Living in a Fairytale

Hello world,

It seems as though my presence has been missed... I have received numerous requests to update my blog so here it is:


Last time I left you with the impression that things were really starting to get good for me. And I am happy to report that that is still VERY much true! It is still so surprising to me how fast this year is going. I see the months change in color; green to yellow, Orange to deep crimson red and now recently a misty frost that leaves me with the feeling that I am in some enchanted fairytale. I think Denmark has a kind of quality that leaves you feeling like you live among make believe creatures.. it must be the gigantic ancient castles and churches. Or possibly the Viking ruins that litter family farms in the country side. Whatever  it is, I have decided that this place is magical, and I am now finding it completely possible to fall in love with a country and its people.

I promised to tell you all about my trip to Sweden... no worries! It was fun. It was a weekend trip; short and sweet. We stayed at my host uncle's house. I have  a few major details about Sweden that I will never forget. For starters, you have to take the ferry from Denmark to Sweden, and to my surprise there really isn't any specific law about gambling.. So if you walk into the gambling area, you can find ten year olds playing on the slot machines. Also, Swedish is a very beautiful language. It's alot like Danish, and the Danes can actually understand Swedish pretty well. But when they speak it's almost like they are singing... Whereas Danish just sounds like you have a potatoe in your mouth and your choking. Anyway, Sweden was lovely and I'm glad I got to experience it.

Another major thing that has happened to me recently is that I switched host families. It was very strange knowing that I would have to start complelty over again; new people, habits & routines, and a new room. It was also a little unnerving knowing I would never live with my first host family again.. I hope they get the chance to read this, because they were so amazing to me. I was blessed to get to know the Pedersen family; they are so kind and they made me feel right at home from the moment I came to Denmark. I miss them, but my new family is equally grand. I'm all settled into my new room as of now, and I LOVE it! But just FYI: having to pack up an entire room is a miserable task. I came to Denmark with two suitcases, and I left my first host family with three times that much.. I don't know how I'll get it all home!








To end this post, I thought I'd tell you about the article I was in for a magazine I. My town in Denmark. A journalist called me a few weeks ago and asked if she could interview me for a spread they were doing for Christmas. She wanted me to make my favorite Christmas dish and tell her about my Christmas traditions from Alaska. I thought it would be a small article and in one of those cheap magazines that you can find next to the flyers at the grocery store. But to my surprise, it was a ful page article with a fairly large size picture of me in the middle. She even included the story I told her about how my first time on the bus here in Denmark was a big ordeal for me (I've written about it in a previous post). And because of the article, all my classmates and friends from school have been messaging and calling me saying "Hey! You're in the magazine!" It's amazing what one magazine can do in a small town like Silkeborg, and I'm so thankful I get to be a part of it!

So Much to Say, So Little Post Space...

Hello all!

I'd like to start off this post by saying that my blog has reached almost 2,000 page views! Thank you to all my wonderful viewers! It's nice to know people actually enjoy reading about my many adventures.

Next, I'd like to apologize for not updating lately... I have been SUPER busy! But I promise I have a lot of exciting stories to tell.. it's been an interesting few weeks!

After the break, Danish students are supposed to pick a "career line", which basically means that they get to choose a career path that they think they might like, and then the school puts them in a class where the subjects match with the career path. This happens to all the first years, and since my school changed their Exchange Student policy last year, I am part of the first years too. All of the Danish students got the classes they wanted, but the previous class I was in became too full, so I was switched to another class. I was pretty upset because I had just started to make friends in my old class, and then I had to start all over again in a new class where I didn't  know anyone. The first couple days were very hard for me, but I had to keep reminding myself that exchange is about challenges, and facing those challenges will make you a more successful person in the future.

 After the first week back at school, I was invited to a Halloween Get Together for all of the Rotary Youth  exchange students in Denmark... it was a blast! My host family was kind enough to take me there by ferry, which is something I've never done before! All the exchange students  stayed at a school in a town called Holbæk, which is just an hour or so outside of Copenhagen. We carved pumpkins, got to explore the town, dressed up in costumes for the big Halloween Dinner, and then we had a Halloween dance where we didn't stop dancing until well past midnight.  It's a wonderful feeling being with other exchange students because  they understand exactly what you're going through, because they are going through it too. I am happy to say that I have over 200 people that I wouldn't  even hesitate to call my family.. afterall, we stick together through everything, and that's what families do, right?

 

 

                                                                               

 

 

 

When I got home from my Rotary weekend, I was invited to go on a class trip on Monday. It was a Hyttetur, which translated means a Cabin Tour. My entire class of 25 was going to bike together in the woods to this cute Little cabin where we would spend the night and do some quality bonding. I was pretty excited about it.. Until I realized how far we would have to bike. It was 9 km ( 6 miles) to the cabin from the school, and we all had to somehow meet up at the school before we left together. Well, the place I am living at right now is a 45 minute bike ride to school (if you are fast). I had to borrow my host sisters' bike, which is a Little too big for me so I was hobbling around trying not to fall off, and I ended up getting myself horribly, horribly lost... I ended up in a totally different town! And of course, I had forgotten my phone so there was no way for me to contact anyone. I finally managed to find my way to school after about an hour and a half, and I was soaked because a very unfriendly semi driver decided to soak me with a puddle. When I pulled up to school, my entire class was waiting for me. They all thought I had slept in, so I had to kindly inform them of my adventures of the morning. After some calculating, I figured out I probably biked close to 22 miles altogether in just one day... Anyway, the cabin retreat was loads of fun. We played different acitvities, cooked dinner together, and even made homemade bread over the fire. It was great for me to bond with my new class, and after that trip I can say I am pretty comfortable with everything at the moment.

 

To end this long post on a good note, I decided that I should inform you all that I had a dream in Danish last night. Yes. IN DANISH! I have been waiting for this moment ever since I stepped off the plane in Billund, Denmark. After talking to countless past exchange students, I am well aware that the first dream you have in your host language is very special because it marks a point where you are finally able to somewhat understand what people are saying to you.

 

 

I hope all of you get the chance to dream in Danish one day :)

 

 

P.S: I am going to Sweden to vist my host dad's brother this weekend.. stay tuned for posts and pictures about my trip!

 

 

xoxo fra Danmark