Category: life

“I understand.” Tonight, this was what I responded at least 30 times from listening to my host dad, Hans-Erik give me all sorts of life advice.

The list of advice varied considerably from: 

• How to pan fry the back and butt parts of pork (it’s a tasty science)

adding salt to make sure the pieces get crispy

• Wine
• Beer
• Young Peoples’ Drinking Tastes
• Group Dinners, the togetherness of specific types of company
• Increasing immunity to diseases and well being overall

I cannot even begin to explain what I’ve learned these past few months from both of my host parents. I picked a homestay while abroad because I was expecting to build a nice “friend-family” type relationship with them. I wasn’t expecting the self and life evaluating effect their discussions would have in my thinking about the bigger picture of life in general.

This sounds very theological but its not even their opinions on subjects that I’m referring to. It’s their general sense of living, cooking, style and sense of being happy.

I might have also been influenced by the quote in this article (http://thelala.com/too-comfortable-in-routine/)

There are two options in life: you can either grow or stay the same.  Which will you choose?

I am realizing how much my ideas, opinions, and thoughts have really grown this semester just from my surroundings and interactions.

frying up din din: thanks H-E for trying to teach me life skills

Today was a very packed St. Patrick’s Day, not nearly as packed as my days filled with dancing from venue to bar, but quite filled nonetheless.

My friends Tien, Sammy and I went to the outdoors celebration near the town hall in Copenhagen to hear some Irish music and see some irish dancing. Due to this being our first legal St. Patrick’s Day, Sammy and I decided to try some Guinness.

first reactions

Unfortunately, we were unable to sweet talk our way onto the stage to dance with a Swedish (Irish) band, but it was still fun to see some dancers dance the Traditional Set Dance, St. Patrick’s Day on stage before us.

Then, Tien and I had a DIS sponsored free Canal Tour that we ran to catch. It was a special event that allowed a whole slew of students to see Copenhagen from a different perspective, on the water. We also had some wonderful entertainment/tour guides of eloquently dressed Drag Queens.

We had a blast just hearing their wonderful commentary on the city and waving to the people on land.

adventuring to the coldest seats in the front of the boat

The last part of my day involved meeting back up with Sammy. Her mom had requested us to make sure we did a treble reel together, film it and send the video to her. I can happily say, we were successful, but I am not posting the vid here. Instead here’s a lovely pic of Sammy with the obligatory green beer we (both) had in celebration of the holiday of good ol’ green-luck.

could food coloring actually make beer taste better?

So yesterday on the 15th of March was my host dad Hans-Erik’s birthday. To celebrate his fødselsdag we hosted a huge dinner for his family consisting of his sister, her husband, his mom Helga and our neighbors Mette and Peter.

the crew around the table

It’s interesting how different yet similar birthdays are celebrated. Lots of Danish flags are placed outside, inside and a special one in front of the birthday person.

I really enjoyed seeing how it was the birthday person giving back to those they love most, or care about most in their life. I would compare it to kids bringing cupcakes in for their birthday in grade school.  I suppose, birthdays are celebrated in a mainly similar way in the US. One main difference is (at least in my family)its typical to go out to one’s favorite restaurant on their birthday, rather then cooking up a special three or four course meal.

ice man

It was so special and exciting to see such a festive birthday celebration and truly feel the hygge of love all around.

So today there was a special event in Copenhagen which could be comparable to a food expo. My host parents are very foodie, and very good cooks, so it was a whole adventure to go to the Irma Food Festival!

(left to right) Peter, Hans-Erik, Jette, Me and Hans-Erik’s mother Helga 

I had a blast trying a variety of Danish foods, as well as just eating a variety of cheeses, meats, ice creams, and snacks. Hans-Erik was extremely excited for this event as he used to work for Irma, which is a Danish grocery store chain, when he was in Law school and during the summer.

My favorite part of this experience was getting to know Hans-Erik’s mother, who only speaks Danish and only understands Danish. It was lots of gesturing and thumbs up signals, but despite the language barrier I had a wonderful day getting close with her. There are no real words to describe  or explain the overall atmosphere of such an event, but I am so happy to have been invited to go with my (host) family.

striking a pose with Peter

making Jette, Hans-Erik and Helga do it for the red noses

The other wonderful treat I was able to enjoy was seeing flodebollers being made. They are a chocolate with cream inside, bell shaped concoction.

So, if I come back to the states with a fuller figure, it really won’t be that surprising! Also, I know my host parents (and probably real parents, too) are hoping that I will pick up a few tricks and be able to cook more than grilled cheese by the time this semester is over.

I have a slew of medical issues, which like to present themselves at the most unforeseeable/inconvenient times. This time, it was a Monday afternoon which opened the opportunity for me to view and be treated in a Danish hospital, first hand.

First off, in all ambulances they ask you the same types of questions.

(note first they speak to me in Danish, and then I have to say, I don’t understand that much Danish, I only speak English)

What is your full name?

What is your birthdate?

How old are you?

What’s your CPR number? (okay this is special to Denmark)

Where are you from? What are you doing in Denmark? (because I am clearly not Danish)

Denmark is run on a universal health care system which means everyone can go to the hospital and get treated, if they have a CPR number. Otherwise, without a CPR number you pay out of pocket for any medical treatment.  I just received my own CPR card last weekend, so it is kind of funny that I would end up in the hospital, now.

red must always be a “trauma” color

An interesting part is the wait time in the hospital. I arrived around 2pm [via ambulance] but needed to be transferred to a hospital closer to my homestay, because they didn’t have a bed for me to stay overnight at the first hospital. Finally, I was moved to the new hospital, which will now be referred to as the 80s hospital , and it was around 11:45 pm.

It was quite a lot of waiting, but DIS made sure to have a person there who could make sure I was being treated with good care and being explained everything that was going on if I didn’t understand or was confused by anything.

The whole aspect of having a “caregiver” (because my parents aren’t here in Denmark )surprisingly works well with what my Medical Ethics course discusses and debates weekly about with the correct care of patients and what is considered “right”. So at this point, I see this hospital visit as a specialized “field study” to understand a hospital in a foreign country.

Comparisons with American to Danish hospitals:

The main thing I like about my floor (at my new, 80s hospital) is that the nurses station is half the floor, and half patients beds and lounge. The chaos and noise associated with the work nurses do is partitioned off and away from disrupting sleeping patients. I find this to be very a nice and surprising part of my stay. It also meant that the floor is a nice quiet hum about it.

The beds are less “boat like” and more like a mattress on wheels. This may just be different because of my hospital experiences (my own and seeing other people in hospitals) in Minnesota. There is less physical restrictions, less things confining me to my bed here which makes wandering around the floor pretty simple.

Another interesting thing is that in Denmark, I’m not connected up to everything at all times of the day. I am free to wander the halls on my floor, without asking permission. Their hospital makes me feel much more like a grown up person, than a five year old.

The 80s hospital is also VIVID and brightly colored. Every chunk is a different rainbow color and is refreshing to the normal beige, or tan colors of hospitals. It reminds me of my parent’s home in Minnesota because the lime green color of the walls in the kitchen back home match the lime green lockers here in Denmark.

blue and city views

While I probably freaked my parents out (and myself when I woke inside an ambulance), as well as anyone who saw my medical trauma, I do find this experience interesting and refreshing. I got to learn more about Danish culture, society, politics ( we had lots of time to kill talking about anything and everything, so yes Settlers of Catan is played in Denmark!) I actually enjoyed the change of atmosphere and viewpoint and I’m even more excited to explore other (less medically charged) sites across Denmark.

While I wouldn’t recommend needing to be in a Danish hospital for any period of time (I wouldn’t recommend a hospital for anyone at any time), its interesting to be able to compare a US hospital experience from a Danish Hospital experience. For the record, I am on the mend and okay again, back to the daily grind of life, and school and travel.