I’ve spent much of this month back in Seattle, but that trip only enlightened me and gave me perspective.
My three favorite things about Denmark, this month:
- The language – Yes, it’s incomprehensible and probably impossible to learn to speak correctly, but it’s also beautiful. I often complain that one of my least favorite things about living here is not understanding what people are saying around me. But on my way back from Seattle, once I got on the plane from Heathrow, with lots of Danes, I was automatically calmed by hearing them talk. I’m like a baby right now. I have no idea what anyone is saying, but it’s familiar and it calms me. Hopefully, like other babies, I will one day make some sense out of it.
- Joseph coming for a visit – We have our second house guest! All the way from Seattle, Joseph is a first non-family member to visit us. It’s really nice having him here. Even Cosmo is warming up.
- My daily steps – I got a Fitbit during my trip back to the States (I thought they’re cheaper over there, but then checked on the price over here and it’s the same…) and now I know how much I’m walking every day. And the answer is: A LOT! Since being back, on my slowest day – when I was super jet-lagged and slept most of the afternoon away – I walked about 10,000. The other days are anywhere between 14 and 19,000. Back in Seattle, I struggled to get to 10,000 steps every day. If you want to have exercise built into your day, just move to Europe!
My three least favorite things:
- No cash back – Being in Seattle I really started to rely on cash back at the grocery store. It’s so convenient! Now, I’m back to paying for everything with mobile-pay and my debit card. I honestly don’t even know why I’m complaining about this. It’s not that big of a deal.
- Bagging my own groceries – Again, less than two weeks in the USA and I’m spoiled and out of practice. You need to shuffle here when you’re getting groceries. No one bags your stuff for you. There is a divider that the checker moves back and forth so that two people are bagging their stuff up at once. It only works well if you don’t buy too much at one time.
- Hurry up and wait – Denmark is full of procedures and rules and you need to get all your ducks in a row, and get things done on time… and then you wait. I’m thinking of my language classes now. So, I went through the hoops. I qualified for free language classes when I was granted residency. I was sent to an office, where I thought I’d be signing up for classes. Instead, I was given an application to fill out. I handed in the application and was told I’ll be contacted in about a month. About four weeks later I got a text saying to call them to schedule an appointment. I called. They scheduled an appointment about four weeks later. I showed up to the appointment. I was asked questions about my potential stay in Denmark, about my previous education and whether or not I spoke more than one language. I admitted that English was not my first language (it’s Polish). The interviewer must have been impressed because she automatically got me into the most demanding classes (Level 3). That’s cool. I want to learn how to write an essay in Danish! But then she said: you should hear from us in about a month…
Post-Amerikan 