Hvad laver du?

I suppose many people might be wondering; what is it I do exactly??  Well that's a very good question!
In many ways, I do a lot of the things I did at home, except maybe a little less homework and a little more madly flipping through a dictionary.  But besides the everyday, I am of course trying to take advantage of every opportunity possible to me! After all, I'm only here for one year, and I want to see all that Denmark has to offer.  This is something I plan on taking home with me actually, replacing the words one with one-hundred and Denmark with The World.  It may seems obvious of course, but I think when we get into our daily routine we forget that we will only have one life to see this world and we better get checking things off the Bucket List!

So using my handy little iCal as somewhat of a diary, I've recorded all the notable things I have done in the past four months and now I would like to give you an idea.  Some may be more exciting that others but they have all been good memories and together they are adding up a wonderful year.

August, September, Oktober, November: A Compilation
- biked into København
- saw the Worlds Greatest Catwalk at CPH Fashion Festival
- cheered on triathletes (8.5 + hours! insanity.)
- enjoyed cover band - The Abbatizers, in the rain!
- made a GIANT black forest cake
- saw up-and-coming band, The Striving Vines
- went to Århus Modern Art Museum, twice.
- attended several exchange student get togethers of ~200 crazy young people.
- toured through an incredibly peaceful/futuristic inflatable "building" made by Air Architects; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTwmRYtlCps
- seen Tivoli decked out for Summer, Halloween and Christmas
- dined at a $500 meal of 6
- watched Midsomer Murders nearly every Saturday
- learned at three separate Danish courses (still working on it!)
- watched Harry Potters 1-6
- saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in Denmark AND Sweden (cried both times)
- listened to 600 people chew popcorn in the biggest movie theatre in Denmark
- attended 4 birthdays
- skyped people in 4+ countries
- tried to learn French and Danish simultaneously. SO CONFUSING
- biked 30 km in one trip!
- mastered public transit (nearly.)
- payed a $150 fine for not having the proper ticket
- paid a brief visit to Canada, aka the embassy
- learned how to eat everything with a fork and knife at all times, even hamburgers
- cooked some excellent impromptu pad thai, among many other new dishes
- attended my first baptism
- went to Voice '10, a concert at Tivoli with absolutely every big name in Danish popular music
- saw Scottish folk band, The McCalmans
- made apple juice with freshly picked fruit from the neighbours tree
- went to both a Glamrock and Rave themed school party, saw the biggest drunken chaos I never thought possible in a school, with teachers selling the alcohol
- loaned books and CDs from the library downtown Copenhagen
- woke up in bed with a spider the size of my palm, NO JOKE.
- roasted bread dough on a stick
- saw Bob Dylan's paintings on display
- broke an expensive wineglass
- visited several museums and art galleries (ancient greek/roman art, french paintings, mummies, oh my!)
- ate a Kazakstan style feast
- had dinner guests from Miami
- toured Denmark's oldest city (traces found from permanent settlements circa year 710)
- went to IKEA! with a whole new understanding of Scandinavian design
- spent time in Christiana: free town, almost a country in itself: when you exit the sign says, "You are now returning to the EU"
- went bowling, played dismally
- played piano in  a school concert!
- created in 3 hours then performed a dance for 300 people to It's a Hard Knock Life..
- went to the most expensive Starbucks in the world ($10 latte, whatsup!) and the only one in Scandinavia, in the CPH airport
- hung out with two other Canadians from Kamloops, first in CPH, then in Sweden!
- joined the gym!
- spent four hours of my Saturday travelling to and from the mall. but happy to have SNOW! :)
- paid for a veryyy expensive haircut - $$$ what else is new
- packed up all my things and moved families!
- went to the dentist
- tried deer, among others
- ate a whole pizza!
- held hands and danced around the Christmas tree singing "Nu' det jul igen"
- saw a Santa Lucia

AMONG OTHERS :)

Congratulations if you read the whole list!
Writing it I couldn't help but smile to myself thinking about how lovely my life is :)
And I would encourage others to do something similar! Because it's so nice to
appreciate everything we've done in our lives, it only takes a minute to realize how lucky we are.

So until next time, MUCH LOVE!

Tak for i dag!

 I can't really believe it; I have been in Denmark for three months! The first two months felt like the unfolded pretty slowly with lots of new things entering my life at a steady pace, and on October first I thought, wow two months. And now it's November. And I don't really know what happened to that third month.  At this point I can foresee that the rest of the year is going to absolutely fly by, and I think this is because - life is normal.  It's just like my life would disappear before my eyes back in Canada, like grade 12 for example, felt like one stressful deadline after another until suddenly I was walking across the stage in cap and gown wondering what happened to my high school years.  I remember it was during one of the last few days of school, as my mom can attest ;), I woke up from a nap and just started bawling! I couldn't believe this period in my life was coming to an end and all of a sudden I felt an enormous sadness for how much I would miss it and all the people who had surrounded me for so many years.  This mini meltdown came as quite a shock to me, as I hadn't realized how much I actually enjoyed high school and suddenly it was all over.



THIS, is not something I want to happen with my year in Denmark, or the rest of my life for that matter.   Already I can see myself becoming lost in the day to day, and in a foreign country! But now that Denmark feels like home, my days have began to melt together and I think I may have lost touch with what I want from this year.  Just last weekend we had a Rotary Get-Together with all the exchange students in the country, including the "Oldies" whom we hadn't gotten together with before.  These students, Australians and Brazilians who have been here since January, have only two months left in Denmark and by the end of the weekend they were pretty emotional about having to leave and saying goodbye to one another.  I might not even be an Oldie yet but already I feel nervous about when that time will come for me! And like I said, I can tell it's fast approaching.  Just like high school, I know I will look back on this year and think what an amazing experience it was and reminisce on all my fond memories, grateful to have had such an opportunity, but I don't want it to be another one of those things I don't appreciate until the chance has past.


So that is my goal.  To live this year, and my life, as if I was looking back on it.  To not get caught up in the inconsequential and menial activities that take up way too much of my time, but to live each day with the big picture in mind, because as John Lennon says, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." Well I know I can be pretty good at planning, but right now, I'd really like to improve upon living. I know that the rest of my exchange will go very quickly and I aim to be grateful for every moment I have!


xxoo Sarah.

Fish for Lunch :)

The Summer House

The North Sea

Fanø, an island we visited.

Vil du taler langsommere?

A Church in Jylland (The Penisula)

And of course I did not update in two weeks as promised, but if you know me at all that was to be expected ;)  Don't worry though, I'm back in action; I plan to become one of those people who blog all the time... haha wish me luck!


So here it is, October 3rd 2010 - two months in and 9 months in this beautiful little country to go! As you can probably imagine, A LOT has happened since my last (and only) post and I will be sure to update you on all of it.  But first I'd just like to mention I am having the most hyggelig* autumn season so far.


IE: Yesterday, having had my school temafest the night before (theme party, glamrock) I was taking it easy, helped gather apples from the neighbours garden because she has way more than she could ever use and went with my family to the community "square" where some local couple who have a juice press brought it out for some good old fashioned community juice making.  It was like a mini market with a man selling some fresh apples and pumpkins, a beer selling tent and a crepe van and, some shows were put on my local cheerleaders and a square dancing club. I even had a whole conversation with a native dane without them realizing I wasn't from Denmark! It went something like this...


Organic wool wearing 3 year old: Hej! Hvad hedder du?
Me: Hvad?
Him: Hvad hedder du?
Me: Jeg hedder Sarah.
Him: Ah.


So we made some fresh juice and ate some crepes, det var dejligt. And today we turned that juice into hot cider and ate it by the fireplace with apple pie! Very hyggelig*.


BUT TO FILL YOU IN!


Since my last post my life has become pretty standard, but always interesting nonetheless! The major regulating factor is that I now attend school five days a week and yep, you guessed it, the classes are in Danish. So considering that I don't actually speak Danish (though I'm trying!) there isn't a whole lot I'm capable of doing in class and that can make for a fairly boring time...


My Classes Are:
- History
- Social Science
- Ancient Civilizations
- Natural Geography
- Danish
- English
- PE
- Religion
- French
- Music


All in all, these are typically the subjects I am interested in, however the only classes I actually participate in are English, French and Music.  That's fine with me though, because it really lightens the work load! Not that there is much homework actually.. From what I've observed in my class at least, gymnasium is not very vigorous. The class is in an uproar if they are assigned a bit of reading or a powerpoint which actually makes me feel grateful for the education I received in Canada, however I don't want to generalize as my class could be an exception.


Actually, my class is a bit exceptional because they are the music class, which makes them very interesting I think! Picture Dazed and Confused if you will.  Really only half of the class is in music and the other half is some other discipline because it's a mixed class, (Yes we are with the same people for basically all of our classes.) but everyone is very nice and I really hope I can become good friends with them.  So far my class has been very kind and welcoming but there is still the barrier with language there  and I wouldn't say I have become good friends with them yet.  On top of that they told me they are very close, so they could understand if I feel like it's a bit hard to break in, but I think that can be a positive thing when I finally do get really close with the class.  One of the biggest things of course, is learning Danish.


Ohhhh, it's a hard language.  Definitely not in the sense of grammar and syntax because it is rather similar to English in it's rules and often simpler.  Therefore reading and writing comes very fast in my opinion. No it's difficult first of all in trying to make sense of the big indistinct blurb someone has just said to you by differentiating one word from the next, but that's nothing on trying to make the sounds yourself.  As an English speaker it is especially difficult I think, because the sounds in English are so sharp and contrasting whereas Danish sounds more like a gag reflex. (And that's not too be rude!) The Danish know their language is difficult and they fully confess to "eating their words," so that the theoretical pronunciation and common pronunciation are much different.
Oftentimes when I say something in Danish and someone understands me I am really surprised, like "Actually?! Those were words I just said?" because it can definitely feel like one big debilitated tongue.
Yet despite the challenges there are sometimes it is incredibly exciting to notice progress and I only wish I could learn faster! It is just so tempting to take the easy way out by speaking English, when something feels urgent or I don't want to be a burden on the other person.  However I know this is important and so I'm making a promise right now to practice my online lessons daily if I can and to insist on speaking more Danish at home!


Oh and I thought it would probably be a good idea to add some photos for those of you non-Facebookers:)


Last night my little host sister, Dina (12), and I made dinner for the family, HOMEMADE SUSHI :)  We had some close calls but all in all it turned out really good! Then afterwards we watched Slumdog Millionaire and had ourselves a rigtig hyggelig aften.

Haha so funny story, I was supposed to post this a week ago and here we are.. but I honestly do want to blog more to inform you all as well as create memories for myself! So from now on, I will do my best to get something out there! :)






*hyggelig, adjective of the Danish word hygge, summed up by wikipedia:

"Hygge"

Danish Christmas tree with homemade decorations

One of the fundamental aspects of Danish culture is "hygge", which, although translated as "coziness" is more akin to "tranquility". Hygge is a complete absence of anything annoying, irritating, or emotionally overwhelming, and the presence of and pleasure from comforting, gentle, and soothing things. Hygge is often associated with family and close friends. Christmas time when loved ones sit close together with candles lit on a cold rainy night is "hygge", as is grilling a pølse (Danish sausage) on a long summer evening. These examples, although they do not precisely define "hygge", can give an English speaker an idea of a deeply valued traditional concept of Danish culture.^[

Velkommen til Danmark!

Hej everyone! 


So I've been in Denmark for almost two weeks now and I figured it's about time to get a blog up and running to keep everyone (or whoever's interested..) in Canada informed on what I get up to over here.  (And that way instead of writing twenty emails, I only write one!)


It's hard to believe that just twelve days ago I was at my house in Kelowna, but even harder to imagine that I won't be there again for another eleven months!  Saying goodbye was definitely not easy and I know I will (and I do!) miss all my friends and family over the next year. But as they say, your year in Rotary Youth Exchange will be "The Best Year of Your Life" and I want to make sure I have the greatest year possible!  So if you find I fall behind in keeping in touch, just know that I am having fun, fully immersed in my Danish life and that I love you all!


Of course I am thinking of everyone from home always and I plan to update my blog every two weeks! (We'll see how that goes..)


So, My First Two Weeks in Denmark


For my flight over I had the pleasure of flying first class. I don't know how that happened but thank you Rotary!


Good Things About Flying Firstclass:

1. When you have an airport layover you can relax in the lounge and help yourself to complimentary food, beverages, WiFi and more!
2. Leg Room!
3. Overnight flights come with an amenity kit with: socks, lip chap, toothbrush and paste, etc.
4. 3 Menus to choose from. (I selected the crab-avacado salad, beef filet with roasted vegetables, and chocolate mousse for dessert!)

Nicest Airport: Keflavik International, Iceland

Most Unnecessary Airport Aids:

1. Five thousand printouts of the airport layout from different angles. (Thanks anyways Mom!)
2. Sea-Tac airport help stations with attendants who don't speak English.

With all my first class luxury, the flight over didn't feel long at all and before I knew it, I was in Copenhagen!

People I've Stayed With Here in Denmark:

1. Anker Tvermosegaard and his wife Gudrun - 1 night
• The first day I was picked up from the airport by my Rotary Club Counsellor and his wife, whom I spent my first night in Denmark with.  They both speak nearly perfect English (She speaks 5 languages actually..) and so they were able to give my tons of information on just about everything.  They were very knowledgable and provided the perfect introduction to Denmark! 
2. Bjarne and Birthe Karlsson - 4 nights
• Next I moved in with another Rotarian, Bjarne and his wife Birthe.  Their apartment is right downtown Copenhagen and walking distance from just about everything you'd want to see!  As well, for one night we stayed at the Sommer Hus, where they live for 6 months of the year, which is north of the city by a beach town.  It was great driving to and from the summer house because I got to see the Danish countryside and it was a beautiful drive.
3. The Ingemann's - My first host family!
• Finally at the end of the week I moved in with my first host family and getting to unpack my suitcases was probably the best thing to ever happen to me.  I'm now living in a nice family home in the suburb, Brønshøj, just a twenty minute train ride from downtown Copenhagen. (And that's a fact because I've done it!)  My family consists of Dad, Jens, Mom, Helle, Anna (18) and Dina (12).  Right away I'm like part of the family! Oh and we have a cat named Mees.  The Ingemann's are very active, they bike everywhere and love to swim and travel, and the eat so well!  I think while I live here I will learn to cook because it seems like one of their favourite things to do together as a family.

So far everyone I have stayed with have been so kind and welcoming! Since arriving in Denmark I think I have felt pretty at home where ever I've been.  And already I have seen so much!

The Sights I've Soaked In:

1. Roskilde - 
• A quaint city with a famous music festival.  Anker took me the first day after getting my social security card.  We went to the Domkirke, a big, beautiful church full of buried royals!
2. The Viking Ship Museum - 
• After the church, Anker and I went to this museum situated on a bay where they found actual viking ships in the water.
3. Tivoli - 
• I didn't actually ride the rides, but I went for dinner my first night with the Karlssons and we met their grown son Rasmus and his gf, Charlotte.  The dinner was excellent! Not to mention super expensive... And Tivoli was so charming at night with all the lights.  It's true Danish style: smallscale and charming.
4. Tisvildeleje -
• At the summer house, Birthe and I took the bikes down a bike path through the woods to the beach town of Tisvildeleje where we had ice cream.  The Danes really love to be outside and everyone was so blond and tan!  And I set my feet in the Baltic for the first time :)
5. Downtown Copenhagen - Birthe and I walked from the apartment all over downtown.
• Christiansborg-
• Where parliament is.
• Strøget -
• The longest pedestrian shopping street in Europe where I could potentially spend A LOT of money.
• Nyhavn -
• The famous Danish harbour full of colourful buildings and bustling with people.
• The Canals -
• We took a Canal boat tour through the water around downtown and explored all the areas situated on the water.  Many important buildings like the theatre, the opera house, and the library are on the water because it's so beautiful.
6. Amalienborg -
• The last day with Birthe, we went to the palace which is comprised of four buildings I think? And one of these buildings which had not been updated since 1936 was recently renovated for the Crown Prince, Frederik, and his Australian wife, Mary to move into.  So for a limited time only, the palace was open to the public to see the renovations (sans furniture) and we went on the last day! It was the longest line (The Royal Family is pretty popular I think.) but it was really cool to see! One of the major changes was to introduce modern art into the palace to demonstrate the connection between art and architecture, so while the structure of the building was your typical old palace detail, there were all sorts of modern murals and art pieces by Danish artists throughout which was really interesting.

It was quite a busy first week. Thankfully jet lag didn't prove to be a huge problem but I do sleep very soundly! Apparently the other night the fire alarm went off and it's right outside my bedroom. The whole family came downstairs and I had nooo idea..

And already I have experience a lot of independence.

Some Adventures on My Own:

1. Shopping in Strøget while Bjarne and Birthe were at work.
2. Taking the train into Copenhagen for my first meeting with exchange students.
3. Meeting up with my friend and fellow exchanger Erin from Kamloops.
4. Biking to my school to see how long it would take, got a little lost mind you.. but all in all it's a nice ride!

So for the most part this past week I have been living the everyday life of my family, which has been equally nice.  Everything from grocery shopping to gardening, swimming at the beach and the pool, making dinner, going to Dina's sailing lessons and watching Bridget Jones' Diary.. 

Now because everyone is at school and work during the day, I can't wait for school to start! And then IntroCamp for a week with all the exchange students in Denmark, which I think will be quite similar to summer camp, but with Danish lessons :)

So bye for now! I'll will try again in two weeks?  Apparently I had a lot to say so I think next time will be shorter..

Kram!

Sarah