 November 02, 2011
When do you know you are starting to become an American? Am I there yet?
I have asked myself these questions quite a lot since I got here almost 3
months ago. The truth is … that I don’t know. But signs are starting to show
me, that I’m on my way to become one:
There are more things to learn, than what I would have expected. The
language was no problem, not even in the beginning, but there are so many
terms, that I as a foreigner didn’t know. When I got here I would have been
completely lost if someone said some of these sentences to me: “Do you want
to go to Walmart or Publix?”, “Hey! Do you like Chick-fil-A?”, “Y’all”,
“Will you be taking the FCAT while you are here?”, “Are you a Gators fan?”
and I could go on. Now I, of course, don’t even think about it when I use
them. English has become my first language in some way now. When I speak or
write Danish it seems wrong, like as if the words didn’t come out right. It
is a relief to start speaking English again. I have even started to
calculate math in English inside my head now. Google Translate is not only
being used on English to Danish because I don’t understand the English word,
but also because I’ve forgotten it in Danish.
When I hear the word football it’s not the sport with the round ball, but
the American style. I have now experienced my first college football game.
My family and I went to Tennessee to visit UT (University of Tennessee). We
spend an absolutely fabulous weekend up in the cold. I, if possible, had
more trouble dealing with the cold weather, than the Floridians had. The
temperature was around the 50s (10 degrees celcius). It doesn’t sound bad,
but 4 rows from the top of the 8thlargest stadium in the world, that is
really cold. Especially when it’s windy. It was fall break for the
University so “only” around 80,000 were on the stands waiting for the Vols
to beat Buffalo. They had an amazing band, who accompanied by a (awesome!)
high school band put on a fantastic show in the half time.
“Are you excited about homecoming?” Before I wouldn’t have been able to
answer more clever than, “What??”, now I have been to 3 homecoming dances.
Homecoming is a big deal here in United States. The dance Saturday night is
like a prom, but less formal and for the whole school. In the days leading
up to the weekend, you dress out. Each day as something different. The
biggest football game of the year is the Friday before weekend starts. I yet
have to experience the week before homecoming, but I have got the amazing
opportunity to go to 3 homecomings in total.
Again, what characterizes an American? He/she obviously has American
friends. I’m getting there. I’m so thankful that I didn’t have a language
barrier when I came here – my English has made it so much easier for me to
become good friends with some fantastic people here. I don’t know why, but
it continues to surprise me how we are “exactly the same” as Daphne said in
her presentation. I don’t know what I had expected: That all Americans were
fat and had the same personality? Of course not! (I hope I didn’t offend
someone. :p) I just think there would be at least something, where I could
say: “Typical American”. To be honest, when it comes to personality I can’t
find those specific things. We have all the types in my school, as there
would be in any other school in Denmark. I know I’ve been so fortunate to
meet so many nice people here. It has of course taken some effort and
courage. I don’t think that I had ever texted or said: “So do you have any
plans tomorrow” to someone I had only spoken to a couple of times before in
Denmark. I had become immune though. It felt like no big deal just to ask to
do things with people I barely knew. That has helped me to get to the point,
where I actually know the people I’m asking really well.
I guess I’m not a fully American on this specific topic. I have friends in
Denmark that I of course miss, but missing has not (yet hopefully) become a
problem in my world, which I really appreciate. I also have much more than
“just” American friends. The bond between us exchange student has shown to
be much stronger than I had first anticipated. We do quite many things
together and talk much. Not only because we’re in the same situation and
have many things to talk about, but simply because they are all amazing
people.
Things that before seemed different to me has now become daily life. Palm
trees, alligators, thunderstorms? Ha! That’s not even new and exciting
anymore. Okay, admitted. I am exaggerating a bit. The thing about alligators
is not completely true: I was so excited when I got a very dark, blurry
picture of an alligator from very far away a month ago! Haha! But the other
things are true. Palm trees are everywhere. I thought it was weird that
there was no dress code for homecoming, because I’ve gotten so used to dress
code. 70 degrees is suddenly cold (I am not(!) looking forward to when it
gets cooler).
During my stay here in Florida I have of course compared Denmark and
Florida, and things are actually not as different as I would have expected.
Here is a list of the things I’ve been able to point out so far:
• We drive more here in USA. Things are quite far away from each other, so
you just have to.
• You can get a refill on all restaurants.
• The walls are not normally painted white. And Americans find it really
strange that all our walls in the house are white.
• The weather obviously. I love it!
• You don’t use knife and fork for everything. You only put knives on the
table if you need to cut something. It’s hard to get used to!
• Church is a much bigger part of people’s lives. People on my age attend
church too.
Something I really like about the High Schools here is the team spirit.
Danes would be a amazed to see all the yellow jacket (our mascot) tee shirts
and hoodies. There’s a football game every Friday which I just love. To be
honest: I don’t watch the game that much, but so many friends are gathered
together, so it’s soo much fun and a great opportunity to speak to people
you don’t have the time to speak to during school. You don’t have much time
to talk when you’re walking from G-hall to B-hall (which is very far) in 5
minutes. The atmosphere during the football games is fantastic. There are
cheerleaders, the band, the dance team and so many dressed (or painted :p)
in maroon and gold. My high school has a pretty good team, so we haven’t
lost any games so far.  I love my high school!
It is very different how much people know about Denmark. Some don’t know
where it is, others know more than me about Denmark, haha! Many seem
interested and want to hear more. Some reactions to my nationality are
pretty obvious, while others are… hmm. :p
• How do you like Florida? The question most people have asked me. And I can
only say that I love it here!
• Is it very different here? Well, the climate is, but besides that: No.
People are the same. They all laugh when I say that the hottest it has ever
been in Denmark is 88 Fahrenheit. I’m getting used to the climate. Maybe a
bit too used to it. 2 days ago I asked everyone if it was cooler today. No,
they all said – it’s really hot! Well, I was wearing my hoodie and still
thought it was quite cold. I brought the sweater I use when I’m skiing and
I’m actually using it quite a lot – believe or not. Inside it’s quite cold
because of the AC, so I actually usually wear jeans to school. Then there’s
of course also dress code…
• So what’s the drinking age in Denmark? I am starting to get so tired of
getting this question. Yes, it is different in Denmark, can we talk about
something else now?
• Do you have black people in Denmark? To my surprise I’ve been asked this
question quite a few times. Yes, we have black people in Denmark, but not as
many as here.
• So… Denmark is in United States right? No, Denmark is a country in the
Northern part of Europe.
• Do they speak English in Denmark? Yes, of course! That’s why I have this
weird accent. No, we speak something called Danish.
• Did you know English before you came here? No, I am a really (!) fast
learner, so I’ve become fluent in less than 3 months.
So what about homesickness? To be completely honest: It hasn’t been a
problem for me yet. Of course I miss some things at home and my friends and
family, but I know I will see them all again next summer, so why not just
enjoy my year here? I make sure to remember special occasions like friends’
and family’s birthdays, so I can send a postcard, but besides that I do my
best to live here in Florida and not in Denmark. 
My respect and gratitude towards Rotary continues to grow larger and
larger. I love my Rotary club, I have the most fantastic counselor in the
world and I will be going on some amazing tours with RYE Florida. I can’t
imagine a better exchange program, which also is why I’ve recommended it to
literally everyone I talk to. One of my friends applied because of me! I
want to thank you Rotary so much for this amazing opportunity. This is going
to be the most amazing year of my life.
Conclusion? Hmm, I don’t think I can call myself American yet. But I’ve
gained weight, so I’m getting there. :p Talk to y’all soon!
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Exchange students from 6970 on the beach in St. Augustine |
My
friends and me all dressed up before homecoming dance |
Chick-Fil-A. For those who are not Americans: Best fast-food chain! |
My
sister and I at the Tennessee game |
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Families, friends and Rotary welcoming me at the airport 3 months
ago |
March
31, 2012
November
A thing I haven’t talked about yet on my blog is religion. I go to church
twice a week. Yes, friends in Denmark, twice a week and I enjoy it. My
church here is nothing like church at home. We are a big youth group that
worship together each Wednesday. The first 7 months our theme was,
literally, “GoodSex”. Yes, church is very different here. The lyrics for the
songs (all of them written after year 2000) are shown by a projector, while
accompanied by a guitar. At the service on Sunday there are even drums and
piano. I go to a non-denominational church.
I have spent two wonderful weekends with my exchange student friends. The
fall weekend in St. Augustine was so much fun. It is really interesting
suddenly to see your own city from a tourist’s perspective – that was
exactly what I got the chance to do. We went on one of the many trolley
tours, visited the alligator farm among all the other tourist stuff. I love
spending time with all the exchange students. We in district 6970 have
really gotten to know each other very well.
A bunch of us helped out with the interviews of the maybe future Rotary
exchange students. 36 applicants got interviewed during the 3 days. The
interview process is much more challenging here than what I went through in
order to become an exchange student in Denmark. I only had a 20 minute
interview besides the home interview (which was more just information about
the program and not an interview). Here the applicants went through 6
different rooms, each 15 minutes, and were tested on different areas. Our,
the inbound’s, job was to either inform the parents, make the exchange
students feel comfortable, or actually evaluate the students in one of the
interview rooms. It was very exciting for me to be a part of the whole
process, and get to meet the students of some soon will become exchange
students.
It is amazing how huge Halloween is here. Almost all the houses are
decorated with “scary” things like pumpkins and spider web. Sam and I
“found” some kids in the neighborhood and took them trick and treating – of
course not so we had an excuse to go trick and treating. Even though we have
Fastelavn in Denmark,
Halloween here is somewhat different. The whole street was full of kids high
on sugar going from door to door and parents were sitting outside the houses
to give candy out. During the Halloween weekend I also got the opportunity
to go to Warehouse 31. It’s a haunted house, which was really fun to
experience. I was scared, but not too scared, haha. :p Great fun.
I continue to become more and more grateful, that I chose to be a part of
the chorus program. We had our first performance a while ago. It went really
well. I performed the Star Spangled Banner with all chorus students and 3
other songs with my class, Women’s chorus. It was amazing to be part of
something sounding so beautiful. Most of my friends are a part of the chorus
family here at SJCCA (St. Johns County Center for the Arts). The environment
in SJCCA is fantastic.
I really feel that my exchange year has had a huge impact on me. I wouldn’t
say I was shy or anything, when I came here, but I am much more outgoing
now. I guess you have to be outgoing when you go to a foreign country
without knowing anyone. I feel I’m much more open minded. I talk with
everyone and see different parts of the society. Last week I helped out with
a project at church in downtown St. Augustine, where we fed almost 100
homeless.
December
I have now realized, that I do not only have one family. Actually I have
several.
The exchange students in Florida has become my so far biggest family. Rotary
gave all us exchange students a wonderful long weekend in Disney. There is
only one thing I can say when I have to describe that weekend: Wauw!
Approximately a hundred exchange students from all over the world joining
together in Disney for four days – that could only be amazing. And yes, it
was. I feel I am almost friends with everyone. We share so much: We all have
the desire to experience the world and build bridges between different
cultures. We all know what it feels like to say goodbye to everyone you
love, knowing that you are not going to see them again for a year. We can
all share stories about the differences between our own cultures and the
American. I feel all these things brings us very close together even though
we have only known each other for four months.
This weekend was packed with experiences. It may be true what most American
teenagers say about Disney: It is mostly made for kids. But! There are some
really good rides too. Rock n Rollercoaster in Hollywood Studios was my all
time favorite. It was great fun to drive through the darkness while
listening to Aerosmith! My group actually only tried two rides the first
day: Rock n Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror, which was great fun.
It was amazing to see everyone again. It was only the inbounds in 6970 I had
seen since the Orientation Weekend in the very beginning of my stay here. We
spent a lot of time just hugging each other while a big parade passed us. We
all had so many stories and experiences to share.
We started our day in Magic Kingdom very early the next day. I think I was
one of the only ones who enjoyed getting up early to learn about physics in
an amusement park. I thought it was so awesome! We got the chance to ride
Space Mountain (which is very different here compared to the one in Paris)
with the lights turned on in order to guess how much Potential Energy we
started with in the beginning of the ride. How cool is that? Space Mountain
is from 1975, so it was actually quite scary to see all the old mechanics in
the ride.
The World Showcase in Epcot was so much fun for us exchange students. I was
really excited to hear, that they had Norway. I got the chance to speak
Norwegian with the staff and ride the ride “Maelstrom Adventure Cruise”,
which featured Vikings, oil (ofc), trolls, and Sørlandet. They even had
Norwegian candy!
As our bright orange t-shirts say: “We Put the World in Disney World”.
I didn’t only go to Disney with one of my families once, but actually twice.
The chorus from St. Augustine High was so fortunate to be chosen for the
19th time in a row to perform at Disney Candlelight in Epcot. I had barely
unpacked my bag from my previous Disney trip before I started to pack it
again to go singing at Candlelight with my chorus family. It was an amazing
feeling to walk on stage with 200 others to perform 15 Christmas songs with
professional singers and the Disney Orchestra. It had taken a lot of effort
to come that far. Unlike most of the others I hadn’t heard most of the songs
before, so I had to start from the very beginning with learning all the
lyrics. It was all worth it, though. I didn’t only get the chance to perform
at Disney. We also got paid with extra tickets, so the following day we went
to Magic Kingdom just to have fun. I walked around with several different
groups, which was a lot of fun. Most of my friends here in Florida ar e a
part of SJCCA Chorus so it was wonderful to spend a whole day just walking
around in Disney with them and having fun. I’m going to miss Disney!
I got the chance to experience my first Thanksgiving in Virginia with my
family. I must admit, that before I arrived in Florida all my knowledge
about Thanksgiving was from the tv-show Friends. I was very disappointed
when I realized that no one was going to put a turkey on their head. I soon
accepted that fact though, when I realized how much good food I was going to
eat. Thanksgiving is really cool!
I had never heard of Black Friday before I came here, and I must admit that
I was a little scared when I was standing in the middle of it. People are
crazy when there are huge sales that start at midnight! I have never seen
lines that big. By the entrance to Target we were handed maps of the store,
so we could find the biggest sales. After the very exhausting shopping we
went to IHOP at 3 am in the morning to get pancakes. Life is soo tough!
I have been so unfortunate to be sick the whole month of December. I have
been coughing, coughing, and coughing… My family here has been taking very
good care of me though. They have driven me to the minute clinic, made hot
tea with honey in the middle of the night and given me a bunch of different
medicine and vitamin C. My family here is fantastic. I have lived with the
Paxton’s for more than 4 months and I feel totally as a part of my family.
It’s not my “host family”, “host sister”, “host dad”, or “host mom”, but
family, sister, dad, and mom.
I do not want to leave my family out in Denmark. One thing I have not really
talked about on my blog yet is being homesick. Before I came here, I have
been told by several former exchange students that Christmas is the hardest
time to be abroad. So many traditions that you are used to from home are not
traditions in your host country. Even though I have been away from home for
more than four months by now I must say that I have not been homesick yet. I
have missed my home, my family, and my friends, but I would not call that
being homesick. I have yet to experience the feeling of missing home so
much, that I want to board a plan right away and leave. I do not miss home.
Instead I smile when I think of my family, my friends, and Denmark. I have
turned the “missing part” around and made it into something nice to think
about. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that I not only have my wonderful
family and friends here, but also everything that I had before I left the c
ountry. My family in Denmark has been fantastic and sent me Danish candy and
nice messages. No, I am not home sick. I feel so fortunate to know that I
still have everyone at home plus everyone in Florida.
January
I was wearing jeans and a tee shirt, standing outside school after a short
day. The sun was shining from a cloudless sky. I looked around wondering
what time of the year it would be in Denmark, if the weather was similar.
Probably early June on a good day. This is not a memory from the beginning
of the year. No, it was today, January 10th. It will soon be warm enough to
start going to the beach again. Sam and I are going to put our swimsuits in
the trunk. Just in case we have time some day and the weather is good.
I must admit, that it was cold a week ago. For four days there was frost on
the car in the morning when Sam and I were going to school. Julien and I
joke about, that that was the winter we’ll get to experience this year. I
know for sure by now, that I am not going to see snow this year. I am not
going skiing either. But hey, I will be in Hawaii while my parents are
skiing in Denmark!
Celebrating Christmas in Virginia with my family was absolutely fantastic.
We went to Buschgardens (an amusement park), which was so much fun. Even
though the place was packed with people, then lines for the rides weren’t
very long at all. The lines for seeing Santa Claus and penguins were 45
minutes each, so we skipped that.
Here in United States Christmas is celebrated December 25th in the
morning. Our day began already at 6:00 am and was filled with family
dinners, gift unwrapping and many memorable memories. I can not think of a
more perfect Christmas here. I am now looking forward to Friday, where
Maw-Maw will be coming to St. Augustine to watch us kids while Mom and Dad
are out of town.
New Years Eve here in Florida was one of my best New Years’ Eves so far!
Since it was with Rotary, we had a service project at the Ronald McDonald
House where we performed to cheer some people up. We spent the last 2
hours of 2011 in the hot tub waiting for the fireworks. Lovely end of an
absolutely fantastic year!
I am right now in the middle of the exams ending the first semester at St.
Augustine High. It is unbelievable that I am always halfway through my
school year here. Unfortunately that also means that I am always halfway
through my year, which is a really scary thought. I do my best to ignore
that fact and just live in the moment.
March
The fact that it has been more than a month since I’ve written a blog post
illustrates perfectly what is going on in my life: A lot.
The tennis season at my high school started about a month ago. Compared to
my tennis club in Denmark, it is far more intense here. We have practice 5
days a week, 2 hours each day. We play several games a week, where I usually
play both a double and a single. So far the Yellow Jackets haven’t been
doing too well, but it is so much fun anyways.
It has taken some time for me to get used to the weather conditions that
we play in. Despite the fact that tennis started in January, I was
overwhelmed by the heat during practice. The bugs are really annoying, but I
guess it is something you get used to. I can’t wait to play more. Sports are
a very good way to create new friendships.
I changed family more than a month ago now. I now live with the Mortons on
Anastasia Island in St. Augustine. My new host mom and dad are Laurie and
Tom, while I for the first time in my life have a brother, Orion. Besides
that I have two other siblings, but they don’t live at home anymore.
It was a very mixed experience to move families as I had expected. It was of
course very sad to leave the Paxtons, who I still consider as my family. It
is incredible how much and how fast a new family can feel as your very own
family. I have developed a new attitude towards moving: I am not changing
families, but adding.
I must admit that I was kind of nervous the week up to moving. Even
though I knew the Mortons very well, I was once again being ripped out of my
comfort zone and had to adapt. I quickly realized that I really enjoy the
adapting part. It is so interesting to see how families are different. I
absolutely love it with my new family.
The last Rotary trip, where all the exchange students went together, was
held in the Keys the last weekend of January. We had a lot of fun learning
how to take better care of the oceans of the world at Sea Camp. Among many
other activities we spent the most time snorkeling. The scenery surrounding
the whole weekend was breathtaking. The turquoise water was visible from the
dining hall and beautiful sunsets were the attraction for the photographers.
(You automatically become a photographer when you get involved in the
exchange program). Since it was only a 4 day trip, much of the time was
spent in the bus with the other exchange students. The time was spent
signing each other’s tee shirts with sharpies.
My family and I went to Miami in the middle of February, which I enjoyed
very much. Miami was very different from St. Augustine. Spanish was being
spoken everywhere, the sun was even stronger than in northern Florida and
skyscrapers were blocking the view of the beach from the trafficked roads. I
found myself in an environment entirely new to me when we went to the boat
show. It was very interesting to see the mega yacht my new sister Isla works
on from the inside. Looking at all the beautiful catamarans at the sail show
made me, if even possible, more excited for our trip to the British Virgin
Islands during spring break. Orion’s and my present for Valentine’s Day were
tickets to the basketball game between Miami Heat and Orlando Magic. The
game was much more high paced than the football games. The difference is
much like the difference between soccer and handball. I prefer handball, and
I prefer basketball too. The Miami Heat, whom Orion and I cheered for won. I
n addition to the fantastic experience seeing my first NBA game, I enjoy
being able to say that I went to a basketball game with Bill Clinton, Chris
Brown, and Lil Wayne.
Hawaii. How do I express in words how much fun I had? The decision to go to
the islands in the middle of the Pacific was, for my part, a very impulsive
one. I did not really have the money, but I decided anyways to sign up for
this adventure: When will a chance to go to Hawaii with students from all
over the world ever occur again? My real parents luckily surprised me with
the wonderful Christmas present by giving me the trip. Mahalo!
Everything started out just perfect (I hope irony works even though I am
typing :p): Julien and I were supposed to get up at 4:30 am, but we somehow
managed to set our alarms to 5:15 am and 4:30 pm. Tom saved us and woke us
up just in time, so we rushed out of the door, heading for Hawaii. The rest
of the vacation went just like a dream. During our week a blog was being
updated about all our activities:
http://belousa4hawaii2012.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html I
especially liked the catamaran tour. Most of us lay in the net in the very
front of the boat, where the waves within short intervals were hitting us.
The cloudy, rainy sky above us didn’t matter since we were all laughing and
wet. The only optional tour, the kayaking tour, was also a lot of fun. I had
never heard of kayak surfing before, but suddenly I was the first one to go
surfing on the waves with one of the tour gui des. I don’t know if it was
luck or skill, but I was one of the few whose fun moments being pushed by
the waves didn’t result in swimming outside the kayak.
The atmosphere in Hawaii is something special. The cultures of Polynesia,
Asia and United States are being melted into a very interesting mixture. I
often got reminded of my trip to Japan. I would definitely like to go back!
I am sure I am not the only one who feels that the week went by way too
fast, but once I think back on all the fun times, I realize how much we got
to experience in a very short amount of time. There is no better way to see
Hawaii than with people from all over the world. Many new friendships
developed during the week, while others got much stronger.
I am incredibly grateful, that Rotary has provided me with so many
absolutely amazing opportunities. Life is full of experiences – you just
have to grab them.
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SJCCA Chorus performing at Disney
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Making gingerbread with my wonderful sisters at Christmas
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Rock n Roller Coaster at Disney in December
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Miami Heat v Orlando Magic Basketball game |
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Hawaii! Go Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands!
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The
last day in Hawaii |
Everyone on the Beach in Hawaii.
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Our
Districts
Elisabeth
Aaron
Alayna
Alison
Alyssa
Amber
Andrea
Anna
Ashley
Austin
Autumn
Britney
Carlos
Carter
Casey
Celia
Chantal
Chelsea
Crystal
Devante
Ellen
Emily
Jennings
Joe
Kate
Katie
Mackenzie
Miranda
Quinn
Vanessa
Guido
Maria
Steven