Busy Busy

Hi everyone. I have been busy with school and other fun things. The goodbye party for my host sister was a success and I got to meet some of her friends and also some of my host parents friends. I also got to meet my host mom's sister and her two sons (one is 18) who stayed with us for a day traveling from the other side of Denmark to say goodbye to Josefine. After the party we were all tired so we spend Saturday just relaxing. On Sunday it was Josefine's last day and we asked her what she wanted to do and surprisingly she said she just wanted to stay home and say goodbye to the house and her own area. I understand that though. My last night in my own bed was kind of emotional too. But since it was such a nice day on Sunday my host mom and host brother took me to the beach for an hour or two. I actually got some suntanning in.. not that the danish sun is very strong, there was some clouds too. That night we went out to Chinese with my host fathers parents for Josefines last meal. It was pretty good and almost like the Chinese restaurants in the US but this restaurant also was serving sushi and french fries in their buffet. It was pretty odd. That night, or I should say morning, Josefine was taking off from the Copenhagen airport at 4:45 am. We had to be at the airport at 3 am and so we ended up leaving for the airport at 2 am. It was a long night since we didn't get home until around 6 am. I was supposed to go to school at 8 but my host family understand that I would be way too tired to function so they let me sleep in until 11. Anyways my host sister got off well and she has arrived safe in Arizona, so good luck to her! I'm sure she will have a great exchange. The past few days in school have been good. I am definitely getting more adjusted to the Danish school system which is a relief because at first it was hard to figure out. Now I have been able to make my way to my classes and make some friends. The class I'm in is very nice and the teachers and students are both friendly. This Friday there is a party at the school, but parties at their school are MUCH different then in the US. Beer is served and the kids drink with there teachers. It is very hard to get my head around so I will be interested to see how that turns out. Next week I have to go to Intro Camp for all the Rotary exchange students in Denmark. I think its going to be over 125 students so it will be packed. We will be staying in a old school (with rooms for sleeping thankfully) in a town about 4 hours away from me. About as far as you can get in Denmark. I am very much looking forward to Intro Camp, I heard it's a blast and they will teach us a lot of Danish there. I have also started Danish lessons. I have only had one so far but we only learned our birthdays, introductions, and some numbers, which of course are useful things to have. I can't wait until I can maintain a conversation in Danish. I will definitely try to learn as much as I can. Right now I just got home from school and had a snack and I will go for a run pretty soon now. I hope everyone is great!

School in Denmark

Hey guys, sorry it has taken my so long to write another post but I have been busy. In the past few days a lot of things have been happening. Two days ago I got to go and hang out with another exchange student from Oregon in Copenhagen. We walked around and got dinner and surprisingly we were fast friends, it seems like if you are going through the exact same thing you never run out of things to talk about. It was really nice getting to hang out with someone that was going through what I was going through. The next day was my first day of school, yesterday. I arrived at school and someone was there to take me to my class. I was put in the 2nd grade in the Gymnasium. The only have three grades all together and most of the people in my class are about my age. There is also another exchange student from USA in my class. It's been very nice to have her there because it we can figure things out together then. The class I'm in pretty much sticks together the whole day and we have block periods usually, about 2 hours of each subject. The school is very nice but it is hard to be inside all day especially when you can't understand anything the teacher is saying. I am trying to learn though. The kids in my class are fairly friendly.. some more then others but again that's when it is nice to have another exchange student in my class. Don't worry we are very social with the class when we are together, we don't just hang out alone. The first day was pretty good, but very overwhelming, and after words someone from my class invited us (me and the other exchange student Jessica) to go to the beach with them. We said yes and it was very fun but a very short trip. The second day of school, today, was a little more relaxed but still a little hard. I enjoyed myself though and I just got home from taking the train to my town after school. Tonight my host sister, who is going to Arizona on exchange on Monday, is throwing a goodbye party. Many neighbors will come and friends and family. I am excited about that, and I can't wait to meet every one. Well just a short update. Hope everyone is well.

Fun fun fun

Tivoli was great, it is an old amusement park in the middle of Copenhagen and it's so beautiful. There was a ton of fun rides that we went on such as a fast roller coaster called the Demon, and one that moved us all around and got me unfortunately nauseous, called the Monsoon. When the lights came on after dark, it was transformed into a beautiful wonderland. There were so many lights that came on and we walked past a lake with a lit up boat in it and there was lanterns hanging down from the trees. It was definitely a good time for my host siblings and I. We rode almost all the rides (there wasn't too many) and got some dinner of burgers and some dessert of yummy dessert that had all sorts of candy in it, yum. We ended up leaving the park at around 11:30 and it took us another 40 minutes to get home on the train so it was a late night, but it was a lot of fun. Today I had a lazy morning with my host sister and then finally decided to go for a run, luckily its getting easier to run around the lake in my town so hopefully that means I'm getting in better shape then I was. I plan to keep up working out, lets hope it last! Then my host parents came home and they had brought my host grandma called Mar Mar, which means mother's mother, home to stay with us for a few days. She is very sweet and doesn't know much english at all, which is good because then I am learning more danish. My danish is surprisingly improving, maybe not so much with me talking, but at least more with me understanding. We had a good dinner of steak and salad and potatoes and now I am just updating my blog. I am pretty tired from yesterday in Tivoli so I may just have an early night tonight. I am supposed to be starting school on Thursday but I have to go to a meeting at my school on Wednesday to confirm that I will not be starting later! I hope that isn't the case, I don't know why it would be. Nevertheless I am very excited to start! More later. Farvel!

Tea and Tivoli

Hello once again. It has been about a day since I've posted so I will get you all caught up on what I have been doing. When I posted last I was about to go to my counselors house for dinner. That was a very nice time, he picked me up at my house and brought me to his and I got to meet his family, he has two daughters that are 11 and 13 and a lovely wife. They made a delicious dinner that consisted of lasagna (not very danish) and salmon and a salad. Very good and we ate outside since it was a beautiful day. After dinner we had tea and chocolate and talked for a while and briefly watched the Olympics. Denmark has only won 9 medals! Oh no! After dinner I came home to my house and had some more tea with my host family and discussed music, traveling, and the differences between our countries. One of the most interesting differences is the way that Denmark's government uses there taxes. Each family must pay taxes that go to letting EVERYONE in Denmark have a free education (university included), free health care, and many other things including giving money and support to the poor. If you are homeless in Denmark and you have been born there the government will give you food, a house, and a job. So basically, if you are homeless in Denmark you are choosing to live that way. A very interesting idea. Well the day after dinner, yesterday, I got up semi late and hung around with my host sister and her friend and watched some movies that we had rented. I started to feel sick later in the day with a bad headache, stomachache, and fever but I had planned to go to a very nice art museum called Luisiana with my host mom so I just drank a lot of water and was on my way. The museum was beautiful, located right on the ocean with lovely view! It consisted of all kinds of art from sculptures to photography and paintings. It was mostly modern art and was very interesting to look at. I enjoyed that trip very much. Today I am watching Tin Tin with my host sister right now and of course drinking tea, which I do verryyyyy often in Denmark. Good thing I love tea. After we finish this movie we are going to go to a very old and beautiful amusement park in the middle of Copenhagen, its called Tivoli. It was actually Walt Disneys inspiration for Disneyland I have heard. So I am very much looking forward to that. I will let you all know how it goes over there. I have been having a very good time and I feel like a Dane already. Hope everyone back home in the US is doing great. Sending love!

The Trust System

This is just a quick thought I had and wanted to share with everyone. Something I have learned and admired here is Denmark's use of the trust system. The other day I took my first train ride as we went to Copenhagen. The process of getting on the train is quite easy. One would buy a small card and put it into a machine and the machine would print a date on it and a time and then the person would take their card back. No people involved and no crazy gates that you have to open. When I was on the train I realized that no one had come to check that we got our cards stamped (the way of knowing we paid) and I turned to my host sister and asked if that was normal. She said yes and that they rarely come and check your cards. I was surprised to hear that. I guess they can trust the trust system more then anywhere in the U.S. would, my thought was that most people would not pay if that was the case in the U.S. It was strange to me, the next thing I noticed was just a few minutes ago when I was walking by my local shopping center and saw about 20 or 30 bikes placed against the wall or in the bike racks. I looked for locks and them and noticed that there were none, on any of them! Such a weird idea, I feel like everyone back home would be so scared that their bikes would get stolen, and I'm sure some would. I guess no one in Denmark thinks that way.. it is a little bit refreshing knowing that a society is based around something like that. Well, I have to go to dinner now, my counselor is going to pick me up any second now.

Little Notebook

Hello all, I have been having a very good time! Yesterday was very nice, it was a slow day and very windy outside so my siblings and I just hung out in the house for a while. I then decided to take another run and it was very nice, other then the wind that was almost blowing me over. After that my host sister and I went into town and met up with one of her friends name Sophie. We all went out to eat, the place we went had Gyros, but they call them Kebabs. It was pretty yummy. I tried for the first time ordering in Danish, it was a little embarrassing but I'm glad I am trying! I then decided that I should go buy some things I needed and hadn't picked up yet. While I was in the market I decided to by a small journal to carry around with me just in case I wanted to write stuff down while I was out. Especially phrases I was learning. I already started writing in it and I think it will be very helpful. While we were out, we talked about the differences in teenage life from Europe to the US, they were surprised that I had a curfew of 1 am most of High school. They actually thought it was pretty funny. Shows how different the teenage culture is over here. I then ate dinner with my host dad at home, everyone else had eaten and after that he invited me to watch the soccer (or fodbold) game between Denmark and Belgium. Denmark won (sorry Favi) and it was great to watch a soccer game because I hadn't in a while. My host brother plays soccer and loves it so I am excited to go to his games. My host mom said it was cool to have a girl in the house that like soccer because neither her or Josefine enjoy soccer too much.

Well tonight I have plans to go for dinner at my counselor, Carsten's, house and he has two young daughters, so I look forward to meeting them and his wife. At dinner we will also talk about the things I need for my residency permit and what I  am interested in school so that they can tell my school. I am excited about that. But for now I think I will go have some breakfast. More later!

Visit to Copenhagen and Rotary!

Hey! Yesterday I went to my first Rotary meeting here, it's actually quite different. There is not one woman in my Rotary club and all the men are older, probably around 60. It was kind of surprising at first, but all the members were very friendly and introduced themselves. I went with my host sister and host father and I had to introduce and say some things about myself. It went very well I think. The rest of the meeting was interesting because I couldn't understand anything! Oh well, I am learning fast. I then came home and had some tea and hung out with my family. Today I went to Copenhagen with my host siblings (my parents are at work). We took the train and it was my first time on public transportation here. Im glad to say it is very easy to use and very comfortable. I look forward to using that train again, I think I will have to because I will have to take the train to school, which is one town over (Allerod). Once we got to Copenhagen my host siblings wanted to eat at subway. Subway is exactly the same in Denmark except for that a medium size soda here is a small size in USA and you cant refill in Denmark. I told my sister that everything is bigger in USA and she was amazed that they let you refill drinks in USA, they never let you in Denmark. After that, we went to a tower that over looks the city. It was quite a trek to the top but we made it and enjoyed the view (there is a picture attatched). We then walked through the shopping streets of  Copenhagen and to the entrance of the Copenhagen canal. It was very beautiful with all different boats and a bunch of different colored buildings. We decided to take a boat tour because Copenhagen has many canals throughout it. At the beginning of the tour it started raining very hard and we got ponchos to put on but it was very funny because we were out in the middle of the water with tons of rain and wind, it died away soon though and we got to see many things like the royal mansion and H.C. Anderson's house (the man who wrote many tales such as the Little Mermaid). We decided to head back to Hillerod (our town) after. I guess that my host family lives so close to Copenhagen that they don't have to spend all day there, just a few hours. Well I just got home and I had a lot of fun. Tonight we plan to watch Pirates of the Carribean, I'm excited because I love that movie. Right now I will upload some more pictures. More later!

Adjusting to Denmark

Hello all. I am sitting on my couch in my living room on a fairly rainy day in Denmark. Surprisingly, I am very much enjoying the rain. I think its slightly comforting, it reminds me of home. Yesterday, my host parents and my host brother took me for a drive out to the coast. My host sister couldn't come do to having to prepare for her own exchange, she is leaving to go to Arizona on Rotary exchange on August 20th. The beach was about 20 minutes away and was very lovely. We ended up going to three different   beaches in two different towns, which were all very beautiful with clear water and usually clear skies. Between beaches we got big ice creams and a topping on them called Guf, made out of egg whites and sugar (probably some other things too). It was very different but delicious. We then returned and had a great dinner and played Badmitton. It was a great day and I felt a little more adjusted to Denmark. This morning my parents had to work, it was their first day, so my siblings and I got up lazily, had breakfast and went into town to buy tea! I've been having a lot of fun, and I think I am over the jet lag as well. Well, more later. Hope everyone is doing well.

2nd Day in Denmark

Hey! I'm finally in Denmark and it is the beginning of my second day. Yesterday (and the night before) were long with all of my flights and adjusting to the time zone. I set off from San Francisco on a 10 hour flight to Amsterdam, luckily there were two other Rotary Exchange Students on the flight so I got to have some company. When we landed in Amsterdam we stuck together and went to our gate (we were all going to Denmark) and at the gate found another 3 Rotary Exchange Students. It was awesome to be able to have so many people there that were going through the same thing as I was. The flight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen was short and when I got there I was greeted enthusiastically by my first host family and my counselor. We then left the airport and went to my new home. Hillerod is 30 minutes away drive from Copenhagen. My host family consists of the mother, Hanne, the father, Flemming, the daughter, Josefine (16 I think), and the son, Kristoffer (10 I think). They are all very friendly and worked hard to make me feel at home. Their house is an old house that is almost 100 years old and has red brick on the outside and wood floors in the inside. The staircases are very steep here and I have to climb one to get to the room I am sharing with Josefine, so I will have to get used to that.

Well, when we first got back to the house there was some traditional Danish bread and cakes waiting for us. They were homemade and delicious. After the snack I unpacked and had just enough room for everything. Then we went for a walk around town and the lake around town. We also walked by the castle they have in their town, it is very famous and is from the 1500s. It was very beautiful. I think I may have gotten bit by maybe mosquitos because I have a few bites even though I don't think my host family has any (maybe they like american blood). We then had dinner of salmon, potatoes, and hot dogs (they like to end each meal with a hot dog or sausage, I think my dad would enjoy that). We had a yummy dessert of strawberries and cream then I hit the hay since I was exhausted at that point. Today we had a lovely breakfast and we are going to go to the beach. I will post again well I can. Good Aften (good afternoon) from Denmark!

WOW!

Hey everyone, the time has finally come. I am sitting in the Bay Area getting excited (and nervous) to leave. I will be leaving for Denmark in just a matter of hours from the San Francisco airport. My flight goes from San Francisco to Amsterdam (with a 3 hour layover) and then to Copenhagen where I hopefully will be picked up by my host family! I justttt finished packing last night with a little help from my mom, Aidan, and a very good friend Liz, who is the mother of Favi, who is in Belgium this year. I am taking a full 50 pound suitcase, a carry on, and a big backpack. I probably am bringing to much but even with what I am bringing I left more then half of my clothes at home. I will be arriving in Copenhagen at 1:45 pm  their time, but to us thats about 4:45 am (I'm guessing I'll be very tired at that point).

I've been pretty held together for my previous good byes, but I have a feeling I will shed some tears at this next one, lets hope I don't freak anyone out in the airport though. I will be leaving very soon now, I just wanted to do one last post where I am in the U.S.A. From now on I think my posts will be a tad bit different, given all the new things that will be happening around me. I will try to keep my blog as updated as possible though. Farvel (goodbye) from me now. I'll be in touch.