Kay Xander Mellish moved from Wisconsin to Denmark and found the biggest culture shock wasn't the people or customs, but food culture. In Denmark, restaurants are expensive and rare treats because high labor costs mean fewer staff, so home cooking is the norm. She misses American diners most.
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Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. I did an interview this week with an expat organization. Something to publish on their website. They asked the standard questions I get asked at every Danish dinner party: How did you come to Denmark? Why did you come to Denmark? What type of culture shock did you experience once you got here? What do you miss about home? I don't mind answering these questions, particularly if the alternative is to discuss people's home renovations and travel plans, which are the other things that get talked about at Danish dinner parties. But I really didn't have a lot of culture shock. I grew up in Wisconsin, which is the most Scandinavian part of the United States. Wisconsin has about 5.5 million people, just like Denmark. It's mostly rural, just like Denmark. It has 2 big cities, just like Denmark. And it had massive German, Polish, and Scandinavian immigration about 100, 150 years ago. You still see a lot of remnants of those European cultures in Wisconsin. People don't change that quickly. But that said, some things are very different. Food, for example. Americans eat out all the time, particularly in New York City, where I had been living for 10 years before I moved to Denmark. In New York, it's quite normal to eat out or eat takeaway food for all 3 meals every day. I've heard stories of people actually converting their kitchens into an extra bedroom because they never use their kitchens. In Denmark, people make their own food. You can find takeaway sandwiches, and there are some pizza joints of varying quality, but you don't get the wide selection of prepared dishes you'll find in the U.S. or Britain. There's a classic tale of an American college student who went into a Danish supermarket and came out complaining that there was no food, only stuff to make food. That's changing slowly, but there's still no such thing as a casual restaurant in Denmark. Restaurants are a special occasion thing in Denmark, and they're a multi-hour experience you share with others, often many others. You'll see a lot of huge tables with family and work group celebrations. Now, in France you have your corner bistro, or in America you have diners, But in Denmark, labor is very expensive, so restaurants are very expensive. The de facto minimum wage in Denmark is about 110 crowns an hour. That's $20, £11, €15. So you'll find relatively few servers in restaurants, and your server may also be your bartender and your busboy, and maybe wash dishes too later. I don't know. Actually, in some Danish cafes there are no servers at all. You have to go up to the bar, order and pay for your food, and then wait for it to be done, and then get back up again and pick it up and bring it back to your table yourself. But there's no way of knowing which cafes have this rule, so you see a lot of tourists and new arrivals, including at one point me, just sitting there waiting for someone to come and take their order. And they wait. And they wait. The truth is, while Americans might drop into a diner for a quick bite— a juicy burger or a green salad or some breakfast pancakes with fresh fruit on top— there's no quick-bite restaurant in Denmark. When people ask me what I miss about the USA, diners are always at the top of the list. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. This podcast was sponsored by American Voice DK. If you're looking for a voiceover for your corporate video, contact us at American Voice DK. Music arranged by George Garvis. See you next week. Remember, the How to Live in Denmark book is available for download on amazon.com. You can read it on any phone or tablet. All you need is the Kindle app, and the Kindle app is free. The book's not free, but it's not very expensive either. If you read the book and enjoy it, please leave a review on your local version of amazon.com. It helps other people find the book and find the podcast.
