At ForeignersinDenmark.dk we have been debating this issue since it began in 2005 and although there is no consensus, there are very interesting point of views!

The latest forum topic about this issue is: Danish cartoonist attacked

Overall I thought the show was good, a little too “cinderella like”, but good – although Oprah did not mention that daycare is not free, it is a subsidized service and most of my friends with children are very happy with the quality of care their children receive, but not with the price, which is about 2300 kr (460 dollars) per month.

We are having a very good discussion on the forum about the show, check it out: Oprah Winfrey’s views on Denmark

Please leave a comment on this blog post about your thoughts of the Danish system, as shown by the women in the show.

Denmark, in my eyes, the land of “ok” customer service and overpaid employees have a lot to learn from how customer service should be handled –  the “Mc Donald’s smiley employees”, which is a reflection of one of the company’s core values (great customer service) does indeed pay off. But Trustpilot ratings can still help us decide what shops don’t deserve our business and which do.

The portal is available for the American, British, Romanian, Danish, Russian and German markets. It has also a resouceful tool, called Trustpilot Guard, which a person can download and then be able to see the “rating” of the shops shown on the search engine results.

Bra fitting

I apologise to the men reading this, and if you are of the kind who can’t even look in a catalogue with bras in without turning a shade of blush, I warn you to click away now.

Have they gone?  Good.

What is it with bras?  I’ve been looking for a white one for a while now, but all I can find is black or pastal shades.  I’ve got one bra which is my correct bra size…one…and it’s black so not really that convenient when I want to wear a white t-shirt.  And what is it with finding a bra that actually fits??  Take today as an example, I went into a well known underwear chain here in Aarhus today, and whilst the service seemed good, the two bras I tried whilst looking relatively ok, actually didn’t fit, yet the woman was determined that they did.  Thankfully, I know when a bra fits me or not, so it was a polite thank you but no thank you.  So it’s really not surprising to know that 8 in 10 women wear the wrong bra size, when you have supposedly trained staff saying they fit fine when they clearly don’t.

I’m not loving going bra shopping at the best of times anyway, I’d much rather do it in the comfort of my own home, however, that only works if you know your bra size and it hasn’t differed since your last purchase.  I recently ordered a mass of bras in various sizes, purely because I knew that my cup size had increased, but I couldn’t be sure by how much.  So, out of 15 bras, I ended up with one!  One bra that fitted, and worse still I am now having to wear E cup.  It wasn’t a good day for me that day.  Most women would kill for a big bust, me, I was more than happy with my C cup of years ago, then I went up a cup to a D.  It was rocky times but I got used to it, as long as I didn’t end up a DD (E), I was happy.  So of course, now I’m a DD (E).  I’m coming to accept the change, that’s all I’ll say on the matter.

But with this change, I’m coming to realise that there seems to be a threshold with bra design; up to D cup, and you get “yes here you go madam, here is the racy, lacy bits of stuff you’d like to try”, however DD (E) and above and you get “here you go madam, here’s the support you need”.  Don’t get me wrong there has been a lot of progression in design for the ‘larger’ breasted woman, and many stores have now cottoned on that us women who happen to be well-endowed, want to feel sexy, not that we’ve got half a ton of scaffolding and half your mum’s sheeting rapped round your chest!   But still, why is it that I try most bras on, and end up having the centre panel reaching to my chin, purely because I need a bigger cup size?  Eh, what’s with that?  Not only do I look like, well, not girly or sexy at all, but it also is a horrible reminder of the style of bras’ my mum wears…and I’m just not ready to go there yet at 28!!

Ladies, are you perhaps 1 of the 8 who wear the wrong bra size?  Check out http://www.bravissimo.com/perfectfit/ as they have a guide on what to look out for when wearing bras and trying them on.

Cultivating tomatoes in its original bag

Right now is the perfect time of the year to teach your children about plants – with the focus of environmental issues in the past few years, children in most countries certainly learn the basics about how important it is to preserve nature and many schools actually have gardens where children learn to plant fruits and vegetables.

So, if the schools are already doing it, why is it important that you do it with them? Well, besides having fresh vegetables and fruits without chemicals, this is an opportunity to teach your children how to nurture life and to set a good example for them. Your children will take pride that what they are learning in school is being put into practice at home and that they are eating the results!

So, if you have a garden, get the little ones away from the computer and enjoy a beautiful summer day, while teaching them precious life lessons!

My pick is tomato because they are easy to grow and cultivate, are very nutritious and are ideal for this time of the year.

If you are new to gardening, I recommend you start with grown plants instead of seeds – imagine the frustration of your child if the seeds never grow or die shortly after! Growing plants from seed is an exciting experience for children (and adults), so you should definitely save this idea for next summer.

Step by step instructions on how to cultivate tomato from grown plants:

1. Buy tomato plants in a bag: for a first timer, buying plants that come in a bag with fertilizer is best because the soil is prepared with what’s ideal for the plant and because it keeps the plants “higher” from the ground and away from parasites. These bags are illustrated on the picture to the right.
2. Keep them in the original bag.
3. Ask the shop if the plant is used to being outside during the night. If they are, you can just put them outside and leave them there. If they are not used to that, they need to gradually get used to the change of temperature. In this case, leave them outside during the day and put them in a shed during the night for a few days. Each day prolonging their “stay”outside. To save all this trouble, try purchasing a plant that is already used to that.


Tomato plant

4. Place a stake on each tomato plant and tie the plant to it (loosely). That will make sure the plant grows straight up.
5. Place the plants in a location where there is plenty of sun. If you have a greenhouse, even better – the plants will grow faster and the tomatoes will be sweeter.
6. Water daily. Tomato plants can die quickly if the soil is dry.
7. If there are too many birds around, place a tulle or a plastic bag around the plant (in this case, make small holes on the plastic. Birds also need their food and are an enchantment on any garden, so leaving a tomato plant uncovered just for them is appreciated and is another way to teach children about responsibility with people and animals around us.
8. Pruning: when you can see yellow flowers and/or a few tomatoes, cut of branches of the plant that doesn’t have any flowers or tomatoes. That will allow the plant to concentrate its energy on the tomatoes that will grow – each flower means one tomato, that’s why you should not cut any out.
9. Enjoy them!

Make sure you do each step with your children, explaining the “whys” of each step.

Even if you don’t have children, the nutritious value of tomatoes should be enough reason to cultivate them. Tomato is the best source of lycopene, an antioxidant that helps to prevent several types of cancers, by protecting the cells from oxygen damage. They are also a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A and fiber.

If space is an issue, you can try to plant strawberry plants in a container. I think this could be an option for an apartment, but I haven’t tried it. One tip with strawberries: don’t over water the plants, because the strawberries will grow too fast, but will lack flavor.

Here is a video I found that shows in details how to plant strawberries in a container

Source: Whfoods.com

Raps field in the country side, Denmark

I love Denmark.  I am thrilled to be in this country and I can’t wait to know more and learn more every day.  I have been here since November 2008.  People tell me to wait, that the shoe will drop eventually, and that I will be just as miserable as most of the foreigners here before too long.  I am happy to say that I have new wonderful experiences to report on the daily basis and I have finally given up expecting that other shoe to drop.

I came here from one of the most beautiful places in the world, Northern California.  I loved it there, but there was always something missing.  I always felt like I couldn’t ever have all that I wanted, and I am not talking about material possessions.  We were, as most Americans, living way beyond our means.  We had no time to be together as a family, working round the clock to support our enormous outgoings.  We were always stressed out and very tense.

Why Denmark?  Well, my husband just happens to be from this wonderful country.  We moved here for our children to have a better, simpler and safer childhood with their family around.  My family unfortunately has shrunk down to just my mom, my dad and my brother and soon my dad will be moving to Thailand.  So, needless to say, we wanted our children to grow up around their cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents and extended family.

We came here to get out of the rat race and to have some security in case things should take a downturn.  We anticipated it being difficult to get a job but we had no idea it would take 6 months of using up all of our savings and finally asking for help.  Now, fortunately, things are changing and we are slowly getting back up onto our feet.  The economy tanked right after we made our decision to move, so it has been a rough road to say the least.

This country, no matter what people want to say, is great, and no one can tell me otherwise.  It came through for us when we needed it the most.  Since there is no childcare available in my area, they are paying me to take care of my children so I do not put them in an institution.  I have 3 children ages 1, 3 and 5.  I am not ready to give them up anyway, so now I have another year to figure out what I am going to do and make some contacts meanwhile for when I am ready to get back into singing.  They are also paying for my husband to get another degree so he can have the latest industry knowledge in his field.  He has finally found a good job to earn enough money to get us through this transition so we can start contributing a bit.  There is also free medical care for all of us and free dental care for my kids up until they are 18.  The things I just mentioned are a huge weight off of our shoulders.  In the US we were self employed and paid so much towards doctor’s bills, medical insurance and dental bills.  Here, all we have to worry about is putting food on the table and paying rent.  This means that we can spend that family time together that we were aching for back in the states.

There are good and bad things about any country that you may want to live in, but I have always had a love affair with Europe and always hoped to make it my home someday.   I love learning another language, the changing seasons, the raps fields in the Spring, the birds singing, the emphasis on family, the people here, the simple life and just being able to appreciate all of my blessings.  I didn’t have that luxury back in California.

I just wanted to share my positive story to show another side of the coin. It is not easy to move to another country and everyone is going to have their own experience, but I love it here and am very happy with my new life in Denmark.  Living day to day and appreciating all that I have, finally makes it easy for me to breathe again, and for that I am very grateful!

Do all mothers in Denmark do this? NOPE, but plenty do.

Is it socially acceptable to smoke in front of small children (not just in outside areas) in Denmark? Well, THAT I would like to ask Danes. My impression is that it is, since I don’t see people staring at such parents or behaving any different around them.

This behavior does surprise me. In a society that all get a good education and the effects of cigarettes are widely known, how can this still happen so often?

Jelling is a small town north of Vejle, in Jutland, with a population of just 3200. The history goes all the way back to the Viking age, where it was home to some of the first kings of Denmark.

Here is a picture of the church, which is in the center of the city, right in front of the museum and next to the Runesten:

The only museum in Jelling, Kongernes Jelling, where information about the king’s stones are:

Ya, I know it must seem creepy to take pictures of graves, but in Denmark, graves around churches are so well keep and beautiful, that I just can’t resist:

I think these are about the kings? 

A picture of where the king and queen, Gorm and Thyra, were buried. Thyra was buried before her husband, but the date is unknown. Gornm was burried in 958:

Here is me, in front of the Jelling stones. The stones are a tribute to the deceased and were a common tribute paid to kings in the past:

More pictures of the church:

A ladybug that was asking to be photographed  

A beautiful flower bed right in front of the museum and church:

Now, funnily enough, I’d never really given this much thought other than us (me and the Mr) agreeing that we’d give Denmark at least 2 years.  But now, I have been thinking about it and asking myself at what point will we give up; when I’ve applied for over 200 jobs and not got anything?, when we’ve been here over 2 years?, when the dark winter weather scares us off completely?  Honestly, I don’t know the answer and I’m not sure anyone can predict the cataliste that makes someone throw the towel in.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been points within the first 6 months, where I was just saying “that’s it, I’ve had enough…no more!”.  There were days when we discussed the practicalities of moving back, but for me it was always the cost of the furniture moving back that stopped me (that and my whopping great pride!), but as Mr said “it’s only money”.  And I guess he’s right, in the scheme of things, you can’t put a price on happiness.  So I guess that’s my answer, if we got to the point where either of us were completely miserable, then we’d make the move back.

In the meantime, I keep learning the dansk, keep applying for jobs and get buoyer’d by the success stores.

Roll on 12 months later, and we are now in the same position, in that we have to move home again (minus the moving country of course!).  The difference being, I definitely don’t feel in control.  As the non natural danish speaker, I’ve been forced to relegate the responsibility of contacting landlords about potential properties to the Mr (I don’t want to put any off by speaking English or my very bad Danish to them)…problem is, his idea of timing on ‘need to do’ things is very different to mine.  Whereas, I’m very much a doer, he’s a thinker, and freely admits that…the result…a very stressed out wife!

At this point, we’ve only seen two houses, both of which have really turned out to be too small for our needs.  So from this we’ve (or should I say I’ve) learnt that a) we probably need at least 100kvm, b) if we decide to move out further to pay less rent, we will then make up the different in travel costs to and from work/school and 3) that means (well at least this is my opinion) we need to extend our original budget slightly as whilst the initial rent will be more than we planned, at least we won’t have the petrol/bus/train costs.  Mr doesn’t buy this though, he’s of the opinion that there’s no panic and we have two months (yes that’s true), and there are bound to be houses that come up in convenient locations, within our budget (possibly, but as rare as hens teeth).  I guess at some point one of us is going to be proved wrong. 

So, no doubt you will be getting a number of updates over the next two months, where I’ll be updating on the number of: bitten tongues, tempers raised and quite possibly, tears.  Hey ho!

Additional info:

For those who just happen to be house/flat searching at the moment, I’ve included some good to know places to search.

www.boligportal.dk - this is a website where you can search and view properties and then contact the landlords direct either by email or by phone.  Be warned that to be able to contact the landlords with the most recently posted properties, you will have to pay 350kr which lasts 2 months.

www.dba.dk – Den Blå Avis is the online version of a advertising paper, and covers the whole of Denmark, again you can search based on location and other requirements.

Local free papers – As I’m in Aarhus, I’ve been checking out Aarhus Onsdag which gets delivered every Wednesday.  There are sometimes online versions too.

Notice boards – these are sometimes forgotten as good sources for places to rent.  So check out the notice boards in your local supermarkets, library and the like…you never know!

There are probably loads of other places to look too, so if anyone has any suggests, feel free to add them in the comments.  Thanks.