A couple of years ago, the Australian Ambassador to Denmark visited Nuuk and, through the grapevine, his office was put in touch with me. Because I’m Australian. His personal secretary suggested having an event where the Ambassador could meet the Australian community in Nuuk and asked whether I could help by getting in touch with …
Last Saturday was Culture Night in Greenland, an annual event in many cities or countries, when public and private institutions alike open their doors and show the public what they’re up to, what they do. Nuuk has embraced the idea. There’s always so much stuff you don’t know about even in your local environment, so …
People do all sorts of strange and sometimes dangerous things on their Hen’s or Buck’s nights. What was strange about this particular Hen’s Night I attended in Nuuk, is that it didn’t even occur to me that we were doing anything dangerous or strange. It was just one of those bizarrely normal experiences that happen …
My son is shy. It’s a struggle for his teachers to engage him in class discussions at school. His shyness is partly his nature and partly because Danish is his second language. Although he sounds fluent, there are still words he doesn’t know – like any nine year old, even using their native language – …
One of the means by which the schools in Nuuk encourage kids to socialise and reduce bullying is to have ‘food group’ events. Each month, a group of about five children from the same class – children who wouldn’t normally play with each other – converge on one child’s home for a few hours to …
Trees are so rare in Greenland that it’s odd when you see them. The tree line doesn’t make it above sea level. Instead, Greenland has stark, stunning landscapes of bare rock. Just how I like it. There are, however, occassional trees here and there in gardens around Nuuk, stunted, spindly, clinging to life, but trees …
*Photography by Samuel Zeller, Unsplash As we sailed seaward thin sullen clouds, hanging low over the water, slunk back into the fjord, driven by the stiffening breeze. Magnificent cliffed walls, draped in their glacial jewellery, gradually dropped away as if weary of their grandeur, relaxing their grip on our senses and making way for a …
Recently, I wrote about how easy it is to bank with the Bank of Greenland. A recent experience leads me to believe that it might be a bit too easy. The other day I went to the bank to transfer some money from my Bank of Greenland account to my foreign bank account. It was …
Former Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was known for his quick wit. I once read a, possibly anecdotal, account of Whitlam being heckled by a member of the public, who shouted in an Australian drawl, “Whadda ya gonna do about ‘ousing?” Sharp as a tack, Whitlam replied, “Well, I’d add an ‘h’ for a start.” …