Integration Mistakes - Americans in Denmark!!

I moved from UK to DK many years ago and while learning Dansk I made quite a gaff one night in a burger bar (yes I was a bit drunk) and I thought "OK I can do this!" so I stepped up to order some food and said "et killing burger tak" got a funny look so I tried again "en kelling burger tak" , the guy receiving the orders said " I think you want a kylling burger as we dont sell kitten burgers and we dont sell bitch burgers". The place erupted in laughter. I did get a nice burger though ;)

Flink does mean nice in Danish. Though it is not widely used everywhere. also you can only use it about a person, not the weather or anything else.

The point of not connecting with people at work, is natural in denmark. For a dane work is what you HAVE to do, and as soon as you get off work, that part of your life is GONE. If you want to connect with people, go to spare time activities. Spare time activities is what you WANT to do, which means you're more likely to connect with people who have the same interests as you.

I had a colleague from Germany that called the "gule sundhedskort" a gold card, because she don't have to pay for going to the hospital. Congratulations for your Danish exams 👏 Thanks for sharing your expirence with all of us 👍 😀

My father told me this. Queen Elizabeth paid Denmark a visit and she should also visit a Danish company. The big problem was that she had to take a ride with the elevator. Inside the elevator there was a big white sign saying:" I FART " that would lit up when the elevator began to move. Also when you stood in front of the intrance of the elevator there was the same sign. A electrician spent days removing all the signs and disconnect the wiring.

I think the best way, is start learning the language from day one and study hard the first year. Because Danes know the language is hard, therefor it will give you a lot of respect. Believe me, your Danish friends will follow your progress secretly. As you progress, you are signaling to the Danes you wanna "join the clan" and they will receive you with open arms. TIP: Get yourself a subscription to a Danish magazine with a subject you really are into, woodcarving, fashion, HiFi or whatever. You will probably know the technical terms on your subjects, so many of the other words you can guess. After half a year, you read the magazine again. I had an African neighbor with a 16-year-old teenager. I gave her a one-year subscription to a teenager magazine. Once a month, it was a big day when the magazine arrived.

As a kiwi who moved to Denmark I learned danish quickly and actually it wasn’t too hard . I started danish classes after 1 month and was fluent and working as a registered nurse in a hospital after 8 months. I married a Dane and had 3 school age kids when I moved here so had a lot of motivation to learn danish. I am so glad I did.

We had a delegate member on an official visit to the states, and someone from the ministry had to teach him how to say at least part of his name differently. He was called Bent Kock.

Congrats on passing your exams. Your videos are helping me so much as my family is planning on moving to Denmark from the U.S.

I've told many of my foreign friends as well as Danes that the best way to make friends in Denmark is to become a member of some kind of club or do volunteer work, because people going there naturally have common interests, hence things to talk about. Some of my best friends, I've made through a sports club, by joining a fandom (yes, for real!) and doing volunteer work in Venligboerne (Friendly Neighbors). Especially the latter is a wonderful community, because everyone is open to different cultures and you meet people from all over the world who all have in common that we live in Denmark.

Re the "everything is closed" -thing: You would have LOVED to live here in the 70´s and 80´s... Shops closed at 5.30 (7 o´clock on Fridays), Saturdays were from 9 to 12, and NOTHING open on Sundays and church holidays :D We Danes may not be religious, but our shopping hours sure were! -And don´t worry. Yer coming along nicely!

Excellent topic. Myself Danish having lived and worked in Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg - and uni in the USA (Lawrence, Kansas) Tip for people travelling across borders in Europe => Beware of differences in general parking rules. In many European countries, set parking meter to half hour. EX: 13:05 => 13:30. In Denmark, set parking meter to quarter of hour. EX: 13:05 => Parking meter at 13:15. Set parking meter to 13:30 puts you at risk of a parking ticket if checked by parking patrol within 13:05 - 13:15.

The way I learned about the "Hail Mary" was when I heard about catholic soldiers during WW2 who said a "Hail Mary" before going into battle, in order to prepare for death. It's a bit like the death of Clint Eastwoods character in Gran Torino.

I always enjoy Your reflections, They are positive and objective - and they give me another view on my fellow countrymen.

Speaking of shops being closed for holiday: It wasn't until 2012 that stores could freely be open on Sundays. Until 2001 it was mandatory for all stores to be closed on Sundays with more and more open days being allowed between 2001 and 2012.

First off, congratulations! secondly, i loved this episode! it's so fun to hear "newcomers" having an adventure out of little things we all take for granted each day. thank you for being you!

Congratulations to you both. 👍 and your story about the mystery of the locking door, was hilarious.🤣🤣

Tillykke med vel overståede dansk prøver. You have both gone a long way, with integration. I am pretty sure that Dane’s could have had trouble with that door lock too. Flink can be used to describe a “nice” person, so Miranda you where not quit off. And as a remark Joshua has learned not to wear a cap inside, so even he starts to look civilised 😉 I am looking forward to see the video about all the “farts” that Joshua can find.

Hi Josh and Miranda. Congratulations on your language course, well done. When you think back on something you wish you had done differently, there is an expression in Danish that sounds like this. " I bagklogskabens klare lys " 😊 Regarding the word " Flink ", it is true that it means Nice. But you can only say that about a person. You can't for example say, Flink sofa.

Excellently done on your Danish courses! I must say, you are an awesome couple. Good vibes and a great humor - absolutely love it. On the topic on hail marys - the concept also exist in Danish, albeit not as a sports term but instead as "et skud i tågen" ('a shot in the fog/mist' would be the literal translation but very similar to 'a longshot' in meaning). And as a Dane, I would have loved if we sometimes were a bit more American when meeting new people. It was very cool to put yourself out there like that - and thankfully Peter eventually (or possibly immediately) let his taste for beer decide for him.