Day 3 in Copenhagen was a lovely one. Three of my hallmates and I attended a lecture about dating, gender, and sexuality in Denmark, which was fascinating to say the least. The lecturer explained that Danes operate under an idea called "frisind," which translates most closely to free-spiritedness or open-mindedness, meaning they feel comfortable talking about many topics at the dinner table that Americans would undoubtedly deem obscene. One of the guys in the lecture asked if it was normal that his host dad walks around in his undergarments and she said ... (drum roll please) ... "Yes! That is perfectly normal, actually." It was fascinating to learn about the completely different social norms that exist among Danes as opposed to those of Americans. We also learned that Danes don't really understand what Americans mean by the concept of "dating," i.e., long-term, monogamous relationships are far less common among Danes around our age than they are among Americans - the dating scene is much more "casual" and "open," if you will. Part of this is due to the openness with which Danish parents discuss maturing, sexuality, and relationships with their children when they are as young as 8 years of age ... a TOTAL departure from the "hush, hush" nature of such topics in American familial and social settings. Homosexuality in Denmark is also approached extremely differently than it is in America and exploration and self-discovery of this sort are not only accepted, but encouraged. The lecturer informed us that a DIS student last year said that in America, she identified herself primarily by her sexual orientation and her race, both of which were viewed in her hometown as "abnormal." However, because of the aforementioned "frisind," this student was able to identify herself solely as an American among Danes while participating in DIS and finally felt a sense of national identity that she had not felt in 20 years, which was amazing to me.
After our lecture, we went to pick up our textbooks (no way to spice that one up ...) and went to buy school supplies, which I will admit, are a guilty indulgence of mine. The store we went to was, in Copenhagen style, totally chic. This store seemed to be the Danish version of the American "dollar store," only it was actually, well, nice (not to in any way insult the fine institution that is Dollar General). I bought a very random assortment of goods, including a lovely glass cup with apples on it in which I can store pens, markers, etc. (Yes, I know .. yet another fascinating anecdote). Anywho, my point here is that everything (even highlighters and sticky notes) is more fashionable when purchased in Denmark. Even cowboy boots look (almost) edgy [See image below].
This afternoon, a new friend and I went to the orientation for our academic program, Communications & Mass Media. The course sounds like it is going to be super interesting. In a few weeks, we are traveling to the Danish mainland for a short study tour and will go to London for a week in October to explore the mass media world there.
The highlight of my day occurred when I was able to successfully navigate from DIS to my residence hall with minimal guidance from others and what I feel was an appropriate amount of map usage for an American who has been living in Copenhagen for less than a week. We had to walk because of bus construction issues, but I will be sure to post some fun facts about my first public transport experience as soon as ir occurs (expect this fascinating blurb to be released sometime early next month).
That is all for now. I appreciate your support as I make my presence known in the blogosphere.
Farvel!
-a.b.s
ord af dagen: "frisind" = "liberalism"
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