8th week

     I’m actually writing this from the train going home from school.  

i just love public transportation.. can't you tell.

I haven’t had a chance to update this (so much for every Saturday.. sorry!) so I'm using this time on the train and bus.  Last week was just a normal week at school.  I guess I’ll just start with last Monday and tell you guys about all the fun stuff I’ve been getting to see J

     On Monday I had another Rotary Meeting.  My counselor came and picked me up after school in Vejle.  I had a few hours between school and the time he would be picking me up.  So I walked to Cathryn’s house.  Now before I got here everyone said it’s so easy to get around in Denmark because it’s so flat.  HA!  While the highest point in Denmark I just below 180 meters, that doesn’t mean the entire country is totally flat. Before I got here I pictured this flat land that you could see all the way to the other side of because it was so flat.  Well, that’s not really true.  The hill up to Cathryn’s house is quite large.  But don’t worry, we were pounded with rain the whole time to cool us off from the work out we were getting!  (Don’t get me wrong I’m still loving the rain, but sometimes it gets a little cold!)  We watched Harry Potter and then I walked down the hill to the train station where I met my counselor.  I really enjoy going to the Rotary meetings!  Everyone is very nice, not to mention I get yummy Danish food!   Then I went home and went to sleep.

     I don’t really remember, Tuesday, which probably means nothing too exciting happened.

     Wednesday is pretty much the same way.  I went to Rachael’s house for a little while and then went home.  Nothing too noteworthy.

     On Thursday I went to school with Lærke to see another gymnasium.  She goes to the gymnasium in Kolding.  There are about 730 students in her school.  It is about half the size of Rosborg (my gymnasium) in both size and the number of students.  It was a nice school.  It ran basically the same way Rosborg does; the biggest difference was the interior of the school. Rosborg has had a lot of remodeling and construction done, and it is still being rebuilt and constructed.  There are parts that haven’t yet been remodeled.  The school in Kolding looked like those un-remodeled parts of the school.  It was nice though, and I had a good time.

     Friday was the first school party.  It’s called Bacchus.  I thought that Bacchus was a Danish word, but I was surprised when I tried to google translate it and didn’t have any success.  Turns out it is a painting and Bacchus is like the god of wine or something like that.  So I went to a pre party with some girls in my class before Bacchus.  A lot of classes have pre parties together and some people just do their own thing.  We got dressed and got ready and then had dinner and they made some drinks and we took pictures.  One of my classmates brought some soda to the party since I don’t drink, and another one of my classmates made me a virgin drink.  So that was really nice!  It’s very unlike Danish culture to not drink.  After the pre party we all headed over to the school.  I’ve never really been to a party before, especially at school.  So this was quite different for me.  There were a lot of people there; I would guess that most of the student population was there.  There was a large area in the cantina where they had all the alcohol for the students to buy.  There was music, dancing, lights, food, drinks, and lots of drinking!  (don’t worry, not by me!) I had a really good time.  It was certainly very different from what I’m used to though!  The party ended at 12.  A lot of people went out afterwards, but I went to Rachael’s house and spent the night.

at the party

pre party

     Saturday was not super eventful, but it was fun!  I stayed at Rachael’s for most of the day.  That evening we went into the city and went to a new Chinese/Mongolian restaurant with my host sister from my 3^rd host family: Line.  It was hyggeligt J Then Rachael and I went to the train station, she was spending the night at my house.  “There are always busses and trains from Vejle to Kolding, we’ll be fine”  I told her.  Oops!  Haha apparently not on Saturday nights.  We waited there for an hour and then a bus came.  Luckily she had some cards with her and we sat on a bench and played for a while.  We got home around 11:30.

     On Sunday Rachael came to church with me.  After church we went and had lunch with some people from the church at the Young Women’s leader’s home.  It was fun and yummy!  Then we went home.  I got home around 6, and then shortly afterwards I went to my host dad’s workplace to see what it was like.  I think it was pretty similar to one in America.  My host mom had just gotten back from a business trip in New York City.  It was fun to hear some of the cultural differences that she noticed.  One that she told me I’ve heard before from people who have visited the states.  People ask how you are even if they don’t really care how you are doing.  When put that way, it sounds a little rude!  I had never really thought about it before, though.  When walking into a store, the nearest employee usually asks how you’re doing.  One wouldn’t typically tell them exactly how they’re doing.  They usually say just fine, good, or return their question with a “hi.”  It wouldn't be normal to say, “I’m not feeling well,” “I’ve had better days,” or “bad” unless it was relating to the reason why you came in the store.  I thought that was pretty funny.  She also noted that people at restaurants probably thought she was rude because in Denmark the tip is included in the bill, so she didn’t leave a tip.  That was also a little bit different. 

     While I’ve told you a bit about my school, I’m realizing that I haven’t really mentioned much about what actually goes on in my classes.  I was recently put into a social sciences class.  On my first day in there, I was invited to the front of the class where I was asked questions about American politics.  I was asked if my family had any guns and everyone seemed pretty surprised when I said yes.  I explained that we only use them in the shooting range and that my dad used to hunt, which I think made it a bit better.  My teacher asked if we carry them around with us.. nope!  I was also asked questions about where I stand on a lot of hot political topics.  They asked what I think about our prison system.  I didn’t think it was very harsh, but in Denmark they find it very harsh.  “But you have millions of people in jails!”  I think that since we are a country of over 300 million, that a few million in jail isn’t that bad..  I brought up that some people argue for more harsh punishments.  I pointed out that not everyone feels this way only some, but that maybe more harsh punishments would keep people from breaking the law.  That seemed to surprise some people.  Lots of topics came up, but if I told you all of them you’d be here reading this all day, and it’s long enough as it is!  So I’ll wrap this bad boy up.  I’m working on one about all the differences I’ve noticed, so I’ll post that soon.   I can also add more differences to the blog after I put it up. 

     So anyways, I’m having a fantastic time over here.  It’s hard to express the things I’m experiencing over here in writing.  I’ve met some of the most amazing people, and I have made the best of friends already.  It’s funny how after only knowing some of these people for less than 2 months they’ve become my best friends.  The exchange students are all like one big family.  We’re already planning road trips and vacations after our exchange year so we can keep in touch and still see each other.  It’s crazy to me how some average teenagers from all over the world have been able to come together in tiny Denmark and create these amazing relationships with total strangers who all have the same thing in common- a desire to learn and to grow through this amazing exchange year that we all expect to be the best of our lives.  Cathryn showed me a song that she related to our exchanges.  It’s called New Soul.  “I’m a new soul I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit ‘bout how to give and take.  But since I came here I felt the joy and love here, making every possible mistake.”  It’s one of the many songs that have already become “theme songs” for the my exchange students here.  If you want a good laugh, you should watch this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q06aPwnppF4&feature=g-all-u This is certainly Rotary Youth Exchange Denmark 2012-2013’s favorite song, so we thought we’d make it even better J Haha I hope you enjoy!  Sorry for making this so long, I hope I didn’t bore you too badly.. Have a great week and if you’re enjoying warm weather (Nevada..) think of me as I freeze my booty off over here in the land of the Vikings!  Thanks for reading!