Progress and Challenges - My Life in Denmark is Taking Shape April 19, 2024
School is going quite well. It's challenging, but there's also something wonderful about making learning progress. I think I'm doing pretty well and slowly making headway with Danish.
Particularly nice is that I've made friends with Daniela, a German girl who's about my age. We sit next to each other now, and the best part is that we're both at roughly the same language level. We throw the ball back and forth, and when one of us doesn't understand something, the other one definitely does—and vice versa. It's going really well for us. It's simply helpful to have someone by your side who's in the same situation.
Today I finally had my MRI appointment—nobody believed it would actually happen. It was at the hospital in Frederikshavn, and for once I didn't have to drive around the countryside. A small relief in this drawn-out process.
My arm—or rather my left elbow—is still unusable. I still have it taped up and a splint on top of that. But I'm noticing that I have virtually no muscle left in this arm. Of course, that makes sense since I'm only protecting it now. On the right side, I'm slowly noticing overuse. It's becoming too much for just one side.
At least I've had my MRI done now, and the only thing they could tell me directly was that I should make an appointment with my GP for next week. He would be able to help me further. Well, we'll see. I'll try to get a doctor's appointment this evening. Everything's done online here. You log in, choose a doctor or nurse, get appointment suggestions, and confirm them. It's actually quite straightforward.
The tricky part is always getting an appointment with an actual doctor. They always suggest nurses first. You write a terribly long message in the text field, and then the nurse writes back saying she'd like to refer you to a doctor. And you're supposed to log in again. Then a doctor is unlocked for you. It's tedious, but still faster than in Germany. At least there's that.
And I don't have to drive to Hjørring. Yet another wonderful thing. I do have my bank there in Hjørring and had to go there a couple of times because of that. I was recommended the banker there by a friend of Sina's—the German woman who arrived in Denmark a month before we did. This banker speaks perfect German, which is naturally very helpful in the beginning. He's also genuinely very pleasant to deal with. Unfortunately, he'll probably be retiring at the end of the year. But hopefully by then I'll have learned a bit more Danish.
But Hjørring is also quite an expensive place for me. Right behind the bank is the pedestrian zone, and it really is outstanding. Wonderful little shops, a big shopping center, and so on. It really tempts you to spend money. And I haven't left there once without shopping. A dangerous temptation for the wallet!
And we've discovered something else here: A Bauhaus store, wonderful! That will definitely come in handy for various DIY projects.
So, let me see what's next. Anke and Thomas have announced they're coming. They want to stop by for a quick visit. I'm curious when that will be. More visitors from home—I'm really looking forward to that. These visits are like little islands of familiarity in my new life here.
Things are moving forward, step by step. With the language, with medical appointments, with settling in. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it brings joy—but I have the feeling that I'm slowly getting there.
