Danish Life

Today marks two weeks of me living in Denmark! As far as my health, I’m feeling much better physically, although I continue to have zero sense of smell. I told my sister Caroline this to which she stated “Maybe it’s Denmark. Maybe Denmark has no smell and you think it’s your nose but it’s really just the fact that Denmark is odorless.” As much as I’d like to believe this notion, I was brought to terms with reality this weekend as I showed my St. Olaf friend Becca my host family’s neighborhood which has a horse pasture in passing. Becca said she could tell because it smelt pretty bad. I came to the realization that I had never smelt the horse manure at all. So yes, there are perks to losing your sense of smell!

At this point, I’m finally blending into the Copenhagen lifestyle! I’m borrowing a bike from our neighbors for the semester which will make getting around the city much more convenient and more importantly make me feel like a true Dane! It’s a blue mountain bike (I always use a mountain bike at home so that will be no big change) – I’ll post pictures soon once it receives a new chain. I’ve been told I could pass for being Danish because of my blond hair, blue eyes, height, etc. I think this has partially contributed to numerous strangers asking me questions in Danish on the train station. As Americans, we DIS students get excited when a stranger tries to speak Danish with us. Unfortunately the only Danish words I know are apotek (pharmacy), luksus (luxury), lukka (yummy), æblemost (apple juice), tak (thank you), hej (hello), ja (yes), farvel (goodbye), and various street names.

Regarding my last post about McDonalds, a huge aspect I haven’t much touched on is FOOD. This past week, I gave my host family a first taste of my American cooking skills by baking oatmeal cookies (Danes don’t eat cookies – say what?!) and they are really looking forward to more cookies in the future. Since I live with a host family, I’m more likely than other DIS students to eat homemade Danish dishes. Here are some observations about food based on my experience living with them:

• Most food is very unprocessed and contain little to no additives. Processed foods just make up a larger portion of most American’s diets so I’ve noticed the contrast when I’m in my host family’s kitchen. Denmark is famous for its high taxes, and unhealthy processed foods are no exception. I definitely noticed the change when I purchased a pint of ice cream which costed ~$8.00… (Worth every penny/kronor.)
• Produce is not genetically modified. I’m so used to seeing perfect-looking giant fruits and veggies in the U.S. year-round. In comparison the produce in Denmark appears miniature and variety is definitely lacking, BUT, what I have tastes good and fresh.
• Pork is a staple. The ratio of pigs to people in Denmark is 5 to 1! They are actually the world’s largest exporter of pork. Keep in mind the country only has 5.5 million people. All this means that I’ve eaten many different kinds of pork while here: sausage, bacon, ham, etc.
• Bread is a big deal. My host dad loves to bake loaves of bread so we eat slices for breakfast, lunch, dinner, repeat. Bread here is very hearty, and Denmark is famous for its love of rye bread. In general, bakeries seem to be everywhere in Copenhagen and yes, Caroline, danishes too.

A more unique food experience I had was today when my host mom’s friend from Greenland visited and brought with her reindeer sausage which everyone seemed to be really pumped about. I ate some but when everyone started referring to the sausage as Rudolph I kind of lost my appetite!

Photo by Becca Hanson. Messing around in Tiger- a Swedish store chain, which I’d compare to a miniature, kitschy version of Target.