Halvtres Dage

My 50th day in Denmark has come and passed. While this should feel like a major milestone, counting the days simply reminds my that my days here are limited. There are a few other days that I will make note of, but I think that I'm going to let the days pass without giving them numbers.

Last weekend, there was a district 1440 conference. Essentially, the exchange students hung out all day while the important people from all the Rotary clubs in the northern part of the Jutland listened to presentations and voted on things. I am a little surprised that no one left on a stretcher. At one point, thirty exchange students were playing bumper cars with rolley chairs. This went on for about half an hour until one of the people leading us took notice and forced us to go for a walk. Regardless, it was an amazing day and it was great to see people I hadn't seen since intro camp.

I played in my first soccer game ! The majority of the game I was a forward. Never having played forward before, I felt a little out of place. My coach didn't think so and I ended up scoring our first goal. I caused the majority of the fouls; to me it felt like strict reffing, but talking to my teammates afterwards, they thought I was playing aggressively. Apparently, Danish soccer isn't as rough as Minnesotan soccer. This isn't going to stop me from hip-swinging and taking girls out. We tied the game 2:2, but I am so happy that I got to play. My next game is on Saturday, so fight, kick, kill ladies.

This weekend was also my host sisters birthday party, so on Sunday we all got up early and prepared a brunch for fourteen of her friends. Signe and I were given the task of cutting up fruit; I started with the watermelon, but she saw the pineapple and decided that we needed to switch. Never having cut up a pineapple before, I was determined to do it right. My host family laughed at me as I googled and watched YouTube tutorials to figure out where to start. A few sarcastic remarks and melodramatic sighs later, the pineapple was cut perfectly and then devoured. Although it isn't a major event, this pineapple gave me a lot of laughs and good memory, therefore making it blog-worthy.

To say that an exchange is entirely full of happy times and excitement, would be a lie. For example, I took the wrong bus home, had to wait an hour at a bus stop 30 kilometers from where I needed to be, and completely lost it in the bus station. Luckily, no one but the passing cars could see my mental snap. By the time my bus came, my mental breakdown was over and I got home without problem. Furthermore, I have had minor bouts of homesickness. It's a hard feeling to describe but essentially its a yearning for something that is unattainable. Overcoming these moments usually involves an overindulgence of chocolate and a quick nap. Even with these little moments, leaving this country early has never crossed my mind.
Farvel for nu!

At the District Conference we had to paint signs that represent our countries. 

GOBAMA.

Dinner Party with some of the girls in my class. Very hygge.

Artwork at NB Gallery in Viborg,

Cutting up the pineapple.

Exchange students at VK.

Nationalities Represented: American, Colombian, German, and Italian.

Viborg from above.

A Day In The Life: Photoblog

My life has started to become completely normal. Things that used to be seen as interesting, or blog worthy, have slowly drifted into ordinary. Regardless, I am loving my time here and I wouldn't trade it for anything. However, having a routine makes blogging especially difficult. I struggle to find topics to write about, as I am doing the same things every week. Therefore, I am mixing it up and creating a photoblog. The pictures below will take you through my average Tuesday here in Denmark. Enjoy!

Waking up is never a simple task.

Everyday we leave about 7:20 to get to school about 7:30. This little, white car has the nickname the GoKart.

The one and only, Viborg Katedralskole.

First class: Biology. This pictures makes it look like I am actually paying attention, but in reality, that is my friends' book and my laptop is just to the right.

In the ten minutes we have of passing time, my classmate, Martin, decided to jump out the window.

Second Class: English. We are learning about the Aboriginal culture of Australia.

Third Class: Chemistry. Today everyone in my class did their homework (besides me) so our next lesson, our teacher is going to bring us Flødeboller, which are basically chocolate covered marshmellow creams.

Almost everyday, a few classmates and I walk to Kiwi, a supermarket near our school, during lunch. They get whatever they like, but I always buy a Mini Meal, which is basically tapioca pudding and jelly. They cost about 75 cents so I'm not going overboard. On top of this, I bring a sandwich and so veggies from home, so no need to worry about me starving Mom.

Last Class: Math. Rather uneventful.

Done at 13:35! Short walk to the bus station and then home.

Hanging out with the host sister after school.

Killing time before language school and trying to find my true identity.

Tuesdays and Thursdays I have language school from 18 to 20:30. Then home and sleep!

One Month Millie

It is amazing to think that exactly one month ago I was stepping onto the tarmac in Aalborg, looking for the way to the baggage claim. This month has by far exceeded my expectations and I have done plenty of things I never would have dreamed of. This includes having a Brazilian song stuck in my head for a week, having an international cuddle session, and willingly eating black licorice.With everything I've done, it feels as if I’ve only been here for a week. Time needs to slow down.

My Danish has made quite a bit of progress! If people speak slowly, and use hand gestures, I can understand most of what they are trying to say. I can normally form some kind of reply but I need a little help. The first time I created my own sentence without help from anyone, I almost cried with joy. I start language school tonight so hopefully I will progress even more quickly.

On Friday, my school had an Aktivitetsdag, which directly translates to “Activities Day.” My first four hours were spent at the Doctor Who workshop. My class watched an episode of Doctor Who, answered some questions, then went on a scavenger hunt. After the workshop was over, we played rundbold.In English its called Rounders but I’m not quite sure exactly what it is. It was kind of like a mixture of baseball, kickball, and tennis. Regardless, my class wasn’t very good and we lost to the first year, music class. At the end of the day, we had our first Friday Cafe and then a Danish Reggae band played a concert.

This past weekend, I took a train to Odense to meet up with a few exchange students and “run” the Color Run.Saturday, we walked around Odense and hung out at parks. I had McDonald’s for the first time in Denmark. It was double the cost and it was not as good as the greasy, cheesy, Minnesota McDonald’s that I’m used to, but I ate it regardless. Heading back to our campsite, we underestimated how long the bus ride would be, so when we go there it was wall after dark and already raining. Putting the tent up was very frustrating, and took much longer than it should have. Needless to say, it was a very wet and cold night. Sunday morning, we woke up and headed back into Odense for the Color Run. When we got to where we thought the starting line would be, we found out that it was actually three kilometers away. Not wanting to be late, we half ran and half walked our way there.I had planned on actually running the race, but after we got through the starting line, it was very evident that no one was going to run. The path the race took, zigzagged through a zoo, so as we are running we got to see zebras, ostriches, and lions. By the end of the race, I was coated in color; even my teeth had gotten color on them.The powder they threw at you was actually quite powerful, as I still have random patches of blue on my legs, and my hair has pink highlights. Definitely a successful weekend.

The Color Run Crew.

IntroCamp

IntroCamp can be considered one of the greatest weeks of me life. I was surrounded by 172 people who have left everything they know to live in Denmark for a year! These people understand everything I’m feeling and share the same, crazy desire to get out and see the world. Introcamp can only be described as organized chaos. They had a set schedule for us; but controlling 173 sixteen to eighteen year olds for a week is a big task. For example, one of the girls in my class, skipped an entire day of Danish lessons because she felt that getting her beauty sleep was more important. Nevertheless, I had a great deal of fun and now I can’t imagine my life without these crazy people.

If you were following the rules, most of your days consisted of breakfast at 8, three hours of Danish lessons, lunch, three more hours of Danish lessons, two hours of free time, dinner, evening activity, and then free time until eleven. Six hours of Danish lessons everyday seems like a lot, but when your teacher gives you long breaks every hour, its really not. I would estimate that we got closer to three and a half hours, rather than six. We went through the basics, like days of the week and counting to one hundred, and we learned about sentence structure and verb conjugation. I learned quite a bit and can now string together very simple sentences but I can confidently say that my Spanish improved more than my Danish because I was constantly translating for english speakers, and speaking to the Latin Americans.

On Wednesday night, someone pulled the fire alarm and within five minutes, the entire fire department was at Nørgaards Hojskole. We were placed in a courtyard while the firefighters checked the building for any sign of fire. Luckily they found nothing, but our counsellors were furious afterwards. The next morning, our counsellors threatened us with police involvement and asked the culprit to step forward. No one owned up to it, but I will be awaiting to see if there is actual police involvement.

Thursday we went to Aarhus! We visited ARoS, a very famous, Danish art museum then had four hours of free time to explore the city. Claire, Danny, Yu Hei, and I had Sophie, an oldie from Australia, show us around Aarhus. First, she took us to a cheap, Asian restaurant, where I had a bowl of noodle soup. It was delicious! It was so nice to have something that wasn’t full of carbs and super healthy. Then she took us to a thrift shop where I bought a pair of black skinny jeans, a striped shirt, and a dress for less than 100 kroner ($20). On our way back to the bus, we got ice cream and then ran around trying to find other exchange students. Without any hesitation, I can say that this was one of the most exciting and most fun days I have had here in Denmark.

Our last night at IntroCamp, the counsellors threw us a party. All the girls got dressed up and the boys didn’t wear basketball shorts. It started off with each class giving a little presentation. My class made fun of the stereotypes from all the countries. When we got to the US stereotypes, my classmates wore pillows under their clothes and used very odd “American” slang. After this, we danced the night away playing music from every country. Suddenly, the music stops and I hear ‘FIRETRUCKS! FIRETRUCKS!’ Everyone ran outside and, much to my surprise, I realize that instead of ‘firetrucks,’ they were yelling ‘fireworks.’ We all sat outside for about twenty minutes watching as the colors danced overhead. The fireworks were bigger and brighter than anything I have seen in the US. At one point, the sky looked like it was raining glitter. It felt like they were celebrating our arrival in Denmark and wishing us a great year here.

A few things that I took away from this week, besides that vast amount of pins now cluttering my blazer, is that learning Danish is going to be very hard, especially because English is everywhere. I also learned what it meant to be living in a global community,. At mealtimes, you could here three or four different languages and the same table. I love my new friends and I miss them already. But as much as I loved IntroCamp, its nice to be back with my host family, and to actually get some sleep.

Jeg elsker Danmark.

Danielle, Claire, and I.

On our way to Aarhus.

Rainbow Panorama.

Inside the Panorama.

Found my car in Aarhus!

Look at that view.