April and May

Just this morning i decided to count how many days I had left and I can't even believe that I only have 36 days left. The weight of that is killing me. I am not ready to come home and I don't feel that I have truly accomplished everything I wanted to do while I was here. I also can't imagine leaving this life behind. The month started out pretty fantastic. I was in Malta for the first week with my host family. My host sister and I had an amazing time and it was so great to lay out by the pool and just do nothing! The place we went to was very interesting because it was a little danish village hotel. Not only was everything in english but also in danish and the appliances and set up of the houses were all modeled after the danish way of life. It was really interesting to see how in the middle of this little island off of Italy there was a piece of Denmark. When I got back things kind of slowed down a little bit. I was just going to school and doing little things here and there. I went to Tivoli again with my friends and my second host mom took me to the royal theater to see the ballet. Oh it was absolutely beautiful and it made me wonder why I ever quit dancing. It was a really great night and I always love spending time with her. The day after was my last school party. It was 90's themed which was not the best chosen theme in the world but it was good enough. I can't believe that that is the last time I will dance with my friends in this school. It was so overwhelming to think that I will never hear the bad dj, see the drunk kids everywhere, and students dressed ridiculously to accommodate the silliest themes. The next weekend was just as great and sad. I had my last get together with all of the exchange students in Denmark. We dressed up as Vikings and fake fought in the woods and had a little disco after. It was such a weird idea but we all went all out because why not? It was so creative and silly of Rotary to choose that and at first we weren't to happy about it but once we got into it we saw how creative and fun it truly was. Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye and for most of them it was a final goodbye. There was an amazing slideshow from the whole year and it just brought me back to watching my oldies do that six months ago. It was the last time I will ever see some of those people and that knowledge was the hardest thing of all. It seems these days that a lot of things are becoming my "last." May has turned out to be another fantastic month. Only 8 more days until Euro Tour and even though I am super duper excited for that there is so much here that is also excited. Just the other day William took me to a Medina concert. Medina is a female danish singer that I absolutely love. Her music is where I learned some of my first danish words and she is just so good. It was so sweet of him to take me there because he just knows me so well. he knows everything that I love. He is so good to me. He even took me on the most romantic dinner date I have ever been on and everything about it was so special. This week we are even going to another amusement park. Every moment of my exchange is just such a gift and I am so grateful for everything and person in it. Besides all of the events, life is pretty great. The thing that makes everything fantastic is my friends and my other families. I can't begin to express how much I love the people in my class and the friends I have surrounded myself with. I have never cared about people the way I care about them. My first two host families are no exception to this. I frequently visit them and everytime it makes me yearn for the months i lived with them. I was told that the hardest thing about coming to Denmark was the people but I must say without them I wouldn't be as happy as I am now. I am so blessed for the people that have come into my life.

Bosnien

March was a month to remember. I mean all the little things were fantastic like friends' birthdays and seeing my second host family again and being with friends but by far the highlight of this month was the trip to Bosnia. Gah!! It was amazing. Every year the students in 2 year take a class trip. All the other classes went all over and we went to Bosnia. At first I was really disappointed that we didn't get Rome or Barcelona or somewhere like that but I thought about it and when would I ever have a chance to visit Bosnia and I really am glad that we got to go there. But maybe it was also because no matter where I went with my class I wouldve been happy. I love these people more than I could ever express. Anyways, the first day we arrived around 5 pm and we had no time to rest we immediately started with a guided tour around the little city, Sarajevo. It was cute and small and so different from Denmark. After that we all went out to dinner together and then out into the city together. It was a good intro day because it wasn't too overwhelming. The best part about the hotel we were staying though is that 6 of us girls got to share a room so we pushed all of our beds together and then we immediately became the hang out room. It was sooo cool!!! The next day, monday, was just as fun. We started off with a historical tour of Sarajevo to learn all about the war and the history of Bosnia. Our tour guide was amazing. You could tell that he really loved what he did and he taught us so much but also added his personal aspect into it and he was so inspiring. It was wonderful to see someone so passionate about something. It was a truly inspiring day. On the tour we visited a mosque and saw how they prayed and that women have to pray in a separate part of the church and we saw so many other big parts of history like the assassination and we learned about how it was actually a mistake but the effect that it had was huge. Tuesday was a little less exciting because we were supposed to go around and interview people about how the war effected their life and my group was assigned to go the American embassy. Since we didn't have clearance we just gave someone my email address and all of our questions and I still havn't heard back but it just seemed like people weren't to open to talk about the war. It had already plagued their life enough, they didn't want to be reminded. After the interviews we just had free time so it was more of a chill day and i was grateful for it because it was an opportunity to spend some quality time with my class. Wednesday was like the first day, we went to OSCE which is an organization that helps to keep everything together and strives for peace. We heard all about them and got to ask them questions and learn a little bit about the hopes for Bosnia's future. After that we traveled to Mostar, another city in Bosnia. I was really grateful for the change just because Sarajevo was cold and bleak where as Mostar was a little more lively and a lot warmer. It didn't lack in history though, thats for sure. Thursday was also fantastic. We traveled over the border into Croatia. It was so beautiful and we just walked around the city and explored. I just loved the down moments with my class because thats when we really got to know each other. Friday was by far the best day. We got to visit a Bosnian high school which was fascinating. Mostar is split in half, muslims and christians so it was so interesting to see the students take on it. How their parents aren't happy with the other side yet they don't see the division as an obstacle. They accept everyone. It was also funny to hear their questions. After the school trip we got some free time and I spent the day with my friend William. We hadn't ever been close before the trip but we spent so much time together that we got really close and he is such an amazing person. I loved the fact that I could get close to every single individual in my class. That night we ended up going out with the students and it was just unforgettable. I honestly can't complain about the trip. It was such an amazing experience and I am so grateful for every person that I have met and come across. I also have more appreciation for every single person in my class because I have an individual relationship with every single person in my class. Although I am happy about everything that happened it is going to be that much harder to leave. I can't believe how little time I have left and to be honest it scares the crap out me because I have never been happier than when im with these people. But there is so much to look forward to like next weekend Malta with my family and Euro tour, its going to be an amazing last few months.

Min anden familie

Now that I have officially moved out I can post about how absolutely wonderful it was to live with my second host family. Oh i loved them so much, they were caring and loving and treated me like just another member of the family. Kim and Pernille, my host dad and host mom, were always so kind and open to me. They made me laugh and let me be my complete self around them. It was really a joy to be able to be their child for three months. I have to say, the person that I will miss the most thought is my host brother, Frederik. I have always wanted an older brother and he was better than anything I couldve hoped for. He made me laugh and we grew very very close. I really adored him and on my last night out he took me out with him and another friend and it was just a blast. So many funny things and memories. It was the perfect way to end my stay with them. I really loved them and they will always be a part of my family.

Just An Interesting Tidbit

Yesterday in gym we played basketball which in my mind was completely normal but not in Denmark. I mean they knew the sport but in American gym class Im used to all the boys being pros but here because they all play soccer, basketball was not their strong suit. It was so interesting to see because you give an American a basketball and they will dribble it but you give a Dane a basketball and they will kick it. I couldn't believe that. It seems so minuscule yet fascinating to see the littlest difference.

Februar

Wow another month gone by, just like that. Alright, where to start. Well first off, my family and friends. This saturday I move and as much as I am looking forward to my new family I absolutely adore my family now and I feel really at home with them so it will definitely be difficult to say goodbye. What will be even more difficult is the fact that this is my last family. Time has just gone too fast. Along with my family, I love my friends. Recently my friend, Frederik, bought me gold fish. Just for the hell of it, to have a good laugh and look back on it. I am so fortunate to have these people in my life. I had an amazing time with my class on the first friday of the month because we had a school party. Each class had a theme and we got to decorate the classroom and dress up and eat dinner all together and then have a dance afterwards. My class chose Rock N' Roll and we went all out!!! We had fake tattoos and fake piercings, ripped clothes, teased hair, the blackest makeup we could put on, and the blackest nail polish on our nails. We all had a good laugh about because it was the complete opposite of how we all would normally look. One thing about the school party was the beer. Now let me remind you, just because the alcohol is there doesn't mean im drinking- rotary rules, of course. I can't get used to the idea though that at school parties the school pays to give each student two free beers as if they are passing out water. It is just such a huge part of Danish culture and normality, it still freaks me out to this day. But besides the alcoholism the weekend fun didn't stop there. That sunday was superbowl sunday but due to the time change it ran from 12 at night to about 4 in the morning. I was ready to curl up and stay awake to enjoy some good ol' American culture but a few of the boys in my class actually invited me to join them. Danish boys are very closed off so I was really surprised but it was a great opportunity to get to know them. I made my dad's guacamole and headed over there. It was a long night but it was so much fun. It was great to get to know them outside of school and I felt like I was really building a relationship with them. To show my class how much I love and appreciate them I made them cupcakes on tenth with my friend Felix. I made them cake for Valentine's Day because we had vacation the next week and I wanted to share a classic American tradition with them. It was funny to explain to them how much we do for Valentines Day in America because most of the class didn't even know what day it was. It was shocking to learn that.
The next week was amazing because we had a full week of vacation. The thing I absolutely love about Danish gymnasium (high school) is that we have a full week of vacation every six weeks, its absolutely glorious. For my vacation, one of my friends visited me. She is another exchange student from America but she lives on the other side of Denmark. It was so great to see her again because it had been about 2 months. One thing that I love about exchange students is that we relate so much to each other that we are practically family within the first minutes of meeting each other. On the last day of vacation it was the Danish version of halloween, its called festelavn. The kids dress up and get together but they dont really trick or treat but they do get candy. They have a wood basket filled with candy and they take turns hitting it like a pinata. It was so cute to see them all in their costumes and it was cool to be able to participate. I got to do it with my host family and their whole family, the same people I spent Christmas with. Unfortunately, another month is coming to an end and I can't tell if im excited for all the trips im taking or dreading them because it means that my time here is almost up.

Bowling aften.

Aww a bowling night was just what we needed. A chance to all get together with a little healthy competition. It was amazing to have everyone there together again. All of the exchange students from my district met in Copenhagen and we also me the new exchange students from Australia that just arrived. I mostly spent the night with three new girls and they were so sweet and wonderful. They made me realize how fast the time is going though. I am officially an oldie.

Godt Nytår og Januar :]

Boy has it been a while since I have written, sorry about that. Well I will begin with the first of the Month/Year. New Years Eve is not so different here. The main difference that I saw was the legality of fireworks. Unlike in the US, fireworks are legal here from December 22nd to the 1st of January which means fireworks all night for that week. Everyone sets them off everywhere so it can be quite dangerous on New Years, especially in Copenhagen. They tell you not to go to Copenhagen at all because of how dangerous it is, there are always reports of people getting injured. Luckily, I went to a party with my exchange student friend Madi and a girl from my class named Ditte. We had a low key, fun night and it was great to jump into the new year with them. It is also a tradition in Denmark to jump off of something to "jump" into the new year where as in America we kiss into the new year:] But besides New Years, not too much is going on with me this month. Just hanging out with friends and loving the place I am at. February is also going to be low key but March, April, and May are going to be crazy!! March I go to Bosnia with my class for a week, April I go to Malta with my third host family for a week, and in May-June, EUROO TOURR! A three week bus tour with all the exchange students, an opportunity of a lifetime, that is if I can find the money:/
More to come soon!!!