COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — In 2003, I was invited to come to Denmark and present my accomplishments as an author at the Images of Asia festival.
It was here that I met my husband-to-be, a publisher of literature from Southeast Asia and other non-Western countries.
I already had an established career as a literary writer and journalist in the Philippines. Nonetheless, I made the decision to move to Denmark, and start afresh.
That meant learning a new language from scratch, and taking a Master’s degree at Roskilde University, then rebuilding my career from the ground up.
Along the way, I managed to complete a novel called Sweet Haven, which was published in the U.S. and the Philippines, and translated into French and Danish (as Sweethaven-Sagen, available through Forlaget Hjulet publishing house), as well as a children’s book in Danish and Swedish.
As nearly all publications here in Denmark are written in Danish, I set journalism aside in favor of teaching English at private language schools (Studieskolen and at Cambridge Institute) in the heart of Copenhagen, teaching academic writing, business English, and preparation courses for the TOEFL and Cambridge examinations.
I also do translations, and edit academic work, as well as paint in several genres.
I particularly enjoy the one-on-one tailored courses for primarily-corporate clients, in which I get to meet interesting people from the pharmaceutical, construction, finance, and other industries, some of whom occupy top management positions.
I am happy to show my students and clients what a woman from the Philippines can do.
Lakambini A. Sitoy
Copenhagen, Denmark
This piece is part of a series of “Stories of Filipinos”, a 75th anniversary project of the Philippine Embassy in Denmark.
Bing Sitoy earned a degree in Biology from Silliman University. She was a columnist and section editor of the Manila Times. She has also received several Palanca Awards since 1995.
There are some 12,700 Filipinos in the Kingdom of Denmark. Of the number, 316 are in the Faroe Islands, and 401 are in Greenland, comprising the largest non-European community there.
