The Danish cake mystery

 
Intercultural encounters looked at from three points of view

ASIANS ATE OUR CAKE! That was the complaint from the Danish People's Party, an anti-immigrant group.

It said the Koge Hospital's maternity ward used to give out free cake in the waiting room, but with so many foreigners with huge families grabbing at it, the handout was canceled.

(Ilustration shows typical huge Asian family walking in the park)
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A spate of shock stories like that led to tough anti-foreigner laws being introduced in Denmark, where residents are legally required to eat two kilos of pastries a day.

I heard about this from reader Kim Parfitt, who's sad about her country's hostility to people from overseas. "I lost my ability to smile," she wrote. "My husband told me to write to you in the hopes that you could make me laugh."

I'd love to, Kim, but unfortunately, I just got back to my desk after spending the morning stealing cakes from hospitals with my 19 family members.

That's a joke. Believe me, no one would want to steal any food from a hospital in Asia. Hospitals are the leading cause of death. Suicides in this region don't jump off buildings. They eat three-course meals at the local infirmary for instant results.
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By coincidence, I got a message about being nice to foreigners from reader Linda Rose in Sri Lanka:

"Your car is German. Your vodka is Russian. Your pizza is Italian. Your kebab is Turkish. Your democracy is Greek. Your coffee is Brazilian. Your movies are American. Your tea is Sri Lankan. Your shirt is Indian. Your oil is Saudi Arabian. Your electronics are Chinese, your numbers Arabic, and your letters Latin. So if your neighbor is an immigrant, why complain?"

That’s neat, thanks, Linda.
*
Talking of cultural friendship, I'll never forget the day friends at Metro News, a Hong Kong radio station, asked listeners to write in so they could see how far the signal went.

Staff got a long, handwritten letter from a listener in Azerbaijan.

A Metro staff member read it out. It started as a deeply touching piece of fan mail, asking for souvenirs and photos of the presenters.

But on page two was a second request:

"My OTHER favorite hobby is collecting photos of nude Asian girls. Unfortunately, my collection is poor. My dream is to receive regularly such materials from Hong Kong. Could you help?"

The letter's cuteness-factor diminished dramatically.

At the time, Metro spokesman Bob Palitz told me: "We decided we could not really help him with this. We are a radio station, after all. Perhaps we'll send him some recorded audio of nude women."
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Anyway, the story about the missing cake in Denmark ended happily. Instead of getting angry, someone with a Muslim name sent a free cake to the office of the political party.

Others copied the idea, and at last count, 500 cakes had been sent.

The politicians offered to forward them to the hospital in question, but they couldn't.

It turned out the story was untrue. Koge Hospital doesn't have a maternity ward.

*
ON UNRELATED MATTERS….

Thanks for the comments about Scotsmen etc yesterday – very sharp and amusing! I am writing this in a Scottish restaurant (McDonald’s) since I am giving a talk at a school on a distant island this morning, and decided to get there early and have a breakfast (less stressful that way).

But the sad letter from Kim which inspired the above post made me feel super-grateful to have this wonderful community where people of various colors, sexes, beliefs all congregate and share a laugh.

Technorati Tags: Dan Cake,Danish,Denmark,Danish People's Party,Muslim,multi-cultural

Comments

[rafanjr]

...why would they even serve cake in a maternity ward... its not like its the child birthday already....

[grandpa]

"..why would they even serve cake in a maternity ward"

It is a marketing strategy..like restaurants offering toys to kids:
"Come to our maternity hospital
We have the widest range of babies in colors, sizes and shapes that no other maternity can offer.
You are guaranteed to find the baby of your dreams in our maternity.
Buy one ,get one free or, better take away a danish cake."

Note: for environment concerns,and enhanced safety, we recommend that you supply your own wrapping and your own baby container

Note 2
Our products are guaranteed TWO FULL DAYS after delivery.

NO REFUND, NO RETURN

[Jason]

What's wrong with nude Asian girls? Seems like a fun hobby to me.

[Nury]

Remember we are talking about Asia, Jason. Unlike the West, we in Asia know the truth about the human body, which is that it is a disgusting thing which should be kept covered up at all times, on pain of death.

[McDonald]

That's definitely true when it comes to my body, which is definitely a disgusting thing which should be covered up at all times

[Jason]

Nury is that the Christian in you talking? Personally I think the female form (in its athletic state, unlike in the West :p) is really rather sexy.

[rafanjr]

...hmmm Jason reminds me of "when the cat is away, Jason plays" when will your wife comeback and read this post?

[grandpa]

"disgusting thing which should be kept covered up "

In the west , we have no shame getting undressed , our body is already covered with ........hair... including women.....

[Paul]

...we in Asia know the truth about the human body, which is that it is a disgusting thing which should be kept covered up at all times, on pain of death.

This reminded me of an old joke about bodies, disgusting and death. A children's joke no less...

Once there was a famous tribal chieftain named Big-Chief-No-Fart.

He was famous solely for the fact that he and never passed wind.

Then one day he felt an urge to like he had to fart, but he was terrified that he would lose his status as chieftain if he actually did.

So he sent his fastest servant to find the medicine man to find a cure for this affliction.

The servant found the medicine man and told him Big-Chief-No-Fart feels he will fart.

The medicine man told the servant, "I learned in the west that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so tell the chief to eat two apples".

The servant rushed back and instructed the chief to eat 2 apples, which he did.

But the next day the chief felt worse and was sure he would fart, but he fought the urge and held it in.

The servant ran back to the medicine man and said that Big-Chief-No-Fart felt even worse.

The medicine man said, "hmmm...I have seen in the west that you'll be strong to the finish if you just eat your spinach, so tell the chief to eat 3 servings of spinach."

The servant rushed back and instructed the chief to eat 3 servings of spinach, which he did.

But the next day the chief felt even worse and was positive he would fart, but he used all his chiefly might to fight the urge and held it in.

The servant ran back to the medicine man a third time and said that Big-Chief-No-Fart felt more worse than ever.

The medicine man looked confused. Finally he said, "Well, I have heard in the west that beans are the magical fruit, so tell the chief to eat 4 servings of beans."

The servant rushed back and instructed the chief to eat 4 servings of beans, which he did.

The next day the servant went back to see the medicine man.

The medicine man asked, how is "Big-Chief-No-Fart? Did the beans work at last?"

The servant said, "I don't know."

"What? Why not?", asked the medicine man.

The servant replied, "Big fart...No chief."

;-)

[Chamin]

>in Denmark, where residents are legally >required to eat two kilos of pastries a >day.
If the pastries are free, bring 'em on! I am sure many Asians are with me for this one :o)

[Chamin]

Re: nudity, an old story I heard at high school:

A Sri Lankan boy went to work in a strange country far, far away. His grandma wrote to him, asking for a photo. "I want to see how you are doing. I am worried whether you are even eating enough"

The boy went to a studio to take a photo, but found that the country has a rule; only full body photos taken nude are allowed. So, he unwillingly took a photo and sent half of it to the grandma.

Grandma received the photo, had a look and said "He has grown a beard, and is wearing a red neck tie. Not bad!"

Actually, that was the wrong half of the photo :-p

[kim]

Totally with you on your last paragraph - I'm also super-grateful for you all!

[kim]

Big Chief No Fart might have considered a trip to Sweden where they have fart-hinders (speed bumps) in the road.

[Jason]

So rafanjr just because I am married that means I cannot appreciate the female form? I'm married, not dead and like the other 3 billion males on this planet who are naturally visually stimulated, I embrace my biological conditioning rather than fighting a futile battle.

[Nury]

Jason, I remember a friend who visited a couple of nudist beaches. He said, life is funny, all the people who should be uncovered are covered up, and all the people who should be covered up are uncovered.

Sadly, I will need a LOT more visits to the gym before I stop looking horrible without my shirt...!

Kim, thanks for inspiring the post above!

[Blind as a bat]

Indeed the world is funny. Whenever i try to enjoy the nude figure, I get arrested for groping.

[rafanjr]

...Jason, i'm not forbidding, im forboding

[body lift guide]

I did not find mystery behind it. This article help me a lot. This is really amazing information.

[Lipo]

That's definitely true when it comes to my body, which is definitely a disgusting thing which ought to be covered up at all times.