Keren Christensen, private photo

18.09.24 Vi rådgiver dig Nyheder

A Caribbean from New York, with a life in Thisted

From big to small – Kerens journey from the grandiose big apple to the smaller joys of Northwest Denmark.

Denmark is made up of almost 6 million stories and destinies. Most of them of course start in Denmark, but around 12.5% of the population in Denmark, more than 700.000 people, can tell stories about a life starting beyond the small borders of the red and white land.

This article will tell the story of Keren Christensen, a Puerto-Rican born American whose Danish journey started 20 years ago.

Twenty years ago, I took a leap from bustling New York City to a small town called Thisted in Denmark. I will never forget that initial culture shock. My idea of a ‘small’ Danish city was Aarhus, where I visited my husband, when we were dating,says Keren Christensen.

For perspective purposes, an introduction to the different cities is in order. The metropolitan area of New York City has a population (20 mil) more than 3 times bigger than the entire population of Denmark. Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark has a population of around 350.000 people, while the town of Thisted, has a population of just over 13.000 people. These numbers speak for themselves, and they speak of a magnificent difference in culture, size, tempi and much more. A difference that you must experience, in order to grasp its entirety.

From Puerto Rico to Thisted

Keren is from the Caribbean, born in the American territory of Puerto Rico to Dominican migrants. She lived the first 10 years of her life in Puerto Rico, before moving to New York City.

Soon after graduating from university with a degree in business economy, Keren met her now husband.

“My husband is Danish and lived in Aarhus at the time, so I used to go back and forth from Aarhus to New York, and it was lovely – I thought of it as a nice small town,” Keren says with a smile. Her smile introduces the story of what had not yet entered her realm of possibilities.

“I was young and invincible, so I decided that I should move to Denmark and Aarhus. We were in love, we got married, and I was ready to move, but then my husband lost his job.” At the time, in 2004, Keren’s husband struggled to find a job in Aarhus.

The first job that he got was in Thisted, a market town in the district of Thy in northwestern Denmark.  “I thought it would be like Aarhus, and so I didn’t think much of it.”

That move, from New York to Thisted, from 20 million to 13 thousand was, as you might imagine, a big culture shock for Keren.

“The local people think Thisted is a big town, but to me it was definitely not,” Keren says, again with a smile. And although the shock was large and although it sometimes still shocks her that her life took a turn for Thisted, the smile persists. “Now of course, my kids don’t know anything other than here.”

Integrating in Thisted

The start was very difficult. Neither me nor my husband were from Thisted. We didn’t have family here, and we didn’t have friends here,says Keren.

To combat the loneliness of not having friends and family, and to learn more about the country she had moved to, Keren started going to language classes. “I took every test they had to offer, and passed, but I still didn’t feel that my Danish was good enough.”

But Keren did not stop there. She took an adult class at the trade school in Thisted and this both helped her understand the societal structures of Denmark, but it also helped her practice her Danish. “Being engaged in Danish society was key, and going to a Danish school, with Danish people, speaking Danish, was a turning point for me,” Keren says whilst again pointing to the importance of learning the language of the country you are in.

Engaging in different educational offers did not only help her on the practical side. Keren’s social life bloomed because of this. “I still meet with the girls that I met in trade school several times a year.”

Although the initial move from big to small, from New York to Thisted was a culture shock, Keren and her family are very happy with their life in Thisted.

Language is key

Keren believes that language is the no.1 key to integration. “If you get past that everything will become easier,” she says and continues to say that although it might be easier in the larger cities to get by without knowing Danish, “Danes speak Danish when they are relaxed.”

“My Danish is not perfect, and it doesn’t have to be. But I understand everything and although my accent is heavy, I can express myself very well.”

An increasingly international country

Keren has recently applied and got accepted as a Danish citizen. Cheerfully, she says; “I actually plan to have the rest of my life here.”

After 20 years in Denmark, with two kids, and a job at Cimbria, Keren feels more than ready to accept the burgundy red passport of Denmark.

Compared to when Keren first arrived, internationals are arriving to Denmark in abundance. In 2023, 80% of the increase in workforce in Denmark came from hirings of internationals, and although Keren soon won’t show up as an international in the statistics, she knows that moving to a new country can be a challenge. As an answer to this challenge, the association of Thy Internationals was started. To help people whose journey did not start in Denmark, but find themselves here, and want to stay.

“Three years ago, amidst the social isolation brought on by COVID-19, a group of us internationals living in Thisted decided to come together. We recognized the need for social interaction to maintain work-life balance, especially during those challenging times. Thus, Thy Internationals was born—the first international organization in our region,“ she ends with a smile. 

If you want to know more about Thy Internationals or maybe join them, you can check them out on Facebook or LinkedIn

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