Today we had the second round of presentations for our second project. All of the presentations were very well done, and I got a lot out of the comparisons between Denmark and the US. One presentation topic I thought was interesting had to do with the drinking culture between Denmark and the US. The group presented the ideas that in Denmark it is okay to drink some alcohol at 16, and the heavier alcohol at 18. In the US, the drinking age of 21 tends to make people be secretive about their drinking, especially when they are younger, below the legal limit. One topic that they brought up that I found interesting was how there was a movement against alcohol, in that it became more taboo to be seen drinking or drunk. I had not thought about it before, but coming to Denmark has definitely made it more apparent that in the US, it is almost looked down upon to be drunk, while in Denmark, it is a part of the culture and there is a lot smaller percentage of people that completely abstain from alcohol in Denmark than there is in the US. Probably the most conspicuous difference between the two drinking cultures is how it is legal to drink in public, e.g. the metro, on the street, here in Denmark, but that it is illegal to do so in the United States. The drinking culture here seems a lot more open and valued, while in the US it is almost demonize drinking in general. I think that drinking can be helpful to a culture when used appropriately. While it is not necessary in social settings, I feel that it can help improve the connectivity between the people at a social gathering, as they are more open to communicate with each other. Obviously, there a serious potential for abusing alcohol, but I feel like in Denmark people accept and value alcohol in a respectful way, using it to have fun and not as a crutch or an escape from every day life.
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