I am very glad that so many of my friends have read my first blog.
My friends, you are very important to me. You have made my life so much richer and exciting. Although I might be in physical contact with some of you for a couple of years only, I have never forgotten the times we spent together. Through you, I have learnt new things, made more friends and some have even given me inspirations. These are the memories that I file at the back of my mind and reminisce whenever I open my photo albums.
As for the friends whom I have known for a long time, we have been through quite a bit so you are all the more like family to me. You are the people whom I do not have to hide my emotions from and I can really be myself whenever I am around you. I truly treasure that special bonding that we have. Thank you for being there for me all these years.
In conclusion, even though I am thousand of miles away from you, we are never really separated. With my blog, I will try to update you with my life and hope we can still communicate like the good old times. I am still the Vanessa that you all know, whether I am in Hong Kong, Singapore or Denmark.
Love,
Van
Wednesday, 28 February 2007
Tuesday, 27 February 2007
My first impression of Copenhagen
Hi my friends,
Miss me???? I miss you very much!
I've more or less settled down in my new home and finally overcame jetlag when I did not fall asleep on my couch at 4 o'clock, woke up for dinner when Edmund came home, then fell asleep again at 10 and woke up at 4.30 in the morning. I went through this routine until yesterday when my internet was up and running, then I just sat in front of the computer for the whole afternoon searching for online majong games.
The third day I arrived in Copenhagen, I started missing the warm weather in Singapore already. Now I finally understand why the Ang Mos in Singapore are so fond of basking under the sun. I think I would probably do the same thing when I'm back in Singapore. Until yesterday, the sky in Copenhagen was perpetually gloomy as it was snowing and raining the whole of last week. Hence, before you have at least four layers of clothes/jackets (best if they are fleece) and thick boots, please do not even think of stepping out of the house because you will soon hate yourself for being so garang (In English, this means tough).
Other than the not so pleasant weather, coming to terms with the cost of living is also quite a challenge. Just to give you an idea and I'm not even going to compare to our wet markets, a piece of ginger (the size of say my palm) costs about SGD 4 in the supermarket; 10 eggs cost about SGD 8; a pack of sausages (10 in a pack) cost about SGD 7. Besides, most of the labels are in Dansk, therefore I think I'm soon to be banned by the supermarkets for being the crazy woman always harrassing their customers, because I often try to get hold of people to ask about things. Fortunately, the danes are generally friendly people even though they may look aloof. They won't avoid you like the Japanese do when you approach them asking for directions in English. The danes would tell me what I needed to know and sometimes even helped me search for the correct item if the one that I was holding happened to be something else. This is the problem, because they are so nice, it makes me want to ask them more! :-> To give the danes more credit, they are really eye candies, both men and women.
Food - Other than cheese and bread, it's still cheese and bread. I have cheese and bread for breakfast, I have cheese and bread for lunch. I've probably eaten as much bread for the past 1 week as I had eaten for the past 3 months in Singapore. I'm not exaggerating. This city is full of bakeries and thank God, their bread is actually quite nice....... Here, you don't see luncheon meat or omelette wrapped in buns, they are really freshly baked foccasia/bagels/ciabatta with densely packed dough in the middle. Oh, and there is the famous danish meatloaves (similar to the swedish meatballs that you can find in Ikea). This is a gigantic ball of minced pork and/or beef. So if you eat one plus a few slices of potatotes, it is equivalent to one full meal of "Chai Pun".
Dansk - This is the local language. I must say the country is not very tourist friendly because most signboards are in Dansk. Remember I mentioned earlier the labels on the packages and signs in supermarkets are also in Dansk? Well, to make my experience with Dansk even more "exciting", I had some problems with my internet connection yesterday, so I had to call the telecom to check my phoneline. In Singapore, most companies have an electronic answering system which let you choose a language before you proceed. In Denmark, there is no such luxury. I spent about half and hour straining my ears to catch what the operator said and then deciphering which number I should press. Luckily, I managed to speak to a HUMAN after maybe the 10th attempt and he helped me solved the problem. Otherwise, I would not be able to post this diary today.
So, the above are just my opinions about Denmark. I guess I have a lot more to learn before I can adapt to the new lifestyle. It looks rather sunny today, and hopefully it is as warm outside as it looks. Maybe it's a good chance to check out my neighbourhood later and feast on the eye candies in the street.
Take care, talk to you later.
Miss me???? I miss you very much!
I've more or less settled down in my new home and finally overcame jetlag when I did not fall asleep on my couch at 4 o'clock, woke up for dinner when Edmund came home, then fell asleep again at 10 and woke up at 4.30 in the morning. I went through this routine until yesterday when my internet was up and running, then I just sat in front of the computer for the whole afternoon searching for online majong games.
The third day I arrived in Copenhagen, I started missing the warm weather in Singapore already. Now I finally understand why the Ang Mos in Singapore are so fond of basking under the sun. I think I would probably do the same thing when I'm back in Singapore. Until yesterday, the sky in Copenhagen was perpetually gloomy as it was snowing and raining the whole of last week. Hence, before you have at least four layers of clothes/jackets (best if they are fleece) and thick boots, please do not even think of stepping out of the house because you will soon hate yourself for being so garang (In English, this means tough).
Other than the not so pleasant weather, coming to terms with the cost of living is also quite a challenge. Just to give you an idea and I'm not even going to compare to our wet markets, a piece of ginger (the size of say my palm) costs about SGD 4 in the supermarket; 10 eggs cost about SGD 8; a pack of sausages (10 in a pack) cost about SGD 7. Besides, most of the labels are in Dansk, therefore I think I'm soon to be banned by the supermarkets for being the crazy woman always harrassing their customers, because I often try to get hold of people to ask about things. Fortunately, the danes are generally friendly people even though they may look aloof. They won't avoid you like the Japanese do when you approach them asking for directions in English. The danes would tell me what I needed to know and sometimes even helped me search for the correct item if the one that I was holding happened to be something else. This is the problem, because they are so nice, it makes me want to ask them more! :-> To give the danes more credit, they are really eye candies, both men and women.
Food - Other than cheese and bread, it's still cheese and bread. I have cheese and bread for breakfast, I have cheese and bread for lunch. I've probably eaten as much bread for the past 1 week as I had eaten for the past 3 months in Singapore. I'm not exaggerating. This city is full of bakeries and thank God, their bread is actually quite nice....... Here, you don't see luncheon meat or omelette wrapped in buns, they are really freshly baked foccasia/bagels/ciabatta with densely packed dough in the middle. Oh, and there is the famous danish meatloaves (similar to the swedish meatballs that you can find in Ikea). This is a gigantic ball of minced pork and/or beef. So if you eat one plus a few slices of potatotes, it is equivalent to one full meal of "Chai Pun".
Dansk - This is the local language. I must say the country is not very tourist friendly because most signboards are in Dansk. Remember I mentioned earlier the labels on the packages and signs in supermarkets are also in Dansk? Well, to make my experience with Dansk even more "exciting", I had some problems with my internet connection yesterday, so I had to call the telecom to check my phoneline. In Singapore, most companies have an electronic answering system which let you choose a language before you proceed. In Denmark, there is no such luxury. I spent about half and hour straining my ears to catch what the operator said and then deciphering which number I should press. Luckily, I managed to speak to a HUMAN after maybe the 10th attempt and he helped me solved the problem. Otherwise, I would not be able to post this diary today.
So, the above are just my opinions about Denmark. I guess I have a lot more to learn before I can adapt to the new lifestyle. It looks rather sunny today, and hopefully it is as warm outside as it looks. Maybe it's a good chance to check out my neighbourhood later and feast on the eye candies in the street.
Take care, talk to you later.
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