I have spent the last two Wednesdays at the Byarkivet (Town Archive) in Køge sorting through stacks of files and boxes about my Danish ancestry.  My mother’s father’s parents were both of Danish descent and some of my ancestors lived in Køge, where I am now living with my host family.  Two weeks ago I made my first trip to the Byarkivet  armed with nothing more than a list of names and birthdays and overwhelmed with anticipation of what I might discover about my family’s past.  I was instantly greeted by two employees whose faces lit up the moment I told them that I am an American looking for answers about my Danish ancestry.  They were able to find my great-great-grandfather in their card catalogue, which led them to an envelope of old photographs and a few newspaper clippings.  One of the newspaper clippings included my great-great-grandfather’s address here in Køge.  They told me that they had more information in storage and that they would gladly retrieve it for me if I was willing to come back.  So this past Wednesday I returned.  There were more photographs and newspaper clippings and there were boxes of information from my great-grandmother’s school.  I was able to skim the newspaper articles and pick out enough words to get an overall idea, and one of the employees kindly translated the articles that I deemed important.  When I finished at the Byarkivet I visited my great-great-grandfather’s home and my great-grandmother’s school.  Each is about a ten minute bike ride from my house.  I’ll admit that I got a bit emotional and sentimental, but I was overcome by what a unique opportunity it is for me to be living in Køge 84 years after my great-grandmother immigrated to the United States.

this is me sorting through the information at the Byarkivet

(Also my other two great-great-grandparents were born in Kolding and Ødense, two of the towns that I visited on my trip to Funen and Jutland.)

I spent Saturday in the city with my friends and at night we went to Tivoli, a large amusement park in the center of Copenhagen.  Tivoli is offering free admission to students during the month of September, so I wanted to visit before the deal expires.  We didn’t go on any of the rides, but there was still plenty to see within the park.  I’m planning to go back during the Christmas season to go on the rides and to see Tivoli’s famous Christmas lights.

Tivoli

I have been learning about the Danish welfare state in my Danish Language & Culture class, and I find it truly fascinating.  Danes pay exorbitant taxes (up to sixty percent income tax!) but are eligible for exceptional programs and benefits in return.  For example, Danes are eligible for free health care, unemployment benefits of DKK 11,000 (about  2,000 USD) per month for up to two years, and DKK 16,000 (about 2,900 USD) per child per year (though this has recently been capped at a maximum of DKK 30,000 per family per year).  The welfare state is strained because of the aging Danish population and an influx of immigrants who rely on (but don’t necessarily contribute to) the welfare state, and the situation is not going to get better in the foreseeable future.  (I, too, am eligible for some of these benefits, such as free health care, since I am registered with a CPR number.  But the unlikelihood of me having to take advantage of the system and the amount of money that I am pouring into their economy alleviates my guilt.)  The vast majority of Danes approve of the welfare state, but cuts are being made and with great impact to those who rely on the system.

The welfare state is based on two Danish cultural and societal principles.  The first is trust.  Danes trust that everyone will contribute (through taxes) to the welfare state and that each will benefit from it in times of need, making the system “fair” in the end.  (A shocking symbol of Danish trust: it is not uncommon for Danish mothers to leave their young children in a pram (stroller) outside of a store while shopping.  I see it all the time and no one seems to think anything of it.)

The second principle is equality.  Denmark is a collective society, and it is not acceptable behavior to flaunt your good fortune or to behave in a way that indicates that you think that you are better than anyone else.  Taxes and pay scales ensure that there is not a wide economic gap among Danes.  It is nearly impossible to become rich (above averagely so) in Denmark.  Also, people are not given extra opportunities as a result of their talents.  For example, intelligent Danish children are not separated from the rest of the class to ensure that they are being challenged; instead, Danish children of all academic abilities learn to cooperate together.  This is in stark contrast to the United States.  Where the US is about striving to be the best, Denmark is about being on par with the rest of society.  The very essence of the American Dream contradicts Danish societal principles.

And finally – two notes about Danes and homes:

1. Home Renovations – Danes love to renovate (and talk about renovating) their homes.  My host family is currently redoing the master bath and painting planks for the roof.  They also have big plans for their garden.  My friends who are living with host families say that their host families like to talk about their plans for their homes, too.  Second to the weather, this seems to be a good conversation topic when meeting Danes.

2. Home Exchange – Remember the movie The Holiday, where Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz exchange homes for the holidays via an internet home exchange site?  People actually do that!  My host family has done it a few times, most recently trading homes with a family from France for a four week vacation this past summer.  I actually laughed out loud when they told me this, so they showed me the website to prove that it is legitimate.  For a small annual fee you can register with the site, and members contact one another through their profiles and set up home exchanges.  Sounds like a pretty convenient and cost effective way to travel!

bye for now!

Allie

I've Been in Denmark for a Month Already?

Last Wednesday I went on a trip to Christiania, a village just east of the center of Copenhagen.  Christiania was founded in 1971 by a group of squatters who took over the area’s abandoned military barracks.  Despite initial opposition, the Danish government eventually allowed the hippie village to remain as a social experiment, and today Christiania is home to approximately 800 residents who seek an alternative lifestyle.  The village is an exclusive community; the residents welcome visitors, but the residents must vote at a community meeting before anyone is invited to move into Christiania.  Residents do not pay for or own their homes and do not pay taxes the way normal Danish citizens do, though they do still benefit from the welfare state. 

Christiania is the second most popular tourist attraction in Copenhagen (Tivoli is the most popular), and the village’s claim to fame is the marijuana trade along the town’s main street, which is fittingly dubbed ‘Pusher Street’.  I arrived at Christiania around 10am and some villagers were already drinking beer and smoking weed along Pusher Street.  Dealers set up carts along the side of the road, and marijuana grows in pots along the sidewalk.  No one is permitted to take photos on Pusher Street, and if residents see you with a camera they will certainly yell at you and may even take your camera.  I was able to get some photos of other parts of Christiania, though.  Some of the houses were out of the ordinary and interesting, but overall the town is made up of dirt roads and old, poorly maintained buildings.  It was a very unique place to visit, but I have no desire to ever go back.



Christiania

house in Christiania



On Friday night I went to a bar with a few of my friends and on our way home we discussed how difficult it is to meet Danes.  I have been in Denmark for one month, and, with the exception of my host family and my professors, have not gotten to get to know many Danes.  I had heard that Danes are reserved and shy, but the extent of this shyness is almost baffling.  In the US, most people have a small group of close friends, a larger group of friends, and lots of acquaintances; in Denmark, people have a small group of close friends.  In Doylestown or Gettysburg, when I pass someone on the street I smile at them regardless of whether or not I know them; in Køge people rarely even look at me as I pass them.  I understand that this is just part of Danish culture, but to me this behavior seems cold and it can be frustrating at times.

Ironically, on Saturday afternoon my host dad asked how my night out had been and if I’d had any luck meeting Danes.  I explained to him honestly but politely that I’m finding it difficult to meet many Danes.  He sort of smiled and didn’t seem surprised.  He confirmed what I’d been told, that Danes are reserved and shy and don’t feel comfortable talking to people that they don’t know.  Many Danes remain friends with the people that they grew up with and, because they already have all the close friends they need, are not inclined to meet new people.  He said that this is not a part of Danish culture that Danes are proud of and not to take it personally – Danes are just as shy around other Danes as they are around foreigners.  His recommendation: I have to initiate the contact myself, and I get extra points if I try to speak Danish or if I show interest in Danish culture.  Also, both my host dad and my Danish Language & Culture professor have said that the best way to meet Danes is in a situation involving alcohol between the hours of 1am and 3am, because this is when Danes “come out of their shells”.  Umm, ok?

Here are 4 more interesting cultural tidbits:

                                                                                                                 

1. Danes are a very homogenous society.  Yes it is true that many of them have fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes.  (I am fortunate enough to nearly fit this mold, though I am about 6 inches too short, and I get very excited when tourists ask me if I speak English and if I can tell them how to get to Stroget.)  Danish girls all seem to wear the same thing (more on this later).  Everyone rides a bike.  And because Danes are such a homogenous society, and because they are opposed to immigration, as it strains their welfare state, there is discrimination against darker-skinned foreign immigrants.  As my Danish Language & Culture professor described it, people who come from the West and speak English but are of darker skin color are considered exotic and Danes are intrigued by them, but people who come from areas such as Turkey, Pakistan, and Northern Africa are discriminated against.

2. Political correctness is a social phenomenon that is adhered to in the US and does not exist in Denmark.

3. In Denmark, asking the question “how are you?” really means that you want to know how someone is doing.  In the US, when I say “Hey, how are you?” the typical response is “Hi” or maybe “Hey, good, you?”.  In Denmark this question is not used as a greeting and people actually respond in detail.

4. Danes really like to plan ahead.  When I heard this I thought ‘great, so do I’, but no, Danes really like to plan ahead.  Last week my host parents asked me to put Thanksgiving on the calendar so that they can be sure to buy a turkey.  (To be fair, this is their first time hosting an American student in the fall and, thus, their first time celebrating Thanksgiving.  They are pretty excited.)  Two weeks ago they asked me if I am free during Week 41 to go on vacation with them to Jutland.  Umm, is that in October?  (Not only do I have no clue what I will be doing next week, I had to find a calendar and count the weeks to see what week they were talking about.)

Back to my life...

Last night I went to the F.C. København vs. Brøndby IF football (soccer) game.  FCK and Brøndby are both Copenhagen teams and they HATE each other!  Brøndby fans are known for being wild, and last night they did not disappoint.  They set off smoke bombs in the stands, threw firecrackers onto the field, and lit stadium seats on fire.  By the end of the game 40 people had been arrested and there had been tens of thousands of kroner in damages to the stadium.  The game itself was exciting, too; FCK is the team to beat among the Danish football clubs.  Brøndby put up a good fight, but FCK won 2-0.

FCK vs. Brøndby

wild Brøndby fans

Today, believe it or not, was my first day of riding my bike in the rain.  The weather is getting colder, but up until now there have been lots of sunny days.  There have been scattered showers, but I have always been in class or on the train during the rain and somehow avoided getting wet.  Today I had no such luck.  It was raining and windy and the hood of my raincoat wouldn’t stay on while I rode my bike home from the train.  I got soaked.  Fall is finally here, so I can expect lots of gray skies and rain for the remainder of my time here.  One rainy commute down, one hundred more to go!



One final observation:  Danes don’t dress for rain.  They wear a rain coat and carry an umbrella, but they don’t wear rain boots or sensible clothing.  In fact, in my opinion, all Danish women seem to wear a type of uniform every day.  This “uniform” consists of layered slouchy tops and sweaters in dark, neutral colors, a scarf, black leggings or tights (depending on how long their top is), and black knee-high boots or black socks with black flats.  I’m afraid that I look very American in my fitted navy blazer, skinny jeans, and red patent leather flats.  (Also, what do they call flats here if a ‘flat’ is an apartment?)



Ok, that’s all for now.  This post is 254 words longer than the essay that I handed in today for my European Business Strategy class!

Love,

Allie

Faxe, Kolding, Århus, Randers, & Odense

Last night I returned to Copenhagen after a three day study tour to Western Denmark with my European Business Strategy class. Denmark is comprised of the Jutland Peninsula (the land that juts out of northern Germany) and 406 islands, the two largest being Zealand (home to Copenhagen, just west of Sweden) and Funen (right between Jutland and Zealand).

Map of Denmark  www.worldtravels.com

(Køge, where I live with my host family, is on the coast of the Baltic Sea just east of the ‘e’ in ‘Roskilde’.)

Our first stop was Royal Unibrew, a Danish beverage company. It is the second largest supplier of soft drinks and beer in Denmark (Carlsberg is the largest) and holds exclusive licensing rights for Pepsi and Heineken in Denmark. Royal Unibrew also supplies international markets; they maintain a significant market share for beer and soft drinks in many European countries and for malt beverages in African and Caribbean nations.

On Thursday morning we got a tour of the Royal Unibrew facilities in Faxe, on the south eastern end of Zealand. We got to walk through the brewery and see the bottling process and the product warehouse. After the tour, Royal Unibrew’s Head of Mergers and Acquisitions gave us a presentation on international market segmentation and branding.

visiting Royal Unibrew

bottling at Royal Unibrew

After our visit to Royal Unibrew we had a three hour bus ride to Kolding, a town on the Jutland Peninsula. There we visited Kolding Hus, the last remaining ancient Danish royal castle. The castle was founded in 1268, but the oldest remaining portion dates to 1441. To be honest the castle was not very impressive, nothing like the extravagant castles in Copenhagen, but its historical significance made it special. Today, the restored castle functions as a museum. Our visit just happened to coincide with the opening of a Beatles exhibit, so after the castle tour we had a chance to explore the exhibit.

at Kolding Hus

After some time at Kolding Hus we departed for Århus, another town on the Jutland Peninsula. We went out to dinner and then to a bar before retiring to the hostel. That was my first time staying in a hostel, and, though it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined, it was certainly was not very spacious or clean.

On Friday morning we visited Vestas, a Danish alternative energy company. Vestas manufactures, sells, installs, and services wind turbines, and it is the world’s largest wind energy company. We met with the Business Development Manager of Vestas, and he spoke to us about the company’s new business strategy as they are experiencing a changing global market and increasing international competition.

at Vestas

a wind turbine

After our visit to Vestas we stopped at Den Gamle By for lunch and sightseeing. Den Gamle By (English translation: The Old City) is a preserved market town that is now an outdoor museum containing homes, shops, workshops, gardens, and more. The visit was a fun opportunity to see traditional Danish residential architecture and get a taste of what life used to be like in Denmark.

Den Gamle By

Den Gamle By

Next we visited the ARoS Museum, an art museum in Århus. In addition to the permanent exhibits, we toured the museum’s new exhibit, “I Love You”, which was an exhibit of obsure modern art depicting love and sex. The exhibit was quite a lesson on the European perspective of sex and nudity.

When our tour of the museum was over we drove to Randers, another town on the Jutland Peninsula. We spent Friday night in a hostel in Randers, and had plenty of time to check out the town’s night life after dinner. We decided that the town had too many bars and not enough people to fill them.

On Saturday morning we toured Randers Regnskov (English translation: Randers Rainforest), a tropical zoo simulating the environments and climates of rainforests in South America, Africa, and Asia. We got to see a variety of tropical animals up close, and I even got to hold a tiger python!

Randers Regnskov

holding a tiger python at Randers Regnskov

After our trip to Randers Regnskov we began the long drive back to Copenhagen. We made a stop for lunch, and in the afternoon we stopped in Odense, a town on the island of Funen, to play paintball. I have never played paintball and was pretty nervous, but I gave it a try anyway. It was scary, but also lots of fun. We were given camouflage jumpsuits (not padded, as I had hoped) and masks that covered our faces. I took a couple of good hits, most notably one to the head that covered my hair in oily orange paint. The game was really intense, and my heart was beating quickly while I hid behind bunkers. Paintball was a lot of fun, and I’m glad I tried it.

ready to play paintball!

When our game was over we finished the drive back to Copenhagen. Once we were back in the city, I stopped for dinner with some friends before I had to catch my train. We ordered Shawarma, a Middle Eastern fast food sandwich that is extremely popular in Copenhagen. Beef is stacked on a spike and grilled and when you order your sandwich they shave some beef off of the stack and stuff it in a pita. It sounds gross, and it doesn’t look much better, but it tastes pretty good.

shawarma

After dinner I caught the train to Køge. The three day study tour was a blast – it was fun to visit some of Denmark’s most notable international companies and to experience Danish culture outside of Copenhagen – but it was nice to finally get a good night sleep in my own room.

bye for now,

Allie

Nørrebro Bryghus

This afternoon, all of the international business students went on a field study to Nørrebro Bryghus, a craft beer brew house and restaurant in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen. We met with the founder of the brew house and discussed the company’s beginnings, development and expansion, product innovation, and international pursuits. I always love to hear success stories of entrepreneurs who turn their passions into thriving careers. The lecture was both informative and inspiring. During our visit to the brew house we got to sample four of the company’s craft beers, one of which was brewed with fresh raspberries (and is my new favorite beer)! I left the field study feeling a little tipsy.

outside  Nørrebro Bryghus

inside Nørrebro Bryghus

Also, I got my CPR number in the mail today! A CPR number is the Danish equivalent of a Social Security Number; it is a government-issued identification number issued to citizens and people with a Danish visa who will be living in Denmark for more than three months. My CPR card (“yellow card”) functions as my health insurance card and library card while I am in Denmark. The really cool thing about CPR numbers is that they are issued for life. If and when I come back to Denmark, I will still have the same number and card. Thus, I am officially registered as a card-carrying Dane. Not exactly citizenship, but still pretty cool!

I leave tomorrow morning for a three-day study tour to Jutland. More on my adventures when I return!

Love,
Allie

Last Wednesday night I went to a concert in Køge with my host mom and some friends. I got to see two of Denmark’s most popular music artists: Medina, a dance and electro-pop singer, and Dūné, and electro-rock band. Both performances were incredible!

at the concert

Medina

Dūné

During the concerts the town center was packed with people. In Danish there is no word for ‘excuse me’, so in a crowd sometimes people will say “undskyld” (“sorry”), but typically they will simply push you out of their way. This is just another minor cultural difference that is taking some getting used to. Also, smoking is much more common in Denmark than in the US. Any time I am in a crowd (or walking on the sidewalk, or waiting for the train, or in a bar) people around me are smoking. I am not used to people unapologetically smoking in close proximity to the other people around them. My clothes and hair always smell faintly of cigarette smoke after a day in Copenhagen. The greater acceptance of smoking in Denmark is a cultural difference that I am less inclined to accept. Tobacco smoke and cigarette butts just don’t fit into the idyllic image that I have of Danish people as health-conscious and eco-friendly.

On Friday night my host mom’s parents came to stay with us. My host parents and their older daughter had a dinner party to go to, so I ate dinner at home with my 9 year old host sister and her grandparents, none of whom speak much English. For the first time since I arrived in Denmark, I had to speak Danish (as much as I could, anyway). When they arrived I introduced myself in Danish. My host mom’s mother cooked a traditional Danish meal for dinner: frikadeller (Danish meatballs) and salmon and herring on rugbrød (dark bread). I was pleasantly surprised to see how easily conversation flowed during dinner. My host mom’s parents knew enough English to get their point across, and when they didn’t know the word for something they would either point or describe it. I was able to rephrase my English so that they would understand me and sometimes I could contribute Danish words here and there. For example, when my host mom’s mother was serving dinner, she didn’t know how to tell me what type of fish it was and began thinking aloud in Danish, trying to find the words in English. I recognized ‘laks’ and ‘sild’ as ‘salmon’ and ‘herring’… a small accomplishment, but I am pleased to find myself beginning to understand some Danish.

This afternoon my host dad and I went to a picnic for DIS students and their host families. The picnic was on a grassy hill overlooking the Baltic Sea at a point where the Øresund Sound is so narrow that we could easily see the Swedish coast across the sea. We spent the afternoon barbequing and relaxing in the sun with friends. I got to go kayaking in the Baltic Sea, and I learned to play Kubb, a “lawn game” originally played by the Vikings and best described as backyard chess.

bye for now!
 
Love,
Allie

Skål! (Cheers!)

Last Friday, after a long week of adapting to life in Denmark, my friends and I celebrated the beginning of our European adventure at a party thrown by DIS. The “Welcome Party” was held in a nightclub in downtown Copenhagen and was open bar. Just to prove the difference between Danish and American drinking culture, the professors and other DIS staff who attended the party joined us at the bar and on the dance floor. If my professors had showed up at frat parties during freshman orientation at Gettysburg I would have thought it was strange and inappropriate, but here it seemed totally normal. I think it’s safe to say that everyone had a great time.

Skål!

On Saturday, my host dad and I went for a walk through the woods behind the house. We talked about American culture and Danish culture and my observations so far about the similarities and differences between the two. He asked me why I chose to study abroad in Denmark. I told him that Denmark is one of the countries in Europe that I have always wanted to visit and that I was intrigued by DIS’s curriculum and opportunities for cultural immersion and travel. I asked him why his family wanted to open their house to a foreign student. He said that they specifically requested to host an American female so that the family, particularly the daughters, could learn about American culture and practice speaking English. I asked him how he came to speak English so well when he lives in a country where English is not commonly spoken. He modestly replied that he doesn’t think his English is so good and said that he learned some English in school but that he learned much of what he knows from reading books written in English. I was shocked when he told me that the first time he’d heard his oldest daughter speak more than a few words of English was one night last week when she and I were discussing books and movies after dinner. I was surprised to hear this because she also speaks English very well. I was moved by how appreciative he sounded, and I am grateful that I can be of value to my host family as we try to learn more about each other, our cultures, and our languages.

Towards the end of our walk we passed a section of an old railroad track where it crosses a stream. My host dad pointed to the far corner of the track and said that hidden there is a box and that there are more of them hidden all over the world and that it is a game to find the boxes but that lots of people don’t about it. I couldn’t believe it! Geocaching/Letterboxing is like a modern treasure hunt (geocaching using GPS and letterboxing using complex riddles) in which people try to find boxes that have been hidden in all sorts of places all over the globe. My family has been letterboxing for a few years now, and we have found a number of letterboxes in Bucks County, PA as well as New York and Vermont. As it turns out, my host family has tried geocaching a few times because it adds excitement to a typical walk in the woods. None of my friends in the US had heard of letterboxing before my family started doing it, so I think it is kind of ironic that my host family knows all about it.

More to come soon!

Love,
Allie

PS. here are some of my favorite photos of Denmark so far:

Nyhavn

Rosenborg Castle

The Royal Danish Playhouse

downtown Køge