In about one week, I will have been in my recently adopted country for four months. That’s fire måneder (pronounced fear moanelthe, or a close approximation thereof) in Danish. During my time here, as I wait for my work permit to be granted so I can get off the husbandly dole a bit and feel freer to indulge my need for bags of all shapes and sizes, I’ve gotten to watch a bit of tv. Everything from Danish comedians to older American shows, an Australian serial about sisters on a ranch in the Outback, fodbold (also known as soccer in the States), and Le Tour de France. Oh, but the DH loves loves LOVES his Tour. As well, I’m learning a bit of danish from the commercials, some of which are quite entertaining. And then there are the cartoons.

Here, as in most parts of the world that don’t speak english I’m guessing, subtitles run rampant on any show aired that’s not in danish already. Now some of those shows already have subtitles because someone’s speaking in yet another language. Those are re-subtitled, into danish. Kind of a pity, because while I might understand everything else that’s being said, I miss those parts. But that’s not really a huge deal. I’ll get it soon enough, and be able to understand them. I am already able to pick out certain errors of translation, so I consider myself well on the way to actually understanding the whole thing, and not just the slight missteps. What has kind of weirded me out though, is the cartoons. Not the purely danish ones, but the ones that I recognize as american, such as on the Disney Channel. Those are not subtitled, because the small ones watching may not be of reading age yet. They are completely revoiced. Mickey and Minnie Mouse have new voices. Kermit the Frog would now be Dagmar the Frog. Hercules sounds nothing like the movie I saw, but I admit that was a while ago. Now, the new Simpsons movie is out. Over here the Simpsons are still broadcast in english and subtitled, but as I understand it, they will be revoicing the movie into danish. All I can ask is… WHHHHHHYYYYYYY! Or perhaps better… d’oh!

So, now that the DH is on summer holiday, we’ve been spending many hours watching Le Tour. Or at least we were, until the leader Michael Rasmussen (a dane) was summarily dismissed by his team for alleged trangressions. He was the leader, yellow jersey, had more lion stuffies than his kid knew what to do with, and could have been buried in all the bouquets he received before he was tossed. His team say that they dismissed him because they couldn’t trust him, and that someone said he’d been spotted in Italy when he said he was in Mexico. Now he has retained an attorney to fight the allegations, but the race has been somewhat spoiled. It’s kind of disappointing really, I was almost getting into it, as much as an indoor girl can at any rate. I could appreciate all the effort the racers were putting into the race, winced when riders took spills, and the DH and I pondered on venturing to France next summer to try and watch one of the mountain stages. We may still have to do that though; just imagine, France, mountains, actual summer, avoiding rider whizz… possibly more excitement than a simple girl like I could handle. 😀 Until then, I sigh a bit at the loss for Michael, and the loss of innocence that the repeated findings of doping and other issues has inflicted on everyone who really enjoys the sport, and the race. Heck, I even miss trying to figure out how someone can still be winning the race even if they don’t win a particular stage. I know, times and all that.

Of course, now the DH has been sucked into something altogether different, from which I may never see him again… online poker. I weep at the loss… *sobs dramatically* He claims he isnt addicted, that he can give it up any time. As long as he doesn’t try to bet the dog, we’ll be ok.