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Baking
Back home when I was looking for gifts for my host family, I thought that it would be really nice to buy something that would represent Estonia. So I decided to get an Estonian cookbook, which had receipts written in Estonian and in English. After handing it to my host family, it came out that Estonians aren’t the only nation who really enjoys eating liver pate and pork jelly. The Danes love them too! And yes, even the pork jelly.
Few days after, my host mother introduced me to the hyldeblomstdrik as something very Danish. It’s mixed with sparkling water (read: danskvand), I tasted it and I was really surprised. I went and grabbed the book. There it was, the first receipt in the book. “Angervaksa siirup” that's how we call it in Estonian. Sjovt!
So we wanted to bake something that Danes don’t have, so of course, we went for the cake on the book cover. It turned out very delicious, just like it tastes when at grandmas. And that’s how it all started!
The next receipt was already in Danish and it really is a fast way to memorise all the everyday items you need for cooking. It is a good pronunciation exercise as well when your a beginner and it helps to learn the numbers faster too!
School
I’ve never been more excited to start school than this year. Mainly because my school started later and I had a week free in a city where I didn’t know anybody besides my host family and few fellow exchange students.
The first day of school I didn’t understand anything, but it’s been getting better and better with every day. So my tip is just to participate and try to be involved.
Don’t watch Netflix. It doesn’t develop your Danish skills. Try to do the exercises and group works. If you don’t understand the task, translate it.
For an example, in the History class, we have been talking about the history of Germany and it has been super helpful because I have already learned the topics and it’s so much easier to connect the definitions of the words if you know what they are talking about.
Doing yoga
Every Thursday my host sister and I are going to a yoga class and after yoga, we stay there for a mindful talk. Yes, it's in Danish and I was completely lost the first time but it is also a really fast way to learn how to say "right", "left", "breath in" and "breath out" in Danish. The first time I couldn't understand anything, I was just following what the others were doing. When the second class ended, I was really surprised because my language knowledge was so much better just after a week. Last Thursday was the third time and also the first time when I didn't have to open my eyes to see what the others were doing because I understood everything the teacher said. I also think that it's a genuinely nice way to completely zone out once a week form the daily routine. Particularly when you are an exchange student and nearly everything is new to you.
Making mistakes
You can't make mistakes if you don't try to speak the language. Make mistakes. Learn from the mistakes. It works, I promise.
I'm going to end this post with words/phrases every Dane says in almost every sentence or in every other sentence. 100% true.
Hvad
Hvad siger du
Hvad hedder den
Vi ses!
Ann