Holbæk Get Together

On Thursday after school, I quickly made my way to the train station to take an hour long train ride to Aarhus. I met up with Sophie (Australian) and Claire (New Yorker), and had a very hygge night with Chinese food and Facebook stalking. In the morning, we were back at the train station to go to Holbæk for the get together. The majority of the exchange students on the Jutland were on this train so there were very few seats and lots of talking. I sat in the aisle for the majority of the train ride. I'm sure the other passengers were very annoyed but the one sitting nearest to us commented that he was "holding in his laughter." Regardless, I am glad I had these lovely people to make the five hour journey with.

Upon arriving to Holbæk , we were escorted by bus to the Holbæk Gymnasium. The reunions in the doorway of the gymnasium were priceless; there were so many hugs, and I think I saw a few people holding back tears. Although it had only been a few months since the last time everyone had seen each other, the bonds that we have are so strong that they allow this kind of relationship. The rebounds running the event hadn't allotted for this reunion time, so by the time we got to dinner, the pizza they were serving was cold. Being exchange students, and having bottomless pits for stomachs, we all had quite a few pieces. After dinner, we sat around for a while just talking and catching up on the few months that we haven't seen each other. Eventually, they got a stage and dance floor set up so I danced the night away, returning to the classroom I was sleeping in just before 4 A.M.

Around 8, the rebounds went from room to room with a megaphone yelling to get up. Although this was slightly terrifying, it was very effective. Breakfast was served at nine, then shortly after we took a group picture then walked into the city for some exploring. My friends and I got coffee then did a little shopping. When we returned to the school, they had lunch waiting for us. We ate quickly then started getting ready for the costume party. Claire and I were going as mimes, and believe it or not, but doing the mime makeup was a huge challenge. The first attempt resulted in raccoon eyes and a very frustrated Millie. About an hour later, we were finally ready. I thought that our costumes were going to be on the promiscuous side, but other than the girl that went as a pregnant nun, we were among the most covered up in the room. We had a very lovely dinner, followed by a show with performances by various exchange students. Cal and Harry, two of my Australian oldies, were the MC's so they volunteered Claire and I to do a mime act. The act before us was two Brazilian guys, dressed as babies, giving a girl a lap dance. I'd like to think that our innocent, twenty second, performance was a nice eye cleanser. The show ended with a video that Eddy, another Aussie, had made. It was twenty minutes long and went through the year that the oldies have had. I didn't see a single oldie with a dry eye, and I have to admit that I was crying as well. I love my oldies so much and I don't know what I am going to do without them. After we had dried our tears, and fixed our smudged costume makeup, we went back out and danced the night away. Everyone was much more enthusiastic about the dancing this night. Eventually, my friends and I headed to the gym and spent a long time talking on the mats. With ten minutes until 5, we called it a night. My towel, which I was using as a pillow, had never felt more comfortable.

On Sunday, they came around with the megaphone at 7:30. Breakfast was at 9, and after eating the oldies pulled out their books and flags to be signed. I made sure to sign the people's who I didn't know if I'd see again, but I am saving most of the signing for later in the year. I watched as so many people cried as they said goodbye. Fortunately, the oldies I am closest to are near me or in my district so I know that those goodbyes weren't final. We left the gymnasium around 11:30. There were two trains that we could have taken, but we opted for the second one, because there was a delicious kebab shop about 100 meters away. When we finally got on the train, there was less running around and more cuddling. I said goodbye at the Aarhus station, and made it home just before 7. After dinner and a shower, I was in bed and asleep.

Monday morning, I woke up more sick than I was before leaving on Thursday. Luckily, my host parents were okay with me staying home. I slept the majority of the day, then spent the rest watching movies on the couch.

Aarhus is not just a city, it's a feeling.

Typical flag picture.

Claire and I; so much love.

Group picture, featuring three zombies, a kangaroo, and Frida Kahlo.

Mimes.

Group Photo.

Sidenote about events on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean: earlier this week, my Great Grandma Hilda passed away after living 103 amazing years. This didn't come as a shock, but I was still saddened by it. I know that heaven gained another angel, and she is currently watching over and guiding me. Rest in peace Great Grandma.

Efterårsferie

This past week, Denmark went on Efterårsferie, which directly translates to "Autumn Holiday." It is a week long break where most people take time to travel around Denmark or go to neighboring countries. Unlike in the United States, the entire country coordinated this week and therefore I didn't have language school, or any other obligations. This gave me a lot of time to do whatever I pleased.

Friday: My holiday started right after school as I took a bus to visit some of my exchange student friends in Aalborg. We spent the night walking around the city, eating french fries, and sitting at the harbor.

Saturday: After sleeping in, Danielle and I went shopping in Aalborg. Although I didn't end up buying anything, it was a lot of fun. We went back to Danielle's house and watched as her host parents made Calzones. The rest of the night was spent watching Netflix and just hanging out.

Sunday: On the bus ride home, I was surprised to see that along with the other passengers, there were four dogs on the bus. I love dogs, so for me this was fine, but a few of the non-dog-loving passengers looked moderately annoyed. When I got home, I took a shower and slept for the rest of the day, only waking up for dinner.

Monday: Signe, Rasmus, and I had a very slow start to our day - being that no one was awake before 10 o clock. But once we were all up, I took it upon myself to make pancakes. I can truthfully say that they were not the best pancakes I have ever made; but Signe and Rasmus loved them. We all got ready and headed into Viborg to do some thrift shopping and walking around. We were down there for a few hours before we decided that we were starving. For whatever reason, we could not decide if we wanted to get kebabs or go to McDonald's so e got both. We returned home just after 4, and I was shortly out the door again to go to my Colombian friends house to watch horror movies and carve pumpkins.

Pancake stack.

The result of an hour of hard work.

Can you tell I've done this before?

Tuesday: Another slow start, but no fancy breakfast this time. At 12:30, I took the bus in to Viborg to meet Emilie, a friend from my class. We had lunch and did some shopping, I ended up buying a skirt, which I love but don't need. Around 4, she had to go to riding school so I walked to my counselors house to have dinner. Normally, I would have stayed to watch a movie, or in this case the Denmark vs. Portugal game, but I needed to get home to pack my bags for Germany.

Wednesday: My host family and I took off bright and early to take a mini vacation to Germany. It was a four hour drive, and I fell asleep almost as soon as we got out of the driveway. Luckily, I woke up a few minutes before we were going to cross the border into Germany. I was thoroughly disappointed when there wasn't someone to stamp my passport, or even a sign that says "Willkommen in Deutschland." I can honestly tell you that crossing into Wisconsin in more exciting. The first thing we did was visit a border shop, which is basically a warehouse lined with various confections and beverages whose prices aren't inflated with the high Danish taxes. Needless to say, we left with a trunk full of Nutella, candy, and cases of pop. For lunch we stopped at a food stand, I had Currywurst. It is hard to describe but it is a sausage cut up with sauce and curry powder on it. I loved it! We resumed driving and stopped about an hour later at a luxury outlet mall. We spent a few hours wandering through the shops, then finally made our way to the hotel. Dinner was at the hotel buffet and after, everyone else was pretty tired so Signe and I were left to explore the hotel. We discovered that there were two saunas, and went down to take advantage of them. Unfortunately for us, there was a naked, old man sitting in the first one, so we bolted into the second one, which happened to be a "Finnish Sauna." This meant that it got up to 90 degrees Celsius, and if the conversion app I have on my phone is correct, 194 degrees Fahrenheit. We sat in there for five minutes before deciding that being able to breathe easily was more important than forcing ourselves to sweat. Upon returning to the rooms and showering, we fell asleep almost immediately.

Currywurst.

Thursday: Our day started at the continental breakfast provided by the hotel. This was probably the best hotel breakfast I've ever had. Unlike in the United States, they actually give you real food; there was bacon, eggs, and my personal favorite, breakfast cake. It felt as if I waddled away from the breakfast table. Shortly after breakfast, we made the half an hour drive to Lübeck, which is listed as a World Heritage Cite. It truly was a gorgeous city, it felt as if I was stepping back into medieval times. We did some more shopping before visiting the Marzipan museum. I was told that there would be a statue of Pope Benedict made out of marzipan, but that was taken away when Pope Francis took over. There were other marzipan people, but none as exciting as seeing the old Pope. After leaving the museum, Signe, Rasmus, and I took off in search of doners. Thinking they would be some kind of German sausage and sauerkraut, I was not disappointed when it turned out to be a Turkish sandwich with lamb, tzatziki sauce, an orange sauce, and lettuce. We did a little bit more shopping, before stopping to get treat at the shop attached to the Marzipan Museum, then headed back to the hotel. Even more tired than Wednesday, we had dinner and took off to our rooms for some much need rest and relaxation.

Marzipan Pigs.

Doner and Lübeck Towers.

The River Trave.

The medieval gate to the city.

Friday: We had the continental breakfast again, but this time I stayed away from the cake, and opted for healthier options. Shortly after we were back on our way to Denmark, and I slept the majority of the journey, waking to stop in a border shop. We got back around three then spent the rest of the day lounging around.

Saturday: My host parents took off early for a weekend vacation to Fynn. Shortly after them, Rasmus left to return to his apartment in Aalborg. This left Signe and I home alone. Having a soccer game, but no one to drive me, I hopped on my bike to ride the 8.7 kilometers it takes to get to the field. Only getting lost three or four times, I was pretty impressed with myself. It was the last game of the outdoor season, and if we won we would be ranked first. It was a good game, but we ended up losing 3:4. I biked the 8.7 kilometers home without getting lost. My plan was to shower and get ready then FaceTime my best friend back home. Unfortunately, I had miscalculated the time difference, so I ended up video calling her with muddy legs and a sweaty face (sorry Brittany). For dinner I made fried noodles, then made another video call, but this time to my mom. I realize that I should spread out my calls home, but this was the first time in a while that my schedule and the people back home's schedule coincided. After hanging up on my mom, Signe and I spent the night watching American Pie and eating junk food.

No street signs and only this to guide me.

Sunday: Like most other Sunday's, this one wasn't very productive; I left the house once to go put some papers in the recycling and I never actually changed out of my pajamas.

I apologize for the excessively long blogpost, but it only seemed fitting with everything that happened in this past week. Vi ses!

The Good and The Bad

There are so many things I love about this country; how there is always cake no matter where you are, slugs with trails of slime behind them, the way everyone will explain the word hygge to you - my list truly could go on forever. Yet I am still finding myself with struggles. In my last post, I mentioned that an exchange isn't always full of excitement and joy. I realize that I did not elaborate on this enough. The following blogpost will take you through some of the doubts and uncertainties I face everyday.

For starters, I miss home. I miss the way my mom would fist bump me and say play tough, or test tough, or work tough. I miss driving and not having to pay through the nose for public transportation. I miss being a regular at Tokyo Grill. Not only do these things make me homesick, but I feel guilty for thinking about them when I have been given this amazing opportunity. Something they tell you at orientation is to be present, so I am constantly questioning myself with "am I present enough?" If that even makes sense.

Another thing I struggle with is my progress with Danish, or lack thereof. It feels as if no matter how hard I try, I am not getting anywhere. Yes, the amount of Danish I know has completely doubled. Yes, I can now pick words out in sentences, and have a general understanding of what is going on. But this doesn't feel like enough - it feels like I am failing. I have set a goal that on my 100th day here, November 17th, people will only speak to me in Danish; I am completely terrified of this. I have exactly 40 days to be at a level that I am nowhere near. I keep telling myself that I will get there and by my 100th day, I will be at that level. But what if I'm not? What if I am setting myself up for failure? How will I handle this failure? Am I putting too much pressure on myself?

Citing orientation once again: they tell you that staying busy will make your exchange better and more fun, this is completely true. I try to stay busy but it is virtually impossible. Without homework, errands, works, and other miscellaneous tasks, I have a lot of free time. I try to hang out with my friends from school, but they have to work, or our (crazy) physics teacher gave them an assignment that will take them hours to complete. I am constantly racking my brain for things to do, but usually end up with nothing so I go home and fill the vacant times with naps, movies, and junk food. While this is fun the first few times, it gets old fairly quickly. I am worried that after language school ends, my days are going to be entirely like this, and I am going to be perpetually bored.

Lastly, I struggle with not constantly have excitement. Something I hadn't necessarily braced myself for was having days, or weeks, where I stick to my routine and don't do something specifically terrific. I had heard about this "phenomenon" by rebounds, and other exchange students, but I guess I hadn't really listened. This again falls into the category of self doubt and wasting my exchange with nothingness.

When you put all these struggles together, it gets a bit overwhelming. Sometimes little things will just push me over the edge and I just break down, like at the bus station in Karup. I also know that these struggles are considered normal along the "exchange student curve" that they talked so much about at orientation so hopefully I will get over this hump quickly.

On a happier note, this weekend was my host sisters actual birthday! After a soccer game, which we lost, I came home, showered quickly, then had a very hyggeligt dinner with my some my host family and host relatives. This was followed by a very interesting, but delicious cake. Essentially, it tasted like popovers covered in frosting, marzipan, and various candies, and it was shaped like a girl. I ate a few too many pieces and went to bed.

A member of my Rotary club and his wife took me to an event at the Asmild Church. The event was a tour and explanation of the gardens, following with a concert from Viborg's Chamber Choir. Not yet knowing Danish botanical words, the explanations of the plant life and uses were not very interesting. But going inside the church was. It was built in 1090, making it one of Denmark's oldest churches. The music at the concert was wonderful and after I got to do a little exploring.

Future exchange students: ignore my whining and turn your application in. You only have a few days left! This experience is truly one of the best things out there and you will not regret coming.

Alt for nu! Farvel.

Signe's Birthday Cake.

The church altar.

Church from the balcony.

Blazer Update.