Cristina, Portugal. 38 år 4 Cristina|Portugal|years Cristina, Portugal. 38 Jahre 4 Cristina, Portugal. 38 jaar 4 Cristina, Portugal. 38 years old 4

Seks uger efter mit besøg i maj landede jeg med vores to sønner i Kastrup Lufthavn i København. ||||||||||||||Kastrup||| Six|weeks|after|my|visit|in|May|landed|I|with|our|two|sons|in|Kastrup|Airport|in|Copenhagen |||||||aterrou|||||||||| Six weeks after my visit in May, I landed with our two sons at Kastrup Airport in Copenhagen. Jeg havde tre tasker med tøj, sko og legetøj med. |||Taschen|||||| I|had|three|bags|with|clothes|shoes|and|toys| I had three bags with clothes, shoes, and toys. Det var alt, hvad vi havde i starten. It|was|all|what|we|had|in|the beginning That was all we had at the beginning. Det var virkelig en helt ny begyndelse. It|was|really|a|completely|new|beginning It was truly a completely new beginning. Vi flyttede aldrig „rigtigt" med vores ting fra Portugal, fordi transporten var alt for dyr. We|moved|never|properly|with||belongings|from|Portugal|because|transportation|was|far|too|expensive We never really "moved" our things from Portugal because the transport was way too expensive. Alt, hvad vi har i Danmark, har vi købt her. Everything|what|we|have|in|Denmark|have|we|bought|here Everything we have in Denmark, we have bought here. Mario lånte 20.000 kroner i banken for at kunne købe de mest nødvendige ting. Mario|borrowed|kroner|in|the bank|in order to|to|could|buy|the|most|necessary|things Mario borrowed 20,000 kroner from the bank to be able to buy the most necessary things. Det kunne selvfølgelig kun lade sig gøre, fordi hans chef gik med ham til banken, hvor han sagde: „Mario er min medarbejder, og jeg stoler på ham. |||||||||||||||||||||Mitarbeiter||||| It|could|of course|only|let|himself|do|because|his|boss|went|with|him|to|the bank|where|he|said|Mario|is|my|employee|and|I|trust|in|him Of course, this was only possible because his boss went with him to the bank, where he said: "Mario is my employee, and I trust him. Hvis I låner ham penge, garanterer jeg for, at I får dem tilbage." ||leihen|||garantiere||||||| If|you|lend|him|money|guarantee|I|that|you||get|them|back If you lend him money, I guarantee that you will get it back."

Det er, fordi Mario altid har været en meget dygtig arbejder, som arbejder hårdt og er meget professionel. It|is|because|Mario|always|has|been|a|very|skilled|worker|who|works|hard|and|is|very|professional This is because Mario has always been a very skilled worker who works hard and is very professional. Når han bager en kage, bliver det den bedste kage, når han laver middag, bliver det den bedste middag. When|he|bakes|a|cake|becomes|it|the|best||||makes|||it|the|best| When he bakes a cake, it becomes the best cake; when he makes dinner, it becomes the best dinner. Jeg tror, at når man giver noget, får man også noget tilbage, og chefen ville gerne hjælpe ham. I|believe|that|when|one|gives|something|receives|one||||and|the boss|would|gladly|help|him I believe that when you give something, you also get something back, and the boss wanted to help him.

Mario havde stadigvæk to jobs, da vi kom. Mario|had|still|two|jobs|when|we|arrived Mario still had two jobs when we arrived. Om dagen arbejdede han på bageriet, og bagefter gjorde han rent. |||||Bäckerei||||| During|the day|he worked|he|at|the bakery|and|afterwards|he did|he|cleaning During the day, he worked at the bakery, and afterwards he cleaned. Det var hårdt, men vi havde brug for penge. It|was|hard|but|we|had|need|for|money It was hard, but we needed money. Han blev ved med det, til jeg fandt et arbejde to måneder senere, i august. He|kept|at it|doing|it|until|I|found|a|job|two|months|later|in|August He kept at it until I found a job two months later, in August. Jeg fik det gennem en veninde fra Venezuela, som gjorde rent på den svenske ambassade. |||||||Venezuela||||||| I|got|it|through|a|female friend|from|Venezuela|who|cleaned|cleaning|at|the|Swedish|embassy I got it through a friend from Venezuela, who cleaned at the Swedish embassy. Da hun holdt op, spurgte hun mig, om jeg ville have hendes job. When|she|stopped|up|asked||me|if|I|would|have|her|job When she quit, she asked me if I wanted her job.

Det ville jeg selvfølgelig gerne! It|would|I|of course|like Of course I would! Det var en deltidsstilling, hvor jeg skulle gøre rent tre formiddage om ugen: mandag, onsdag og fredag fra kl. |||Teilzeitstelle||||||||||||||| It|was|a|part-time job|where|I|was to|do|cleaning|three|mornings|per|week|Monday|Wednesday|and|Friday|from|o'clock |||vaga de meio período|||||||||||quarta-feira||sexta-feira|| It was a part-time position where I had to clean three mornings a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8 a.m. 8 til kl. at|o'clock to 12 p.m. 12. That was perfect for me because I didn't want a full-time job. Det var perfekt for mig, for jeg ville ikke have et fuldtidsarbejde. |||||||||||Vollzeitjob It|was|perfect|for|me|for|I|would|not|have|a|full-time job I wanted to have time for my children, as the first year was very hard for them. Jeg ville gerne have tid til mine børn, for det første år var meget hårdt for dem. I|would|like|have|time|for|my|children|for|the|first|year|was|very|hard|for|them De blev også tit syge, fordi de var små. They|became|also|often|sick|because|they|were|small They often got sick because they were small. Men det var selvfølgelig et dilemma: På den ene side skulle jeg tjene penge, på den anden side var det vigtigt for mig at være sammen med mine børn. |||||Dilemma||||||||||||||||||||||| But|it|was|of course|a|dilemma|On|the|one|side|should|I|earn|money|On|the|other|side|was|it|important|for|me|to|be|together|with|my|children But it was of course a dilemma: On one hand, I had to earn money, on the other hand, it was important for me to be with my children.

Et rengøringsjob var selvfølgelig et stort tab af status for mig. |Reinigungsjob||||||||| A|cleaning job|was|of course|a|big|loss|of|status|for|me A cleaning job was of course a big loss of status for me. I Portugal havde jeg været lægesekretær, nu var jeg pludselig 'på den anden side'. In|Portugal|had|I|been|medical secretary|now|was|I|suddenly|on|the|other|side In Portugal, I had been a medical secretary, now I was suddenly 'on the other side'. Man bliver gennemsigtig, når man gør rent. ||transparent|||| One|becomes|transparent|when|one|cleans|clean |fica|transparente|||| You become transparent when you clean. Folk ser dig ikke. People|see|you|not People don't see you. Jeg tænkte pludselig meget på en sort rengøringsdame på mit portugisiske hospital. |||||||Putzfrau|||| I|thought|suddenly|much|about|a|black|cleaning lady|at|my|Portuguese|hospital I suddenly thought a lot about a black cleaning lady at my Portuguese hospital. Når hun kom, ryddede jeg tingene væk, så hun kunne gøre rent. |||räumte|||||||| When|she|arrived|I cleared|I|the things|away|so|she|could|clean|clean When she came, I cleared things away so she could clean. „Nu er jeg hende", tænkte jeg. Now|am|I|her|thought|I "Now I am her," I thought.

I starten var det hårdt, men jeg sagde til mig selv: „Man er ikke sit arbejde. In|the beginning|was|it|hard|but|I|said|to|myself|self|One|is|not|one's|work At first it was hard, but I told myself: "One is not their job." Du er stadigvæk Cristina, selvom du gør rent. You|are|still|Cristina|even though|you|do|cleaning You are still Cristina, even though you are cleaning. Du skal ikke gemme dig og blive gennemsigtig. You|shall|not|hide|yourself|and|become|transparent You should not hide and become transparent. Du skal blive ved med at være dig selv." You|shall|continue|with||to|be|yourself|self You should keep being yourself."

Så jeg begyndte at snakke med de ansatte på ambassaden: Jeg hilste på dem, når de kom på arbejde om morgenen, og jeg spurgte, hvordan de havde det. |||||||||||grüßte|||||||||||||||| So|I|began|to|talk|with|the|employees|at|the embassy|I|greeted|at|them|when|they|arrived|at|work|in the|morning|and|I|asked|how|they|had|it So I started talking to the staff at the embassy: I greeted them when they came to work in the morning, and I asked how they were. Jeg bad dem også om hjælp, når jeg fik et brev fra kommunen eller skolen: „Vil du være sød at hjælpe mig med at oversætte det her?" I|asked|them|also|for|help|when|I|received|a|letter|from|the municipality|or|the school|Will|you|be|kind|to|help|me|with|to|translate|it|here I also asked them for help when I received a letter from the municipality or the school: "Would you be so kind as to help me translate this?" Det var min første kontakt med skandinaviske mennesker, og jeg sværger: De var så søde mod mig! It|was|my|first|contact|with|Scandinavian|people|and|I|swear|They|were|so|sweet|towards|me ||||||||||juro|||||| It was my first contact with Scandinavian people, and I swear: They were so sweet to me! I stedet for at kommandere: „Gør det og gør det," spurgte de altid venligt: „Cristina, hvis du engang har tid, kan du så ikke være sød at gøre lidt rent her?" ||||kommandieren|||||||||||||||||||||||||| I||for|to|command|Do|it|and|do|it|asked|they|always|kindly|Cristina|if|you|ever|have|time|can|you|then|not|be|sweet|to|do|a little|clean|here Instead of commanding: "Do this and do that," they always kindly asked: "Cristina, if you ever have time, could you please do a little cleaning here?" De sagde også tak. They|said|also|thank you They also said thank you. Hver fredag spiste de morgenmad sammen, og jeg var altid inviteret med. Every|Friday|they ate|they|breakfast|together|and|I|was|always|invited|along Every Friday they had breakfast together, and I was always invited. Det gjorde et kæmpestort indtryk på mig, for det ville aldrig ske i Portugal, hvor man er ingen, når man gør rent. |||riesengroß|||||||||||||||||| It|made|a|huge|impression|on|me|because|it|would|never|happen|in|Portugal|where|one|is|nobody|when|one|does|cleaning It made a huge impression on me, because that would never happen in Portugal, where you are nobody when you are cleaning. Jeg tror ikke, at jeg kunne gøre rent i Portugal. I|believe|not|that|I|could|do|cleaning|in|Portugal I don't think I could clean in Portugal.

Jeg beholdt rengøringsjobbet på den svenske ambassade i to år og var virkelig glad for det. ||Reinigungsjob||||||||||||| I|kept|cleaning job|at|the|Swedish|embassy|for|two|years|and|was|really|happy|with|it I kept the cleaning job at the Swedish embassy for two years and was really happy with it. Da jeg besluttede at sige op, holdt de en fest for mig på min sidste dag. When|I|decided|to|resign|up|held|they|a|party|for|me|on|my|last|day When I decided to resign, they held a party for me on my last day. Det var en af de fredage, hvor de spiste morgenmad sammen. |||||Freitage||||| It|was|one|of|they|Fridays|where|they|ate|breakfast|together It was one of those Fridays when they had breakfast together. Jeg fik gaver, og ambassadøren holdt en tale for mig. ||||der Botschafter||||| I|received|gifts|and|the ambassador|gave|a|speech|for|me I received gifts, and the ambassador gave a speech for me. Jeg var så rørt og overrasket! |||gerührt|| I|was|so|moved|and|surprised I was so touched and surprised! Pludselig gik det op for mig, hvor vigtig jeg havde været for dem. Suddenly|dawned|it|up|to|me|how|important|I|had|been|for|them Suddenly it dawned on me how important I had been to them.

Skandinaviske mennesker virker tit kolde, de er lukkede og viser ikke deres følelser. Scandinavian|people|seem|often|cold|they|are|closed|and|show|not|their|emotions Scandinavian people often seem cold, they are closed off and do not show their feelings. Men de kan lide os, tror jeg. But|they|can|like|us|believe|I But I think they like us. De viser det bare ikke. They|show|it|just|not They just don't show it. I Portugal rører man ved folk, man kysser, og man siger, hvad man tænker. |||||||küsst|||||| In|Portugal|touches|one|at|people|one|kisses|and|one|says|what|one|thinks In Portugal, people touch each other, they kiss, and they say what they think. Det gør man ikke i Danmark og Sverige. That|does|one|not|in|Denmark|and|Sweden You don't do that in Denmark and Sweden. Her viser de først, at de kan lide én, når man forlader dem. Here|show|they|only|that|they|can|like|one|when|you|leave|them Here, they only show that they like you when you are leaving them. Pludselig sagde de, at de ville savne mig. ||||||vermissen| Suddenly|said|they|that|they|would|miss|me Suddenly, they said they would miss me. Det gjorde et stort indtryk på mig, at man også bliver taget alvorligt, når man gør rent i Danmark. It|made|a|big|impression|on|me|that|one|also|is|taken|seriously|when|one|cleans||in|Denmark It made a big impression on me that you are also taken seriously when you clean in Denmark. Det var en af de vigtige ting, jeg lærte. It|was|one|of|the|important|things|I|learned It was one of the important things I learned.