What we already had known and what we didn’t about Denmark and Danes…

On Tuesday the 3rd of February we had a lesson with Jette; it called Cultural dimension, where we discussed the aspects of Danish culture.
First everybody had to give a statement what we had already known about Denmark. It was a sort of brainstorming.
The statements were:

• Demark has a Queen: Margaret II.
• Danes said "no" to the Euro
• Secure and safe society
• Danes live in monarchy
• Danes' ansestors are the vikings
• H. C. Andersen, the world-famous fairy tales writer, was born in Denmark, in Odense
• Denmark consists of more than 300 islands
• The change of the Guard takes place in Copenhagen
• Christiania - part of Copenhagen, used to be a military area - owned by an independent community
• The happiest nation in Europe
• Danes are always precise
  

After this task we were diveded to three groups and we had to prepare posters of Denmark and the Danes. We could use coloured papers, scissors, glue, crayons, pencils…etc. All of the groups expressed their feelings and knowledge about Denmark.

I worked with Anja and Zep and we tried to put everything what we had already known or experienced: smiling faces, the cosy and old houses, the Little Mermaid, one of H.C. Andersen book, a can of Carlsberg, a scarf and a pair of gloves, LEGO, a windmill, vikings, a ferry (ensure the connection between the islands), a clock, the Danish flag,…etc.




Finally all of the groups had to explain what they put to their posters and why.






On Monday the 9th – in the same class – we discussed the results of the „Questionnaire about Denmark”. We learnt some new things about Denmark and the Danes, such as:

• Danes favourite meal is "frikadeller" (fried meat balls).
• It cause a suprise, if a man opens the door for a woman, entering a restaurant
• Danes dance around the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve
• The national animal of Denmark is the swan
• There is an "unwritten law" - it called Jante law - about people's success and wealth, which says people should not bother about them
• If Danes put the Danish flag on the dining table, it means somebody's birthday
• If you talking to your teacher, you should be prepared for irony
• You should address your teachers by their first name
• A typical Danish conversation opener is speaking about the weather
• Danes like hyggeling. Hygge is a sort of "cosiness", but it means little bit more. It's about being with the family or friends, have fun together and creating intimacy, a special atmosphere by candles, lightings
• Danes like to make joke out of misunderstoods
• Danes queue by a number system in bakery, pharmacy, post office, ...etc.
• Denmark is famous for its own dairy products
• The Tivoli is one of the most famous and traditional amusement park all over the world in Copenhagen