So my host took me out for fried eel tonight, a traditional Danish dish. He said I'm only the 2nd guest in 7 years to go for eel with him, the other was Japanese. The restaurant kind of felt like a German brew house. The eel was actually pretty good after you got past the look and psychology of it. It was served with potato pieces in a cream sauce and pickle slices on the side. My host insisted that I get a glass of schnapps to go with it. They poured a tiny glass and I was expecting something light and fruity like in the USA, but I think schnapps is Danish for firewater. Had a great ice cream dessert with tiny pieces of fruit candy in it, overall an excellent meal. For dessert they also had a "Greenland Coffee" which "created a warming sensation." I asked what it was and was told it was coffee with 7 shots of booze. They asked if I wanted one and I was like, um, no.
Host took me on a nice driving tour. Showed me the house of the 3rd richest guy in Denmark, actually seemed kind of small and humble compared to what I've seen on Peachtree Battle. I guess they said wages are set here so that the gap between rich and poor is much smaller than most places.
I've heard from more than one person here that Denmark is essentially a socialist country. There is a national belief that the rich should take care of the poor. Something about that seems very Christian, but I guess there's a difference between a choice and a mandate. They also discourage pride and people saying they are the "best", rather the national motto is we're all equal. They say many people quietly favor the "you can rise to the top" USA spirit don't really like the 60% income tax most upper middle class people pay now (graduated on income), but wouldn't say it's a strong conviction. While they believe it discourages advancement in some ways, they like the government benefits/safety net and equality where "garbage men and doctor's kids play on the same playground naturally." Houses here are crazy expensive too ($700,00 for the one pictured and that's in an average town, maybe you can do $200,000 in the middle of nowhere). I know it would probably go for that in downtown Atlanta and I'm in a beautiful area, but it's a town of 42,000.
They look at us as somewhat irresponsible and kind of barbaric at times. Healthcare, college (you even get $1,000/month living expenses), nursing home and retirement are all taken care of. They just find it hard to believe that a civilized country would let money determine if and what type of medical care or schooling someone receives. They just see it as a human right that everyone has the best and they claim it's very good, but not sure what their point of reference is. Looking around at shapes and sizes they do seem to be a healthier people though. They also can't believe our big cars for 1 person. They drive small cars because they're cheaper, but also because they just see it as environmentally responsible. The government also "protects" people they even mandate hours certain stores can be open.
I like the community feel here, but yikes, 60% tax plus a 25% national sales tax doesn't leave a lot and that's a lot of government in your life. They however are very proud of their country and nationalistic. I guess that's the great thing about a diverse world, they like it and they're very happy people, so points for them!
Well as many of you know I volunteer with a group of First Graders every Sunday at Buckhead Church in an environment we call UpStreet. Our theme for the summer is summer camp. Our first activity was a Mad Libs letter home. Our final blank, the person the letter was from, was Optimus Prime. We then got into a lengthy discussion about if Transformers could come to church or not. Some said that he was too big, I countered that he could stand outside and look through the windows. Some said robots couldn't come to church even if they were small. The kids really got into this discussion, like the whole room! I then turned to Alex to settle the deal, I asked in front of the kids, "Alex, if Optimus Prime showed up at that door, would you let him into UpStreet?" Alex responded, "If his parents were with him and I could hand them a tag, I would!" I then contacted UpStreet Director, Jill Roberts, to make sure this was the official line with Transformers on UpStreet, you never know when this type of thing might come up again. She responded, "As long as Optimus Prime is indeed a Kindergarten through 5th grader, we do not discriminate by size." Gotta love working with kids, they get all excited by the most simple things, kind of like me sometimes.
