Copenhagen Trip and Update!

So my class and I went to Copenhagen for four days a few weeks ago. It was so amazing. We saw the little mermaid and the queens castle and christiania. Also their parliament. It was great. Other than that we just hung out and got even closer! It was very nice :) I also met up with my exchange friends Sarah and Wilimary. It was great to see them and spend some time with them.

I also moved families! I love my new family already! They are so sweet and helpful. I feel a part of the family and we can joke around. They have 2 sons ( 18 and 19 years old) and a daughter (21 years old). They also have a son who is in Texas right now on exchange! It is nice to have siblings to hang out with! I am trying to only speak danish with them but it is hard! But it will come I hope :)

 Other than that nothing big has happend. I am excited for Christmas and to see all the new traditions they have! :)

Turn In the Road!

This weekend I went to a rotary get together with all the exchange students in Denmark. I was so much fun! I was having a hard week and a hard time with my host family and just in general. But this weekend put everything in perspective. Some of the exchange students from Australia are going home in 2 months and that was their last time seeing eachother. I have been in Denmark for 3 months and time is flying. I realized I only have limited time here and how lucky I truly am to be here. I also realized all the amazing friends I have made! So I decided to just live out every moment to the fullest! One of the exchangers said "You win some and loose some." This made me realize that my exchange may not be perfect but I need to focas on the good parts!  It made me realize how much exchange students are there for you and they actually do understand. This weekend showed me how fast things go by and how much I need to take it all in because it will all be gone before you know it. So overall it was an eye opening weeked and one of the best in Denmark so far. 

Update: Paris, Host Families, and more!

    Over the fall break (1 week) I went to Paris for four days! It was amazing! We drove there and it took about 12 hours. It was so weird to think I could get to a new country in 12 hours! I saw all the big places! It was so much fun! Other than that I have just been living the danish life! I started dance classes which is great becuase it is something from home! There is another korean girl in my ballet class which is nice. She is in college though. Also my host family started only speaking danish to me :/ . I can understand a lot but talking back is the hard part!
   On halloween I had all my host families over for a party. It was really nice! We had chicken noodle soup and lots of candy.  It was the first time that I really hung out with my next host families. They are so sweet! I think I will get along great with them! I am so excited for the future! This coming up weeked I am meeting up with all the exchange students again and I am so excited! I think it will be a blast.

P.S. Sorry about my english, the more danish I learn the worse my english gets! :p

I am an exchange student!

.-How are you gonna know what a dream is...if you've never completed one.
.-How are you gonna know what an adventure is...if you never undertook one.
... .-How are you gonna know what anguish is...if you never told your family and friends "see you soon" with your eyes full of tears.
.-How are you gonna know what desperation is...if you never arrived in a place, alone, without understanding anything the others were saying
.-How are you gonna know what it means to miss someone...if you've never been away from home
.-How are you gonna know what diversity is...if you've never shared under the same roof with people from all over the world
.-How are you gonna know what tolerance is...if you've never had to get used to something different, even if you don't like it.
.-How are you gonna know what independence is...if you've never had to make decisions for yourself.
.-How are you gonna know what it means to grow...if you never quit being a child to start in a new direction.
.-How are you gonna know what disability is...if you've never had to urge to hug someone, but the computer screen got in your way
.-How are you gonna know what distance is...if you've never looked at a map and said "Wow, I'm far"
.-How are you gonna know what a language is...if youve never had to learn one to make friends
.-How are you gonna know what patriotism is...if you've never shouted "I love my country" holding a flag in the hand.
.-How are you gonna know what a party is...if you've never traveled hours to go to one
.-How are you gonna know what true reality is...if you've never had the opportunity to see many different ones so you can create your own.
.-How are you gonna know what an opportunity is...if you've never taken advantage of one
.-How are you gonna know what pride is...if you never felt it for yourself when you realize what you've accomplished.
.-How are you gonna know what it means to seize the moment...if you've never seen how time passed through your hands with great strides
.-How are you gonna know what a friend is...if the circumstances never taught you which ones are real
.-How are you gonna know what a family is...if you've never had one that supported you unconditionally
.-How are you gonna know what your boundaries are...if you've never passed them to see what lies beyond.
.-How are you gonna know what money is...if you never had to manage it to get along.
.-How are you gonna know what imagination is...if you've never thought about the moment you get back home
.-How are you gonna know what the world is...if you never were an exchange sudent!

The Diffences....

1. Order doesnt matter when your in line (if they want it they will get it)
2.  They sell beer and wine EVERYWHERE! (movies, every store, schools)
3.  The radio stations have no theme they just play whatever they want
4.  Carrots are in everything!
5.  Water and ketchup costs money...Everything costs money
6.  All cars are stick not automatic
7.  A three story building is like a national monument.
8.  Stoplights go green, yellow, red, yellow. Not green yellow red. 
9.  Danes dont hold doors open for people or say excuse me when they want you to move. They will just push you.
10.  Swearing in class is normal (Even the teachers do it)
11.  They call their teachers by their first name
12.  Eat everything with a knife and fork (pizza, bread, everything)
13.  They are very shy at first
14.  They are VERY competitive
15.  They wear swim suits as shorts (guys)
16.  They dont understand accents at all!
17. Beer is cheaper than soda or water
18.  Little kids take the bus and train alone
19. They drink a lot of tea and cofee and have set tea times
20. When the teacher is sick you just get that class off (no subs)
21. They hang their clothes up to dry
22. They think that a hour drive is far far away 
23. They dont have fabric softener! 
24. The mom usually does everyones wash.
25. Trackers can drive on the road and are used like a car
26. It is normal for girls to stay at guys houses even if they are not dating
27. They have a 4-hole punch not a 3-hole punch and the binders have 2 rings not 3
28. They raise their finger in class not there hand. 
29. They put random obstacles in the road....And round abouts where there should be an intersection.
30. No one says bless you after you sneeze.
31. Every party has a pre party
32. Everyone participates in class and is eager to learn because it is not the law to go to high school.
33.  You stay with the same class, all day every day.
34.  No tipping at restaurants unless you are feeling generous.
35. No one likes peanut butter.
36. Teachers just leave you alone in a classroom and expect you to do your work.
37.  Everyone brings their laptop to school.
38.  Everything is closed on sundays except for the first sunday of every month.
39.  Everything closes early (6/7)
40. All cars are manual, its rare to find automatic.
41. People either have the most high tech phones (iphones) or the crappiest, low tech phones. There is no in between. (Same with cars)
42. People ride their bikes EVERYWHERE!
43. When watching any game the clock counts up not down!

Week 7

       This week I went to another rotary get together. This time it was very laid back and we just went bowling and hung out. School is amazing! I stayed at one of my friends house (Christina) with another  classmate (Laura)! It was losts of fun! We went around the town and I met a few friends! Things are amazing! A new girl came in my class and she is really nice too! So now the class is 6 girls and 12 guys. I love my class! I am doing danish lessons once a week and may start doing them twice a week soon. I may start dance class to but they dont have ballet close to where I am so we will see. I kinda want to do something totally different just becuase I am already trying new things. So maybe a diffrent sport or something!

Weeks 5 and 6!

These past two weeks I have got closer to my class. We had a three day camp on an island in Denmark. It was lots of fun and I went through the worlds largest maze. It was so much fun and it was great to spend time with them. The only thing was that it was so cold. It isnt even winter yet and I am freezing but it is an diffrent type of cold than in Colorado. It is very windy! But I have been sick for the past few weeks. I also took a small trip with the exchange students to the tip of Denmark where the two oceans meet. It was so much fun! It was so cool to see them meet but it was freezing! Over all the past to weeks has been great and I am really starting to adjust to Denmark!

Week 4!

Wow one month! The past weeks have been hard but now I am starting to get the hang of things and meeting a lot of amazing people. This past week I was in a language camp with all 180 exchange students that are in Denmark. It was amazing we had so much fun! I got the basics of danish grammer! We had about 6 hours of Danish a day. But it was so great to understand everyone and be with people who know what you are going through. I made so many great friends that I think will last for a long time! It was the best week of exchange so far :)

First Weeks In Denmark!

WEEK 1:
Where do I start! The first week I just explored and caught up on lost sleep. But I did go sight seeing a few different places. I went to the mall with my host brother Peter-Christian. We just explored. But the main thing I noticed was that there were very few girl and boy shops that were together.  They were seprete. A few days later, I went to Aarhus with my host sister Ninna. We went to the art museum and it was lots of fun. On top of the art museum was a rainbow that you could walk through and see the city in different colors. There was also this cool expedition where is was really smokey and you couldnt see anything but as you went through the smoke changes colors! It was a really fun day. I also went to the Aarhus mall with my host sister Britt and my host mom. It was lots of fun!

WEEK 2:
On Monday I went canoeing with some short term exchange students and Ninna! It was so much fun and it was great to be with exchange students. Then on Tuesday I went to school! I was so confussed but a former exchange student helped translate and helped me figure things out! That night I went to a camp fire with the short term exchange students which was so much fun! I meet on guy from France who went to the U.S. two years ago and a girl who was from Australia but in a  long term in Italy. It was so great to find people in my same boat. As the week went on my classmates opened up and I got more comfortable!

WEEK 3:

Me on top of the art museum!

I cant believe I have been here for three weeks! On Sunday, I went to a meeting and met the other exchange students in my district! It was amazing! Other than that I have just been at school and it is getting better but language is such a huge barrier! I cant wait till I am fluent! Next week I will go to Intro camp with all the exchange students in Denmark! I can't wait!

In the rainbow!

The art museum!