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.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
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
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
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