A whole new world

I have officially been in Denmark 1 month now and it is so awesome! It truly has been the best month of my life. Let me bring you up to speed, I have started school at Silkeborg Gymnasium and went to the Rotary Introcamp. Danish school is so awesome! I really do love it and the teachers and students are so friendly. Yes, all of my classes are in Danish and I can't understand a single thing but my classmates are really cool about translating when they can. I'm taking English and Spanish so I know I'll be able to pass at least 2 out of 7 classes. Everyone is pretty outgoing for the most part so it been easy making friends as well. I really don't feel that out of place besides the fact that I can't speak Danish yet. My class is taking their trip to the US though so that's a huge bummer because I can't go and the class trip is supposed to be part of the whole experience. Although, I am trying to go with a different class to London so I really hope that works out! The thing that really made me feel like I belonged was the "pep assembly". It was actually nothing likea pep assembly at all. Pretty much everyone stood up, sang Beatles songs, and hugged all the new students. That was my first "Wow, I freaking love this place!" moment. I felt so at home. Man, I should have been born in this country!

I just got back fromt the Rotary Inrocamp and that was pretty fun but I have to say I was a little home sick for Ry and my school. It really was a bummer I had to miss an entire week of school to go to this camp. But I think it was worth it because I had a really awesome Danish teacher and I learned a hell of a lot. I also made a lot of new friends from around the world so that's pretty awesome as well. We took some trips to see Viborg and Århus. It was really nice to get out and explore some Danish cities with my friends! Viborg is a really cute little town up north where we went and got hot chocolate and Danish chocolate and pastries. Mmmmmm. We did a little shopping and saw the Viborg cathedral  as well. Then we went to Århus which is the second biggest city in Denmark. It was such an awesome city. We went to the Aros art museum which I LOVED. It was so interesting to see some modern Danish art and some really interesting takes on the concept of  "love" which I like to call "artistic pornography". This month's exhibit was called "I Love You" which seriously was so graphic. Honestly though, as uncomfortable as it was sometimes, it was kind of refreshing in a way to see that the Danes can just take sex and love for what it is and appreciate it in an artistic way. These art peices would never fly in the US, let's just leave it at that. Anyways, after the museum we just had some more free time and it was a great day. The camp overall was really good, we saw a Danish film (also pretty graphic because people just don't give a shit here), had a huge bon fire, and just hung out. Then on the last night we through a huge party with music and dancing and it was SO much fun. Just imagine 150 exchange students in a room dancing. It was insane.

I think maybe you should learn some Danish words that I'm probably gonna start saying a lot:

Jeg elseker dig = I love you
Farvel = Good bye

Also, don't be afraid to check out the photos on my facebook! (They're kind of a pain in the ass to put on here.)

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Downtown Ry

What I see when I wake up every morning.

T-t-t-t-today junior!

So learning Danish is very difficult but I think when I finally get the hang of it, it will be so worth it because it is such a cool language. And even though everyone here in Denmark can very easily speak English they don't. Ever. And that is frustrating sometimes but I think it's better this way because it will help me learn faster. As of my first week I have learned how to count to 100, say the days of the week, name most colors and name most things in a kitchen. Not too shabby I'd say. My host mom and sister got some children's books from the library so I could start learning how to read Danish. I felt like a little kid and it was so embarassing but I think I'll look back on it and realize how funny and cute it is. We got Alice in Wonderland, Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles, Bananas in Pajamas, Hansel and Gretel, and a popular Danish book. My host mom literally sat down with me and read me a story. It really is helping though which is so good. But I am having so much un here. So far my family has taken me to the North Sea, a few cities in Northern Jutland and I have seen the entire island of Fur which I don't think very many exchange students get to do. Yesterday I went to the Skanderborg Musik festival with my host sister which was so much fun. I had the opportunity to check out some Danish music and meet some people from the school I'll be going to in a week. And for once in my life, I'm actually excited to go to school! Hej hej for now!

What is this new kind of music?

  Hej! Finally I am in Denmark and it feels amazing! My trip was problem free (thank jebus). I had a 6 hour layover in Copenhagen though, which was SO boring when you're by yourself. You can only look in the shops so many times before the workers start to look at you weird (or weirder than when you first walked in because I was wearing my Rotary blazer). I finally arrived in Ry, at midnight and my host family was very welcoming. Their house is so beautiful. When I woke up the next day and looked out my window, I was so shocked (because remember, I arrived at midnight so it was too dark to see anything the night before). It is so green, and there are so many trees and a windmill and there were sheep grazing in the hills (Now that's something to see Mr. McKinny!). It was like a movie or a painting or something. I still can't even believe that this is where I live now. My first day, my host sister, Mette, took me around Ry and that only took about 10 minutes honestly. It is a very small town and there are no stop lights. Crazy!

 I have been here 3 days now and it has been so interesting to say the least. My host family lives in a town called Ry, which is about an hour away from the second biggest city in Denmark, Aarhus. Ry is not pronounced "rye" but more like "oui" but it comes from the back of your throat. It's kind of weird, which brings me to my next thing, learning Danish. It is one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do. This language is very confusing, very different, and very hard to learn if you're not Danish. But despite all that, I think I've made a lot of progress in only 3 days. Or at least, that's what my host parents are telling me. Yesterday I went with my host family to an island called "Fur" which is about 2 hours away in Northern Jutland. We went to their Grandpa's 80th birthday party (which is apparently a big deal in Denmark). There were a lot of people from all over Denmark and even from Norway. And no one could speak English. That made things a little difficult for the American exchange student. I couldn't really talk to anyone, just a few people who could speak a little English but not much. It was a very interesting and difficult day. Fur is such a beatiful island and we are staying in my host family's summer home that they built themselves so it is very special. The back yard is green hills that over look a fjord! It's pretty freaking awesome. Life is good.