French Madame: French Madame in Copenhagen: Day 4

Sadly, my last full day in Denmark.

But not to worry; tomorrow a full fun day of shopping and men-watching
at Copenhagen airport!!.

#14 Danes hire non-Danish speaking personel in clothing stores and restaurants. As extra help. In several clothing stores I've visited, the person who helps you in the fitting room, or folds the clothes and hangs it back in the racks, was foreign and didn't speak Danish. They are mostly students from England, Germany, France, or any other Western-European country and are looking to make a little extra money on the side. It's often a real pain for a student to find a part-time job in a country in which he/she is studying for that semester. But Danes welcome the English-speaking export and chit-chat all day long with their new foreign co-worker. I went to lunch with my Danish friend and the guy serving us and working behind the bar was Italian and confessed his Danish wasn't very good and preferred to speak in English. I would find it annoying if I couldn't speak my language to everyone in my own country, but young Danes don't seem to mind. (I say young Danes because the older generation of Danes are often opposed to foreign expats living in Denmark.)

#15 Danes are sarcastic and have a dark sense of humor. Welcome to my world! Hello, my name is Daniëlle and I speak sarcasm fluently. I do it because I find everything funnier when it's sarcastic and often wonder how long it will take someone to notice I'm being sarcastic. It's also a way for me to deal with idiots I often encounter at my job. It's not coming from a negative place though. I am in no way pessimistic, but I often have to bite my tongue in the Netherlands when I feel a sarcastic comment popping up in my head. Not here. Everyone thinks like me here and has the same, slightly darker, sense of humor =) 'Danish sarcasm' it is called.

Speaking of humor...

#16 Danes love to pull pranks. I first discovered this when I met a couple of Danish guys over a year ago. They always would try to out-prank each other. Not in an annonying way, but more of a humorous way of enjoying their time together. They were grown men in their thirties so I couldn't attribute it to 'being young'. On my trip here in Copenhagen, I woke up one day to find that my bike was completely covered in party-decorations. Oh, and a chain-lock to which I don't have to key, is stuck in the middle-section of my bike. Then, last night there was a party downstairs... The result is that an unidentified prankster placed a doormat in front of my doorstep and a few others at my floor (it's actually a pretty cute one!). And the last example I can give you is that as I'm typing this, there are a couple of Danish guys across from my building singing and acting silly on the balcony. Irritating? Nope. I can't help but giggle; that dark humor again =)