The Danish Life
It’s been just over a week since I landed in Denmark and it’s already a much different way of life. As a place, it doesn’t feel that far from home. The air is cold, it’s raining all the time and the Danes are just as frosty as the British locals I’m used to.
Since being here it’s only been the induction week, so it’s very much ‘freshers’ right now. You’re assigned a Danish buddy before you go — thankfully mine was kind enough to pick me up when I arrived and delivered me to where I’ll be calling home for the next few months.
Since the semester hasn’t kicked in yet, here’s a few things I’ve learnt within my first week of kicking about the town:
- Everyone Drinks
I knew I would have to take part in the Danish Nightlife, I just don’t think anything could have prepared me for what was coming. There’s ‘freshers’ then there’s this. Aarhus University is huge for international students so there’s plenty of people from all around the world, so the best way to bond is to put a drink in their hand, a shot in the other, and just dance. Every single night.
- “I just want to travel and journal”
Then comes the awkward introductory days at the uni, having tours and meeting everyone sober. The most common phrase you will hear at least 16 times an hour, is: “I just want to travel and journal.” Everyone has hit the continent with their backpacks ready to jump on the next flight to wherever’s cheapest.
- Stereotypes
There’s such a mix of people you will meet, and some of them are exactly what you expect. There’s the purebred American’s, beachy haired Australian’s and the Italian Stallions. Everyone is also amazingly tall, blonde and beautiful.
- The Currency
So far, I haven’t grasped how it works. The conversion to Kroner is roughly £1 to 8.50 Kroner. So not only is that a hassle to figure out, you’re living in a house full of internationals who can’t help each other with their own conversions to US Dollars, Euros, Canadian Dollars and so many others. It’s very hard to convince yourself that when you see your grocery shop amount to 300, you don’t need to start furiously sweating, (it’s not as bad as you think!)
- The Food
At the moment, I have unfortunately struggled to find vegetarian food, they seem to love their meat here. They have a special pink hotdog covered in pickles as a national favourite! There’s plenty of cheeses, and fancy danish breads and pastries, as well as their popular street food which is more common to grab around town here instead of going to a restaurant. In Aarhus they have a huge indoor market of street food and local beers, filled to the brim!
It’s a cold and snowy place, but Aarhus has plenty of sights to see. Staying in a shared house, you don’t get a single moment to feel lonely, so far it’s just about embracing all the cultures and getting stuck in!
