Some first thoughts on culture

Throughout the past week, I have learned enough Danish to navigate the meat aisle of the grocery store, ordered my first tryksnegel, and begun all of my classes. Each experience revealed a little more about the design and charm of Denmark. Initially I was focused on the similarities between Copenhagen and cities in the United States: Residents are wealthy and well-dressed, grocery stores and boutiques line the streetes of the suburb I live in, American movies are advertised on the billboards at the bus stops. Grasping these details helped me to connect with Copenhagen at a time when I expected to feel foreign. As I have become a little more comfortable, the differences between Danish and American culture that reveal themselves more readily.

The physician who is teaching my Human Health and Disease course provided a succint and beautiful description of the political system of Denmark. I know almost nothing about government, but I'll do my best to reiterate the points I found most relevant in a health care context. The government collects one of three levels of income tax from each citizen: low, medium, or high. Physicians fall into the high bracket, owing 56% of their income to the Danish government. The steep taxes pay for residency, education (from day care through graduate school, including medical school), health care, and other benefits. Disabled and chronically ill children are afforded not only hospital and home care, but special schools and medical equipment. Everyone over the age of 67 has a visiting caretaker assigned to them who aids in cleaning, bathing, and other chores. Nursing homes are provided for the elderly. No one is excepted. Even DIS students, once they collect their CPR or social security numbers at the local kommune, qualify for these provisions. The average work week for a Dane is 37 hours long, which explains why it's hard to find a cup of coffee at 8:00 am or 8:00 pm. Workers are required to take six weeks paid vacation, and new mothers and fathers have one year of maternity/paternity leave to share between them.

This regulated leisure leads an generally easy pace that can't be found in Boston or New York. Everyone stops at red lights. It's a serious fine, not to mention social taboo, to run across the crosswalk before the little green man lights up across the street. Because Danes seem to have everything taken care of, they can be perceived as standoffish or unwilling to hear the opinions of outsiders. Once you start talking, though, they seems to love to practice their English. I talked to some guy the other night who is designing silicon tweezers the size of chromosomes for his thesis at KU. (He knew a lot more English physics lingo than I do and clearly had a much better knowledge of fine American cinema, like Evan Almighty.) I think Danes are proud of the elegance of their country, but if you approach them, they become eager to make a connection.

Exploring the city alone or with friends has been a good way to get my bearings, but my classes will likely provide deeper insight into the Denmark's history and culture. My Danish class is headed to a few movies, a soccer game, and a Christmas lunch at the house of our teacher, Nina. (There are a lot of Ninas in Denmark. In every store or coffee shop I go into, I hear my name called, with the first syllable elongated and the second drawn to a quick halt.) The professor of my Jews in Europe course is bringing a famous Danish klezmer singer, a Holocaust documentary director, and the director of the Jewish Museum in Copenhagen to our classroom. My Human Health and Disease course meets twice a week at Amager Hospital, a general hospital on one of the southern islands of Denmark. Next week we'll be learning to take histories and conduct physical exams, an opportunity which is almost unavailable to undergraduates in the US.

I'm still in the "Honeymoon Period" on the U-curve of cultural adjustment. It's possible that my excitement could subside in the next few weeks. But considering our similar tastes and openness to each other's cultural differences, I think Denmark and I have a very happy marriage ahead of us.