4 Months!

As I look back I do regret not posting much in the past month in a half. However I have been quite busy with everything in the exchange student life. I hope to keep up on it every two weeks.

This past weekend I was in Copenhagen with a friend of mine from Brazil named Luiz. He showed me all these wonderful sites like the Gefion fountain, Marmokirken, Amalienborg Slot (where the queen lives), City Hall, Glyptotek, and Tivoli at Christmas as well as Nyhavn! The Glyptotek is a museum full of collections from Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and Ancient Egypt from Carl Jacobsen's (founder of Carlsberg's beer) private collections. We saw Egyptian tombs from 2,000 BC. I was amazed by all the history and important things that I was seeing first hand. I had read all about these statues and importance of the style that the Greeks and Romans used and I was now seeing them for myself. That night we went to Tivoli København (Copenhagen) which is the second oldest amusment park in the world! The oldest is also from Denmark but is just outside København. Sunday then came and there was talk of a snow storm and I thought if I left Sunday I could beat it but I woke up to find that they were not sure if the trains could run that day. Then I decided to leave on Monday. On my train ride I had 4 hours to think of my last four months. While time is flying and I want it to stop and stay in place I realized how lucky I am. I thought of all the teenagers who would love to be where I am but for some reason the can't whether it be money or family problems, etc. I thought of all the soccer matches I'd been to and how much I've practiced the beautiful game. I thought about the food, friends, language, and of course my love for this small but wonderful Country! As sad as I was that it's already 1/3 over at least it's happened and I'm so thankful for that.

Before I came to Denmark I didn't know so much about football (soccer) sure I knew the basic rules and knew that everyone except for the USA was in to the game. Now I'd say it's my second favorite sport just behind baseball. Here's why:

1. No sport has the drama and passion that football creates there are 90 minutes and in a close match the last 10 bring out every emotion.
2. It dosen't matter how tall our how big your biceps are you can play football.
3. You only need a ball.
4. It's the worlds sport (except for the US).
5. Football breaks down the barriers of language, creed, color, and race. We can all enjoy football no matter what separates us.

Now I know some supporters of American football says the sport is, "Boring" or, "There's not enough scoring." Sure a game can end 0-0 but it's all the almosts the chances and the strategy. Baseball fans still watch a 1-0 game and find that exciting American football fans watch a 7-0 game and find that exciting as well. Football is no different it is a game of passion that takes an extreme amount of skill and it's a sport that unites the world. If you still don't like football go to a game in Europe then you will see passion.

Here are some of my pictures from Copenhagen:

 Nyhavn

 Tivoli

 Nyhavn

 Glyptotek

 Tivoli

 Lego Store!

 War Memorial

 Gefian Fountain

 Varm Chocolade

 Tivoli

 War Memorial

 Russian Dolls

 Glyptotek

 Mummies!

 Glyptotek

 Tivoli!

 Lego Version of Nyhavn

 Odin (Norse Mythology)

 Marmokirken 

 Christmas market

Tivoli

Two Months

I have just moved in with my second family and I'm loving it! I do however miss my first family a lot and hope to see htem often as they were very influential in my first two months here. My current family has a son but he is in Conneticut on exchange through Rotary. So I'm the only child and have been getting used to that.

Last weekend was my last weekend with my first family so we went to Ebletoft which is just north of Aarhus. I really enjoyed seeing it because it is such an old town and the scenery is amazing. On our way there we stopped at Kalø Slotsruin which is a castle ruin from 1313.  It was great to see all that history and be with my host family.

School has been going very good and I'm begining to do things with my class mates. Last Thursday I went to Aarhus to see a concert with a friend from school. Earlier that day my class participated in a music festival that made it on national TV! Today my family took me to the second highest point in Denmark which is called Himmelbjerget (Picture above) which translates to "Sky Mountain." The view is not very high but it is beautiful. I plan to go to Copenhagen on Wednesday with another exchange student named Carlos from Ecuador. Right now Denmark is on Autumn break so tommorrow I will be going to a friends house for a party as well as Tuesday night. Two weeks ago two friends from my class took me to Aarhus to buy clothes to look like a Dane I hope that is one thing I don't lose when I go back to the US.

These past two weeks have been quite busy and each day my Danish is improving and I'm falling more and more in love with Denmark!

Hygge

I cannot believe I have been in Denmark for one and a half months. Within that short time frame I have already experienced so much and have fallen in love with Denmark. The longer I am here the more I want to live here forever. Two weekends ago I cooked a dinner for my host family and they invited another fammily that I have gotten to know quite well. The other family has three kids and their daughter was an exchange student in the US last year the most exciting thing for me however is they had a guest from Dallas. He works at the University of Texas at Dallas. I made clam chowder, mac & cheese, and apple pie.

During this meal I began to understand something in Danish culture and that is the word, "Hygge". There is no direct translation but it is almost a state of complete relaxation. You have no sense of time and it is common for dinners to go on for hours. When someone is experiencing hygge it does not have to be anything special it is just a cozy warm feeling that you get when you are with great people and everyone is enjoying being with one another. I think this has lead to the Danish lifestyle which is very relaxed and calm I must say that the only time that I have felt this before was Thanksgiving. You don't need to be with anyone to experience hygge as you can watch a movie and make a cup of coffee on a rainy day and if you feel good comfortable and relaxed it is percieved as hygge.

I hope to start a weekly Danish course soon that way I can learn the language a lot quicker. Ï fallen in love with the Danish style and my friends from class are taking me to Aarhus next week to buy some new clothes. School is going good and this weekend I'm going to visit a good friend of mine named Carlos. He is from Ecuador and is living on an island off the west coast called Fanø. I'm going with my host mom's knitting club and when they get to the island I will be joining up with Carlos.

To be consistent I will be updating this blog every other Sunday.

One month

I've been in Denmark for a month now. One month ago I could not even imagine all the things I would be doing come September. One month ago it was hard for me to say goodbye to those back home and now I can't imagine saying goodbye to my friends and family here in Denmark. It's only been one month but yet I've seen and done so much. Things that you could only dream of like meeting 150 other exchange students like yourself or being completely accepted in to a new culture and a new way of life. Now I realize why exchange is so special for those who are brave enough to go it is the best time of there life and now after one month I can understand why. I've been here for one month and can't even imagine leaving. If all of these amazing things can happen in one month that makes me even more excited for the whole year! One month ago I was dreaming today I'm living that dream.

Last week I had the greatest week ever! Rotary brought 150 youth exchange students together for an Intro camp where we learned Danish and a lot about what we will be going through this year. I made new brothers and sisters and learned some Spanish, Portugese, and Danish. Two of my friends tried to teach me how to dance Salsa and they know I still need quite a bit more practice. We sang and performed for each other (my class did a great version of Don't Stop Belivin'). A Danish band called, "Quick Quick Obey" stopped by and performed for us. We went to Aarhus and toured stuff that I had already seen several times. All the activities were great but what truly made this camp special were all the friends I made. Most of them from Latin America and I hope that in a couple of years I can visit them and maybe live in South America. These friends that I made are some of the nicest and happiest people I have ever met! To be a youth exchange student takes some courage some flexibilty but really you have to be very outgoing! Because if your not your going to be quite lonely. Everybody at this camp was outgoing and very energetic you really felt that we were all one! When the camp ended on Sunday everyone was sad because we knew that we might see each other for maybe 2-4 more days this year but we wanted to see each other more. I stood back and thought and what I realized is in one week we became brothers and sisters! What if the whole world could do that. What if everybody went on exchange we would have a world that was united all together and all one people! Because what I found out this week was we are more similar then different we all like good music, food, and we all want the best for humanity!

After the camp I came back home sad because I had to say goodbye. However I came home and we went to the Hammel Horse market. It is like one giant flee market in my town I was amazed at all the crap people buy it reminded me of the US. After that I went home and celebrated my host moms birthday with family coffee and lamb. It was a wonderful evening. Now I'm getting ready for a smaller Rotary camp that is just for my district MidtJylland. It will be good to see some of my friends again!

I'm going to start putting a quote at the end of every blog post.

This weeks quote:

"Don't cry because it's over smile because it happened"

-Dr. Suess

Week two

It has been nearly two weeks since I have arrived in the fabulous country of Denmark. I started school on Monday and have as classmates some of the greatest people I have ever met. The food has yet to disappoint me. Last night I had some wonderfully prepared salmon and last week I had one of the greatest things I have ever eaten which is called tarteletter. It is chicken with a white sauce in a wonderful crust, and unlike the common perception that Danish food has a lot of spices and flavor. The only dish that I absolutely cannot stand is the liver paste.

Last week we went to Tivoli in Aarhus it is much smaller than the one in Copenhagen but me and my host brother still had a great time. School has been difficult with the language barrier but English is a class I excel in. The only problems that I have ran into is the difference between British English and American English. I'm very excited for tomorrow because I get to spend the whole day with my other host brother who lives in Aarhus his name is Niels he is a teacher at a boarding school in Hadsten. I go to school in Hadsten but at a different school than the one Niels works at.

The moment I stepped foot on Danish soil I could tell it was a special place. The one thing that I have noticed however is, Denmark does not have mountains like those of the alps, or forests like America, it dosen't even have a city as powerful as Paris. Danish food is great but not as popular as Italian. The castles are gorgeous but nothing like the castles of France or Germany. Howeve Denmark has something that would be hard for any place to beat, and that is some of the greatest people in the world! Every country has amazing people but the Danes are the most down to earth people you will ever meet. It dosen't matter how you are dressed or the manners that you have (unless you are dining with the Queen). The people will still treat you with the utmost respect. No one has ever welcomed me like the people of Denmark. The Danes are quite reserved but are very friendly at the same time. Everyone in my music class has made sure that I knew what was going on and how to get from one place to another. The people truly believe that all are equal that no one should have special privelages becuase of there income, or family name. I have yet to see one homeless person in the second largest city, everyone is offered free University. Denmark has socialized medicine and the Danish system has been recognized as the best health care sytstem in the world! This is what makes Denmark great the people and how they have a sense of community and they help everyone. If you ever want to meet amazing people come to Denmark.

Arriving in Denmark

I have now been in Denmark for 2 days. I have already met a lot of wonderful people. My first host family has a very large house right in the center in town. They are very nice and have three kids one of which lives at home. The flight to Denmark was quite long but I was seated next to very nice people.

After I landed in Denmark I was greeted by my second host family as my first family was on vacation. That night we had pizza and barbeque as we watched the Denmark handball team lose to Croatia.

On Sunday I went to my first host family's house they had the whole family over for dinner. We enjoyed great steak and drank coffee.

Today I had bread for breakfast and was able to practice my trumpet! My host family said that their cousin plays euphonium and is a part of a brass band that I could join. We also had frikadeller (Danish meatballs) they were delicious!

Tomorrow we plan on going to Aarhus which is the second largest city in Denmark. We will look at an apartment for my host brother. Right now I'm having the time of my life!

Getting ready to leave

I have begun the process of getting ready to leave for Denmark in only 8 days! I'm super excited but as you can imagine I have quite a bit of nerves as well. I will leave on August 3rd from Portland at 1:25 PM, from there I will have a non stop flight to Amsterdam and then I will arrive at the Billund airport in Denmark.

I have been making sure to visit and see anyone that is close to me as I won't be able to see them for a whole year. Right now I'm at my grandparent's home in Port Townsend Washington. Today we had a woderful family hike in the Hoh rainforest apart of the Olympic National Park.

It has been such a joy getting to email back and forth with my host family and my Rotary Counselor in Denmark. It makes me more and more excited every time I hear back from them. The town I will be staying in is Hammel Denmark. It is on the Jutland Peninsula and it is only 30 Minuets from the second largest city Aarhus. I truly am grateful to be able to have this experience!

Welcome to my blog. Here you can follow me on my exchange to Denmark.