I always write about how funny I find it that Danes have little to no clue about Latin America so when Cinco de Mayo rolled around I found myself in a specially hard challenge because, particularly on this day, Americans have little to no clue about Latin America either. But I gathered all my spices and put my hips in tune and headed in for the kill. I had it all planed out, I was going to ambush my host and ask him if he knew what May 5th was and then surprise him when he didnt know the correct answer. But his answer surprised me: In Denmark, May 5th marks the day that the German forces surrendered in WWII, which is marked by public memorial ceremonies for fallen members of the Danish resistance, and by demonstrations of the left-wing, both in memory of the communist resistance fighters and also carrying slogans of peace and solidarity linking the struggle in the past with new ones today. Woah... where did that come from. And how singularly ironic. May 5th (or Cinco de Mayo for those blessed with bilingual tongues) in the U.S is not just about margaritas and tequila shots if you must know, it commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War, which has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Usually in my household we take it as an excuse to make Mexican food. Just about now it had hit me that I was in a completely different culture enjoying completely different traditions. I find it real interesting.
After realizing the coincidence of it all my host dad and I decided to merge them both and make a meal to celebrate the day. I would make us quesadillas and cheer to Cinco de Mayo and he would grace the table with lots of Danish beer and celebrate liberation. Living with a host means compromises! and compromises can be fun and unexpected and cultural. We sat over the table and talked about WWII and Latin America. Soon we drifted into talking about our lives, and by the last wedge of our quesadillas we were sitting in the couch, sipping on Carlsberg and sharing to each other our profound stories, our goals, and I even told him some of the things I´m afraid of. This one dinner is everything I wanted from this Study Abroad experience: Getting immersed and immersing myself.That´s what Denmark does to you; dinner is not to be taken lightly. I was so induced into the experience I even forgot to take pictures of the finished product. There will only be the corrupted sanctity of the snapchat screen shots to commemorate it.
After realizing the coincidence of it all my host dad and I decided to merge them both and make a meal to celebrate the day. I would make us quesadillas and cheer to Cinco de Mayo and he would grace the table with lots of Danish beer and celebrate liberation. Living with a host means compromises! and compromises can be fun and unexpected and cultural. We sat over the table and talked about WWII and Latin America. Soon we drifted into talking about our lives, and by the last wedge of our quesadillas we were sitting in the couch, sipping on Carlsberg and sharing to each other our profound stories, our goals, and I even told him some of the things I´m afraid of. This one dinner is everything I wanted from this Study Abroad experience: Getting immersed and immersing myself.That´s what Denmark does to you; dinner is not to be taken lightly. I was so induced into the experience I even forgot to take pictures of the finished product. There will only be the corrupted sanctity of the snapchat screen shots to commemorate it.