There's a funny thing about language, where some days things feel like they're flowing beautifully and that one can understand nearly everything that comes their way, and the next day it's like the first time you've ever heard the tongue. I should've known, really, after such a stellar weekend, that it would have to come crashing back down around me in one way or another. Danish is so hard, and it's such an obstacle, that today I want to just sit down and cry and sob and maybe rip out some of my hair. It's like no matter how hard I try, at the end of the day, I'm always back to square one.
Despite my complaining, I've had a good time recently. Last weekend was my gymnasium party (the first one I've attended; the one before that I missed for intro camp). The prevalence of alcohol reminds me how foreign I am. There's a total difference in mindset while Danes are under the influence; they don't necessarily drink to get drunk. They drink because alcohol, to them, is a social tool; while sober, Danes are chillier than many, but after a drink or two I think it would be impossible to find an American that's any friendlier.
I stayed the night at a friend's that night, and the Sunday after was something of a comedy of errors. In Denmark, everything is closed on Sunday; only very recently has the law been repealed that required businesses to shut down on Sunday, and businesses are still adapting. We went to the zoo only to discover it was closed, and then to the mall, only to find that that too was shut down for the day. In the end, we wound up eating and watching poorly made scary movies late into the night.
While I miss America, and I'm still very proud to be an American, I've found that in a lot of ways, language conveniently not included, I fit in better here in Scandinavia than I ever did at home.
Tonight, I'm going to see a French movie at the cinema, with subtitles in Danish, which will probably be the biggest mindwarp of them all. Wish me luck?
<3
-Lex
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