Before coming to Copenhagen, I naively assumed that most Danes spoke English in their daily conversations. I thought that since people can speak English, I would be hearing it on the buses and on the streets, but Danish is the main language in Copenhagen and that has taken a little getting used to. Danes begin taking English in the third grade and continue with it throughout their schooling. Even when they have taken the courses, Danes have varying knowledge of English. I have spoken with people who have perfect pronunciation and others who struggle with certain words. The language barrier has been a challenge. I have learned patience and how to read people’s facial expressions and body language.
Since my host family works so diligently to communicate with me in English, I think it is only fair that I learn some Danish. My host family owns a pony and today, I had the privilege of riding it. Its name is Charmeur. I asked my host sister how to pronounce it about ten times and sounded very foolish each time while she was giggling. So maybe I won’t be having conversations in Danish anytime soon, but at least I can learn some basics like “how are you” and “thank you.”
I have enjoyed my classes so far. The first few days are always the best when homework is not being piled on. In my Child Diversity and Development course, we are learning about the differences between the Danish and U.S. education systems. One interesting difference is that Kindergarten is less structured in Nordic countries. Children are left to play and explore on their own. In some Kindergarten classrooms there are even rooms where adults are not allowed and the children are left to play. That is something that would definitely not be available in U.S. classrooms. Also, for the lego-lovers in the world, another fun fact is that the name for LEGO came from the Danish word “leg” which means play.
