Exchange Reflections–People, Activities, Places in the Last Week (Part 1)

 

Above: Park outside Hotel Invalides aka French Army Museum during Autumn

It has been a good 11 days since I last blogged. I have since returned to Singapore (which was accompanied by both reluctance and relief) and settled alright back at home. The main thing I have been doing is to clean up my house, with 2 more weeks before the new semester starting. I intend to maximise the free time I have, meeting people, reading books and doing some exercise. I have indeed gained some weight, and I want to shed off those excess kilos!

Today, after spending a good 8 hours throwing, washing, rearranging, wiping, sweeping, I finally have the time to resume blogging. I made it a point to meet the people who had defined my time in Copenhagen and to take photos of them as a form of remembrance. I hope to maintain contact with the international friends made during this exchange, and probably visit their home countries (with free stay as well if possible!). Below are some pictures of the people whom I have met during the exchange:

- Guys from United Copenhagen –Love Living, Live Loving!-

This was a picture I took with Jin (extreme left), Johannes (left) and Jonathan (centre) at the Christmas gathering on the weekend just before I left.

Johannes is the leader of the Copenhagen branch of United Church based in Malmo, Sweden. I have not spoken to him many times, but every time I had a chat with him, he has the ability to ‘transfer’ his enthusiasm for God’s kingdom and revival in Denmark into me. I find myself listening more than speaking when conversing with him. That’s not nagging or being longwinded at all, because I feel he was sharpening my perspectives on issues of Christianity in the supposedly God-forsaken country of Denmark. One of the things he pointed out to me about the current state of affairs is the lukewarm attitude Danish Christians have towards evangelism and service. He was probably being both sarcastic and blunt when he said Paul Scanlon and a Hillsongs pastor openly declared their disappointment at the lack of hunger of the Christians there. He also recounted an incident when a pastor he was serving wanted to leave the conference in Denmark because people were not responsive and not putting effort in serving men of God (e.g. using plastic plates, forks and spoons for refreshments when something of a higher quality could be used).

He works as a intermediary between the government and wayward youths, teaching young people some skills on mechanics and being a positive influence on these people who have been involved in crime and gang activities. He is just one of the many humble servants of God all around Denmark and Europe, which is one of the most secular regions on the face of this earth. I believe his church will grow and multiply in Jesus name!

The Christmas Lunch was at this Park Cafe and it was pretty much in the Danish tradition of hygge or coziness, i.e. people seating around, drinking gløgg (mulled wine) and eating æbleskiver (apple donuts) [see below] and doing small talk here and there. Gløgg is consumed by Scandinavians and Germans during Winter to keep them warm, although any alcohol would pretty much serve the same purpose. But it’s Christmas time, so there must be something more than the usual Carlsberg or Tuborg.

 

After some chit chatting, Johannes shared the word and was followed by a time of worship. Good ambience I must say!

Jonathan, my friend from Australia who is studying Law and intending to specialise in Human Rights. He is someone who has strong convictions on social justice, partly (or perhaps mainly) coloured by his Christian convictions. Whereas things are pretty clear cut in Singapore (I  seldom have discussions with others mixing politics and Christianity or religion in general because they are kept wide apart by the government), in the US, or even in Australia, one outrightly pursues certain political ideals on the basis on certain Christian beliefs. Jonathan is someone who opened me up to talking about issues of politics and human rights from a Christian perspective, and pitting such perspective against ambiguities in the world around us. I can’t recall clearly any anecdotes to share, but I think when I read news now on which is not obviously religious in nature, there will be a nudge inside of me to reflect it as a Christian.

The brother on my right is Peter. He often leads in our men’s fellowship meetings along with Thomas. Besides being passionate about discipleship and evangelism as well, I have experienced some of the best Danish sarcasm from him. They don’t mean to offend anyone, and neither am I, but I’m a bit too much of a straight person to shoot back something equally sarcastic haha.

Thomas! If Johannes is my pastor during my time in Denmark, Thomas is definitely my cell group leader. I have to thank him loads for sharing with me about Danish culture and society. I’m thankful for his guidance and efforts of always including foreigners like me into the group. Scandinavians are known to be reserved, but he has proven me otherwise with his hospitality and friendliness. I have also been to his house a couple of times, watching soccer, drinking, eating, sharing our thoughts on God, society, soccer, girls and just about anything else.

Thomas shared with me about the Jante Law, which I thought was a ‘total gem’ for a sociology student like myself who wants to ‘dig out’ what defines particular societies. It is something deeply ingrained in Danish society and very similar to Singapore – the contempt of those who are rich. But Singapore in some sense goes a step further, i.e. as long as you are different from me, there is a little scorn and displeasure, be it someone inferior or superior than me. Thomas also talked about his ancestry, with his grandparents being Germans who came up to Denmark to be potato farmers. We had a rather ‘deep’ talk following that when Martin (on my immediate right in the picture just above) and Jonathan both shared how the Holocaust claimed the lives of numerous of their grandparents and relatives. Its scary to think that, after 60 years, the memory of this massacre still left a strong impression on the people today. Just to realise that it happened in the 20th century, not in 10th century, speaks of the tragedy of the human race. 

I have much more to share about, but I will leave them to future posts. Sometimes, I find myself more as an anthropologist rather than a sociologist. I really hope to understand the Japanese as how I did to the Danes, but the fact I only know something so personal to the Danes (the Jante Law) in the last week in Copenhagen (after spending 4 months there), tells me that to fully understand the Japanese is easier said than done.

A lone postman cycles through the snow-ridden streets of Copenhagen, faithfully discharging his duties in the cold weather. Respect!