From A to Å: Danish Lessons

A teacher’s work does not disappear. It continues in the lives of students. A teacher is like a key that unlocks something dormant within us. Every instrument must be tuned by hand, carefully examining the results, listening for mistakes, correcting them, and offering encouragement.

Teacher’s Day is coming soon, and we write on a postcard—a world map where we mark our points and write “thank you” in all our languages.

We will always remember how Marianne takes a step to demonstrate the rhythm and dynamics of the language. She shows us, in simple terms, how to make each sound: for instance, the sound in otte [eight] comes from the lower abdomen, while “ng” resonates through the nose. She explains how to pronounce the soft “D” sounds like a lazily mushy “L” (but honestly, it’s the weirdest sound ever). She teaches us when to stretch a sound like an accordion “tyve” [twenty] and when to cut it short, like with scissors (glottal stop).

I may never love numbers, just as I may never love licorice. But I love playing with language and shaping colorful sentences. Right now, I’m merely stringing letters together, often losing some unpronounceable part along the way. Yet, little by little, I’m beginning to play the melodies of this language.

Have you noticed how Danish power outlets resemble smiling faces? Aarhus is often ranked as one of the happiest cities. Known as “Smilets By” [the City of Smiles]. And here we are, right in the heart of it!

Sometimes it feels like you are all alone. Then you remember your language school. As a group, we are growing closer. The people around me make me feel alive again. I love connecting with others and sharing joy. I have always been surrounded by good people—friends of different ages, and now also from different nationalities and cultures, from all over the world.

A miracle happened in Module 3: we have finally started speaking a bit of Danish at school!

I enrolled in an extracurricular course focused on the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. As a child, I was captivated by his stories and the cartoons they inspired. At the age of 7, I was thrilled to receive two books of his fairy tales as a birthday gift!

We study verbs using three sheets double-sided. At first, they seem overwhelmingly numerous, but then I start to look calmly and recognize words. I translate them and jot down the meanings in the margins.

Learning, exploring, meeting people—all of it is endlessly fascinating. At the same time, I long for stability, for familiar repetitions. I want to be more rooted so that I’m not swept away by emotional winds.