Expat Life in Odense, Denmark: Recent Episodes
Kjersti Øverland
A podcast series about every day life issues for expats living in Odense, Denmark. Interviews with expats in Odense and with local citizens who are supporting expats in the city.
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.
In 2015, biologist Susan Urbanus moved to Odense 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.
Saturday Gardening
Photo: International Community OdenseHalloween event
Photo: International Community Odense
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
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.
Interview with Živilė Petronytė Martins from International Community Odense and the website “Joyful talks”
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.
Abril Arteaga is currently organizing the World Mental Health Week for a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company in Copenhagen, collaborating as a well-being champion; supporting employees and individuals to reach their highest potential. Abril also teaches mindfulness and yoga for international staff at the University of Southern Denmark.
If you would like to get in touch with Abril, you can write to her at info@earthyoga.dk.
You can find more information on Abril’s webpage and Facebook page.
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.
If you would like to get in touch with Abril, you can write to her at info@earthyoga.dk. You can also visit Abril’s webpage and Facebook page.
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.
Podcast interview with medical doctor and general practitioner Maria Holmegaard Sørensen about the Danish health care system.
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.
After living several years in London, Henriette Johnsen moved back to Odense in 2015. She has established the clinic "The Good Expat Life" here in Odense, where she specializes in expat life issues.