Interview with Julia Jones from International Talent

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.

Odense International Garden

Biologist Susan Urbanus moved to Odense in 2015 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.

Psychotherapist Henriette Johnsen’s own expat story

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

Interview with spouse consultant Aleksandra Jensen about the Danish job market, Danish CVs, social networks and accommodation in Odense, Denmark

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.

The International Community Odense was established in 2015 by Odense municipality. The community welcomes and supports international employees and their accompanying partners/families in the city.

In this podcast episode, Aleksandra Jensen talks about the Danish job market and what to keep in mind when applying for jobs in Denmark. She shares tips for how to write a CV aimed at Danish employers, and she talks about how she supports international spouses getting into work related and social networks.

Aleksandra also shares how the International Community Odense helps international families with finding accomodation and many other practical issues that may come up during the family’s process of moving to Odense.

“What we do in particular is to help the family settle in the new country, in the new city”.

Aleksandra Jensen, International Community Odense

International Community Odense’s contact information:

E-mail: internationalcommunity@odense.dk
International Community Odense’s Web page
International Community Odense’s Facebook page