Q and A with an American in Denmark (Part 2) / Life in Denmark / Expat Life
Вставка
- Опубліковано 22 лип 2021
- #expatindenmark #askmeanything #qandavideo #lifeindenmark #expat
Hi! I'm Kelly, an American wife and mom living in a small town in Denmark's peninsula. Today, I answer the rest of your questions in this Part 2 video. Learn more about a what my life is like in Denmark as an American expat.
If you have questions, please leave them in the comments! Don't forget to check out Part 1 on my channel!
If you like this video, please give it a Thumbs Up! :)
Subscribe to my channel: ua-cam.com/users/mynewdanishli...
Please SHARE this video with others! That would be very nice of you! :)
Other Videos Mentioned in this Video
Danish After-School Care: • After School Care in D...
How to Make Friends in Denmark: • Making Friends in Denm...
Life in Denmark Playlist: • 7 Memories from My Ame...
Learn Danish Playlist: • American Speaks Danish...
Danish Birthday Song: • Danish Birthday Song (...
My USA, Summer, Childhood Memories: • 7 Memories from My Ame...
Weird Danish Food: • 7 Weird Foods in Denma...
Traditional Danish Food: • Traditional Danish Foo...
Christmas in Denmark Playlist: • 20 Ways an American Ch...
Blog Posts Mentioned in the Video
Visit National Park Thy: www.mynewdanishlife.com/natio...
Culture Shock in a Danish Swimming Pool: www.mynewdanishlife.com/cultu...
How Not to Lose Your Sh*t in Denmark: www.mynewdanishlife.com/top-1...
My 1st 3 Months Living in Denmark: www.mynewdanishlife.com/first...
Christmas Countdown in Denmark: www.mynewdanishlife.com/count...
Travel Denmark: www.mynewdanishlife.com/categ...
🍩Do you want to support My New Danish Life? You can "Buy me a Donut" at buymeacoffee.com/?via=mynewdanishlife!! Thanks for your support!
Need a high-quality VPN to watch all of your favorite shows? Try Express VPN and get the first 3 months free of your 12-month subscription with this link: www.xvbelink.com/?offer=3mont...
I would love for you to join the My New Danish Life community! :)
*If you are using MOBILE, get to these links by visiting the "ABOUT" tab at the top right of your phone screen!*
📚BLOG: www.mynewdanishlife.com/
🌼Instagram: / my_new_danish_life
🌺Facebook: / mynewdanishlife
🐦Pinterest: / mynewdanishlife
🕊️Twitter: / danishnew
✨TikTok: / my_new_danish_lif
Are you interested in working with me to promote your brand, product or destination? Contact me at: mynewdanishlife.com@gmail.com
My New Danish Life is a lifestyle and travel blog and UA-cam channel telling about my American life in Denmark. I love to share my thoughts with you to help bridge a gap between two cultures and see just how we can all learn from each other! Thanks for watching!
This post contains affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, I will make a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thanks for your support!
I don't know how many lives on your street, but having street parties is quite normal in DK. Off course, somebody has to take the initiative. Those parties are often very funny and people also often starts a friendship from there.
Danes spook easily... I laughed my ass off!!! 😂
A trick to get good neighbors and potential friends in Denmark is by asking them to help you. Just ask for help with a minor problem in the garden, and then progress to a good cup of coffee, then I can promise you have broken the ice.
In a weird way I’d actually wish I lived in the same neighbourhood as you and your family do, it really sounds like you’d need a friendly face sometimes to help you out on a day to day basis. Whether that’d be guiding you through “basic knowledge” of things you’d need in your household, or just a small talk while tending your hedge. Either way hope you find the friends in Denmark you deserve because you seem like a lovely person
Best regards
Having lived there, I feel you. Your last comments make me feel so sad. I love Denmark and I have a very good and welcoming family group from the person that brought me there, they were lovely people to me and through them I met a fantastic girl my age who has now been my best friend for 30 years-it took quite a bit of effort in the beginning. (She would, in a heartbeat, help you.) But, trying to meet new Danish people outside of that group was nearly impossible. I can’t imagine how much more difficult it is as an adult.
Reading is key to learning a language. I learned danish in 6 months but I learn languages quickly. I was working as a registered nurse 1 year after I arrived. Working in a danish workplace helps too. Danes are not so open but I would recommend joining a group. Sports club or perhaps an art or cooking class. I would look into reading books from library written for young teens.
He he the Danish language changes depending on where you live it can sometimes lead to fun conversations with people even for Danes it can be difficult to understand
I know the small towns in Denmark, where people are very reserved. Not all small towns are like that. I personally grow up in a place like that, and I'm not moving back there.
Hi Kelly😊
I can really relate to the difficulty og getting new friends in Denmark and i'm a dane. I moved to another city and tried to become friends with somebody there. I'm known to be very open and can talk to anybody. I don't know if I was trying to hard, but some people got kind of freaked out that they perhaps felt I pushed to hard or indicated desperation. I felt very lonely. Then I joined a gospelchoir. We were 165 when we were the most. The biggest gospelchoir in north jutland/Aalborg gospelchoir. But I almost got to know and have conversation in the breaks with most of them. It was such a relief and joy. I'm been in that choir for 11 years because of that community. It is like a big hug coming there. We see each other in different smallere groups. Some go to workshops together and getting to know eachother one day or weekend. We get to know eachother better because we commute. Some goes to watch a movie or koncert together, some are creative and making stuff....ect. I have just been at a birthday with one from the choir, who has become a great friend. We simply love being together. Our amazing choir conducter makes posibilities for us to get alot of opportunities and experiences together. We have been to London, Norway Cruise and New York.
We have birthday, summer and Christmas parties. Being at alot of gospel workshops around the country, i've realised there is a lot of positive and lovning people singing gospel in Denmark. I don't know if you enjoy singing. But I recommend this as a opportunity to finding friends. Most gospelchoirs in Denmark are not focused on religion but more of the energy and joy .
I can hardly wait to going back to choir pratice starting in August.... Meeting all of the great people and getting that big lovning hug after covid separation.
Hi Kelly,
Another great video. :)
I find it fairly easy to understand your spoken Danish. You are not rushing the words.
On occasion, I'll watch internet videos from DR1 and DR2. The weather programs are fairly easy to comprehend. However, some of the terms used by the journalists on other Danish TV broadcasts can be a challenge to understand.
On another topic, risalamande is so good. :)
I don’t think I could survive there. Australians are so much more laid back and it’s very easy to make friends and have support groups.
Love the fact you sound like crown princess Mary when you speak Danish - amazing 😍☺️
If you guys are ever in Copenhagen, I would love to give you a tour!
Aaaww Kelly....I'll be your Danish friend 🥺 (though I live on Zealand 😀)
det forsømte forår - Hans Scherfig. Also there is a film which is really good
Try sunset, more vegettian meals to chose from ☺️👍🏻
I like your videos 😍
OBS: Dit dansk er blevet SÅ meget bedre, siden den første video jeg så! Good on you!
I have to tell you, I have heard many stories about people moving from Copenhagen to small towns in Jylland - and they hade some of the same issues!
As you said, in big cities people are more open - and shallow? Is there some hidden balance in this? Anyway, it is NOT because you are american, it is because sleepy towns are often also slow to open up. But once you're in, you're in. It just takes a couple of generations in some places, like I would mention one... ;)
Dan Turell is probably the best poet we had. He writes in what I would call "the common tongue." He was a "folk poet" from the 1970-90's. "Storbytrilogien" is probably my favorite collection of his.
Taco Bell, you go girl! Hate to break the news but they don't make Taco Salads anymore...only nachos bell grande (atleast in Calif). Burritos are still the same though. 👍
Thanks for a great video. It would be great to hear if one of your Danish viewers sought contact with you. You need and deserve a good Danish female friend to talk to and who could also show you around and get acquainted with the shops and places you mention in your video. It's just a thought. 🙂
Even people from other places in Denmark, especially Copenhagen, that moves to Southern Denmark (Sønderjylland) and don't understand sønderjysk (the local dialect), can have a hard time getting friends there. I saw such people getting nearly depressed when I lived there as a child and young adult. We can be very provincial...
You got to 15000 subs AAAAND you got your husband to start the renovations 😃 Huge congrats 🇩🇰🥳
Thanks! :) The wall is done, and it feels amazing. i just need to figure out what to put on it. Got any suggestions for where to shop? :)
@@MyNewDanishLife well as far as furniture goes (shelfs etc) I would go to "Jysk" if you're looking for something affordable or maybe IKEA 🙂
@@camillasaietz4856 I really like teak trae! ;)
Boys clothes are good at H& M or even some of supermarkets. Otherwise shopping malls have everything you need
Connecting with your neighbours can be different from town to town or even neighbourhood to neighbourhood(as a dane too). Where I grew up everybody knew each other and looked out for each other. It could take hours to walk the dog because you always met someone who just wanted/needed to talk. When I moved for the first time I ended in a similar neighbourhood. When I visit my parents the old neighbours still greets me when they see
me. The new and younger neighbours mostly stay to themselves and turns away or goes inside when I say Hi.
When I moved to Aalborg it took years to learn to know my neighbours. Out of 39 appartments I only talked with people from 3 or 4. I lived in that building for 17 years. One of my best friends I met in the bus. He lived in another part of the neighbourhood and he was the only one I kept seeing after moving to another part of the town. He sadly died 3 years ago.
In the building where I live now I talk with my neighbours, when we meet on the stairs. I lived here for 4 years before we began talking to each other and it was only because in one of the appartments there was a man who made a lot of noise with his friends in the middle of the night. A woman I've talk a lot to from when I moved in has just moved out last week.
I'd love to show you where to buy different things. Reach out and ask your followers if you need help. I'm sure you'll get surprised how many who'd help you.
Thanks! I do this sometimes on my Instagram! :) I got a lot of great tips on where to shop for my kids' clothes! :) Neighbors are different in all places. I think that those of us with great neighbors are quite lucky! :)
I feel the same about not having familiar places in the Faroe Islands. Im needing plain cotton panties, and i cant seem to find them anywhere, and when i shyly ask closer friends, they look at me confused and dont give me a straight answer. I'm also having to figure it out myself at 42 yrs old.
A good way to learn to understand a language is to watch shows targeted at children. They will often have a slower pace and be very much on the action that is on screen, so making connections between what you see and hear is more direct.
A great way to make new friends is through leisure sports. There are many clubs everywhere, tennis Golf swimming, You name it. Yes maybe dance with your husband. Think about it .
Have you ever been to Sweden and what do you think of the culture there and foods
I feel bad that you and your husband haven't been invited over. I have to say though - and I'm pretty sure you are aware of it - that Danes more often just turn up... Buy or better yet, bake a cake and bring it for afternoon coffee as an icebreaker...
My opinion, not speaking for everyone:
I want to be friendly with my neighbors. Chitchat over the hedge, look after their house when they're on vacation, maybe visit each others gardens for a glass of wine once or twice in the summer. But I don't want to be friends-friends. I don't want to know or share anything really personal or private. That's for friends that do not live next to me. "Hertil og ikke længere".
Kelly. Not trying to rock the boat, but It sounds to me that the small town in Jutland, you live in, is just to small and "Tight knit" ! If you haven't made friends in your neighborhood - after 5 years - you never will ?!
Either there to suspicious to outsiders or there afraid to approach you, due to some lack of English skills.., maybe!?
Not all of us are ”hjemmefødninger” (a word for a person who has never left or desired to roam away, form there Town or Region, or anything or anyone they already know).
I live in CPH, but I've lived in both medium towns as well as bigger City's in DK. We're often told that ”Danes are tight knit and unapproachable, since we already have our friends and don't need new ones.
That's just BS! We often accept new friends into our groups - if we like them 😀!?
There is ALWAYS room for a NEW FRIEND 😁, since that person brings something new to the table 😍 !
Yeah! We may be known to be “Tight knit”. But not more so, than we're willing to let old friends go (and vice-verca), when we grow apart.
Good advise to you! Danes LOVE talking politics. Do it the direct Danish way, as recommended by Kelly! “ My Politics are personal” 😉 ! Danes will respect you for your Honesty :-) !!
Can someone tell if there are English translation of the speeches given at PC Frederick and Mary’s wedding reception??
I agree that it is difficult to get a social network but not impossible.
Go for a interest group photo graph or anything wil basically do ,and start knowing people by those hobby.
I joined a group and tried very hard to talk with people. I decided that after a year and a half of only talking to 3 people a total of 5 times, I would stop going. This group met 2 to 3 times a week, so it was exhausting to keep getting rejected and ignored. Maybe, there is another group out there for me, but I haven't been able to find it yet! :(
@@MyNewDanishLife that’s is very unfortunate,I and my wive are Dutch and yes we have Dutch friends to, but also plenty Danish .
My first wive was Danish , so I had a start with her social group,I don’t know if your husband was maintaining his social group /friends .my 2e wive lives in DK from 2010 but she could not find a job.
We rented the local pub, and she been running that for 5 years, she knows about everyone, in that village.
I know that is no solution for you ,but don’t just give up . You seems to be a very lovely personality,and you should not have difficulty’s to find Danish friends.
@@williammccoy7127 I appreciate your positivity.
Don’t feel bad about danish stuff you don’t like. It would be weird if there wasn’t something you didn’t like.
Danish cuisine is traditionally molded around us being an agricultural nation. Food is mostly “designed” for working the field from dusk till dawn. You needed some sturdy food, and the food reflects that. Food for hard workers.
Today … it sort of switched to IT and tech oriented know-how.
That also reflects on the cuisine that are going through big transitions. NOMA being the flag ship, but also the more traditional danish food recipes are being renewed and reworked. Ingredients are still mostly the same, but they have been reinvented into sometimes unrecognisable recipes from their original dish.
Unfortunately written and spoken Danish have drifted so far apart that we need a complete revision of our written Danish. Sometimes I write "osse" instead of "også", "lisså" instead of "ligeså" and a few other things. On purpose. Germans normally speak like they write is my experience.
I love those 60's cabinets behind you! Every dane would tear it down and replace them. I don't get that
Americans move around a lot...We MUST be flexible...!
I recommend the Danish author Helle Helle (yes, that's her actual name!). Super simple language - seems almost simplistic - but sooo engaging and "you feel you're there". Her novels are relatively short and deals with (womens) life in Denmark outside of the bigger cities :-) How she manages to make normal-normal lifes so ecxiting I can't explain.
I have friends who lived in USA, they had hard time socialising there, most of them say American are very enthusiastic in their talks but in facts they are not that friendly, relationships are mostly superficial. So I guess friendship in USA and other countries has not the same meaning and definition. Italians and French struggle with food, not that good except if you have a high budget... so we'll. For sure, living in Italy or France in terms of food and socialising is not the same as living in Denmark or USA.
No.. Danes are quite the introvert. Here you have to seek out people and friendships, maybe by hobbies and "foreninger".
I'm sorry to hear about your bad experiences with making friends and acquaintances in Denmark. As a Dane I'm actually a bit embarrassed on behalf of my fellow countrymen. An open-minded and forthcoming person like you deserves better. I don't know the demografi of your town, but things might have turned out differently if you'd settled down in a bigger town. As far as I understand the city Viborg is rather close to your village. Maybe you should try to participate in activities there. Normally Danes are very open-minded to English speaking people simply because must of us like to speak English. My piece of advice is to keep on trying. Maybe you'll meet colleges if you get a new job. If you like singing you might join a choir. My best mate is English bye the way. Your Danish is getting better and better.😊 Best of luck.
9:27
Pork. A danish must-eat :oD. Not at good place for vegetarians.
Ris a la mande is actually danish
I think you should move to a bigger city (e.g. Århus) before you get depressed and before your kids get too old. To be forthright.
I hear what you are saying. We really like living in a small town for different reasons. We just need to find some friends who accept us for being outsiders.
So... There's a need for vegetarian food in "The Dark Jutland", aye? Wink wink, nudge nudge, know' I mean? Busy busy, business?
Vegetarer spiser da ikke fisk.
There are different types of vegetarians. You should google it! :)
Denmark not denmark 🙄🙄 D and not d
9:24
9:24