記考試之三Business English

整個Course都沒甚麼東西袋落我袋，一切都是靠平時的自己

但既然有一些雜誌文章和其他的Notes，我也希望用心看過一次

預了兩日，但竟然十來二十張的Notes我都不能完成

我太Hae及太相信自己了，但Professor不相信我

同樣是三小時的考試，30-05-2008在Aulu

根本用三小時作一篇一頁多的文章是綽綽有餘的

可是，我用了部份時間做那個ExchangeExpense ExcelFile

亦突然的Hang機，令我考試時間只梗梗夠用

Hang機後，我十分自責沒有Save

又捨不得關閉個WordFile，只好PrintScreen再打，可惜已喪失了頭兩段

忍心地CloseFile後，幸好有Recover才不用打得那麼辛苦

但整個過程我都經已花了我超過半小時

可惡地，我又拿下了一個C！

當年今日Xanga之八

記得當初一月尾剛到埗的時候
未夠六點經已伸手不見五指
朝早九點鐘等車返學時天都未光齊
但係   幾過咗四個月時間的洗禮
而家夜晚十點半天仲光緊
清晨四點未到就又天光   光到足以整醒我
見到個天咁靚   咁早日出咁特別
就算五點幾仲憫緊訓唔番着都死出去影一影相
 攝於早上五時二十七分
   P.S.   附上 Exchange 第一日，今日同最後一晚Århus日出日落時間表

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Length of this day
20-Jan-08	08:47 AM	04:13 PM	7h 25m 56s
27-May-08	04:32 AM	10:02 PM	17h 30m 49s
23-Jun-08	04:15 AM	10:28 PM	18h 13m 28s

二零零八丹麥五月之八

聽說2008年5月是丹麥近年來最好天氣的月份
也真是的，除了02-05-2008離開Nord時下傾盆大雨及19-05-2008&26-05-2008的微微雨之外

其餘的日子都是美麗的晴天

看來日長夜短的夏天已來到丹麥

凌晨四五點已天亮這大自然奇觀令我不禁出外拍一拍照

被日光照醒對我來說竟然是件奇妙樂事

與此同時，我的煮食時間亦由一開始的六七點延至八九點

一來因為很晚仍未天黑，在天還亮時吃晚飯的感覺怪怪的

二來希望避開廚房使用率的高峰時間〈1900-1930〉

以妨再被其他人取笑我只懂煮肉醬意粉或用過期肉〈雖則知道他是善意的〉

況且一人獨霸廚房亦未嘗不是一件樂事；

夏天的來臨亦令不少小動物甦醒，尤其是住在我窗外的小花園那些

待在窗邊就不難發現窗外有十數隻物體群飛

失驚無神更會間中有一兩隻大力撞到窗上弄至巨響

幸好沒有撞死的屍體黏在窗上要我收拾

看著那些恐怖的場面，我都有個多月沒有開窗，生怕牠們飛進又趕不走

可能有關方面都覺得事態嚴重

在五月尾時派出一部車除草及翻土，可惜那光禿禿的土地至我走的一刻仍沒變

望著窗外同一地方，只隔著四個月但竟可變得面目全非

 

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完全想不到北歐的夏天會那麼的炎熱，陽光會那麼的猛

經冰島一役後絕對不敢鬆懈，見唔對路即買枝防曬

而那乾爽的天氣又令我可將防矖搽在面上又不覺得辛苦

〈那段沒有面油的日子真是夫復何求！〉

但為了雙重保護，我還是決定經常著那件H&M白褸

加上邊行邊用手擋太陽，但好像給其他愛太陽普照的丹麥人掩著半邊咀笑

都說我是愛靚唔愛面的了，一度和十九度都是同一裝扮

然而晚上則是另一番景象，還保留著冬天的刺骨

早晚溫差很大，大至24^oC與11^oC之別

穿著短褲去洗衣的我都唯有加快腳步行

二零零八丹麥五月之七

星期六，我如常外出到Downtown的超級市場

一出門已經見到巴士的頭頂上插著兩面小國旗

心想又是丹麥人愛國的表現，感覺良好

然而一離開火車站對出的Netto就遇見了三位法國朋友

他們告訴我近河的位置有類似Festival的節興

不用收費我又有時間，當然走去八卦一番

先到大教堂旁的空地逛逛，那裡滿是富維京色彩的帳幕

除了賣手信之外，亦有示範一些傳統工藝的

當中甚至包括作狀互片的教學時段

而整日最特別的是在河上的那艘維京船

雖然不算大，但隻船很復古優雅

我在岸上還聽了一會船上的維京人唱著古文歌，很藝術人

之後再走到Social Club及H&M旁的廣場，亦是熱鬧非常

我認為這是一個作為交流生最想遇到的Festival，因為帶有很濃厚的丹麥文化

有些事情真是可遇不可求的

例如我翌日再去的時候已沒有甚麼攤位剩下了

但究竟是我完全沒有留意宣傳或是根本沒有宣傳呢？

我完全不知道Århus有這麼一個特別的周末

二零零八丹麥五月之六

五月尾有個專為Exchange而設的Sendoff event

簡單來說是叫我們入他們的Alumni Network

而對貪小便宜的人來說，目的只有食物和一個紀念襟章

當日的食物又豐富又好食

我吃了無數的三文魚和荀，Brownie和汽水啤酒

到最後係飽得不須要我自己煮飯食，可謂意料之外！

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我開始沒那麼重視儀表上的事宜

一來面上爆了小瘡，久久不褪；二來生怕頭髮生長得快而少了洗頭

但就神奇在我在丹麥睡醒後，頭髮共沒有如常地飛起，十分之易搞

只是不時會嗅到頭上發出的陣陣異味

因此我每次都會十分期待洗頭的時刻

從來沒有想過用洗頭水洗刷頭髮可以那麼美好

二零零八丹麥五月之五

睡眠佔去了我丹麥生活的一半時間

聽起來有點消極，但這才是享受生活的真蹄！

除了很久之前已飬成的自然醒習慣外，晏覺對我來說亦是個必須品

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睡覺之前我會先做一件事：除褲

不知從何時開始，連續幾晚半夜醒來後大腿都出了汗

半睡半醒時下意識地脫掉褲子，原來涼浸浸的幾得意，慢慢便成了個新習慣；

睡覺之後我會立即做另外一件事：拍打枕頭

因它內裡的物質很易變形，睡醒後有一大部份會下墮

所以要將它打至原形

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一直以來在Snogebæksvej都相當平安，除了一晚20-05-2008靈異夜……

當晚很早訓，並貪得意沒有關上窗簾訓

但訓訓下突然聽到一些叫聲和喊聲

好得人驚，都不敢想那些究竟是細路或貓狗的叫聲

只在床上自己越縮越埋，又不是太夠膽動身

最後要鼓起很大勇氣才能拉埋窗簾及訓，極度恐怖

事後我問了Don及Esben，他們都異口同聲話沒有聽到怪聲

好彩我之後都沒有形著形著，否則將會過得很痛苦

二零零八丹麥五月之四

International Marketing考試之後還有五星期準備下一科要溫書的Strategic Management

突然覺得這麼長的時間應該用來增值自己

我竟然會到圖書館預借一些關於Global Business的教科書

一開始都還有一夥三分鐘熱度的心

但隨著時間的流逝和自己真性情的爆發，我越看越慢越看越少

始終看書並不是我的個人興趣

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除了看書，我亦在試後完成了Exchange Report及Exchange Expense Sheet

值得一再提的是後者，我花了很多心思逐個項目記錄下來

亦難得地從一張給洗衣機洗至霉爛的旅行記數紙中找到重要數字

忘我地在Business English考試中都做那Expense Sheet

我仍然很自豪我當時記數的細心

二零零八丹麥五月之三

丹麥的車費極高昂，再加上本土人民愛環保

故不難發現周街都是單車

馬路上亦另闢一條單車專線，名副其賓的單車之城

而隨著春夏旅遊旺季的開始，一輛輛專給旅客使用的單車亦再度推出市面

大家只須一個20DKK的硬幣便可隨時借去其中一輛

沒有任何期限，只要交到特定的單車停泊位便可取回20DKK〈就如以前家樂福的手推車〉

單車雖比正常的重多了，但分文不收又不能多多要求了

本來我都沒有任何要踩單車的慾望

但之後突然覺得這件事很丹麥，又是免費娛樂，便嘗試一下

在Aldi買過當日燒烤會所要的食物後

便到外面的單車停泊處取下那處藍色的單車

然後就到對面馬路的空地練習半小時，但仍未上手

隔幾日後再心癢癢，這次拿了部白色的自己一個試

我沿著旁邊的馬路向上走到一個停車場及單車舖

奇怪的是好像在坐上之後突然之間有了踩單車的感覺

雖則試過炒車，倒下了單車舖門外的幾輛，但仍可叫做學憧了

最後就乾脆借用了部紅色的，23-05-2008至18-06-2008都放進地下室

得閒又踩踩，貪得意又踩踩

第一次不自量力，在由Nord回程的上斜路踏了幾下，十分辛苦

最後要到那十字路口的樹蔭之下抖抖，期間甚至見暈，雙眼發白

只有死頂才能夠回得到Snogebæksvej，過程比死更難受

最終成身汗的我左腰及背部都酸痛，只能靠脫光及小睡四個鐘才有所解脫

自此我發誓不再踩上斜，拖著單車向上行好過

記考試之二International Marketing

為應付這次考試，我總共看過這本教科書兩次

除了用在IT Room拿走的格仔紙自製Notes將所有重點記下之外，亦思考過書中的每個Case

因為我都幾喜愛讀這科，所以才不介意多做預備弄清Concept

可惜Professor不太接受我所答的答案

14-05-2008下午在U115室進行三小時的考試

有見我常於下午感到渾渾噩噩，所以我決定當日先於0730早起再在1045訓一訓再考

出門前想洗一洗已有兩日沒洗的頭，但竟然無水

唯有隨意梳好一頭帶有異味的頭髮

看著EST三子出發，我亦提早回校

到試場後，一直想用電腦考，但突然的斷電令我再也開不到電腦

其實一直也如此，只不過當時不清楚發生甚麼事

十分害怕燒了我的電腦，幸好只是虛驚一場

既然電腦開不到，想用乾電也捱不到三小時

唯有頂硬上用手寫，即使後來開到了電腦

但我已答了三分之二，只好用電腦幫我作Research之用

我覺得我考試表現雖算不得上做最好，寫得的確不太順

但也未至於拿了個C吧！可能是懲罰我上Facebook讀師兄的LastDay感言又格格笑吧

十分不服氣！但又無話可說，整班人一個A也沒有

當年今日Xanga之七

跟學校辦的團去 LEGOLAND
天清氣朗   岩晒去玩
但經過冰島一役後   完全唔夠膽低估北歐的太陽
前一日拿拿淋去買支防曬
再喪噴止汗   等自已至少唔好流咁多
可以一路着住件薄褸
﹝真係顛顛地   一度同十九度都係同一件褸﹞
冇錯   LEGOLAND個 Target Market 唔係我
但我住喺丹麥半年   點都應該到一到
最多係唔知醜同班細路一齊排隊等玩
而家後悔我用錯個策略
花得太多時間玩低能兒童玩意
到最後冇時間玩個最激的過山車同一部份濕身野
但用七彩繽紛的 LEGO 積木去砌成個樂園的景點確實能夠造出令人置身於童話世界的感覺

配合北歐的藍天   一絕
齌睇景都算值回票價
   P.S.   夜晚學校包場   我又去蒲
             跳到身水身汗   應該係我第一次於丹麥流汗
             我又飲咗好多酒精野
             一離開 Social Club 個場   沒有強勁的節拍爆耳下個人即刻暈暈地
             好似自殘咁   但都冇乜機會再做蒲精強了

Legoland

跟著InternationalOffice辦的團去Legoland

踏入春夏的交接期，外國人的衣著隨即變得求其起來

短褲白襪涼鞋這大陸人Look都夠膽出街，真令我大開眼界

我聽著近來最新下載的容祖兒的舊歌，上了第二架巴士上層出發

個半鐘的路程上不斷地看到綠草和黃花，丹麥已經醒來了

很陶醉沿路的景色，亦很感受得到Legoland所迫你感受的夢幻繽紛氣氛

成班Exchamge同學一下車即四散，各自各去玩樂

我則和另外兩位女港燦加新加坡女結伴同行

想不到才五月頭，丹麥的太陽便已那麼猛

在場所有人都會感到當日的熱浪，唯獨我為免曬燶而妄顧中暑的危機著著褸

而我在認為件白褸使我在同圍七彩的Lego堆中更搶鏡之後，更加肯定我不會除下它

然而，越食越多的我開始見到有圓面相的出現

一路以來都沒有這件困擾事，其他港燦為此煩惱時我亦會暗地裡說句麻煩

原來當自己面對時都一定會看不過並要求重拍

一入內，就花了一段不尋常地長的時間影相和玩一些沒有人玩的低能兒童玩意

當中亦包括了不少的大路玩意如LegoTrain&LegoTower

 

之後才玩我想玩的；最好玩是和另一家多個小孩子玩的激流

但及後只係兜了兩個圈的快車和入城堡的快車同樣地流和毫無離心力

一樣地無料到的還有那個4D影院，坐著個甚麼風和水都來不到的位

玩過這些之後已沒太多時間剩，十分後悔沒有進丹麥電視廣告喪播的水底世界和四人過山車

行了幾次LegoShop搵Souven之後便上車回ASB了

聽到別人說甚麼甚麼很刺激好玩而我錯過了真不是味兒，誰叫我跟個錯的策略！

那天在日光猛猛和因沒風扇熱得要死的環境下食過飯便再去SocialClub

我亦試試將所有在各地買下來的Souven大曬冷後收拾時覺得甚麼也完了，很感慨

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原來SocialClub才是當日的戲肉

一來到便快快的先喝了三杯免費的紅藍Cocktail，極好飲

2300-0000時又喝了四杯免費啤酒，和對上一次到SocialClub的酒量成天與地

始終我十分之愛跳舞，我懷疑那是我在丹麥第一次流汗

最後因不想付貴車費乘藍色通宵巴而早走，趕在AROS那兒乘尾班車

一出到SocialClub沒有音樂節拍，即受酒精影響暈陀陀

流到一身汗都免得沖涼的麻煩，即上床去睡

亦再一次證明我飲得的事實，翌日睡醒又像沒喝過一樣

真的很愛SocialClub

記考試之一Aspects of Denmark

其實我想試試一些香港沒有的考試模式的

就例如在丹麥很常見的OralExam

雖則明知我不太有急才可即時對答

但在不計Grade的學期試試也蠻值得的

但……就是沒有碰到要OralExam的科
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形式為一星期的Take-home Exam

在指定時間內按所旗題目寫一篇5-8頁的Essay

05-05-2008開始考試的早晨，在脫離西班牙友人的魔爪後便返ASB

我沿著當日與Peeter奔跑找尋的士的路線行回去

往出ASB大門口的右手面的L-Building拿試題

因為目的只有一個，所以可以迅即返回Snogebæksvej

看過那兩條題目後，那條簡單那條難答不難分辨

而且愛丹麥的人如我當然會選擇第一條比較易的：從四方面講述丹麥的優點及好處

其中三方面更加顯而易見，新穎有貨到的靈感如泉湧

只是最後一方面情況未如順暢，留待寫完其餘的再想

第一日我真的很投入於考試之中，連續足足23小時足不出戶，並完成了七頁

做到這個階段，心也定了下來，將原本定下的五天交貨期限縮短至三天

或許我太老定，放慢了手腳

第三天07-05-2008過去了，我還欠多次的Proofreading

幸好沒有需要作出大改動，我亦十分滿意自己多角度的分析

答題卷最後要自行列印，並於13-05-2008 1000-1130間交回International Office

那天的我太早到，IO都未曾開門，所以到了IT Room消磨一下時間

而在那天開始，我決定在每次考試都在巴士上打飛，以作紀錄

而這個考試亦為我賺來丹麥的一個A

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Question No.1: ‘Moving Over Little Mermaid’ – Discussing the image of Denmark

Whenever I told my friends that I would be studying in Denmark for a semester, the only thing they could relate to this country is Kjeldsens butter cookies in a blue tin[i]. This not only implies how premium and penetrating the brand is to Hong Kong people and market, especially in the Chinese New year as a popular gift, but also shows how little they know about Denmark, a country located in the other side of the world.

Hong Kong is geographically far away from Denmark, with the total distance of 8802.9 km[ii]. From my personal experience, it took me 22 hours to travel from Hong Kong to Århus, because of this reason together with the fact that there is no direct flight to Copenhagen the capital, Denmark is normally not the first choice as a travel destination.

With such a separation and a very infrequent mention of Denmark in the media locally, Hong Kong people just have a very general, yet vague and maybe incorrect idea of this country. Even so, they may not want to spend time on gathering more information or knowing more about Denmark as they do not think that they would somehow get in touch with it.

Briefly, they think that Denmark is cold, is dark for more than half-a-day and is always rainy, but they are at the same time neglecting the opposite situation in summer; they think that Denmark has a frighteningly high living standard. As we can see from the Big Mac Index last year, such a hamburger from McDonald’s is 3 times more expensive here in Denmark (Denmark: $5.08 USD; Hong Kong: $1.54 USD)[iii]; They think that Denmark is naturally beautiful, quiet, peaceful and sparse, just a very different environment and atmosphere compared to Hong Kong; They think that Denmark is a good country to live in after knowing about the Danish welfare model and its high rankings in various global competitiveness indices[iv]. All in all, the positive and rosy images outweigh the negativity about the climate here, and Denmark is certainly perceived as the modern Utopia in the world by Hong Kong people, just like the nation that would only appear in fairy tales.

Similarly, Denmark is currently stereotyped as a quaint and proper country in other places. I think this is already an impression good enough to carry in the international stage as many countries in the world are simply struggling to achieve the same goal. It is no doubt a blessing to be able to hold this image firmly and so, I do not think that there is a need to change it; however, it would be an excellent idea to add more dimensions so as to make Denmark a more dynamic and human nation. The most important mission in this aspect of image-building is to find some ways to distinguish it, making its ‘personalities’ popping out from the group of Scandinavian Europe. I said so because the five countries, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, are more frequently to be referred to as a group, not as individuals. With a global marketing campaign spending DKK 412 million in the next 4 years, the attempt to stand out of the group should always be kept in mind and be achieved successfully.

Under the proposed plan, there are four new defining themes characterizing the country. I agree quite a large part of them.

The first one is ‘responsibility and balance’ which truly describes the way Denmark is operating. One of the most appropriate examples would be the Danish welfare system. The principle behind the welfare model is that the system and benefits, mainly a wide range of service benefits including free education and health services, should be covering all citizens without regarding to any employment or family condition. The state is responsible for financing and organizing the welfare benefits available to a far greater extent than in other European countries. For this reason, the model is accompanied by a taxation system with a high tax burden, in which inequalities in income distribution and the concentration of wealth and power are allowed less free play[v]. The country is well run, well organized, there is very little difference between high and low, rich and poor, the social safety net is thus secure in place, maintaining a balance among citizens, provided that they are responsible for paying tax regularly.

Besides its own welfare model, Denmark shows ‘responsibility and balance’ in many other ways: Association life is common among Danes as they spot they have the responsibility in any organization, with the idea of democracy deep in their minds[vi]; ranking the eighth in the Global Gender Gap Index both in 2006 and 2007, indicating that there is a high degree of gender balance and equality[vii]; having one of the lowest ‘power distance score’[viii], meaning that Danes have a more balanced roles between the bosses and employees, such that Danish employees are not afraid to argue with the managers and confront conventional wisdom when they think it is good for the firm and necessary to voice out[ix].

The second one is ‘high quality’. In terms of the tourism and transportation, the Copenhagen Airport (Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup) won the latest Best Airport Award in the 10 – 25 million passenger category[x]. DSB, the state-owned rail service provider, supplies good products to customers with a number of special certificates, including the well-known ISO 9001:2000[xi]. Personally speaking, Danish trains are the most comfortable to travel with; in term of trade, a double-digit growth rate in the recent years on the export of dairy products to the US proves the fact[xii]. The import countries are fond of Danish food because there is a very strict quality control on them to ensure that Danish food, beverages and sweets are among the best in the world[xiii]; in terms of personal appearance, Danes are absolutely serious about this. Never before had I come across all people in the street dressed up, no matter in which age-group they are. Many of them use branded designers’ bags and are scrupulous about every single detail on their bodies; in terms of living, ‘Home’ is a central notion for Danish lifestyle and many efforts and money are invested in making the home inside more comfortable and tidier. Danes spend more time on achieving a higher housing standard than ever and this is a respect and a contribution to the quality of life[xiv].

The third one is ‘simplicity’. Being as a foreigner from Hong Kong, the Danish life is really simple, there are not many entertainments except partying, compared to where I live. This may be related to the unbalanced number of hours with daylight. In winter, the time of sunset would be as early as 1530[xv], people really cannot have many outdoor activities due to the darkness and thus, this leads to how much they treasure the light in summer time. It is not difficult to find that there are many people enjoying sun-bathing or BBQ as the sole activity in the whole afternoon.

Simplicity can also be shown from the buildings. Unlike what can be found in Norway and Sweden, the style of architecture in Denmark is mostly Functionalism. It is the principle that architects designing a building based only on the purpose of that building. Danish architects focus primarily on the functionality, at the expense of aesthetics and produced a large number of buildings that are characterized by straight angles, triangular roofs, and a kind of roughness provided by the minimally decorated concrete slabs that the buildings themselves are made of[xvi]. Obviously to many Danes, the interior is much more important.

The forth one is ‘being environmentally conscious’. The issue is urgent as Greenland, the self-governing Danish province located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans[xvii], is seriously affected by the global warming at this point of time. Geographically there, the ice cap covers almost the entire island, only in summer in the coastal areas are free of snow. However, the area of the ice sheet that has experienced melting has increased about 16% from 1978, and the melting rate has been accelerating since 2004[xviii]. If the warming goes on at its present rate, the sheet may disappear completely within the next thousand years, leading to a disaster to many cities as the sea-level would be raised by 7 meters by the melted ice[xix]. In order to take action, Denmark ratified Kyoto Protocol in 2002[xx] with the objective of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases by 2012[xxi]; apart from this, nationally, Denmark has the highest recycling percentage in the world[xxii], paper and cardboards, aluminium cans, plastics and glasses included, with the help of an extensive TV advertising also as part of the civil education.

On the other hand, however, there should be some more improvements in the aspect of ‘effectiveness’. For instance, a study concluded that Danish manufacturing companies are far less effective than their competitors in the other Nordic counterparts and were accused of having a ‘high mistake frequency’[xxiii]. I would also like to point out the medical system here with the reference of a real experience. Unlike Hong Kong, you cannot see a doctor whenever you need, 24/7. But you have to make an appointment during the office hours and doctor’s availability in the next day is not guaranteed, no matter how ill you are. Even after two-minute health diagnosis, you may not be able to get the curable medicines. The whole process is quite frustrating, and should never be the dark side to the brilliant image of Denmark.

Equally, I doubt the relevance of mentioning Danes holding ‘experimental and bold attitude’. I have read an article about how reluctant Denmark people are to extremes[xxiv], and I think it is a true description which can be applied to my Danish friends. But maybe the theme is to consolidate the long-lasting adventurous characteristic of Vikings instead.

I think it is a better idea to include some other characteristics of the Danes which can also be related to the specialty of the country as well. It is because only people there can be the truest and most persuasive symbols or representatives of that particular nation. For this reason, we should make use of the fact that Danes being named as the happiest people in the world, after an extensive international survey of 90 countries[xxv]. This result can be extended to say that Denmark is the happiest place on earth too[xxvi]. Their happiness may be from the openness and welcome to the surroundings. Culturally, they accept people with different lifestyles. Denmark has been the first country to approve homosexual marriage with equal rights in 1989. Also, according to a research committed earlier this year, Danes have a very positive attitude with regard to young people's relations across different cultures[xxvii], supporting a cosmopolitan attitude towards cultural interchange; socially, the demographic structure in Denmark is simply equal to the word ‘diversity’, there are many ethnic groups living together in this country, including Scandinavian, Vietnamese, Arab (Palestinian, Moroccan, Lebanese, Egyptian, Iraqi) and Pakistani[xxviii]. The different races are totally accepted as part of the family in Denmark; internationally, the proximity of Germany and close co-operation with Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland not only makes Denmark the gate between the Nordics and continental Europe, but also allows it to orient the country South in an economic and political sense, yet North in the cultural sense.

Denmark is not all about Kjeldsens and Little Mermaid, it is a lively country with a great potential to gain more awareness globally. Now, in addition to the suggested themes, I can also sincerely say, Denmark is happy, open and welcoming!

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[i] Dansk Cookie Industry A/S: http://www.cookies.dk/Brands/Kjeldsens.aspx

[ii] Travel Distance Calculator: http://www.mapcrow.info/cgi-bin/cities_distance_airpt2.cgi?city3=-1948399%2CH&city4=273591%2CD

[iii] The Big Mac Index: http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9448015

[iv] World Economic Forum: http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/index.htm

[v] Denmark – Conditions of life: http://www.um.dk/publikationer/UM/English/Denmark/kap3/3-1.asp

[vi] Association life & the Media: http://www.denmark.dk/en/menu/AboutDenmark/DenmarkInBrief/DenmarkAnOverview/GenderEqualityAssociationLifeAndTheMedia/

[vii] The Global Gender Gap Report: http://www.weforum.org/en/Communities/Women%20Leaders%20and%20Gender%20Parity/GenderGapNetwork/index.htm

[viii] Clearly Cultural (Power distance index): http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/

[ix] Why Denmark loves globalization: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1684528,00.html

[x] Airports Council International: http://www.aeroportoditorino.it/pdf/aci_europe_awards_2007_ENG.pdf

[xi] DSB – quality: http://www.dsb.dk/cs/Satellite?pagename=DSBUK/Page/Indholdsside_med_sidemenu_uden_introindhold&c=Page&cid=1125633325451

[xii] Denmark – Market opportunities: http://www.ambwashington.um.dk/en/menu/CommercialServices/Markedsmuligheder/SidsteNyt/DanishHighQualityProductsSuccessfulintheUS.htm?WBCMODE=p

[xiii] Danish Exporters: http://companies.danishexporters.dk/exporters-food-beverages-and-sweets.asp

[xiv] Denmark – Lifestyle: http://www.limbistraine.com/ro/cercetare/Gabriela-Sauciuc/2.Denmark-Country-mentality-lifestyle-values.html

[xv] Sunrise and sunset in Århus: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=1405&month=12&year=2008&obj=sun&afl=-11&day=1

[xvi] Danish functionalism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_Functionalism_%28architecture%29

[xvii] Wikipedia (Greenland): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland

[xviii] BBC (Greenland Melt ‘Speeding Up’): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4783199.stm

[xix] National Geographic News (Greenland Melt May Swamp LA, Other Cities): http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0408_040408_greenlandicemelt.html

[xx] Danish parliament ratifies Kyoto protocol: http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15994/story.htm

[xxi] Wikipedia (Kyoto Protocol): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

[xxii] Waste and Recycling: http://www.workindenmark.dk/Waste_recycling

[xxiii] Danish manufacturers are not very effective – study: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HXI/is_2002_Feb_25/ai_n25042753

[xxiv] Cultural vaules in Danish advertising: http://www.limbistraine.com/ro/cercetare/Gabriela-Sauciuc/Cultural-values-in-danish-advertising.html

[xxv] The Danes are the happiest people in the world: http://www.copcap.com/composite-8700.htm

[xxvi] Denmark 'happiest place on earth': http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5224306.stm

[xxvii] Danes are the most open-minded people in Europe: http://www.copcap.com/composite-10908.htm

[xxviii] Demographics of Denmark: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Denmark