Der var engang...
What am I doing here? It’s a long, dumb teenage story, I know. But this thing that happened pointed me in the right direction in life. If I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Aside from playing with Legos and watching that one movie with Julia Stiles, I officially discovered that Denmark was a thing about six years ago. It was shortly after my nineteenth birthday, a time when I was especially freaked out about my new adult life and what to do with it. I was in school pursuing a degree in the arts, but I didn’t feel quite fulfilled in what I was doing. It was super dramatic.
On a typical overcast, drizzly Seattle day, my mother and I were shopping in Pike Place Market. We caught sight of a small bookshop tucked away in the corner and decided to go in to browse. The atmosphere was cozy and welcoming. Shelves were absolutely packed, beckoning avid readers with their bookish wiles.
Once inside, I randomly thought to myself, “I should look for the books in other languages.” The kind shop lady pointed me toward the language section: back of the store, bottom shelf. The last place you’d want to search for with the last books you would want to pick up. All of them (and there weren’t many) were tattered, dusty, and old as dirt. Normal people would keep walking, but not me- I LOVE old things.
So I started going through them. The first few were in French. Nope. I had unfortunately lost interest in French half way through high school. The next few were in Spanish. No thanks. I had tried Spanish too, but again, lost interest. I saw a few in German, Chinese, Arabic. Those looked pretty cool, but...
Then I saw one in a language I could not identify. This book was older and more tattered than the rest. It was “Blomstrende Verden” by Morten Korch. On the front cover was the handwritten name Jens H. Jensen. The last owner, I imagine. Inside? DANISH EVERYTHING. Never in my life had I seen something more beautiful. It was glorious and wonderful and life just made sense all of a sudden. Told you it was super dramatic.
( If you need a visual reference for my reaction, just imagine the scene in The Nightmare Before Christmas where Jack sings “What’s this?”)
I found more Danish books on the shelf in the same state of quality. There were four in total. Three were written by Morten Korch, all of them belonged to Jens, and all of them swept me off my feet. I asked the shop lady how much for the first book, and she quoted me 10 bucks. Sold! Less than five minutes later, my mom and I left the shop, me with a little bit more than just a book. It was there on that day that I decided two things:
1) Denmark is the answer to life, the universe, and everything.
2) I will have to come back for the rest of the books so Jens’ collection can stay together.
I still have the receipt from the first purchase. (It was February 24, 2012 and I paid $10.95) I ended up successfully collecting all of Jens’ books and they sit on my shelf to this day waiting for me to be able to read them.
I told you it was a dumb story, but it led to me finding something cool and fun to do with my life. It has taken a few years for me to get ready for this adventure. Not sure where I’ll end up, but I’m excited for the ride.
Vi ses!