Here in Denmark, everything is written in Danish. It seems obvious, eventhough you don’t understand what it means before you enter the country and try to live in.

Most danish people  speak a very good English, plus sometimes an other language (German, French, Swedish or Norwegian…) although at a lower level. But as soon as you’re not anymore a tourist, problems begin !

Train schedules, text on food boxes, contracts… Everything is in danish ! And even, in “danish way”, that means in some sort of typical style, impossible to describe but so important since it is part of the culture.

I consider myself as a “social disabled person”. Just because I can’t interact and involve myself really well !

But I feel it to be normal. After all, it’s Denmark. It’s my job to introduce myself, learn the culture and language. Yet, it would really be a good thing to me to have an English version of some texts / documents / pages.

One of the first things I did as soon as I arrived here was to check if I could have danish courses. Guess which answer I get ?

Do you have a CPR number ? Do you have a yellow card ?

Unbelievable isn’t it ? So I throw other for a time.

Stjerne Dansk

By some sort of random luck, I found Stjerne Dansk. These are people offering free danish courses.

The first  day I came, I felt weird discovering a building obviously religious (I though a protestant temple or a synagogue first), then I though I should try, and if someone would speak me about creationism, or disrupt me from my social humanist liberal belief, I would just turn angry, then leave the place slashing the door in my own style. Yet, they really are a religious organism, but good people, really tolerant, welcoming everybody from whatever culture or religion they are ! So glad to meet them !

Every wednesday, they organize a meal with some of the people learning there, they do other things, like playing or go IKEA. It’s fun !

Lær Dansk

As soon as I received my yellow card, I got to the jobcenter to register as a jobseeker, and so, be able to go the official danish courses at Lær Dansk. It’s an official organism appointed by the danish state to furnish danish language courses to foreign people. I could get 3 year of free danish courses ! But, I didn’t received any answer yet from them, so I can’t say anything !