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