Why I Translate
Discovering Love in Denmark
When I was 17 years old, I embarked on a four-week Rotary International summer cultural exchange in Denmark. It was during my final week that I fell deeply in love with Jette, my host family’s daughter. Our bond was sudden and intense, leading to a tearful farewell at the airport. For the next year, we exchanged letters across the Atlantic. Jette visited me in New Jersey the following summer, and another year of air mail letters ensued until I returned to Denmark. We spent a few precious weeks together during her summer vacation before she had to resume her job in England.
Embracing Farm Life and Danish Culture
Having left college, I yearned to stay abroad. Jette found a job for me on a farm in southern Denmark through want ads. Despite my limited Danish, the farmer, Frede Madsen, hired me because of my cooking skills. I moved into a typical Danish farmhouse surrounded by expansive fields of potatoes, barley, and rye, and a modern pig house. My responsibilities included cooking and shopping for Frede, his son Lars, and the farmhand, Kim, alongside farm chores.
Immersing in the Danish Language
Determined to win over Jette’s family, I set out to learn Danish. My love for books led me to borrow a Danish translation of “Catcher in the Rye” from the farmer’s bookshelf. Using a Danish-English dictionary, I painstakingly translated each word, documenting my progress in a travel journal. My linguistic background in English, French, Spanish, Hebrew, and Ancient Greek facilitated my learning. Gradually, I began incorporating Danish into my letters to Jette and attempted to communicate in Danish with the locals, although I struggled to understand their responses due to regional dialects.
A Lifelong Passion for Danish Literature
After six weeks, I left the farm but continued my pursuit of Danish through literature. Jette and I married, and for over 30 years, I have immersed myself in Danish classics. These books have provided profound moments of self-reflection and inspiration. As an English language writer, I am passionate about sharing the beauty of Danish literature with a global audience. Stories have the power to transform lives, and I am honored to introduce these works to inspire others in new ways.