Among My People

Copenhagen, Denmark

Years ago, I took a DNA test through Ancestry.com, and I received a surprising result. A significant portion of my DNA came back as Danish and Swedish. I was unaware of my Scandinavian ancestors, but with the history of the Vikings and where they settled, my Scandinavian DNA makes sense. I also know that, with my height, blue eyes, and light features, I could easily appear to be from Scandinavia. Goldeneye was big when I was in college, and I remember one night we were playing in our dorm room and started joking about being secret agents. My joke was, “Where am I infiltrating, Sweden?”

However, I was startled while walking down the street in Copenhagen. I am used to being taller than most people, but here in Denmark, I just fit in. It was pleasant, yet a little jarring to have multiple people taller than me in close proximity. It was the first time in my life that I felt like I blended in with the crowd. Therefore, it was a little jarring that I did not learn the phrase, “Jeg beklager, jeg taler ikke Dansk,” before my trip. People came up to me the entire time in Denmark, speaking Danish to me, asking for directions or help, and I did not know the first word, so I had to respond in English. Danes, for the most part, are excellent English speakers, but when I said I could not speak Danish, a couple of people kept talking to me in Danish, leaving me even more confused.

This illusion followed me across the border to Malmö, and people there approached me in Swedish. What I immediately felt was that I was home, and my DNA brought me back to my roots. My trip to Denmark also taught me that I have become a better traveler at blending in with other cultures. Americans typically have a certain look or attitude when they are outside the United States, and apparently, this was not showing up for me as a tourist in Denmark.

So, what have I learned that helped me blend in? One: Try to wear garments without visible writing or logos. Most of the time I was in Denmark and Sweden, I wore plain shirts, often in neutral colors or solid or patterned. Two, in Denmark, the public transportation was excellent, so I rode the subway or buses like everyone else who did not take a bicycle. Three, do not be loud. In every instance, someone came up to me, and I kept to myself and did not talk. Four, I am a huge fan of the Scandinavian concept of personal space, so I did not crowd anyone as I did not want to be crowded, either.

Walking down the street in Copenhagen, I reflected on my own high school mascot being a Viking. I also reflected on my time as a high school teacher; the high school I taught at also had a Viking mascot. Here I am in Denmark, and my own DNA is displaying my Viking traits, too, so that I completely blend in with the people around me. I felt completely at home from my first day in Denmark, and that is a feeling that I had never had in a foreign country. I truly felt that I was among my people.