A window to a culture

Last week I had a very introductory 5 day language class in my attempt to learn some Danish. Perhaps more so than in other cultures, the Danes seem to have a thick skin to get through before they will let you into their honest circles of what they feel and what being a Dane means to them. I don't want to learn danish for practical reasons, as the Danes speak conversational English almost without exception, even in Lemvig. My interest in this language in particular is rather to chisel away at the barrier so I can get a more genuine peek at what Danish culture is really about. If I don't want to be treated like a foreigner I need to not act like one.

On that note, it is a hard language with guttural noises that a life of English simply doesn't cater to. To my untrained eye, the Danes write more letters than are initially heard by my untrained foreign ear.

Some other cultural things Ive noted thus far (some verbatim from an orientation)

Denmark is a fairly non religious country, and Copenhagen is particularly agnostic. At a glance, this doesn't affect my largely internal existential ponderings on the subject. (In my head-maze I am currently gravitating to some spiritual intersection of a Pagan Buddhist Scientist.) However, one of the knocks on this land is its lack of diversity, and I wonder if there is a level of intolerance for religion that contributes to that. Perhaps it is not a bad thing to be intolerable of fanatical religious extremists, but how is the line between discrimination and open-mindedness walked..? And, how does this affect immigration into this country? I do have to admit that there is a clear homogeneous mix of dashing light skinned people.

As I live and learn here, I will try to maintain a healthy, albeit small, level of skepticism, understanding that despite the glow of the people and places, there are things which they have not perfected. It is always a healthy practice for me to not miss the deeper picture, and likewise here to temper my initial reaction of agreement and blatant envy.

skal (Cheers, pronounced like skoal)