Working in a foreign country

Hi guys!

For me, this blog post has been a long time coming, but I wanted to wait a while to collect my ideas before posting.

So as most of you know by now, I have been working in Denmark for the past few months; and I have also extended my trip by a month, meaning I won't be back in the UK until late August/early September.

I have honestly loved every minute of being over here, and I'm now writing this blog post to share my experience so far with you - and maybe give some advice for those who are considering doing the same.

To give a bit of context, the reason I came to work in Denmark specifically is because my boyfriend's parents live here, so coming here meant we had time to visit them alongside working. It also meant that we had somewhere to stay, which (very kindly of them) was given to us rent free.

To begin with - truthfully - things weren't as great as they could have been. My boyfriend and I had a job set-up before arriving on the island, which you would think made things a lot easier for us, but things didn't turn out to be so promising.

It was a bog-standard waitressing job, and from what was discussed in our email conversation with our new manager, my boyfriend would be working in the kitchen where he felt most comfortable; this changed almost immediately upon arrival.

We both ended up on front of house, which my boyfriend was fine with, despite the previous mix-up. And even though we got through shifts fine, we still didn't get a good vibe from the place. To cut the story short (without trying to sound at all accusatory) we felt a bit segregated, and as if we were a nuisance.

Now, it's not that we didn't have a clue what we were doing. We've both worked in this field of work for a few years now, doing both part-time and full-time hours, so we were confident in our abilities. It was more along the lines of, we felt that no matter what we did, we were always doing something wrong; even if it was what we were told to do in the first place.

We tried to find excuses for it, because we wanted to give this place a chance. Be it the language barrier, us just being paranoid and nervous, because after all, we were in a completely new environment. But when it came down to coming back from a measly 3 and a half hour shift feeling completely drained and stressed - as well as not having a clue when you would next be working - we knew this wasn't the place where we wanted to spend the rest of our summer.

Luckily, we quit before we signed any contracts (which was a whole other ordeal that I won't go into), however this also meant that we were jobless, and had no source of income in a place completely alien to us. It left me feeling a bit like:

Stupid, I know, but we sure felt relieved knowing that we wouldn't have to work there anymore.

Things did end up working out for us however, and we managed to land ourselves new jobs within a week. Not at the same place, but they were both run by the same family. My boyfriend got to work as a chef, and I got a job as a cleaner. Not the most glamourous job, but it's something that I feel really comfortable and confident doing. It also means that I don't constantly have to be attempting to speak any Danish, because trust me, it's poor.

As for both of us now, we're really happy in our new jobs. We're earning triple of what we would be in the UK: which means we can work less, earn the same, and still have time to enjoy Denmark. My currently employer is always so welcoming to me, very friendly, and was clear on what she wanted from the very beginning. The same goes for my boyfriend's employer.

And on top of it all, it's nice to experience something completely new that I honestly never though I'd ever do.

So my advice to any of you who want to work in a different country from my own experience:

Number 1: Be on clear grounds with your new employer.

As mentioned above, we thought we fully understood what would be happening once starting this job, but certain things weren't made clear to us. What I didn't mention as well is that we didn't have any idea of how much we were going to get paid, nor what hours we would be doing; so we went in pretty naively. We actually didn't learn how much we were getting paid until two weeks after we quit! And it's very important to know these things, so make sure everything is laid out clear on the table, and that there are no misunderstandings.

Number 2: Don't be picky on the type of job.

Before we came over to Denmark, we were also given the suggestion of doing strawberry/apple picking. We were interested to begin with, but were swayed when told how early we'd have to start. But after arriving we actually regretted that decision, and thought it would have been a really enjoyable, as well as a different experience for the both of us. And honestly, when you're planning on working somewhere with as little job options as there are on this island, you can't really afford to be picky.

Number 3: Know your options.

This sort of coincides with 'number 2', whilst it's true that you shouldn't be picky, that's mainly referring to a situation similar to mine. When going to work in a different country, you should be aware of how many options you have, and don't feel as if you have to stick to one job - especially if you aren't happy there. Don't feel trapped, because even if the one place you had your heart set on doesn't work out, there are always other options.

Number 4: Pick up on some of the language.

I need to take this advice myself most definitely. But I think if you're going to work in a different country, it's common courtesy to try and learn some of their language. Even if it's just the most common phrases, and even if you sound completely out of place trying to say them, people will appreciate the effort. The different language was one of the things I was most nervous about before coming to Denmark, but honestly, it's not that bad. However, don't do what I did and make the first word you learn be a food item, it speaks volumes when the only Danish word you know initially is the word for sausage.

Number 5: Just try it and enjoy the experience.

This is definitely the most important one (and the most cliché), but just try to remember that at the end of day, it's just a new experience. You don't have to make it hard for yourself, and you don't have to make it stressful, you've got to make sure that every decision you make is the best for you. And hey, if you don't like it, you don't have to do it again, but at least you can say 'I did it'.

I know my advice won't apply to everyone, because after all it definitely will be different depending on where you're going. But I speak from my own experience, and hopefully some of you will benefit from it.

I plan on posting a blog 2-3 days a week. It entirely depends on what content I have planned, but nonetheless, it will definitely be at least twice a week.

I hope you're enjoying your summer so far, it's raining really heavily over here at the moment - but let's pray that doesn't last long!

Speak soon. x