The document discusses cultural differences the author observed while living in Copenhagen, Denmark as a Taiwanese person. Some differences mentioned include Danish teachers dismissing classes on time unlike in Taiwan, Danish snacks being very sweet, shops leaving lights on after closing for security or promotion, variable supermarket prices between branches, more bicycles than motorcycles on shared paths, open discussion of taboo topics in class, hanging from handles on public transit, short pedestrian crossing times, and using plastic cooking tools which the author finds concerning. The author acknowledges differences between Asian and European cultures but is still curious about reasons for these Danish norms.

1. Why do Danish people
do like these…?
By: Joy Chu (and, yap, I’m from Taiwan.)

2. After living in Copenhagen,
I found that some cases in Denmark
(or Scandinavia) really surprise me.
I know, definitely, there are cultural and
living differences between Asian and
North Europe, but sometimes, I still
want to ask “why Danish people
do like these? ”.

3. Click on the picture to see
what the differences are.

5. • It’s quite surprising that all the
teachers here dismiss their
classes on time, since, in Taiwan,
it’s very common for teachers
saying “give me 5 more minutes,
and I’ll finish my lecture (but
actually they spend more time
than they promised).”

7. • Danish people love sweet so
much! Every snack is sweet! I
have sweet tooth too, but
sometimes the Danish snack is
still to sweet for me. Likewise in
Taiwan, we’ll emphasize the
snack is not very sweet when
recommending it to others,
because we think that’s healthier.

9. • I’m surprised that shops in
Scandinavian countries keep
their lights on after closed.
“Doesn’t it waste energy?” I
asked myself. However, I realize
that the lights can help
illuminating, keeping from being
stolen, or even promoting the
product. (Just list some
possibilities.)

11. • Price of the same item differs
from branch to branch. It seems
that the market-oriented
economy works very well in
Danish supermarkets. In my
hometown, branches under the
same company will usually have
same price, so customers don’t
have to do price comparison.

13. • Here are only few motorcycles,
so I think this is why people ride
bikes and motorcycles on the
same path. If this situation
happens in Taiwan, it will be
very dangerous, since the
amount of motorcycle in Taiwan
is as many as the amount of
bike in Denmark.

15. • “Is anyone under 18?” My
teacher asked before playing the
movie. Although I’m over 18,
some shots were still
unwatchable for me. But it’s
interesting that people can
discuss sex, nudity, rape, and
violence openly in class, while
these topics seem to be a kind
of taboo in Asian classes.

17. • Sometimes I saw people (both
kids and adults) hanging on the
hanger in metro, and no one
prohibited them. But in Taiwan,
it’s not that polite to play on the
public transportation, because
we think that might disturb other
passengers.

19. • Is Danish people’s legs really
that long? The green light lasts
quite a short time and quickly
turns to red light, so I rarely walk
across the road only within the
green light period. The traffic
light isn’t friendly to pedestrians,
but I guess it will be fine if you
ride a bike.

21. • Why Danish people cook with
plastic tools? This is the most
unbelievable and unbearable
thing in my daily life! I’ve seen
many spoons and spatulas
melted since people forgot to
pick them up from the pans. I
found myself rejoice we have
iron ones in Taiwan.

22. Even though there is something hard
to accept, there must be something worth to
learn when facing different culture.
In these 9 confusing situations,
I’ve found reasons for some of them,
but the others are still mysteries.
It’s quite interesting to discuss and guess the
reasons. But sometimes you’ll find that
even local people don’t know the answers,
because these are their normal life, needless to

23. Yap, it’s finished.
Thank you. 