Sitting across from Kathrine in the team lounge, I tried to focus on the notebook she's just pushed toward me. After a tough training session, I'd usually prefer to unwind, relax with the rest of the team and joke about, but here we are, diving into Danish lessons. I can't decide what's harder, dribbling through five defenders or trying to wrap my head around these new words. I mean I learn one word then forget it as soon as I learn the next.
"Okay, let's start with something simple," Kathrine says, smiling at me. "How about 'Hello, how are you?' It's 'Hej, hvordan har du det?'"
I repeat after her, feeling a bit clumsy with the words. "Hej, hvordan har du det?" I frown. The phrase feels strange, almost like my mouth isn't built to say it.
Kathrine nods encouragingly, clearly trying to boost my confidence. "That's good! Just a bit smoother on 'hvordan.' It's softer than it looks."
I give it another shot, trying to soften the sounds like she said. "Hej, hvordan har du det?"
"Much better!" She claps her hands, pleased with my progress. "Now, let's talk about some of the special letters in Danish: 'æ,' 'ø,' and 'å.' They might look odd, but they're not too bad once you get used to them."
I lean in closer, eyeing the letters she's written down. They look like they belong to aliens, no way they're actually part of a language people actually speak. "Right... those," I say, unable to hide my skepticism. "Why are there extra letters? What's wrong with the normal alphabet, you know... abcd?"
Kathrine laughs at that, clearly amused. "They're not extra! Just different. Every language has its quirks, right? Think of this as one of ours."
I cross my arms and squint at the letters, still unconvinced. "Okay, explain 'æ' to me then. It looks like an 'a' and an 'e' had a weird baby thats a bit frisky."
She bursts out laughing. "I guess you could say that! But 'æ' is actually a vowel sound we use a lot. It's like the 'a' in 'cat,' but a bit softer. Try saying 'færge'—it means ferry."
I give it a go. "Færge." I pause, then shake my head. "Yeah, my mouth definitely isn't made for this nor is my brain."
Kathrine grins, not letting me off the hook. "It takes practice. You'll get it. Now, let's move on to 'ø.' It's like the 'u' in 'burn,' but you need to round your lips more."
"Ø?" I attempt, feeling ridiculous as I purse my lips. I stop halfway and start laughing. "I feel like I'm making duck faces over here."
"That's actually the point!" she says, laughing along with me. "It's a strange sound, I know. But you did great. Now, for 'å.' This one's like the 'o' in 'bore,' but a little softer."
"Å..." I repeat, then throw my hands up in defeat. "Why does Danish have all these letters that look like someone smashed the keyboard? They all sound the same too." I huffed.
Kathrine's eyes sparkle with amusement. "They might look weird, but they help us say things you can't with the regular alphabet. Plus, they give Danish its own sound."
I nod, trying to make sense of it all. "I guess that makes sense. It's just... different... a very annoying different that I am never going to remember at all."
Kathrine reaches over and gives me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You're doing great. Learning a new language isn't easy, especially one as tricky as Danish. But if you keep practicing, it'll start to feel natural."
I smile back, feeling a bit better about the whole thing. "Thanks, Kath. I'll keep at it. But don't be surprised if I mix these letters up with emojis in a text."
She laughs, shaking her head. "As long as you don't text me asking for 'fælg' when you meant 'færge.' One means ferry, the other means rim. That could get awkward."
We both burst out laughing, the tension easing as we share the joke. Despite the confusion and those strange letters, I am is happy its Kath helping me instead of someone else... no way would they be as patient as she is. I mean I get distracted every twenty seconds.
Obviously learning danish is a challenge, sure, but it's also kind of fun, especially when we can laugh about it along the way. Or when I say words wrong and say something else by accident. Thats always going to be a good laugh.
Hey at least if I have a danish person teaching me, duo-lingo cant screw me over with those streaks.
As we continued the lesson, I slowly began to get the hang of it, bit by bit. The weird letters don't seem as intimidating anymore? And with Kathys help, I'm actually starting to appreciate the quirks that make Danish unique. Who knows? Maybe one day, I'll be able to say a full sentence without stumbling over those funky letters.
