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 Nova
Jones
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2010-11 Outbound to
Denmark
Hometown:
Coral Springs, Florida
School:
Coral Glades High School, Coral Springs, Florida
Sponsor:
Coral Springs-Parkland Rotary Club, District 6990, Florida
Host:
Sorgenfri Rotary Club, District 1470, Denmark
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Bio
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| September 5 " I have adjusted
well to being part of my family, and I already know that I don’t want to
leave them. On my second day of Danish school, I got
home in the BEST mood. " |
| October 20 " Rotarians who barely know me invite me over for
dinner to get to know me better, kids in my class invite me over for a hyggeligt afternoon with coffee and movies. I know I’m changing, and I
didn’t expect all of it, but there’s not a single moment I regret." |
| November 16 "At first it was
weird for me, everyone in the changing room walking around naked or
showering next to each other, or going into the steam room nude, but not
only have I accepted it as normal, but I’ve become accustomed to it! " |
| January 3 "The people you meet, the
areas of the world you suddenly find unlocked to you. An open invitation,
yours whenever you’re able to take it." |
| February 28 "I
don’t feel as though I’ve changed, but when I revisit my journals, both the
online and handwritten one from the beginning of my exchange, I can’t help
but see I’ve grown up." |
| April 10 "It won't be the same, I
never will be exactly the same. All I can hope is that I never forget
everything I've learned and that I'm never forgotten." |
Nova's Bio
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 Hej, rart at møde dig. Jeg hedder Nova Jones. (Or for those of
you who don’t speak Danish, I said Hi, nice to meet you. My name is Nova Jones.)
Although I am 16 years old, I will be 17 for the majority of the exchange. I
have lived in Coral Springs, Florida since I was four and a half years old. I am
a Junior at Coral Glades High School, but I will be graduating a year early to
pursue this exchange program.
I am interested in the environment and in helping others,
which is why I am an officer in both my InterAct club and my Save What’s
Left club. I like having the responsibility, and it lets me meet new people
and learn interesting new things.
As soon as I heard about this program, I went home and
asked my parents if they would consider it. To my surprise, my mom told me
that when she was my age, she had been an exchange student in France and
would love for me to go if I was offered the opportunity. Because of this
decision, I will spend the next year learning Dansk (Danish), as I will be
going to Denmark! I see this as an opportunity to explore myself and find
out who I want to be. Rotary has given me a chance that I have always wished
for – to prove myself to everyone, have an adventure, and have fun doing it.
In the future, I hope to study people, language, culture,
and psychology. This program will give me a jump-start into my ambitions,
and for that I will be forever grateful. |
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When
I arrived in the airport, we checked in and stepped through customs. I was
attacked (not literally, but when you’re as tired as I was, that’s what it
seemed like) by hugs and kisses and Danish flags waving all over the place,
and I left with my host parents and Ida. They were pointing things out on
the way home, but I didn’t really take any of it in.
However, the traveling was fun... Erin Hearty and I got
lost in the Frankfurt airport in Germany, and once we found out where we
were supposed to be, the airline (which is under a different name in Germany
than it was in Florida!) didn't have our tickets because of a mistake
somewhere along the line (they could have sworn that we were supposed to fly
the day before), so they had to call Connecticut, check my other tickets,
call Florida... and it was settled. Erin had been stressing out, but I was
too tired to care, and we had five hours before the flight for everyone to
get settled. However, two kids couldn't get on that flight, so I'm not sure
what they did. I was so tired that while we were waiting for the plane, I
got the giggles, and because everyone else was so tired, they got them also.
Then, on the plane, Erin said: Lord, you look like you're about to DIE with
the bags under your eyes! So I put my head down on the tray, and I fell
right asleep, for the hour that we were flying. Why couldn't I have done
that on the transatlantic flight? The nice man I met on my flight from Miami
to Chicago (he was in the air force) warned me about that. He told me to try
to stay awake until I hit the ocean, and try to sleep during it because that
would help eliminate jetlag. It was good advice, but my mind and my body
wanted two different things. He and I also talked about the Keys, and it
turns out that he's a scuba dive instructor, so he said that he'd certify me
when I got back. How awesome is that?! We exchanged business cards, and he
emailed me, so it might actually happen.
So, on my second day, my second host sister got
home from a trip to Hungary. After dinner, she and I were talking, and
she was like:
"I love your accent, it's so cute!"
So I was like: "I have an accent?!"
She was like: "Yeah, it sounds... like proper English... it's not a very
heavy accent, but it's there and it's very American... I like it."
And then I said "Well Ida Marie said I have an accent when I speak
Danish..."
And then Ida said: "WELL it's not quite Danish. I know what you're
saying, though."
And I was dumbfounded, because here I was, thinking I didn't even have
an accent at all!
hehehehe x)
I think I beat jetlag! I was exhausted when I came in,
I went about 40 hours without sleep or something like that, and then slept
for 16 hours... That let me go to sleep at 10pm on my second night, and wake
up at 8:30 the next morning... That's pretty normal, I believe.
Now on a side note, in America, I don't like the milk. It's thick, and I
feel like I'm drinking a milkshake but not as good, and so I usually give it
a skip. Here, though, it's super-high quality, and it's only .5% milk fat.
It's called minimælk! I thought that was cute.
Ida Marie and I went to København on my third day, and it was absolutely
beautiful. B-E-A-utiful! So I have tons of pictures (of course) for you all
who are also watching my Facebook add DeviantART!
I decided that I was going to make dinner for my family in the first week...
An “American” dish, as far as I can tell, since Florida doesn't really have
one besides Key Lime Pie (and there are no key limes here, so what's the
sense in attempting that?!) So I decided on Chicken and Dumplings as a main
dish, with tomato and mozzarella salad, along with pasta in a garlic cream
sauce AND FINALLY, red velvet cupcakes. That's pretty American, right?
My host mom and I on the boat tour of
Copenhagen! :) |
On my fourth day in Denmark, Henrik (my youth
exchange councilor) came and got me. He's very talkative and personable,
so it was fun! We went around (by car this time) three towns or so, and
he showed me where my school was. HOLY CRAP! It's only 6k, which isn't
bad, but sweet Jesus, the hills! I swear there's a mountain between me
and my education right now. xD We also got me registered as a citizen
(my ticket number was 007!) and signed me up at the bank. Apparently,
Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian are all super similar, so if I become
fluent in Danish, I'll be able to fully communicate with the Swedes and
Norwegians, so really I'll be quadrilingual... Cool, huh? The only
downside was, we turned what could have been a half an hour into almost
three, so I was SUPER tired when we got back.
When I FINALLY got back, I started preparing my American dinner for my
family. They LURVEEEED it! I made red velvet
cupcakes (minus the red, food coloring is unhealthy here) and we had
them after dinner with tea. That tea was SO GOOD! My oldest host sister
works in a tea shop in København, so she brings home all these lovely
flavors!
During tea, we were watching the weather channel, and they were talking,
and Ida said something in Danish, but I understood it... I was like “Oh
my gosh! DID YOU JUST SAY THAT YOU'RE CROSSING YOUR FINGERS FOR THE
WEATHER AT THE PARTY?” And she had. So on Day 4, I understood my first
full sentence (not directed at me), which is really, really exciting
because I hadn't learned all of those words yet (although some of them
are similar).
Later that week, I was reading the paper in the morning (or trying to
read it... the headlines at least) and I understood some of them! The
prince is having twins (his wife is), someone trashing the BP oil spill,
lots of sales on stuff (yay!) Tiger Woods not doing well in golf,
Wycleff Jean as a candidate to be the president of Haiti, political
parties cleaning up the ghettos... I didn't get many of them, but I'm
getting there x)
We helped set up a huge tent for my host mom's birthday party. It
included rods, tarps, wood floors, tables, chairs, glasses, silverware,
candles... it was super fancy. After a while of lifting, my shoulder
started hurting, so I stopped to give myself a break, but I'm happy I
could help.
That night, I went for dinner with my second host family, because one of
my sisters there is going to be an exchange student to Canada, and they
wanted me to meet her before she left. It was really good, and I met the
boy who will be my cousin... he is SO ADORABLE! After dinner, I was
sitting in the basement with Sabina (the one who's staying) and Sophia
(the one who's going to Canada.) I was trying to explain something, and
I said "I don't know" a few times. I tired explaining it another way,
and then said "Yeah, I don't know" again, but I jumped a little when
Sabina screamed "OMG THAT WAS PERFECT DANISH!!!!!" I was like "what? o.o"
She was like, you just said 'I don't know' in Danish! I was like "Nuh-uh!
I said it in English!" But Sophia was like "nope, it was Danish all
right." So, apparently this means a few things: I'm picking it up, and
my brain is already getting confused between the two languages. The
weird thing is, I hadn't learned how to say that yet. I guess by asking
my host family to speak Danish around me (unless they're talking
directly to me and I'm not getting it) is paying off!
The first Saturday I spent in Denmark was the day of my host mom's
birthday party. It was so weird to realize that what Ida said was true:
"You should tell them that you're the exchange student... they think
you're Danish." I was mostly keeping quiet at this point, because
everyone was saying hello to everyone else (When someone new walked in,
they went around the room and shook hands and said hi to every single
person there! It took quite a while, but apparently my Danish
introduction isn't too shabby!) During this cocktail hour type thing, I
had my first legal taste of elderflower. It was very sweet, and it
reminded me of honeysuckle. When they first gave it to me, they said
“it’s like lemonade!” so I was very surprised to realize that it was
nothing like lemonade at all, but it was so good! I was also able to
hold my first conversation in Danish! It was with Ida, and it was only
things we had already practiced, but I got all of my replies correct!
Hurrah! After eating, we had coffee (this would be around 11PM) and then
as a surprise... Square dancing! Oh my gosh, it was cheesy, but at the
same time, it was SO awesome. Mads Emil (my younger host brother) was my
dancing partner, and it was really fun once we all got into it.
The next day, I went into København again to meet up with the other
exchange students who live in the København area in this cute little
cafe... it's just off of one of the main streets past a tower. Everyone
was so nice, but the Brazilians were especially friendly. I got another
wish bracelet! My first one came from Gabriel, who was an exchange
student in my district in South Florida last year.
We went through the rules and had our first Danish Danish (which the
Danes don’t eat much of here, surprisingly.)
After, we came home for dinner, and then Ida, Anne, Mads, Christian,
their cousin, Ida's friend, and I went to see Inception (It just came
out here!). OMG IT WAS EXPENSIVE, but I could see why. Each seat was a
red recliner (a big one, at that) and there were thick curtains that
pulled back when the movie started, and I think if the screen was pulled
up, it could be an actual theater! (A black box one, at least.) At any
rate, I understood more of it the second time, now that I had an idea of
what was going on. Yay! I still can't get over the whole assigned seat
in movie theaters thing. Ha, it was a good day.
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I went on a canoe trip with
my Councilor.
This was clearly the best team! |
PS the best chocolate ever: Merci, coffee and cream flavor. It's a
French chocolate that's manufactured in Germany.
The next few days went by rather quickly—looking back
now it feels like I’ve been here for a lifetime, but also only for a few
days… A month can’t be right! I’ve seen so much, met so many people, and I
have even achieved a decent level of understanding within conversations in
my family. I can’t compare my life here to my life back home, because
they’re so similar but so different at the same time.
I took another trip into Copenhagen for Tivoli’s (their
central theme park) birthday concert, which was a collection of American
songs performed by popular singers, and we went on a boat tour of the
harbor. I love it in my city, everything is alive, but still so much more
easy-going than in the States. The tour was in English, Spanish, and Danish,
so I understood some of it all! It was cool being able to tell my host
family that I understood some of it, even when it wasn’t being explained in
English.
I haven’t been homesick at all, for some reason the
exchange has happened naturally for me, as if I were meant to be here. I
have adjusted well to being part of my family, and I already know that I
don’t want to leave them. On my second day of Danish
school, I got home in the BEST mood. I went to talk to Ida, but she was on
the phone, so I figured “hey, I’ll just check my e-mail until she’s done,
then I can tell her how awesome my new class is!” Unfortunately, my happy
cloud was popped when I received an email from my dad. He woke up with
severe pain and drove himself to the emergency room, and my grandma went
into Hospice. It was unexpected (on my dad’s part) and I wasn’t prepared for
it, so I went to Ida about to cry. She hung up the phone, asked me what was
wrong, and gave me a hug. I recovered quickly; I think it was just the shock
of it. I knew my grandmother didn’t have much time left, so that wasn’t a
surprise, just that it was so soon into my exchange! Ida
and I talked about it some, and we were laughing within five minutes. I
honestly couldn’t ask for a better family. After a while, I became so busy
with the routine of school and my social life that I had forgotten about my
American troubles, and took a trip to Jylland.
Cool American chips are sold instead of
Cool Ranch! |
From the 22nd to the 29th of
August, I attended my Rotary IntroCamp. It was a surprise kept from me
until the day before I left; I wasn’t supposed to go because I was
supposed to have been on teambuilding with my class… but things turned
out in my favor, and I ended up in the Danish system only a few days in!
I was really, really happy about that switch. I know that everyone
thought it would be in my best interest to attend the international
school, but I enjoy the challenge of being surrounded by Danish all the
time. In the IB program, I was in American style classes, which were
being taught in English… If I wanted to be in America, I would have
stayed! I talked to the vice principal, and she told me to come back in
the next break. Less than 20 minutes later, she had switched me from 2u
(IB) to 2B. I now have a class of my own, and two girls assigned to show
me around whenever!
At the introcamp, I got to surprise Erin… She thought I
wasn’t coming. We were really happy to see each other, and made other
friends quickly. After a bit of exploring in our free time, we happened upon
a room with couches and chairs and candles, so it became Narnia. It was
nice, having an escape that no one knew about, because the other popular
rooms were occupied by Spanish and Portuguese… I wish I could have joined
in, but the other students weren’t interested in speaking English, or even
slowing the Spanish down so I could understand. Narnia began to grow, and
soon it encompassed a small group of Americans and Canadians. We became
close-knit quickly, developed a nickname system, and even had a password!
(It wasn’t enforced, it was just fun to have.) As the group moved through
the week together, we ate meals together like a family, confided in each
other, and teased each other too. We went shopping together in Aarhus, and
walked around the ARoS museum. I really liked that museum, it displays some
VERY basic cultural differences between America and Denmark. I was surprised
to find out that their exhibits contained sexual themes, pictures,
subliminal messaging, nude statues, and other things that would have been
extremely controversial, but they were being expressed and explained here
with great popularity. I found one exhibit particularly interesting: Julie
Nord's Xenoglossy.
What was funny, though, was as the week went on,
I began to miss my host family. I missed everyone eating together and
laughing together, and I even missed riding my bike 12k a day over the
massive hills they have here. (Just don’t tell them that! It’s my secret.)
;) Unfortunately, someone came to the camp sick, so by the third day, at
least 75% of the kids had a cold, which is a lot for six teachers to handle.
I didn’t get sick until the last full day there, where we had our diskotek!
It was so much fun, even though I had a fever. When I got tired, and started
feeling pretty bad, my friend Chris sat me down, and kept bringing me water,
playfully threatening me with cake if I didn’t drink it… That’s what I mean
by the Narnians being family. We take care of each other, even if it means
missing out on some of the fun. I would have to say the absolute BEST part
of the camp besides meeting people, though, was the “surprise
entertainment.” There was a night where they taught us how to Stomp (like
the movies and street performances) in the gym while a secret surprise was
being assembled in the lecture hall, and when we were sent in there….
Striving Vines, a local (but popular) band was giving us a private concert!
It was SO AMAZING, and only the Rotary kids from Denmark were allowed in.
They played ballads, their top chart singles, and even an unreleased song
when we begged for more. I ended up buying one of the ten CDs they had, and
taking pictures with them all, so I’m set for a while. While I was talking
to the bass guitarist, I asked if they would be playing in the Copenhagen
area, and they will be! It won’t b free, of course, but I WILL find a way to
go.
My exchange so far feels more like a dream than
reality, where not everything makes sense, but somehow fits together
flawlessly anyway. It might seem strange to wear scarves in the summer, or
to put ketchup on pasta, but hey, it’s actually not bad at all! I’ve gone
shopping few times, and my style has already shifted
dramatically. I can share shoes and shirts with both of my current host
sisters, and so we’ve been trading a lot, and it’s really nice, because I’m
at the point where I’ll come home with something new, and they’ll ask to
borrow it the next day. It doesn’t bother me at all, in fact, I’ve always
wanted to have sisters to do that with…. So it’s perfect! I have
lot more going on in the future, and I plan on keeping it that way
because it’s fun, so I’m sure I’ll have lots to tell you in the future.
Rotary, I can NOT thank you enough for giving me this
chance. It has already expanded my mind exponentially, and I know that I’ve
already created connections that will last me a lifetime.
Tusind tak,
Nova Jones, your happiest exchange student in Denmark. |
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So,
today, I was in my German class. The teacher refuses to speak in English,
and told the girls who were helping me to only speak in German or Danish.
This is how it usually goes in that class, and everyone told me how strict
she was. However, today, she came up to me after class, and said this: Are
you sure you should be in here? You don’t understand a word!
I thought it was funny, but she was being serious, so I didn’t laugh. The
other students talked to me about it after break, and said that even that
was strange for her, and Julia, a girl from Germany, said “Well what does
she expect? You’re taking a high-level class as a beginner in a foreign
language. She’s just trying to make it easier on herself, not on you.” They
then mentioned something about going to the park after school. I didn’t even
know that Birkerød HAD a park! I, of course, said I would love to go. I then
found out that not only was it 2B, but that 1B and 3B would also be there,
to get to know each other. They wanted to do this because in a few months,
we’ll be throwing a party for all three classes. The park was SO much fun,
I went with kids I didn’t know much, but as they drank øl and Bailey’s, they
began to talk to me more. After that, things began to look up more: People
in my class were talking to me more, inviting me out, and asking my opinions
on things. My German teacher and I had a semi-public confrontation that we
had to ‘take outside’ and in the end, she ended up apologizing (which they
say she doesn’t do to students, ever!) and offering me free Danish lessons…
so we put aside our differences and worked together. Since then, things
have passed SO quickly… I was astonished when I got an email about sending
in my quarterly report, and as I sit down to write the rest of this, I
realize that I’m not the same person that left Florida sleep deprived on
July 31st. I faced my fear and cut off most of my hair (it went past my
bellybutton, now it grazes my shoulders), I use public transportation or
take my bike regularly, I drink my coffee black, and I eat tomatoes whole as
a snack. Another thing I have noticed changing since I have arrived is my
views on acceptable fashion… I used to hang out in jeans and a fitted
t-shirt, now I find myself hanging out in long, loose tops and tights. When
I look back at pictures from Florida, I find myself thinking: Did we really
wear that? Were we having a bad day or something? It’s true what I was told
before I got here… While the Danish culture is very laid back, their
standard for acceptable is slightly more fashionable than what I was used
to. It was funny, because recently, two other exchange students from America
came to visit me. They live in Jylland, so both the accent and the fashion
is very different. One day, I was showing them around the city, and they
were in jeans and a t-shirt to take a day off. A street vendor smiled at me,
and asked (in Danish: ‘You have Americans with you?’ It made me laugh, and
it still brings a smile to my face now. It takes moments like those to
realize that I’ve just matured in yet another way… I can now pass for a
Danish teen! Another cool moment in the past few weeks was when my friend
Claire from Alaska was over. We were skyping with one of her Alaskan friends
in Sweden, and we were comparing accents. Her friend said she liked mine
more because it sounded more Swedish, which got Claire and I into comparing
more words… which led into a full argument in Danish. Her friend was like
“guys, stop it! I can’t understand when you’re speaking that quickly!” THEN
Claire and I realized that we hadn’t been speaking English. My Rotary club
and district here have invited me to a few awesome events: I saw the premier
of Mama Mia in Danish with the VIP's, I went to an Apollo concert (they're a
great band!), and I'm going to other cool events soon. I also saw Krestian
Robertson at his football game. He was an exchange student to Florida last
year and we didn't get to meet, so it was really nice to be able to go to
his game. He was playing against my 'home' team!
There have been a few moments when I forget that I’m even from America. I
feel so comfortable here that at times, I can only be brought back to that
mindset by pressing college application deadlines. I haven’t been homesick
yet, but I’ve received a few notes with bad news, or a few moments when I
think about what I gave up back home… but then I realize that I AM home, and
I simply can’t imagine my life without Denmark. Everyone I’ve met here has
been so open and amazing. Rotarians who barely know me invite me over for
dinner to get to know me better, kids in my class invite me over for a
hyggeligt afternoon with coffee and movies. I know I’m changing, and I
didn’t expect all of it, but there’s not a single moment I regret.
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| My
new haircut! |
Krestian Robertson and I after his American football game! |
The
lead singer and the guitarist of Apollo-- He was playing the
microphone to the guitar solo! |
A
sunset on a clear night. I was biking home from the train station
and had to take a picture. |
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| I
chased the sunset up the hill I live on, and caught the tail end in
a silhouette on my favorite tree. |
Fall is here! All of the leaves are turning brown and red and
yellow. |
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Some
people ask why I bother going to school… we’re learning old Danish which
they don’t even get all the time, so they think its completely pointless.
However, I think this quote applies to most, if not all, exchange students:
"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in
school. " - Albert Einstein. I’m not here primarily to learn about the
history or text. I’m here to learn about the people. I’m here to interact
with, learn about, and BECOME one of them. The fastest way I pick up
language, behavior, and other general mannerisms is through attending
classes. Everything imaginable can happen in a high school; it is a small
microcosm, a perfect example of the diversity among the people who live in
this country. What I learn here may not be testable, but that is because it
is immeasurable and invaluable. No one who hasn’t done this could acquire
it, and similarly, most who haven’t done it won’t understand. But we do. We
know what we sacrifice to come to another country, to put ourselves on the
line. We know we’ll come back, and things might not be the same. And we also
know that we won’t, not even for a second, regret our decisions to do
something better for ourselves.
I keep thinking that I will become less busy and have more time to do
important things (like writing my journals and getting them in on time!) but
that hasn’t happened yet, and it’s not going to happen any time soon! I’m
going bowling with Rotex (as well as to another concert!) soon, and I’m
going to see if I want to join the school play. I go to the gym, I go out
with Rotarians when they offer, I’m going to the biggest party of the year
(the coffee ball), I’m going to a few shows with friends, and this is all
before I change families at the end of the month! I’m sure I’m leaving
things out, but here’s what has happened since I last wrote:
There are Rotex meetings once a month, which I go to. We talk and have
cakes (everything is cake here, I’m referring to brownies, pastries,
cookies, actual cake) and soda or water while planning events. Thanksgiving
is coming up quickly, and we’re arranging performances for the big dinner
we’re going to be having. All of the families considering Rotary Youth
Exchange are invited to come have dinner with us, see our shows, and talk
with us about how it is to be an exchange student in another country. Some
kids are nervous, but I couldn’t be any more excited! I want to tell the
kids that while it’s not for everyone, if they’re in the door already and
asking us because they think they’ll like it, then they should give it a
shot! A year may seem like a long time away, but I couldn’t emphasize the
dramatic difference in time perspective if I tried… I mean, it feels like
I’ve been a Danish citizen for my whole life and that Copenhagen IS my city,
and I’m writing this journal to people I met a long time ago in a dream.
Then again, whenever I flip open my planner and see the week number slowly
crawling up, I’m shocked, because it feels like I couldn’t have been here
for more than a month. However, I have been here for more than a month… A
few days ago, all of us exchange students passed the quarter milestone. I’ve
been in Denmark for three month and seven days, and they’ve all been (for
better or for worse) the best days of my life.
Last weekend, for Halloween, most of the exchange students met up in
Holbæk. Erin, Esther, and Emily didn’t go… but that allowed me to branch
out! I became closer with some of the other exchange students, and
especially the ‘oldies’ from Australia and New Zealand. There were a bunch
of them that I hadn’t met before, and they’re so awesome that we have plans
to visit each other before they leave in January. On the Friday night, we
all had dinner together, and then we had a diskotek. It wasn’t that great,
so a few of us went out and watched movies on Thomas’s laptop, which was
resting on my knees, in a cozy pile so we could all see and keep warm at the
same time. The next day, the same group of us went on a walking tour to the
town itself, and on the way, we saw this beautiful lake. We went down to it,
and took pictures with the windmills and the towers. There was also a dock
that we walked out on. However, because we took this detour, we weren’t on
the same road that the rest of the students had taken… leading us to an
awesome park! There was a sea-saw type thing, only you could spin in circles
and bounce up and down. It was so fun! We got back, had a hockey
competition, and then the Rotarians joined us for dinner. We had a costume
contest, and I dressed up like Secret Agent Jones… I didn’t care if no one
else got it, it made me smile, and that’s what mattered. That’s one of the
biggest things I’ve learned so far. Here, I don’t need everyone to get me,
and I don’t need to change to meet someone else’s beliefs of what I should
be. I can be myself, and people can accept it or they can’t. Mostly they do,
though, and so I’ve made a lot of new friends! That night, we had another
band play for us, and then a REAL diskotek… which didn’t start until almost
one in the morning! It was awesome. I’m pretty sure we were dancing until
well past three, and by the time we all were heading back to our rooms, we
only had a few hours left of possible sleep. Thankfully, our time change
happened that night, so we got an extra hour.
At home, I’ve seen advertisements for some equestrian race, but I didn’t
pay much attention to it. It’s a huge event, and it looked rather fancy…
Well I had slept over Hannah’s house with Erica on Friday night, and when I
got back Saturday afternoon, no one was home. We hadn’t gotten much sleep,
so I took a nap, and woke up to a new text from my host dad. My Rotary
Protection Officer, Peter, (who’s also the photographer) had invited me to
go with him to the race. He said it was an old Danish tradition to bring the
whole family, but my host dad had tennis, both of my host sisters had work,
and my host mom was going to visit her mom in the hospital. So I called
Peter, and said I would love to join him. It was really fun! The weather was
actually at about two degrees Celsius, which is about 35 in farenheight… So
I’m glad I bought a nice warm jacket in Sweden! We walked around this big
beautiful park and watched the “fox” hunt (they don’t kill real foxes
anymore, they have two horses with foxtails pinned to the rider’s blazer
that they chase). At the end, the Royal Family presented awards, so I got to
see them all! After, I went home to Peter and his wife, and we had lunch and
then coffee.
On other miscellaneous news, I’ve had good success at the gym. I love
going, and since it’s right next to my school, Julie (who is quickly
becoming my best friend at BG) and I go all the time! At first it was weird
for me, everyone in the changing room walking around naked or showering next
to each other, or going into the steam room nude, but not only have I
accepted it as normal, but I’ve become accustomed to it! After a
particularly hard day working out, going into the steam room is nice. And
why would you wear anything? It would just get damp from the steam and
essence oils they have in the air. It doesn’t make sense, and living here
has shown me that.
I also feel the need for [partial] bragging rights…My English has reached
the point where I am forgetting and misspelling words… thereby reducing me
to Google translate from Danish to English. Crazy, huh?
I also went to a play with my German class- it was in Danish, but it was an
adaptation from German, so some of it didn’t make much sense to my class!
There was a bunch of screaming, lots of whispering, and tons of talking over
each other… so naturally, I didn’t understand much. The weird thing was,
when I asked my class mates what was going on, they had no idea either.
A few nights ago, everyone was home, and we all had dinner together. I
had eaten a late lunch, so I wasn’t super hungry, but my host mom insisted I
had more. So, being a polite exchange student, I did. Unfortunately, she
asked me to have seconds on dessert also, and I really couldn’t… so I
declined again. She then said something in Danish that I couldn’t believe. I
thought I had understood it wrong. It was basically, “Eat now, my pig, for
tomorrow you will be slaughtered.” I just sat there staring at her for a
minute, jaw dropped, before my host dad stepped in for an explanation—That
saying is the Danish version of Carpe Diem. Seize the day. Thinking back, it
makes sense, but I hadn’t been expecting it. Thankfully, she just smiled and
said “well then, I’ll eat it for you” with a wink. I love my host family so
much, part of me wishes that I could stay with them all year. I know that
I’m going to get SUCH a different experience with my second family and their
relatives in Austria, and even more different with my third family, but I
can’t help but feel like I’m going to be leaving a large portion of my new
self behind when I pack up my room.
Last night we celebrated Morton’s Evening. It is a Danish tradition where
you cook and eat a goose (but they’re very expensive, so we ate duck) while
telling the story of Morton himself. He was selected to be the bishop, but
he didn’t want the position, so he ran. He looked and looked for a place to
hide, and found a field of geese. He hid among them, but they started
hissing and squawking, so he was found. Knowing he didn’t have a choice, he
accepted the position as a bishop, creating a new holiday and law. On that
evening every year, every family in Denmark was to kill and eat a goose.
After hearing the story, we ate. It was good, and
to conclude this jumbled section, when I woke up this morning, I stumbled
downstairs with my eyes still bleary from sleep, but my host mom said “Nova
look! It has frozen outside!” So I looked, and sure enough… the grass was
white and sparkly, the leaves were all down and white as well, the outermost
portions of the bushes were frozen… it doesn’t count as snow, because it
DIDN’T snow, but as a Floridian, I was excited. Until I had to bike to
school, and I felt the air turning frosty when I breathed in. So I zipped my
jacket up to my chin, and took the train instead. Even with the air freezing
in my lungs, I am glad to be here, I’m glad for the change. It’s not hot and
muggy even in the winter, I’m experiencing actual seasons for the first time
that I can remember… it’s just one of the most remarkable things I’ve ever
experienced, and that feeling grows every day.
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| A
hang-gliding swing we found in Holbæk |
The
playground we found... In the top right, you can see the sea-saw
type thing! |
The
group that initially went on the expedition together. |
Claire, Kristy-Lee and I on Halloween. Like my secret agent shades? |
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| All
of the equestrian racers with their red jackets for the fox race. |
The
traditional Morten's Evening Dinner |
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Now that it’s the holiday season, more is changing
than ever. I switched host families on November 27th instead
of November 28th. For some reason, this minute infraction on
my mental plan list of how the week was going to “go down” threw me off
balance entirely. I experienced near to the same anxiety and
irritability that I experienced the night before leaving Florida, with
the same result… as soon as it was done, I thought I was ridiculous to
feel that way, because it was all perfect again. II still had a
lingering feeling of being a little on edge, though.
It was about two weeks later, when I went back to
my first host family for a holiday dinner, that I figured out what had
been bothering me… as soon as I stepped out of the car, I sighed, and
with it, I felt like a weight had been taken off of my shoulders. I was
surprised to be incredibly relieved to see my house again. Sophus, our
dog, ran up and licked me, Mads came out with his arms wide open for a
hug, and everyone greeted me just as warmly as if I had been still
living there. Warmer, even. I realized that when I came to Denmark, I
had nothing that meant anything to me. Clothes, books… everything was
replaceable. I had to start entirely new. However, when I switched host
families, I subconsciously felt like I was being torn away from
everything I had built up again. In a way, I was, but this time, it was
different. A life I had built, my new support system, was only a short
car (or train, or in the event that it wasn’t all snowy, bike) ride
away. As soon as I was in the house again, sharing tea with my brothers
and sisters, everything was alright. I wasn’t nervous about assimilating
into my new family at all. In fact, I was more confident than ever that
I would be successful and happy. If I were able to come to this country
with no REAL knowledge of Danish at all, nothing that could have truly
prepared me for a new life with new people and new situations, then I
could get to know them as well.
I had been right, of course. I have been with this
family for a month, and though things are different than they were with
my last one, they’re also good. We have tea in the morning with
breakfast, which we always eat together. We eat dinner together, and
then ALWAYS drink at least one cup of coffee. With this family,
dinnertime can last anywhere between 45 minutes or so if we’re alone to
three or more hours if we have guests. That’s new for me, but it’s nice.
Since I moved, I have been speaking tons more Danish. This family is
half Austrian, so if we’re not speaking Danish, I’m hearing German…
giving me little room to have it in English like I had gotten used to.
At first, it was really hard, because it was SO much more Danish than I
was used to… I was getting the language headaches I never had to deal
with before. But on the other side, I was also picking it up much more
quickly. I had no idea how much I didn’t understand until I moved. Then
again, I could just be hitting the curve where it shoots almost straight
up, because in the last month, my brain has made a fascinating switch. I
don’t think entirely in Danish, but remembering weird words like
suspenders takes me ages. It’s embarrassing, actually, because I hardly
ever know what things are called in English anymore if I’m put on the
spot about it. I speak a weird mix of Danglish, because that’s how I
think. Sometimes now, it’s honestly easier just to ask Sabina a question
in Danish, because it takes me too long to figure out how I should be
saying it in English. One thing she noticed was that I seem to compose a
question in my special Danglish, and then ask it in whichever language
is more prominent. If I can’t remember a word in English, I’ll ask in in
Danish. If I don’t know what it’s called in Danish, I’ll usually ask it
in Danish and then ask her what the word is.
We’re quickly becoming really close. It didn’t
happen right away, but she and I, I think, will be best friends. Right
now we’re in Austria on holiday, and since it’s just the two of us,
we’ve spent a lot of time together. We have so many inside jokes, and
crazy stories after only a week that I find it impossible to not
continue growing as sisters.
My favorite thing about Austria is actually how
much my Danish has improved while I’ve been here. It only took one
sentence from Sabina to convince me it would be fun. “They understand
English and German, not Danish so we can talk about whatever we want and
they won’t know!” Needless to say, it worked. We’ve been speaking almost
only Danish with each other. I’ve also realized that German is SO close
to Danish. Austrian German that is. I can understand a little bit of
what’s going on, just from the similarity of the two languages. There
was even one point where my host mom gave me the keys, told me to get
the stuff from the car, unlock the house, and bring it in. I went to go
do it, and Sabina asked if I understood. It was late after a long day,
and I was a little annoyed that she thought I wouldn’t understand
something so simple, so I said “of course I understood, why wouldn’t I?”
but I got quiet quickly and became only amazed at my own mind when she
replied “well, because it was in German.” Hearing little bits of it
every day for a month, and then being surrounded by it for a few days
when my brain is already used to new words helped. I can’t speak it, and
I have no claim on understanding it enough to hold even little
conversations, but it’s really cool to know how similar they can be.
Because of this, I think I’m going to take German and Swedish (the
closest Scandinavian language public Florida Universities offer) and
continue learning even when I’m home.
Danish Christmas time is absolutely fantastic. I
was told over and over again by a wide variety of people, that I would
love it. In the middle of the cold winter, when it’s so dark all the
time, comes a huge celebration. I didn’t take them seriously, and I
figured that it couldn’t be THAT different… but I was wrong. On the 24th,
we had a huge dinner with guests over. It lasted two and a half hours or
so. After dinner, we all got up to go light the candles on the tree.
It’s my first Christmas with snow since I was a child, my first
Christmas with a real tree, and definitely my first Christmas with
actual candles upon it. We lit them, and proceeded to sing. We sang and
danced in circles around the tree in English, German, Danish, and
Chinese. Then, after we had sung many songs, we sat
down around it. We opened our presents one at a time, and I was so
happy! I got almost everything I asked for, plus more. Denmark is quite
expensive to begin with, and yet, they still treated me like their own
daughter, buying me a very nice bracelet from Pandora with three charms
to go with it. The next day, we had another huge meal, with 30 other
people or so, the extended family, and I met more of the people I’ve
only heard about. I met some of the people I hadn’t even met that had
still asked for my wish list and got me something, to make me feel like
part of the family. I met the English side as well, and got along with
them fantastically. They invited Sabina and I over for a girl’s weekend,
and a free haircut because Jade was a hairdresser! That made me SO
excited, because haircuts cost more than $100 USD here! The next day,
the “second day of Christmas,” December 26th, we flew out to
Austria. It felt weird to be getting on a plane again so so soon, but I
need to be getting used to it. In the next three months or so, I’ll be
coming back to Austria for a ski trip, and I’ll also be going to Ireland
for St. Patrick’s day week with my class at school.
I also know that because it’s around Christmas
time, and this usually happens around now, I shouldn’t be surprised or
attribute it to the sudden spike in my conversational skills with
Sabina, but the other night, I had a dream in Danish. I was back with
some of my friends from Coral Springs, messing around, nothing serious.
The funny part is, my Austrian grandpa was there too. I didn’t even
notice it was weird until he began speaking. In German. Which is also
when I realized that all of my friends were somehow fluent in Danish.
Coincidentally, that was when I also realized that I myself had been
speaking Danish the whole time. It was a weird realization, and I woke
up a little disoriented, and I went back to sleep, but once I woke up
for good, I couldn’t stop talking about it. It was such a simple dream,
but it meant so much. It meant that finally, after five months of living
in Denmark, I saw Danish as attainable. I’ve heard many students go to
Denmark and come back not entirely fluent, with a few scary stories of
kids who don’t speak a word. I know those are rare, but it still
comforted me to know that I know more Danish than I thought I did, at
least subconsciously. Now I know that I can do it. I know for sure,
without a doubt in my mind, that I will be able to speak Danish fluently
before I go home. After all, I can hold up most conversations as it is.
There are still plenty of words I don’t know, but I’ve found it’s easier
to remember them when you can make comparisons in the two languages
rather than one. For instance, Sabina and I were in the car talking, and
a word I didn’t know threw me off. Vane. It means habit, and I made a
little connection in my brain like I did when I was taking AP Psychology
to remember: Being vain is a bad habit. It sounds silly, and doesn’t
really make sound as good in English (the thought was in Danish aside
from the word vain), but it helps.
One thing I am worried about as far as language
goes, is how I’m supposed to talk to Erin Harty when I’m back. Our
accents are now so entirely different (in Danish) that I can’t even
understand her! I was a little distressed about this, but I talked to a
lot of people here… a lot of Danes from the Copenhagen area can’t even
understand the Jutland accents. There are a lot of dialects, and the
further you get away from a large city, the more “country” it becomes.
That makes sense, and we make fun of them a little, but they do the same
back to us. They say our accent is like little Sweden, and it’s funny
enough, but still frustrating that I can be watching a Danish television
show out of Copenhagen, and understand the host entirely, but not get
what’s going on because I don’t understand the guest from Sønderborg (or
wherever). I’m not TOO worried, though… I can understand the people I
usually have around me, and the rest will come with time.
I’ve tried a lot of new things. The newest thing,
something I NEVER would have seen myself trying in a million years, was
pig head. A whole pig head, fat and bones sticking out, eyes covered up
by the ears… It was interesting. Honestly a once in a lifetime
experience… that is, I’m not guaranteeing I’ll eat it again. However,
that being said, it wasn’t actually so bad. I told myself that I won’t
restrict myself this year. I won’t go back to being a vegetarian, I’ll
try everything I’m offered at least twice, and I’ll take full advantage
of the time I have here while I’m actually here. It’s running out too
quickly, and I don’t like the prospect of coming home at all.
I’ll be coming home to a world where they don’t understand
drinking REAL, strong coffee (not the American pre blended stuff I
drank) after dinner or before bed, they won’t understand why I don’t
like eating sandwiches with one piece of bread instead of two, they
won’t understand my consuming love for Danish people, fashion and the
language itself. It’ll be okay, and nice to see everyone again, but I
want America to be my vacation. I want to know I’ll be able to come
back. I’ve invested too much here already, after only half of my stay,
to let it go.
Because of the friendships and connections I’ve
stumbled upon, some by chance and some by a little more, I have received
sincere invitations around the world. I’ve been invited to Brazil by the
exchange students in Denmark, we figured it was the place with the most
people initially… and therefore, the most houses available. I’ve also
been invited to Singapore. Being with this family now has opened an
incredible amount of doors. I now have contacts in Austria, and my host
mom’s brother, who lives here most of the time, is dating a beautiful,
sweet Chinese woman from Taiwan. He also works in Singapore, and he
brought one of his employees on the trip. Her name is Camilla, she’s 23,
and Sabina and I get along with her very well. She told us that if we
ever wanted to visit, just let her know and she could help arrange a
place to stay. After all, she said, we were family.
That’s one of the most amazing things, I think. The
people you meet, the areas of the world you suddenly find unlocked to
you. An open invitation, yours whenever you’re able to take it.
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On
Tuesday (the 11th of January) my host parents went out of town. They went to
Germany and left my host sister and I home. I made dinner every night, and
we had delicious American food and some Mexican food, and it was awesome. We
watched a movie, and created a workout plan, and we're sticking to it. On
Friday, we went down to the basement-- where the home gym is-- put in a
movie, and hopped on the elliptical machine (me) and the stationary bicycle
(Sabina). We did half an hour of that, and then did some pilates/core. We
did the same thing on the following Saturday and Sunday. We worked it out so
that Tuesday is our rest day, and it's important to know that ahead of time.
On Friday night, I also made chocolate lava cakes. We couldn't even finish
ours because it was so rich, and we ended up eating green salad out of the
container, and carrots, and bell peppers... which is when she suggested that
we have a green vegetable/fruit day! We did that. On Saturday, we only ate
fruits and veggies and nuts, no bread or meat or sugars or anything like
that. It was really nice, and I didn't feel as hungry as I usually would
have, and it stopped us from snacking more, and just a bunch of good stuff.
My host parents didn't understand, and we had a salad for dinner and my host
mom made a pasta salad with chicken and bacon and she didn't understand why
that wasn't counted as a fruit or a vegetable and she thought it was stupid
and crazy and openly expressed it... but it was only a day and we had made
an agreement (very serious things in Denmark, when you shake on it… they’re
unbreakable deals) were full and it was fine.
The next Friday, my friend Hannah went home to Australia, so I went to see
her at the airport. She gave us out some Australian stuff, and I told myself
I wouldn't cry, and she hugged us and kisses us on the cheek, and I felt a
little tug, and she went to the security check, turned around, half-smiled,
waved, and she was crying a little... and I just started crying. It brought
a lot to my mind. My oldie was leaving, back to Australia, making me an
oldie for the students coming this month. It meant half of my exchange was
over. It meant I was going to be back here soon, saying goodbye to my
friends, going back to everything.... very bitter sweet even now, and I know
it'll only get harder to want to go back. I would like to stay here, but I
know it's not possible.
Now, it’s almost the end of February. I got my new camera a few weeks ago,
and I haven't had one since October. I had to move on Sunday, and time is
just slipping out of my fingers entirely. I have come full circle in writing
these reports… At this time last year, I kept SERIOUS tabs on anything
Scandinavian related, as well as reading the reports from my friends who
were inbounds, and I couldn’t understand for the life of me why it was so
hard to sit and write something down to send in on time. When I got here, I
wrote long reports frequently (even some just for my family so I wouldn’t
flood the rotary website!) and turned them in. As the year progressed, I got
less and less motivated to sit down for an hour and write about what’s been
going on, and as many times as I was emailed to hurry up from family, it
made me slow down even more. I’ve come to the point where I don’t want to
write them. Not because I’m ungrateful, or because I don’t want to share my
experiences—believe me, I actually can’t stop talking about them. It’s only
because every time I submit one of these journals, it means at least a month
of my exchange has been moved from the future stack of files to the past.
That being said, my reports won’t be shrinking in length any time soon
(sorry to those of you who think they’re too long, ha-ha, you all asked for
them) but once I get my fingers flowing, I keep thinking of things I feel
like I should include. I’ll try to keep it to only a few big topics this
time, though. J
In the time that has elapsed since I last wrote, I have been to Austria
again. We went for week seven, the “official” winter break for most schools
in this area. We stayed in Gosau, a ski area, at a family hotel. They have
been staying at this hotel every year during week seven for the past twelve
years, when Sabina and Sophia started skiing. A girl they met in baby ski
classes, Selina, was there as well. The three of us decided to take
snowboarding lessons together. We started out at the same level: we couldn’t
even figure out how in the world to unstrap the snowboard from itself.
However, I progressed much faster than they did, and the teacher moved me up
to the advanced class after two hours. We took the entire mountain, on the
first day. It was hard, and I fell, but it was really fun! The next day, the
conditions were incredibly icy, so when I fell it hurt a LOT. I ended up
with a swollen knee, so I put myself back down to the lower level class to
take it easy. At the same time that I did this, the beginner’s teacher moved
Sabina up to the advanced class. They asked if it was okay with us, and we
had a whole conversation debating the pros and cons ( as well as where we
would be eating lunch) of going separately, as well as how we would take the
next few days. We ended up coming to an agreement, and I turned to the
instructors and asked them if that was okay… in Danish. I didn’t realize why
they were just staring at me until Sara said “I don’t speak that language…
what were you guys saying?” At that point, my jaw dropped, because it wasn’t
a big deal to me. That conversation had been so natural, it amazed me when I
realized, of COURSE they couldn’t understand it. It was a great sign for me,
though. For the rest of the day, I was proud… I had achieved a complete
conversation in Danish without thinking about it at all. It had been
natural. SO natural that I hadn’t even realized that we weren’t speaking
English. This pride shone through my boarding, because the next day, we had
a new instructor. A man, who wanted to challenge us. We were broken up into
groups of two, and I ran down with him and another girl who wasn’t good at
all. He said I looked bored, so he started teaching me tricks. I learned how
to do a manual, I was doing little jumps, I was rubbing my stomach and
patting my head while curving down a steep slope (seriously, he told me to
do that and then follow in his tracks, it was crazy!) and all sorts of other
things. He taught me how to jump to make directional changes, and how to
make it look cool. He took me to the steepest slope and started going over
the edge on the side and building up enough speed to jump back onto the
approved track. It was a little scary and incredibly icy, but I had fun. At
the end of the week, we were all covered in so many bruises and sore spots
(like my thumb, which has been taped up for the past week) that anyone not
on the trip could have assumed we had been hit by a car or something, but
the best part, was our smiles. On that Thursday, they opened up the slopes
after hours because there was a full moon. Usually they’re only open until
4PM, but they re-opened them at 7, only turning on a few spot lights. Sabina
and Selina took out their skis, while our waiter and I grabbed our
snowboards. We started doing late-night slope runs, under the moonlight and
the stars. It was completely surreal.
I mean, how many people can say that when they were 17 years old, they lived
a year of their lives in one country in Europe, went moonlit snowboarding in
another country, developed adequacy in a whole nother language while picking
up the basics of a third… it’s unbelievable.
All that being said, I am officially comfortable with Danish. I know I
probably said this before, but I had to think about it then. Now, I’ll
usually just answer a question in whichever language I’m asked in. I’m not
fluent, but when I was on my ski trip, I realized that I’m a lot better than
I thought I was, and I’m a lot better than I was three months ago when I
moved to my second family. The only difference was that this family forced
me to speak Danish, they spoke Danish to me unless I was absolutely truly
lost. I was sort of forced to make the dive into language that most students
in countries where English isn’t so prominent had to make at the very
beginning. Now, I’m out of the wading pool. I might as well be in an ocean,
because I didn’t speak Danish much with my class before, either. However,
one day, the trains weren’t working and so Oliver gave me a ride home, and
he told me I should just speak Danish. He said he had heard me on the phone
with my host parents, and he knew I was good, so if I spoke it all day
instead of half of the day, I would learn much faster. He was right, and I
saw that immediately, and I also saw why I hadn’t: I was embarrassed because
every time I spoke Danish, someone would comment on my accent. He pointed
out that he had an accent when he spoke English as well, it was just part of
language. Since then, I just feel closer to my class than before, and more
comfortable with myself and Danish… it’s amazing.
I don’t feel as though I’ve changed, but when I revisit my journals, both
the online and handwritten one from the beginning of my exchange, I can’t
help but see I’ve grown up. I can’t pinpoint exactly what changed me, and
rightfully so. It wasn’t any one thing. I think exchange students who choose
this for themselves are one breed. We think we’re independent, and we think
we’re capable enough to survive on our own. However, we’re also a little bit
radical. Instead of just moving out, we risk everything to get everything in
return. Once we’re alone, we find out what it really is to be independent.
Sometimes we might wish we were back with our friends, or our pets, or our
parents, but those of us that make it, those of us that successfully
complete this amount of our exchange will come back independent. We will
come back entirely capable of what we thought we could do before, and we
will be more prepared than almost any other person. Though we’re underage
and (usually) have a bit of a money dependency, we come to the country
knowing almost nothing. We don’t know the people, in more cases than not we
don’t know the language, we don’t know the intricate definition of the
culture, and we have nothing with us. That which can be taken in a single
bag defines us for the first time in our lives. We take all we have, a few
pairs of pants, a few shirts, a pair of shoes, a blazer—and we offer
ourselves entirely to any amount of possibility. From there, it’s entirely
what we make of it.
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Sabina and I |
The harbour in-between Denmark and Sweden, half frozen. You can see
one bird swimming and one walking on the ice! |
The town where we stayed in for our ski vacation |
Sabina, Selina and I on the top of one of the mountains. |
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March and the first week of April:
I moved families about a month ago. From then, everything has been a
rush. I’ve been to parties, gotten closer with my class, celebrated St
Patric’s day in Dublin, learned about the war in Northern Ireland first
hand, met a whole new group of exchange students, established another family
for myself, and created enough new plans to mke everything I just said sound
like a cat nap.
I moved to my third and last family on the 27th of February. On my first
day there, they told me I had three hours to unpack and change into
something nice. I was a little confused, but they didn’t give me much time
to think about it… they told me we were going to see Wicked. Wicked the
musical, one of my favorites, in DANISH. We went to the first and only
theater in the world approved to alter it at all because of size
restrictions, and they got the approval to shift the language as well. It
was fabulous. They used flat screen TVs, dressed almost entirely in
steampunk fashion (which I absolutely love), and made jokes about the
Swedish! Those are our favorite here. ;) After, we went out to dinner at a
very nice resturaunt and I met most of the family. It was very cozy and it
really made me feel at home, that they would do something so big just to
welcome me in. As we were walking from the theater to the hotel where we
ate, Sif took my arm on one side as Astrid took my arm on the other, and
right from there, we were all as close as real sisters could be. They
introduced me to their schedules, and the way they run things. It fits very
well with my natural habits, which is perfect. We wach have a night a week
where we cook dinner and then make lunch for us girls and set out breakfast
for the next day. Sif has Mondays, I have Tuesdays, and Astrid has
Wednesdays. My host parents deal out the rest. This means I get to
experiment at least one night in the kitchen every week, which I really
like. I can just tell them what I need, or if I come up with something else
I need and no one’s home, there’s a little jar set in the kitchen with money
to buy groceries, so it’s perfect.
For my study tour, we went to Ireland. We went with our English teacher
and our History teacher, and since we were going at a historic time (St
Patric’d Day week) to an English speaking country, our mandatory curriculum
was minimal. We spent most of our mornings going to Museums and exploring
Dubin’s wonders. We saw statues, visited historic houses, went out to eat,
and of course, experienced the culture in the evenings. After our set plans
with the class, we were allowed to do whatever we wanted as long as we were
at least three people together at all times. Being a class of about 30, this
wasn’t a problem. We went out to eat together, and we went out dancing
almost every night. It was tiring, but it was the most fun I’ve had the
whole year. I hadn’t been sure if it would be a good trip, because my class
is so divided, but somehow, being away together made everyone resolve their
differences and get closer than ever. Over the trip, I had multiple people
from my class tell me how much they wish I could come back next year, and
even a couple planning out how it could be possible… I would have places to
stay, government funding for food and transportation (seriously, Denmark is
THAT awesome), and a class who really, truly wants me with them for their
final year. On Wednesday, we took a bus up to Northern Ireland. We stayed
the day in Belfast, getting a taxi tour around between the Catholic and
Protestant communities. This was necessary because the war still affects
them today. It was incredibly interesting, and powerful to see the Irish
people talking about their lives and their family and how they had been
personally affected, while filling us in on the history of everything. We
went to a little cafe after our tour while we were waiting for a bus, and
the man working there asked us how long we were here for. We explained that
we had been staying in Dublin, and that we were only in Belfast for the day.
He immediately got a little bit defensive, saying blfast was way better, and
that the people in Dublin were really sour. We asked him why, and he said
that when he goes there, and asks for directions or something, the’ll tell
him the wrong thing, because they can hear his accent, and know he’s from
Northern Ireland! It’s crazy! Anyway, we got back and the next day was St
Patric’s day. We started the morning out with a tour of the Guiness
Storehouse, which included a tutorial of how to pour the perfect beer. It
was really funny, and my friend Oliver and I went around making little
movies the whole time. We learned that Guiness can only be made with ONE
recipe and that they don’t change it at all, except for one exception. They
have a foreign export specialty which is 7,5% instead of 4,5% and one of
them had more bubbles. However, the foreign export isn’t what you would get
in Florida, you actually have to go to specialty stores to get it.
After my study tour (and this is a very important announcement!) it was
finally warm enough to bike home! YAY! Well, when I got home, there was
still snow on the ground, but it was the last week and a half in March
and I was tired of not doing anything so I asked for a bike anyway. Sure
enough, they had one stashed away tha I could borrow, and by the
weekdays, it was in fact warm enough! Now it’s about 12 kilometers from
my school to my house, but that’s not so bad. In the mornings, I bike to
the train station, take the train from Lyngby to Birkerød, and then bike
to school (about 3km total on the bike) and in the afternoons when I
have no time constraints, I bike the whole way back. It’s really
perfect, because it actually takes about the same amount of time to bike
the whole way as it would to walk to the train station, take the train,
and walk from the station home. I figure, if it’s not losing me any
time, and I get huge gains from it, there’s absolutely no reason why I
shouldn't... So I do!
Now I'm hanging out with everyone a lot more. We all know that (not to
sound too eerie) the end is near, and of the time I have left on
exchange, only about 65% is in fact in Denmark. because of this, I've
been receiving more invitations than ever to go out to parties, and out
to cafes and to the parks after school, and to go shopping in the
city... and I keep learning, time and again, that the Rotary saying is
true. Say yes. You might be feeling a little like staying in instead of
going out to a party and being late, but unless you have a reason (like
being seriously sick) to stay in, you should say yes. You're not going
to remember the times you stayed in and went to sleep at 11 PM, you're
going to remember the times you went out dancing. You'll remember
sitting in a cozy corner of a library with a cup of coffee and a friend
instead of going home directly after school. Soon, I'll be going to see
Erin Harty in Aalborg, Denmark, where she lives. I was invited up for
part of the easter holiday, and after I get back, my host family's
taking me to our summer house. It's about an hour away from here and
it's actually two houses! One for the parents and one for the kids.
Cool, right? From there, I have three weeks until my Eurotour, which
lasts for three weeks, and then only three weeks back in Denmark before
I come back to Florida. I can't say I'm looking forward to it, at all. I
love everyone here. I love my friends and my family, my class in school
and my teachers. I love Danish, I love the trains. I know it might sound
silly, but I really don't see how my life will be possible without all
of it. It won't be the same, I never will be exactly the same. All I can
hope is that I never forget everything I've learned and that I'm never
forgotten. We're all making plans to see each other again, and though
the exchange students here have plans for that as well in Brazil, it's
not what I'm referring to. It's not what I want. I want Denmark. I'm not
even gone yet, but on the few trips where I've been away, I've received
huge relief when landing back in the Copenhagen airport. It's my home,
and I wouldn't trade it for anything. The night I had to leave
everything behind in Florida was incredibly hard, but I know it will be
nothing compared to leaving here. For now, I just have to make the best
of my last time and savor every moment.
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