Hej,
The beginning of my 2nd week here in Denmark was an adventure to say the least. The adventure began with a trip on the train to a city called Roskilde for some shopping and ended in a trip across Denmark, crossing two islands and ending up in Kolding on Jutland, 4 hours away from Vordingborg!
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| Kerri and I at Kolding Station, four hours from Vordingborg! |
It turned out there was a problem at the main station and we needed to change trains however the announcement was in Danish therefore we didn’t realise. It is a good thing we are learning Danish during our stay here, as in future maybe we will be able to understand some words in these important announcements!
When we realised our predicament we asked a conductor for help and she made sure we got off and got back on the right train. We had just sat down on the train back towards Vordingborg, when the conductor said ‘follow me girls’ and brought us to first class where we got tea, coffee, oranges and biscuits. It was so kind of her to look after us in this way. During my time in Denmark, I have noticed that the Danish people are very kind and welcoming.
We finally arrived home in Vordingborg at 2am having left Roskilde at 8pm. One thing that stuck me was that if the trains stopped as early as they did at home, we would have been stranded in Kolding for the night but luckily the trains run a lot later here than at home.
Throughout our adventure, all we could do was laugh! We have now have been across the whole of Denmark, even if it was in the dark!
This week we began classes, which was a shock to the system as classes here start early at 8.30 each morning. Classes do end at 2pm though which means we have the afternoon free. We are lucky in that we are living on campus so it only takes us 2 minutes to walk to class. The classes are very long compared to at home, some last from 8.30-12 and some from 8.30-2. It is difficult to concentrate and maintain interest for such long periods of time, particularly as we are not used to such long classes.
We have begun a European identity class which is interesting as it allows us to develop our ideas about what it means to be a European Citizen and what brings us together as an Erasmus group. It allows the group to evaluate the similarities and differences that we each have in terms of Cultural, Personal and European identity and provides an opportunity to learn about the different cultures within our class (there are 6) which proves very interesting.
We have also chosen to take a voluntary Danish language class run by the Danish government at the university which allows us the opportunity to learn some of the Danish language while we are living here. Although the majority of Danish people speak very good English, it is important to be able to speak some Danish out of courtesy for the Danish people and development of the Danish culture and experience, as the Danish people are very patriotic and proud of their nationality. I have noticed this in the use of the Danish flag, everywhere, something which our European Identity teacher also made us aware of.
The highlight of my week was staying with Soren and his family outside Copenhagen for the weekend. It was a lovely insight into the life of a Danish home, and further insight to the Danish culture. His family warmly welcomed us into their home and his mother, Jette cooked us a lovely traditional Danish dinner of Roast Pork with Crackling, red cabbage and potatoes. Jemma and Alison were also invited for dinner, it was nice to share the experience with them and see some familiar faces.
The Danish culture is similar to the Irish culture in that family meals are important as is sitting around the fire together. Danish homes are very cosy and homely places as they like to light candles to create a warm, relaxed atmosphere, while eating or relaxing with friends and family, this is known as ‘hygge’.
Kerri, Trisha and I with the Andersen family in their home.
Until next week,
Fionnuala
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