The Mullingar Diaries

Danmark mit 

fædreland.

Definition of fantasy in English:

NOUN (plural fantasies)

[COUNT NOUN] A fanciful mental image, typically one on which a person often dwells and which reflects their conscious or unconscious wishes.

All my life I have lived in a fantasy; a fantasy about moving to another country. I was dwelling. It’s all I ever wanted because I thought anything could be better than Denmark. And I did. I moved to Ireland and it was great! I loved being in Ireland and I discovered a new person hidden deep inside of me. An independent person. I have never needed people around me so even though I didn’t know anyone I quickly felt home. I felt at home because strangers greeted me in a way they have never done before. I felt at home because when I was walking in the countryside people would wave even though they had no clue who I was.  I loved that going for a walk would always make me smile. I loved Ireland so much that I might even move back one day.

But it also made me realise that I love Denmark. I truly love Denmark and I am deeply proud of being a Dane. Before I wasn’t, I would do anything to escape it; in fact I just wanted to be English. That was my innermost dream! However it is funny how things work out, because I no longer want to be English. I want to be Danish. I don’t even like England anymore. Working in London for a month made me realise that English people have a different morality; one that I don’t like. In fact my love for the Danish nation has become so strong, that I find it hard to believe that there are any greater people out there.

They say that when you go to a foreign country the national feeling towards your own country gets stronger and I agree. I just never thought it would get so strong that I ended up finding it hard to see the good things in people if they are not from Denmark. I never thought I would get so negative towards foreign countries. Not all foreign countries though. I like the Scandinavian Countries and Germany, and the weirdest thing is that I always hated Germany. I also started to like Poland. I met some Poles and it made me realise that Poles and Danes are not that far from each other. Once I would judge Poles for stealing our bicycles (including mine), but now I want to go there. I want to get to know Poland.

I used to dislike Romanians because they would come here and steal our jobs. But I’ve come to know them because I have worked with a lot of them and they are really nice people. And I don’t judge them anymore; they come here in search of something better, just like we leave in search of something better.

It’s like my world has been turned upside-down. Everything I used to love and want has become something I could never dream of and all that I used to hate is now something I desire.

However I still enjoy going on vacation in foreign countries even though they are not like Denmark. I like expanding my horizon and maybe that is why I’ve learnt that Denmark is a goddamn good country. Sometimes you just need to see something else to realise what you’ve got. So maybe sometimes we should let go of our fantasies and instead open our eyes to what has been in front of us all the time.