First thing I noticed which aroused my anxiety is the language. Even though most Danes could speak English, all the written notification, product packaging and letters are written in Danish. I had quite a hard time going to a supermarket for the first time, because I don't know what Danish word for sugar, flour, chicken, beef, etc. It makes shopping for groceries takes longer time than it has to be, because we have to ask the staff in order to be sure, we buy the correct products. I'm a little bit frustrated for a while, because we didn't have internet connection at the first 3 weeks nor any Danish-English dictionary. Hence, what I did is taking a note from supermarket brochure, the Danish word for groceries product they published, because they put pictures on it. Another time, I went to a restaurant which has bilingual menu and I put a note of the Danish word for the food. It helps me understand the name of products better when going to supermarket.
Another thing different from home is the ignorance of the people in here. I was being told that when you are in a bus or train, don't expect people give you a seat because you are pregnant because the people here don't have that kind of attitude. Yet, it is true, they even don't prioritize the elderly to seat when in a bus or train. The ignorance may cause by the high rate of individuality of the people, because in Denmark, everyone lives on their own since they are teenager. It also appears in the neighborhood, while back in Jakarta, we mostly know who our neighbors are, in here people don't get use to know their neighbors. I found it a little bit awkward, because what if something bad happen and you are alone in the apartment. The closest person that can help you is your neighbor, right? It makes me think, no wonder people often said that Indonesian people are the friendliest people, because compared to European, yes we definitely more caring to one another.
There are still many things way much different than the culture I grew up with, but perhaps the above two are the most influenced factors. Luckily I didn't feel sorrow of missing home, family and friends too deeply or having any depression, like many people do when experiencing culture shock. Well, I guess we all just need some adjustment time in a new society, so I just take the positive side and learn how to live like locals do if it is a good thing and still maintain the good culture from back home. I am going to study Danish, if I get a seat in next month class, hopefully it will make the anxiety slowly diminished. While for the ignorance thing, I just accept it as the way they live and there's nothing we can do to change it, but I wish I don't change into one of them and of course I will teach my kid to have friendly attitude and emphatic.
Cheers,
Indispensable Lady
Yanaa,why dont u buy english-danish dictionary in indo?in Times bookstore maybe?hehehe...but still,I am so excited to hear your story there.thats why when yesterday u tell me bout this blog,I surfed here immediately :D
ReplyDeleteSemangat yaa,yana n tian.salute to both of u,who face 2 major changes this year,your moving and your pregnancy thing.must be hard for you,rite?even me,who only separated different cities from my parents,I usually miss n need them so much.I can imagine how to be you,darling...But I know you,you always have ability to change this difficulties to be wonderful journey ;)
Btw,I am surprise knowing your story about people ignorance there.Bukannya Denmark tu negara paling happy sedunia,it supposed to be the person very friendly ga si? But the most important thing,your family n you will not change to one of them? ;)
Udah ah,,mau baca2 postingan laiin..:D
C U
Yesss...I'm also quite surprised, Ta..and do not believe until I've experienced one :-D Yup..I really wish we won't turn into one.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading my blog and leave comment. Infact, that is my first comment! Yippie!
Enjoy your reading :)
Do you want the pocket English-Danish dictionary I have? I don't use it anymore, and if you ever feel the need to ask to translate anything or ask about the rules, system here, don't hesitate to contact me
ReplyDelete@ This Indonesian: Thank you! Already have the internet now, so I can use google translate, even though sometimes the translation a little bit awkward. But surely will come to you if I have difficulties in understanding the system here :)
ReplyDeletega jauh beda sama di China, even di kota2 besarnya :D -bolo-
ReplyDelete"Well, I guess we all just need some adjustment time in a new society, so I just take the positive side and learn how to live like locals do if it is a good thing and still maintain the good culture from back home."
ReplyDeleteThat's probably the healthiest attitude towards culture shock. And to be honest, I think "culture shock" is an unfairly negative term because it gets applied to anything that's different. And different doesn't have to be a bad thing. I've experience some wonderfully different things to England, things that I'd take back with me if I could. I've also experienced different things that I've absolutely hated. But when it comes down to it, there's no country in the world that gets everything wrong. And there's no country in the world that gets everything right either, my own included. The difference is that I've had my entire lifetime up until now to get accustomed to the things I don't like about England. They're normal, everyday things, most of them I barely even notice. But if I were to move abroad, the things that annoyed me would be different, unfamiliar. It would take a while before they felt normal, but they would, given time.
Fair enough, I've never lived abroad, so my perspective may not be worth that much. But the way I see it is that there must have been something compelling you to take the leap to move abroad, something powerful. Otherwise going through the faff of sorting visas, passports, overseas medical insurance and everything else just wouldn't be worth it. Something was worth taking all that trouble, so it might help to keep that as close to your heart as possible, particularly when faced with the things you don't like.
Thank you Becky for sharing your thoughts. I love your comments about one thing powerful that encouraged us to move here. That is totally true, it is our dream to live abroad, especially in a country where family is a priority and you could easily find open spaces for your kids. That's what makes all the sacrifices are worth while :)
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