My First Week

Yesterday marked my first week in Denmark. I thought I would give my first observations of this lovely country.

Music- Pretty much all the music on the radio is American Oldies. I have yet to hear a Danish song on the radio.

Cars- It is so expensive to get a driver's license here. For a license alone it is $3000!!! Driving lessons are about $150 per lesson and you need to take 6 lessons or more. It is crazy! All the cars are small and manual. I can't drive here, but even if I wanted I couldn't because every single car is manual! It is also interesting how small the roads are. Sometimes a single bike lane is the same width as a two-way road! This is a fact!

Wealth- Everyone is Denmark is somewhat wealthy, but no one feels the need to show it. They are content with what they have. I can already see that they do not put value in wealth, but instead in intelligence, creativity and humor.

Humor- The Danish sense of humor is all about irony. They appreciate a good sense of humor and love to laugh, especially at the dinner table!

Naked Babies- I am pretty sure that you could not even find a children's swimsuit in Denmark. In one week, I have seen more naked babies than a delivery room. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but still...there are a lot of naked babies.

Language- The Danish language is so confusing. First, there are 3 extra vowels: Æ, Ø and Å. I can't pronounce any of them and they seem to be in every single word! I am really confused with the d's, e's and r's. The d's are silent, but not really. For example, the word for 'food' is 'mad', however, it is pronounced 'mel', BUT at the end you are suppose to add like a little sound for the 'd' by putting your tongue on your hard palate. The 'e' is more like an 'er'. For example, Fie, my sister, is pronounced 'fee-er'. It almost sounds like you are saying 'fear' really fast. And when you say 'r', you have to use your throat, which English-speakers do not use when talking. I don't know when I am saying it right or wrong. It is hard. Also unlike English is the use of the tongue. When speaking English, the tongue is constantly moving to create different sounds. In Danish, the tongue hardly moves, which is why it is so difficult for English-speakers to learn.

Wind Energy- Denmark is a leader in wind energy, and proud of it. Because Denmark is so flat and is pretty much a bunch of islands, the wind is abundant and they take advantage of it. There are wind turbines everywhere. The one thing that I have noticed is that they are placed in areas that are not used for living or farming. The turbines are places in the water, next to forests, in pastures, etc. I hope that someday wind turbines are as visible in the US as they are here.

The Danes- Danes are very proud people. They are proud of their food, culture, language, standard of living, government and their sustainible lifestyles. I am really enjoying my time here in Denmark and a large part of that is because of the people. They are so friendly and "hyggeligt".

Andy E