Denmark with Lorianne and Alexis

Lorianne.

A matter of ethic

This is clearly a highly topical issue of major importance, but let there be no illusions that it is also a difficult and controversial one that has generated a broad variety of opinions, analyses and comments. Today I will talk a little bit about political issues in Denmark. I wish to revisit this topic today, due to its currency and importance to the business you are in.

As you maybe already know, on January 26 of 2016, the Folketing adopted a legislative package containing amendments that alter the Danish legislation on asylum and immigration. The changes were supported by a broad majority in the Danish Parliament, including the Social Democratic Party. The amendments in question were strongly criticized in the press and the European Parliament . These criticisms focused their restrictive nature to discourage the influx of asylum seekers in Denmark. Among the most contested measures, even the most publicized, included those relating to the ability to seize assets of asylum seekers (value and cash items) having a value greater than 10,000 kroner (1,400 euros) and those for curing the right to family reunification. "The most evil bill including the history of Denmark", said the Danish Prime Minister, Lars Lokken Liberal Rasmussen responding to critics who were already circulating before the approval of measures in the Danish Parliament.

The approved law gives authorities the right to search the luggage and clothing of the applicants to retain the assets they have to cover the expenses of their welcome and their stay until their applications processed since "those who can help themselves should not be helped by the state. "

Other restrictive measures concern the criteria to obtain a permanent residence permit, reducing the duration of refugee status (from 5 years to 2 years), the abolition of the right to housing outside of camps for couples with children and finally the tightening of rules which disciplined the condition for acquiring a residence permit.

Anyway, the LIBE Committee said that even if a country constrained by legislative instruments , including the confiscation of property and other interventions at the same time stressed that the unilateral (selfish view )will be a factor of fragmentation of European policies on asylum, by removing the path to a common solution. The danger is especially that of seeing other countries in the region to adopt such measures. Indeed, measures of this type already exist in Switzerland (but... as I should remind... it is not part of the European Union).

Several voices were raised against the amendments. The Amnesty International, the Danish Institute for Human Rights  and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) accuse the Danish country to foster fear and xenophobia.

Because the confiscation of property is rather a symbolic act, to discourage the arrival of new applicants. 

But, on the other hand, the Danish government then sponsored the new measures by publishing an advertisement on a popular Lebanese newspaper (the Lebanon currently hosts about 1 million Syrian refugees). The announcement stressed that Denmark had reduced social benefits relating to refugees, providing that those who benefit from the status in question would have to wait at least one year so that it can access the right to family reunification, the residence permit “n” would have been granted that those who already speak Danish and finally that applicants subject to a refusal of protection would have been sent directly to their countries of origin.

We should bear in mind that Denmark hosted 21,500 refugees in 2015 and there are 25,000 expected in 2016. According to the Minister of Immigration, the country is among the 10 European countries that host the most refugees per capita.

The Danish case shows that what is called the "refugee crisis" has now become a crisis in Europe, which is facing now with nationalist tendencies and his populist countries and unilateral solutions that evoke a past that “n”statue, is not too far sometimes to a failure to find a common solution, never accomplished solution still further.

But as long as I was living in Denmark, I can assert that I have quite never seen any tramp staying outside (hopefully... because it is way too cold to do so). We can suppose that should show that Denmark has better integrated its refugees than other European such as France (or even Sweden where I have seen many tramps in Malmô and Gôteborg). Furthermore, the Danish government suspends the “social advantages” for them... but we should keep in mind as well, that the normal social advantages are quite significant. For example, nobody has to pay the doctor  visits. But this is permitted by high contribution taxes.

When I heard French people talking about this topic, they widely criticised Denmark for being a “racist” and “selfish” country. But they forgot to balance their criticisms with the benefits of the “good integration policy”. This may be due because they have never been there to see the  standard of living for real.

Eventually, emigration measures still being a matter of ethic and economic opportunities as well. But maybe, if the country hasn't yet the accommodations to host the refugees and career opportunities, it may be fare to declare those points through “not ethical emigration measures”. Mostly if it is a Northern country where you can settle outside more than one month during summer time. But given the global tremendous emergency of hosting refugees : “are, those last arguments, enough for ignoring the  European and worldwide solidarity ?”

Lorianne.

My trip, part 1

I will present you the cities I have visited in Denmark.

Aarhus:

            I spent only one a half day in there. I mostly appreciated to see the city centre, along the fiord by night. In this following picture you can see that a specific character trait in common with Venice and Amsterdam as well. If you look at the guidebook they don't say that it reminds that architecture. It is true that during the day it doesn't look like those cities.

There's a particular vibe at night that makes you feel peaceful. You can't hear at the water stream. I got the impression that the water was chilling with a sleepy sleepy behaviour that called me to sit for a while.

I was facing coldness of the wind. That didn't demotivate me to watch “Her” flirting with the canal's square edge, made of stones.

            Seems like if the pavement in the ground paved the way for an encounter point, between the business prosperity and avid shoppers. The prices of the restaurant along the fiord were quite hight, then I decided to go further.The city wasn't charming anymore and the freezing humidity reminded me that it was going to be late. Hence, that was wiser to find a ship (and good) restaurant at first.

I had a very tasty Asian restaurant for a reasonable price for 60DKK for one dish.

Once I have had my fill, I slept in a very cozy flat, booked with Air B&B for 28 E per two people.

Retrospectively, it was one of best accommodation I have booked.

#

Lorianne.

My feelings about Aalborg so far

Do you want to know what I think about Aalborg so far ?

Many students, that I've met, come from Eastern Europe and Portugal ( states with negative natural increases). They see Denmark as a prosperous country (because of its salaries). So in Denmark you can reach very good incomes.

First instance, I met people who are studying management and economy in UCN (aalborg) as well. And they chose this destination because they actually think that they will be allowed to set up their business in Denmark much more easily.

            One of those student told me that for his final year (the fifth one), the university helps them to star up their own company. They show them : how to mitigate the Danish taxes ; the project management steps specified to Denmark because of the administrative requirements ; and so on...

            But, in return, the university ask them to get a percentage of their companies' income for few year. Someone told me that this income in like 10 percent of the benefit.
I have no idea if it is true or not and tried my hard to find if it was. I asked my teachers and it seemed  to be a point that has to be deeply hidden. Then, there as no way to discover the reality...

Moreover, my surprise isn't limited to this system that would be implemented in business (if it was true). I have been much more surprised when I asked to this person if he was prospecting to settle in Denmark. There was no doubt at all when he asserted. I asked him why. He said it was because of the incomes. I asked him :

 “Yes... But I mean... do you like this country ? Are you feeling good in here ? Wont you miss you home country ? Do you think the life in here is much more pleasant than in you home town ?”.

            What he answered blowed me away. Actually, I was facing many existing question at this particular moment and days after as well. Because he said that he doesn't like this country at all. Moreover, he thinks that there're no activities to do because everything is way too expensive. And even if you have enough money to hang out or to  subscribe to a club, there're not so much interesting things to do. He added that after being few times to the “Gingantium” (the well-known place where you can find the spa, the swimming pool, and many sport devices and amenities), you get bored about it.

Furthermore, foreign students agreed to assert that after few times in Aalborg the student life is becoming boring. And trust me, they don't have any issues with money. They can get everything they want because their parents have really good incomes. Then tey're supposed to be quite satisfied about their life in this city where “everything is expensive” (as we – foreign students – daily say).

They todays, don't want to party anymore because they got bored about the famous “bar street” (Jomfru Ane Gade).

They said it is the only thing to do in the week end, and going to the restaurant or walking around. In addition, we meet every time the same people. Seems like if me are joining again our family when we go in this street. From my point of view, it is a good thing because it is a very peaceful and friendly vibe. Like, you don't have to care too much about you stuff when you leave them if you're going to dance.

You don't care as well about hanging out alone because you can be pretty sure that you'll find at least someone to share times with. But, yes, I agree to say that it is a kind of microcosm and it could be stifling after few times.

So after all of those testimonies that I gathered, I still having this question : Would it be wiser to settle in Denmark, only because of the good incomes ? Or staying in France in the south (with its sun and diversified and rich landscapes that I really strongly sincerely miss), with a lower incomes and an uncertainty to don't find placement for jobs that I'm expected to get ?


Lorianne.

Danish cuisine again !

This my second article regarding food.

Quite everyday, we discover new dishes during lunch time at UCN.
The buffet is separated into two different parts.

One of them is cold dishes (mostly vegatables), and the other one is warm dishes (mostly proteines and starchy foods).

Hereafter I noticed few dishes that seem to be much more common in Denmark than in France.

The cold dishes :

-        raw broccoli with white cheese, onions and garlic powder

-        little rounded popatoas with whole-grain mustard

-        strips of coocked carrots with chopped beefsteack

-        slices raw leeks

-        red betroot with sugar

-        herring marinade with onion rolls

-        fried onion rolls (mostly in the salad bars)

-        almost raw green beans

-        oil marinade of garlic gloves with : hot pepper and dry tomato paste ; or basilico.

-        Sliced green hot pepper

-        raw cauliflower with feta cheese, dry cramberries nuts, peanuts

-        shrimps, herring chopped into square, potatoes and white asparagus into white cheese sauce

-        diced cucumber, boiled eggs, red onions, apples into a sauce made with mayonaise, creme fraiche, curry, dijon mustard, pepper

-        diced pineaple

What we can noticed is that they eat more raw vegetables and we do in France (such as leeks and broccoli).
They also really oftent use white cheese and creme fraiche to make their sauce. The chinese traditionnal doctors say that it is because the products made with milk have the proporty of mosturizing the bodie. But the two main attributes of such products are to be « cold and humid», as the chinese qualify them.
The mosturing proporty is advantageaous to struggle against the Dannish wind.

In order to counterbalance the « cold » effect of milk products, they eat « green sliced hot pepper ».

Moreover, with the aim of don't get depressed the Danish have done few nutritional adaptations.

Fistly : they eat many fish (mostly herring and shrimps) wich are source of vitamine D.

Secondly : they eat alot of nutrients (mainly we all need include vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, and even a small amount of fat. A deficiency in any of these nutrients lead to our bodies not working at full capacity and can even cause illness)

Thirdly : As you maybe know, Danish cuisine has its most famous dishe: the open sandwich. They generaly put « Rye bread » (or black bread, which is a type of bread which is packed with different seeds, grains and cracked rye and is therefore a very healthy alternative to regular white bread.)

On the top of it, they put some of those cold dishes as it please them.
(This picture after isn't from me. I wouldn't have made such amount of sandwich only for myself, of course. But it permits you to have a broad spectrum of the different kinds that could be found).

So, getting back to our topic : why this dish is eventually a perfect ally against depression ?

Carbohydrate craving may be related to decreased serotonin activity (the good mood-boosting brain substance). For complexe reasons, it is way better to limit simple carbs (such as cakes and cookies) and favor complex carbs, such as whole grains (in addition with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and legumes, which all contribute healthy carbs and fiber, and foster the bioavailability of grain nutrients  thanks to vitamines, flavonoids...)
In denmark they eat that dish at the lecture break (at 10 a.m) or at noon for lunch. And we can conclude that it seems to me to e a wiser option, for the breackfast, that our sweets, cackes and very sweet cereals (like poped chocolate rice or whatever).

The hot dishes :

I can't really discribe it, because I'm not a big fan of pasta, lazagnes (expect if there're made in Italy or from my « Nonna » (grand Ma')).
Moreover I realy hate their
That's why I wont talk too much about that... But I don't think this is the best part of the Dannish cuisine.

Maybe I can just present you this dish that I like the most : the Roast pork served with both boiled and caramelized potatoes (brunede kartofler)
Maybe I like it because it looks and tastes more like a real meat.

Also, I really love their red sweet cabage dishe.

I don't think that I am the only one to think that Danish cuisine is quite poor with its hot dishes. When I was talking with the other foreign students, they all said that they miss so much their sweety home food. Actually, I have taken the expression « their cuisine is poor » from one of them.

Those students are usualy tacking « Røde pølser » for their breackfast ( around 10 a .m at the lecture breack) . They usually add both ketchup, Danish remoulade.
But the Danish alternately eat the bread and sausage, dipped into the condiments. And the foreign student are getting used to it and they imitate them.

(Personnaly speacking, I think it is so hilarious to notice how deep our environment can bias our behaviours. I still wonder if, generally speacking, we do adjust on purpuse to seem to be more adapted and almost seamless. Or, maybe there is this kind of unconscious mimicry that is taken us unawares.)

Lorianne.

The UC House

Hello everyone !

Today I’ll talking about my student life at the UC House. First of all, UC House is a student residence for people who study in UCN Hobrovej or UCN Sofiendalsvej (For my part I study in the second campus). It’s a small flat situated in the Aalborg’s suburb, but it’s not very far from the center.

When I have class, I usually take about 20 minutes to go by foot. During my spare time, I like going to the living room because I think it’s the best spot to meet other foreign students and to know each other. It’s a wonderful experience to discover new cultures ! However my favourite activity is to play table tennis, because I often play amazing games with Marijn, one of my Dutch friends.

Otherwise there is the UC House bar. At the beginning nobody knew this area, but when Dutch guys and I have discovered this, we said it’s the perfect area to welcome some people in order to organize parties ! Thus we decided to clean up, and now we can spend good time there.

When I moved in UC House, I was so disappointed because there is not a fitness room, and I cant’t do my workout exercises inside because I live with a roommate. Fortunately I found a small vacant room: I decided to clean up and to take out dirty stuff, so now I work out every day in this room.

Also I like cooking, all the more so as my room is situated close to the kitchen ! When I was in France, I didn’t use to cook but now I do. For instance I cooked plates of lentils and carrots (usually serve with sausages), rice and pastas. My favourite plate is the first one because it takes a lot of time and you’re so happy to savour it after !

Actually I spend little time in my room. I prefer working on my computer in the living room or at the university. For the everyday life It’s easy to use the washing-machines, even if it costs 20 Danish Kroners. However the price is not a problem: I always do the laundry with one of my French friends (yes of course I met French guys  too!).

To conclude, I think UC House is a good student residence to find a balance between student life and class at the university. The main issue here is we have to pay the bus to reach the city center because it’s about one hour to go by foot there…

Thank you for reading!

Olivier.

My studentlife in Aalborg

Lorianne.