So, it turns out that we cannot read our blogging page when we open it here in Denmark. All of the text is in Danish. We can type in English, but we don’t know what any of the icons say in order to save it or edit it at all. For now, Alanna and I decided to type our thoughts into word and post everything when we figure out how to change all of our computer settings to English again.
It is really strange because we went to use Google yesterday, just like at home, but when you type in what you want, all of the text pops up in Danish. So you really can’t even use Google without changing the settings on your computer. I didn’t realize I was so dependent on my computer and I don’t even feel like I use my computer as much as some of my friends at home do, but after going a few days without internet it has made me realize how dependent I have become on communicating through this technology.
We went to downtown Viborg today to buy internet cables for our computers so that we don’t have to keep bothering Marianne (my neighbor) for her cords. So, needless to say we are feeling much more freedom now and closer to home because we can pop on the internet now and find someone to talk to on AIM or via email or Facebook. I can’t imagine traveling here without all of this access to see and hear from people at home. I am finally starting to understand what people mean when they say, “The world is getting smaller and smaller all the time.”
One thing we did learn, on a very slow learning curve, was that whenever you go into a busy store you have to take a number from a machine. We went into the bank this morning to exchange some of our cash and I saw a guy take a ticket with a number on it, so we went up to the machine, pressed the British flag and out popped our ticket with a number on it. Then we waited for the number to pop up on a screen and we were helped. It was no big deal. However, when we went to the electronics store next, we thought you only needed a number if you had a question and needed help from a salesman, so we didn’t get a number. We just went and got what we needed and then got in line at one of the many cash registers in the store. We waited in line forever because there was a dad there with his two kids about ten and nine years old and he was buying a lot of stuff. So we finally get up to the girl at the register and I set my stuff down and she says, “You have to have a number.” So, we went back to the number machine and started all over again. Luckily this time there were only two people in front of us and we got out pretty quickly the second time around. So, the lesson we learned today was that if you walk into a store and there is a little machine there spitting out tickets, you had better take one or you will never be helped or get out of the store.
The grocery store we went to next was interesting as well. It was similar to a Sam’s Club, only on a much smaller scale. But there were random jackets, shirts, pants, books, cosmetics and such there along with food like Sam’s Club. So we walked around for a long time just trying to decide what to buy because the meat is sold so much different here. All we wanted was lunch meat, however unlike home you can only buy about five slices of ham, turkey, or chicken in each individually wrapped case and it is about $1.50 for the five slices! So, needless to say we were much more careful about what meat we were buying and how much it cost and whether we really would like it once we got it home.
Milk is sold differently as well. We are used to gallons of milk that will last a single person for a good seven to ten days. Well, here you can only buy cartons of milk. So, because I eat a lot of cereal, I tend to take down a lot of milk. I got about five bowls of cereal out of one carton of milk. I guess I use more milk in my cereal than the average person would, but I will definitely have to reconsider my cereal eating habits now that I am in the land of the small.
Speaking of small, everything here is small, except the people. The cars are small, the houses are small, the boats are small, even the stores are small. It is really strange to realize that these people have been living here for hundreds of years with very little space for a large number of people and they have managed to downsize in order to fit everyone in. I am sure it has a lot to do with being more environmentally friendly and conservative too, but no one seems to be worried about not having enough space for his or herself like it is in the United States. I feel like people here are a lot more laid back and happy just to be than people in the U.S.
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