Podcast

Interview with Julia Jones from International Talent

Meet cross-cultural competency trainer and expat coach, Julia Jones. Julia is the founder of International Talent, a business she started up here in Odense, Denmark, in 2022.

In this episode, Julia shares her thoughts about moving to Denmark, and she talks about how she supports companies and their expats with the work she does as a cross-cultural competency trainer and expat coach at International Talent.

You can find more information about Julia and her business at International Talent’s webpage or connect with Julia by email at julia@internationaltalent.dk.

You can also follow Julia’s work on LinkedIn, where she shares about expat life and sociocultural adaptation to Denmark. You can find her at www.linkedin.com/in/juliaagnesjones.

Odense International Garden

Biologist Susan Urbanus moved to Odense in 2015 as an accompanying spouse to a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern Denmark. Upon arrival, Susan explored her possibilities to find work, paid or voluntary, while staying in Odense, and she combined her biology skills and her love for gardening and outdoor activities with her international background and the need for a local community. After lots of work and effort, networking and fundraising, Susan gained support from both Falen school garden, Odense International Community and the University of Southern Denmark’s International Staff Office. Her project also gained support from the BUPL solidarity and cultural fund. Odense International Garden was established in 2016 and Susan’s project was a great success. Her initiative created a lasting community for internationals in Odense, and her project got nominated for Odense sustainability award in 2018. Susan has since moved back home to the Netherlands, but her project is still alive, and international families keep meeting up in Odense’s International Garden every second Saturday in the gardening season, where they cultivate both crops and friendships.

In this episode of the Expat Life in Odense Podcast Series, you can meet Susan Urbanus, Abigail Martin (Odense International Garden), Thomas Høgedal (Falen Schoolgarden), Julie Fuglesang Fink (International Community Odense), and Annika Jarl (University of Southern Denmark’s International Staff Office) – altogether they are sharing how this project came to life and how it keeps on living. This project is a real community effort.

If you are in Odense and interested in taking part in Odense International Garden’s activities, you can write an e-mail to Odense International Garden’s volunteer project manager, Abigail Martin: abigail.martin770@gmail.com.

Psychotherapist Henriette Johnsen’s own expat story

In 2015, Henriette Johnsen moved back home to Denmark after living several years as an expat in London. Her life as an accompanying spouse abroad was not always easy and her life abroad got even more challenging when she got divorced.

In this podcast episode, psychotherapist Henriette Johnsen shares her own experiences with living abroad, and she talks about her life as an accompanying spouse; her life as a hardworking single mom, facing financial uncertainty, anxiety and insecurity; and her time as a student of psychotherapy. Henriette also shares her experiences with moving back home to Odense, Denmark, after living eight years abroad.

For more information about Henriette’s psychotherapy practice in Odense, Denmark, please visit her website The Good Expat Life.

Henriette also talks about her practice in the first episode of this podcast series: The Good Expat Life with psychotherapist Henriette Johnsen

Interview with Tina Bacher about Danish language and culture

Meet Tina Bacher from Danish Matters. Tina specialises in Danish as a second language, and she teaches Danish language and culture to internationals, both in person and online.

In this episode, we talk about common challenges for internationals learning Danish. We also talk about Danish workplace culture, Danish humor and how children’s birthday parties are celebrated in Denmark. Among others.

If you would like to connect with Tina, you can write an e-mail to tina@danishmatters.dk.

Link to the Danish Matters Facebook Group.

Interview with Živilė Petronytė Martins about things to do in Odense

Interview with Živilė Petronytė Martins from International Community Odense and the website “Joyful talks”

Podcast about things to do in Odense

Meet Živilė Petronytė Martins, from International Community Odense, and the website Joyful talks. In the episode, we talk about a selection of Odense’s yearly events. We also talk about a couple of the city’s main venues for concerts and culture.

Interview with Abril Arteaga Part 2: Earth Klinik (adapting business to the corona crisis)

In this episode, Abril Arteaga shares how she has adapted her business, Earth Yoga, to the new reality of the corona virus. Abril has transformed Earth Yoga, from a physical space in the center of Odense, to a virtual clinic with a more holistic concept, offering consultancy solutions and experiences in the field of mental health.

This episode is the second of two interviews with Abril Arteaga. In the previous episode, Abril talked about how she got the idea to start up Earth Yoga in Odense, and about her experiences from the early start up period.

Interview with Abril Arteaga Part 1: Earth Yoga (business start up in Odense, Denmark)

In this episode, you can hear about Abril Arteaga, who decided to open a well-being space in Odense six years ago, when she moved to Denmark with her family.

Abril Arteaga has a background in business, and she is among others specialized in ashtanga yoga, mindfulness, meditation, stress management and acupuncture. When Abril arrived in Odense six years ago, she was looking for a place where she could practice yoga, but she did not find what she was looking for, so she decided to create her own place. This was the beginning of her business, Earth Yoga.

The story about Abril’s well-being space in Odense is presented in two episodes. In the current episode (part 1: Earth Yoga), Abril talks about the process of starting up Earth Yoga, and her experiences from the early start up period.

In the next episode (part 2: Earth Klinik) Abril will talk about how she recently has adapted her business to the new reality of corona, and transformed Earth Yoga into Earth Klinik – a virtual clinic of well-being with a holistic approach to mental health.

Interview with spouse consultant Aleksandra Jensen about the Danish job market, Danish CVs, social networks and accommodation in Odense, Denmark

If you are an accompanying spouse in Odense and would like to find a job, Aleksandra Jensen, from the International Community Odense, can help with the job search. Aleksandra is a spouse consultant and she helps international families to settle in Odense.

The International Community Odense was established in 2015 by Odense municipality. The community welcomes and supports international employees and their accompanying partners/families in the city.

In this podcast episode, Aleksandra Jensen talks about the Danish job market and what to keep in mind when applying for jobs in Denmark. She shares tips for how to write a CV aimed at Danish employers, and she talks about how she supports international spouses getting into work related and social networks.

Aleksandra also shares how the International Community Odense helps international families with finding accomodation and many other practical issues that may come up during the family’s process of moving to Odense.

“What we do in particular is to help the family settle in the new country, in the new city”.
Aleksandra Jensen, International Community Odense

International Community Odense’s contact information:

E-mail: internationalcommunity@odense.dk
International Community Odense’s Web page
International Community Odense’s Facebook page

How does the Danish health care system work in practice?

Podcast interview with medical doctor and general practitioner Maria Holmegaard Sørensen about the Danish health care system.

Where do you call if your child gets sick on a Friday afternoon in Denmark? And how does the Danish health care system work in practice? How do you for instance choose a family doctor? And what is the role of your general practitioner? How do you get referred to medical specialists, and where can you find information about how to contact the specialist once you have been referred to one? When shall you call your general practitioner and when shall you call “Lægevagten”? Where can you find the phone numbers and adresses that you need to get in touch with the relevant medical assistance?

Meet medical doctor Maria Holmegaard Sørensen. Maria is a general practitioner and she is the owner of Brobylægerne, a medical clinic in Nr. Broby, a village close to Odense, in Denmark.

In the podcast, Maria shares information about how the Danish health care system works in practice, and she gives practical advice regarding where to find the information you need, and whom to contact within the Danish medical system for the medical needs of you and your family.

How to start a business in Odense, Denmark

In this episode, Lene Høxbro Larsen (Odense Iværksætterservice, Stjerneskibet), Cristiana Cardoso (Silo Marked) and Henriette Johnsen (The Good Expat Life) are sharing advice and experiences regarding how to start up a business in Denmark.

The first part of this podcast is an interview with Lene Høxbro Larsen. Lene is a consultant for entrepreneurs, and she talks about how Odense Iværksætterservice and Stjerneskibet support entrepreneurs and the early start ups in Odense.

The second part of the podcast is an interview with Christiana Cardoso. Cristiana is the owner of Silo Marked; a new packaging free shop in Nørregade 30, in the center of Odense. Cristiana shares her experiences with starting up her new shop as an expat in Odense, and she gives advice to others who are considering starting up their own businesses in Denmark.

In the third part of the podcast, Henriette Johnsen talks about how Stjerneskibet supported her while she wanted to expand her clinic – the Good Expat Life – with personal empowerment groups for expat spouses. Henriette is a psychotherapist, specializing in expat life issues.