School in Denmark & more

Haloooooooo :)

Well I have been in denmark more than 6 FREAKING months, that means that I've less than the half of my exchange to do 29413040418 things! and one of them is write a bit more in this blog.

Tak&Polite culture: In Denmark is really ussual to thanks for almost everything: Tak for tour, tak for i aften, tak for film, tak , tak , tak and the most important one "tak for mad". I think it's a really nice sign, sometimes I forget to say thank you and it can turns a bit awkward, the other day I gave a candy to a boy and he said  to me "tak" like 4 times, and then I realized that he was waiting for me to say "your welcome", and the truth is that I always forget to say your welcome, I just smile , but here almost anyone forget it, so try to remember it! :). Other situation have relation with the language, in english and in spanish we have the word "please" (por favor på spansk) so ussually I just give and order and then I add "please" at the end, but here the people have a really polite way to ask and answer, they don't ask you "give me the water, please" it's more like "will you, maybe, perhaps, would like, if you don't  mind, give me the water?" ...Well okay, it is just like "will you pass me the water?"  So it's import that you always ask in a really polite way because they don't use the word "please" , not in danish (jeg tænker jeg har hørt "venligst" ...aldrig).

School: I know I wrote about the school in my "100 days" post, but after 100 days more,  I have more experience. first of all some random info (pd: it's not complety right but thats how I  see it)

Chilean school:                                                    Danish school:

Uniform:  ✓                                                             Uniform:  X
personal computers:  X                                            Personal computers:  ✓
talking in class:  ✓                                                   Talking in class:  X
number of students:  +27                                        Number of students: -30
Change classroom:  X                                             Change classroom:  ✓
close relationship with teachers:  ✓                          Close relationshop with teachers:  X
activities after the school in the school:  ✓                Activites after the school in the school:  X
parties with alcohol:  X                                            Parties with alcohol:  ✓
alcohol:  X                                                              Alcohol:  ✓
showers together:     X                                            Showers together:  ✓
freedom:  X                                                            Freedom:  ✓
call the teachers by their name:  X                           Call the teachers by their name:  ✓
call the teachers "not by their name":  ✓                  Call the teachers "not by their name":  X
nursing:  ✓                                                             Nursing:  X
technical service:  X                                                Technical service:  ✓

I'm not sure if I like or not the school here in Denmark, is just really different and the school in Chile is what I was used to and what it is "normal" for me, there are thing that I miss from my old school, I miss the relationship that the students have with the assistants in the school (cleaning lady/man) . I used to love that every moring the "aunt" Yasna say Hi to me with a nice  smile at the school gate, or have a nice chat with the uncle José or listen the uncle Enrique sing :) But I really like that here we have more freedon, the student doesn't depend of the parents, like we do in Chile, here if you are not going to the next class, or you are leaving in the middle of the day, you don't have to explain to anyone, if you do something wrong, you have to fix it, not your parents.

My feeling about the school are mixed, I like to be here (right now I'm in the school while I write this) but also sometimes is the place where I feel worst, it depends of your personality, the ones who knows me, know that I like to be in the top of almost everything, I like to participate in almost everything, I like to feel intelligent and I don't like to study, so here sometimes I feel really good, I think I love lunch time when I talk with my classmates and laugh and eat <3 but I hate when I'm in a group trying to work in the class and I just can't, it is the worst feeling for me, sometimes I feel useless or just a weight over the shoulders of my classmates, even when I understand what their are talking about and I have already learn about it in Chile, but translate to english is not always that easy and it is even worst to danish. The important is try to find your own way to fit in the class, always have the best attitud  to help and participate even when you think that you can't :) at least I think that works for me.

Freedom under responsability: (frihed under ansvar) One of the thing that I really appreciate of denmark it's the freedom under responsability, danish people (young people) have lot more freedom that chileans, but they also know how to use it, and that's the big difference, if you give freedom to a Chilean probably it's going to abuse of it and also do something wrong with it (not always), but when you give a danish person the same freedom or more, they know the responsability that they have with it. I'll say that young people here in Denmark is more sexually active, but the number of young mothers is lower than ours, because they understand the responsability that sex has. This is just an example.

random fact: some danish people when turn 18 start to pay to their parent if they live in the house. 

Thank you for reading...I'll come back soon :)


Venecia Isabel

Talking about MYSELF.(200 days)

When I decided to become an exchang student it was for  a lot of reasons, but after being here I learned wich ones are my real motives to be here, to be wath I'm  now, and to risk it all. A big part of this year is about finding myself, understanding myself, knowing myself, technically is the most selfish year of my life because it's about myself, the first thing that a lot of exchange students answer when someone ask them "why ?" is "because I want to learn a new culture"..That was my answerd too, and probably when I don't want to explain I'll say the same thing, but now I think about it and I was really wrong, YES I want to learn a new culture, a new language, but it's not just about that, it's also about yourself, or, well, myself. I've change, I've grow up, and I've feel like the smallest baby in this world, I've been a duck in the ocean (I know what I mean). Sometimes it's hard and others is really easy. I've find happiness and sadness, company and loneniless, words and pure silence, real smiles and fake smiles, I've found all of this just in myself and in my environment. When the duck is in the lagoon, is just a duck, when the duck is in the ocean...What the fuck is doing there?
I read in my last post that I try to don't do some stuff that I used because danish people doesn't, and after talking with one of my classmates  weeks ago I noticed that I was making a hugh mistake, I was stoping to be myself just because I wasn't sure of how my new friends will react, hugh mistake, so now I try to don't stop been me, it's difficult sometimes, because I really don't know how to and I feel so tired of trying, but I'll not quit just because I'm tired, there are soooo many things that I just don't understand. I'm not alone in  this country, the people always ask me "and you came alone to Denmark?" in a way I did, but now, I'm not alone anymore, it happens to me that I have my exchange students friends, but for me they are  Chile, they are a piece of Chile in Denmark, even when they aren't chileans, that's what they mean to me, also I have all the amazing danish people that I've meet, some of them are difficult to get to know, but once that the hugh wall in front of them start to fall everything turns better :)
Sometimes even with all the people that is around me I feel like no one is there, everyone have their own life and maybe I'm invited to go  in, but I'm not there, islike  feeling alone when you are in the middle of a crowd, that's nobody's fault, not even mine, because most of the time I feel surrounded of people who wants to meet me, people asking how am I, and everyones knows that I'm fine or doing it great and it's true, but not everyday it's like that, if I'm in silence and not smiling you can ask, I'll say the truth becuase it's really easy to know when something goes wrong with me, a friend  doesn't treat you like a helpless baby, they treat you like a friend, that you care of, but doesn't feel sorry for them.

To survive in the danish society first of all you have to be pacient, I was used that after 5 minuts talking with someone we will look like best friends, making jokes and laughing really loud, cause I'm a really noisy person, but here it takes time, here you have to give the first step. Ussually I have no filter, wich sometimes is not good, but I think , here, for me, have been really useful, because I have showed to some of them that I don't bite, that I just want them to say "hello!" or "bye" , I'm just asking them for the easist thing, but also to the ones that I feel more "confortable" I will just ask to them for a hug, because here you have to say what you want or need to get it.. Hugh mistakes is wait for the people to realize what do you want when you haven't even open your mouth to ask for it.

I'm happy. I feel that my exchange year have been worth it, the only thing right now that I really want to improve is my danish, now, finally I feel ready to give the big step of talking more danish, or at least trying, it is hard for me, I think it is principally because in Chile we make fun of everything, even more of the mistakes, and I'm afraid of feeling embarrassed, but guess what! Danish people have a really good attitude when you try to learn their language, even if you sound really stupid, they will be happy to correct you or teach you :)

Thank you for reading.

Venecia*Isabel