 |
| 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
No comments:
Post a Comment