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Allotment Gardens: 5/19/2012 Having never been exposed to anything like this before, at first glance, I thought this was where the underprivileged Danes lived. Most of these areas are located beside or near the train tracks on the outskirts of the cities and towns. I was also seeing these areas in the dead of winter when there wasn't a lot going on and they looked disheveled and unkempt.
However, I quickly learned that these small plots of land are highly sought after and coveted spaces. They look a lot different in the spring and summer months, lush, green and full of life. These are Allotment Gardens.
Land is subdivided into several hundreds of small parcels that range between 50 to 400 square meters and are assigned to individuals or families. The plots can only be used to grow fruits and vegetables and flowers for that individuals use. There is a small membership fee paid to an association. This fee covers the cost of rubbish collection, bringing in dirt and mulch and many other things.
Benefits to Allotment Gardening:
- for the community a better quality of urban life through the reduction of noise, the binding of dust, the establishment of open green spaces in densely populated areas;
- for the environment the conservation of biotopes and the creation of linked biotopes;
- for families a meaningful leisure activity and the personal experience of sowing, growing, cultivating and harvesting healthy vegetables amidst high-rise buildings and the concrete jungle;
- for children and adolescents a place to play, communicate and to discover nature and its wonders;
- for working people relaxation from the stress of work;
- for the unemployed the feeling of being useful and not excluded as well as a supply of fresh vegetables at minimum cost;
- for immigrant families a possibility of communication and better integration in their host country;
- for disabled persons a place enabling them to participate in social life, to establish contacts and overcome loneliness;
- for senior citizens a place of communication with persons having the same interests as well as an opportunity of self-fulfillment during the period of retirement.
For history and how it all began visit: http://www.cityfarmer.org/DenmarkHistory.html
Take a Ticket, Please: 4/21/2012 Just inside of the door at the bank, post office, pharmacy, and I imagine many other institutions, you will find an automated kiosk that will spit out a numbered ticket. When entering these establishments, you want to approach this nifty, little machine and print out a ticket...a ticket that tells you your place in line.
Funny thing, when we first arrived in Denmark, I went to the post office to collect a package and didn't understand the "rules". I proceeded to get in line, and wondered why various people kept jumping ahead of me, while I never seemed to advance. I knew there must be something that I wasn't doing "right" and in a moment of observing, noticed the ticket kiosk. Once I printed my ticket, I was cued and took care of my business.
Is this effective? I think the Danes have something here!! No more jumping lines, confusion over who is next, or standing in long lines. Have a seat and wait for your number to be called...read a book, check your messages, play Words With Friends...no worry, you'll be called.
Can I still let the sweet, little, old lady go in front of me?? SURE...we just swap tickets!!
Peaches and Coconuts: 3/5/2012 Before we ever stepped foot outside of the United States, we were taught in our cultural awareness classes that "Americans were like peaches and Danes were like coconuts." What does that mean?? Well, basically, Americans are easy to get to know at first, thus they are like a peach; soft and penetrable. However, as welcoming as they start out being, they will only open up and let you in to a certain point and then it becomes tougher to break through the barriers, like the pit inside the peach. On the other hand, Danes are said to be like coconuts, hard to get to know, and won't let you in at first, but once they do, your friendship is everlasting....
So, before we ever came to Denmark, Randell, the boys and I thought we would never be able to get to know any Danish people or have any Danish friends. Boy, how that analogy has proven to be wrong!!
First of all, I would say 90% of all Danes speak English. They are taught in school. If you run across one that doesn't speak it, they are usually from the older generations and were not taught English at the time they were in school. Second, they may not start a conversation, but I have talked to so many Danes and they have talked with me. It's true that they may seem "stand-off-ish" in the beginning, when that happens, I smile, greet them and then have a conversation. No one has ever just stood there staring at me like I had 4 heads!! LOL...
Our next door neighbor, a Dane, came over before Christmas, not long after the boys and I joined Randell. He brought a Poinsettia and came to welcome us. We invited him in and what started out as a "Welcome", lasted four hours! We sat at the kitchen table and talked about EVERYTHING. He is the nicest man and from the older generation. He swears his English isn't good, a lot of the Danes will say that, but we understood just fine.
The shop owners, post office clerks and grocery store cashiers know who I am. They know that I am not a Dane and will gladly speak to me in English. They are the sweetest people and always seem pleased to see me coming so they can "practice" their English. I went into a fabric store recently and had been in a few times prior and the Danish shop owner invited me to come to her quilting classes and told me it would be a great way to learn the language and meet other Danes.
Fortunately, our Danish lessons begin this week. While I have no trouble reading grocery store fliers and finding what I need, or how to get somewhere, it will be nice to talk to the Danes in my circle, in their native language :o)
Everything is just peachy!!
Prams:Let's start with babies and the European stroller or "pram". The Europeans believe that a stronger bond is developed with their children because the babies face them while inside of their prams. While they make a good point, my children, and most of the children in the US sit in strollers that face the outside world. My boys loved a stroller ride and while they didn't constantly stare at my face, they knew I was there because I talked to them, touched their heads, and frequently stopped to hand them a toy. Our bonds developed normally and my children loved a view of beautiful parks and other scenery.
The pram is about twice as wide as a US stroller, unless you are pushing around twins. It is made with a mattress and the stroller itself is tall so baby sits closer to you. The idea is that you and your baby are out most of the day and baby can take a nap(s) right there in it's pram. However, they are clunky and awkward. Watching a mother get onto or off the bus or train is painful. Most of the train stations are 2 levels and have elevators. However, that doesn't mean they are always in working order...Then the Moms are stuck at the bottom of the stairs waiting on the kindness of others...as was the case, twice. Once I helped and the other time Randell helped carry the front end of the pram up the stairs. Whew!!
Finally, if you ever come upon a pram sitting outside of a restaurant or grocery store, best to whisper because I guarantee that the baby is not inside with Momma. This is something that I still haven't grown accustomed to....especially in the cold of the winter months. Parents believe that it is good for their babies to get fresh air. They bundle them up and leave them, napping, in their prams while they meet a friend for lunch, coffee, or to grocery shop. The incidents where a baby was snatched from it's pram is extremely low, crime for that matter is low in Denmark. Never in America would this be done...where kidnappers, sexual predators, etc., freely walk the streets.
As my brain ponders and wonders more on this subject, what are your thoughts?
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