I'm going to change subject very radically today. I'll still blog about culture and things you could go see when travelling, but this time it's happening in Denmark. Almost on the other side of the world here, huh?
I hope that taking on some subjects in Danish culture and traditions can be a help for those who might be interested in the country and wants to or will go there. For example, I hope that inbound exchange students may find this useful.
If you're not in Denmark right now, but are going to be here in a few months, then you'll probably miss out on the tradition that I will tell about today. I know some exchange students are still in Denmark, although going home soon, and if you stay long enough too, you'll be able to catch the event next year.
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What we have here is a truckload of students recently graduated from a Danish gymnasium (not the kind where you exercise in, but a kind of senior high school with education methods similar to a college). They're my previous classmates that I left behind in order to go to Taiwan the past year.
While I've been eating tofu and pig innards, these guys have been working hard in school to get the right to wear those fancy hats they have on now.
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Went to my school to say hi to my old classmates and see their truck. Here they're preparing banners for decorating it.
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It's a long time since I saw these people but they all look mostly like they used to. With the exception of their hats, of course.
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This guy has something wrong in his head.
But he's actually the guy who asked med if I wanted to come over and have a look, so I can accept his weird behavior.
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Later he is introducing some ancient Greek puzzle game where you have to untangle the balloons to his fellow classmate.
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She's making art.
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See?
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The word painted here "Rød" is the Danish word for red.
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Here these two fellows are displaying their banner. I believe we can already conclude that whatever is wrong with Teis, the guy to the left, it's contagious.
What the banner says (from bottom right to top left) is: "Honk, honk, hoonk. There is only one true [student] cap and it's RED!
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The banner on this side says "ideal drinking", a pun on the ideal gas law. These people have been taking a science-oriented line and are considered the most nerdy class in the entire school.
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Their Danish teacher came over to hand out some free beers. He looks somewhat different from the last time I saw him. Not as much as my previous English teacher, though. I wonder if I will have any English classes the next year, as the school changed the rules about those.
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One of my classmates bought a Canon 500D and wanted to swap with my camera for a while to see the difference. I think it was quite big. Most notably, his camera had some technology in the lens making it's auto-focus really quick.
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They also put fresh branches on the car. Also part of the tradition, but nobody knows why.
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The "rus", or "studenter" as they are more often called in Denmark, will drink a lot while driving around in the truck (but they aren't steering it themselves!).
They'll drink loads as soon as they get off the truck too. Unlike Taiwanese, who soon after graduation will go straight to work, Danish students spend their summer vacation drinking. You have to be especially hardcore to get through this tradition, driving around for usually several days and drinking all the while.
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If you are in Denmark you will probably notice these "studenter" in the truck because of the noise they make. They usually bring their own arsenal of noisemaking devices and often have the trucks horn available for use too. Of course they play music and scream also.
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I wonder if they managed to get enough space for everybody.
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There exists many traditions regarding the students caps and how you can "decorate" them. While this kind of phenomenon can be seen all over Scandinavia, the rules for decoration differ between countries and sometimes regions. Yes, he's biting someone else's cap.
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You can get trophies from doing certain things applied to your hat as cuts or dents in certain places, something written or attached to the hat and other modifications. There's many and I don't know all of them. But I'll give a few examples: If you drink too much and have to go to the hospital and have your stomach pumped then your cap will lose its visor. If you kiss someone the same gender as you, the emblem on the front should be turned upside down, and if you throw up during the parties, you'll get a cut in the visor.
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People usually have a cross as an emblem which is not actually a christian symbol although some people make that assumption. It is, however, also common for students to have different emblems. For example, Muslims will often have a star and crescent emblem on their cap. It is also possible to get a Star of David, a hammer and sickle or a maple leaf if you are an atheist or some belong to a minor religion (look closely on the Somali girl below; Her emblem is a maple leaf).
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People are ready and excited now.
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And off they go. Actually these pictures were all taken on the 23th, so it's already a long time since they stopped driving. You'll still be able to hear other students driving around for a while, though, if you are in Denmark.
And congratulations to all those with the caps on!