Today is July 1st. One month from now my lease expires and this stretch of my New York life is over. Two weeks from then I start my first real employed job in Denmark. I say my first because while I've been working at a design company for around nine months now, I'm still an intern which is pockmarked by poor pay, no insurance and no business cards which is the deal-breaker. As of this moment I have no plane tickets, no place to live in Denmark and no real prospects, which is completely the opposite of my current New York situation. People keep asking me if I am nervous or excited yet, but I don't think it will hit me until I've been in Denmark for a while. It was the same way with moving to New York. You can go visit anywhere but one day you wake up in your bed knowing that this is your new home and it's not just a visit, that's when the nerves hit.
Once in Denmark I'll be living in
Aarhus (
map) which is a smallish beach city that isn't Copenhagen. I know almost nothing about it, but here is a small list of things I do know about Denmark, all observed from my Danish co-workers.
- They say 'ok' a lot, and I mean a lot. It makes sense, but it is unnerving to be telling a funny story and at the punchline you just get an 'ok.' They might think it's funny, but that is just their reaction for most things.
- Almost everyone is Denmark speaks English. Many also speak German since Denmark borders Germany to the north. German and Swedish are both a little similar to Danish to the point where you can sort of figure out what people are talking about.
- Throwing batteries in the trash is unfathomable. They have recycling specifically for that.
- Everyone is super-nice. I have yet to meet a Dane I dislike.
As a note, updates will probably be sporadic until I reach Denmark and actually have something to talk about.
