn; Mid-Jutland; Northern Jutland, Southern Jutland; Greater Copenhagen; Southern Zealand and Lolland; Western Zealand)
- married or single
- number of children, if any
- preferred language (Danish; English; Other)
- Interests and hobbies (Adventure Sports; Art; Astronomy; Card Games; Chess; Classical Music; Collecting; Computer Games; Conversation; Cooking; Crafts; Dancing; Eating Out; Family; Fishing; Horse Riding; IT; Jazz; Language; Live Concerts; Movies; Painting; Photography; Poetry; Pop/Rock Music; Running/Jogging; Science; Sports; Travel; TV Shows; Walking/Trekking)
- one may also add her Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter/MySpace (who still uses MySpace??)/Web links.
A great flaw exists in the Interests and Hobbies section: no Drinking category! Also, another great Interest and Hobby of expats in Denmark is Bitching About Denmark, Danes, and Danish Weather, but it is understandable that this would not be an option. What about Film, though?
Well, props to the Integration Ministry for giving this a go.
I never imagined how hard it would be to make friends here. In fact, the professed lack of small talk and chit chat in Denmark greatly appealed to me! Nothing was more awful first thing in the morning at work (in the US) than having to listen to (and actually pretend to be Very Very Interested In) procreating co-workers' lengthy stories about how Johnny did in his T-ball game (everyone gets a trophy!), or what a chore it was to care for sick Susie (complete with gory details) the previous evening before we finally got down to business. I hated the types of clocks in the rooms where we held meetings, because I could look at the second hand and count the number of unreturnable seconds of my life disappearing into the abyss.
Fast-forward to my classes at the University of Southern Denmark, where everyone had already made their friends and were seemingly interested in not making any more. It was as if no one cared about anything but themselves. The amount of trash, from used tissues to empty beer cans, all over the place reinforced this idea to me. No one even cared about the person who would have to clean up their dirty, filthy mess.
If it weren't for my professor in Marketing Organizations, I am not sure if I would have made any Danish friends. On the first day of class, he made us team up with others because we would have to do group presentations later in the semester. So I approached a classmate afterward, and she agreed to be my partner. Later I discovered that she was not a "100% ethnic Dane", but had lived here since adolescence, when her family moved from another country. Ha, no wonder she was so nice to me! (Love you, F.!)
After numerous failed attempts at extending the olive branch to a "100% ethnic" Dane for friendship, I have pretty much given up on ever having a "100% ethnic" Danish friend. Their loss! So I really like where the Integration Ministry is headed with this concept. Hopefully their efforts will help make expats not feel so lonely (which can give them a huge reason to get the hell outta this Fairy Tale Gone Wrong). After all, Denmark is supposedly the happiest country on earth, and all of our friends and family back home wonder how it is possible that we also aren't always so happy while living here.
I would like to mention that my husband's family and friends ~and their spouses~ have been nothing but nice to me. I really appreciate their kindness. But it's just like a married woman and money: sure, it's nice that she can use her husband's money, but having her own, hard-earned money brings an irreplaceable feeling of independence and security. I am glad that we had to take Danish language courses, because I have made some great friendships with those classmates. The best thing is, we all have one Interest and Hobby in common that ties us together.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
