Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and so is homesickness. I cant believe that it is already that time. At home thanksgiving is always my family's holiday. My dad would cook for days and we would have all the family over. It was so extravagant that my dad sent out leather menus with the invitations, no joke. It is hard not to be around family during the times of year that you normally feel closest to them. Although thursday will be extremely difficult for me tonight we had a faux thanksgiving with rotary. The food was delicious and we even performed. All of us exchange students from my district got together a 45 minute talent show. It was a lot of fun and a good way to show the rotarians that silly, creative side of us. Of course, us north americans could not resist doing high school musical. We got up there and danced just like in the movie. It was hilarious and we couldnt stop laughing. I really appreciate this night and all that rotary set up with us, I just wish my family couldve been there to see it.

Jeg har det godt.

I have it good:]

This week has just been another wonderful, exciting week as an exchange student. Tuesday was the day that the week really started. I spent the evening bowling with my class. It was so much fun! Every moment I spend with them is unforgettable. I am horrible at bowling which made for a funny game because I couldnt hit a pin to save my life! Three fourths of the time I didnt even hit one but I had fun nonetheless. My class is full of amazing kids. I am so fortunate to have them and I cant even imagine my year any other way without them. We laughed and had an amazing time. On Wednesday there was OD day. It is a day where high school kids work and the money that they get for that day goes to a charity that the school participates. Good idea, right? Well i decided to participate in this wonderful part of danish high school so I raked leaves for my host dad. It was back breaking work and it was awful but worth it because I felt like an average student. After all that thursday was definitely the high light of my week. My best friend Christina got free tickets to christmas themed tivoli and this year it was themed Russian christmas. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. Everything was lit up and decorated and it was a gorgeous sight. I went with her and Ditte and a couple other girls. We rode a few rides and hung out and just enjoyed eachother's company. I tried something called æbleskiver and they were so delicious. The perfect definition of fair food. All in all it has been an amazing week and I cant wait for the weeks to come.

Holbæk

O those Rotary get togethers, how splendid they truly are. This weekend we had a halloween get together with the oldies (australians, new zealanders, and brazilians that arrived in january) and the newbies (everyone else that arrived in August). It all started on Friday night when we all rolled up to a gymnasium and couldnt contain our excitement to see each other. My friend Anne Julie asked me to shave her head and the excitement didnt stop after that. You put 200 exchange students in a school and stuff is bound to happen. There was a dj until about 4 in the morning but I didnt stay up for that. I wanted to get my rest and conserve it for saturday for an unforgettable day. Many exchange students shared my viewpoint so we got in our sleeping bags and settled in but 40 exchange students in one room doesnt make for good sleeping arrangements. It was probably an hour before we went to bed because we were all giggling and sharing and basking in the joy of being with each other again. Saturday morning we were awoken by a Rotex with a blowhorn. Not a delightful thing to wake up to but all in good fun. Saturday afternoon we all walked into town, looked around and did a little shopping. When we got back a few of us exchange students did zumba with a teacher that offered to come to the school. It was so high energy and fun to be jumping around with all of us. When zumba was done we all got in our costumes. It was so funny to see what people had decided to come as. I was really pleased with how almost all of us gave 100 percent effort in to dressing up. Madeline and I decided to be cowboys, not cowgirls. We had fake mustaches and guns, it was a sight to see. That night we put on a little show for some people from Rotary and it was a lot of fun to see their reactions to what we wanted to show them. After dinner and the rotarians had left a dj came and the party really started. We all danced all night and in to the morning. When a lot of the exchange students started losing their energy some of us kept going. There was quite a few of us that didnt sleep at all. The dj was going until about 6 in the morning. After the dj left one of the australian girls and i just packed because there was no point in sleeping after that. Unfortunately, we had to leave early sunday morning and it was really hard to say goodbye to everyone because the oldies are leaving in two months and we wont see the newbies again until april and by that time we will be two months away from leaving. I cant believe how fast this is going bye. I got home and just thought about how much I truly love the people im surrounded by and spending my time with. My life will never be the same.

3 months

To think that this time three months ago I was finishing packing, getting ready to embark on the greatest adventure of my life. I feel like it was just a week ago that I got home from intro camp. This experience is 1/3 of the way over and I dont ever want it to stop. I cant believe that time has passed so much. I love Denmark and I cant imagine ever leaving. This short time has made me realize how much I need to cherish the people in my life and how I need to take every opportunity and appreciate everything that everyone has done for me. This experience would not be the same without my class, especially Christina, Ditte, Julie, Ida, Larisa, Amalie, and Frederik. I love these people so much and would do anything for them. I cant wait to get to know the other people better and to have more crazy times. I cant begin to thank Rotary enough for this opportunity.

Halloween

October 31, the wonderful, overrated American holiday! Unfortunately I didnt even realize that it was Halloween until four o clock that afternoon but instead of dwelling on my lost time to celebrate I went trick or treating with Glen's kids. Glen is a man from my rotary and he has the best kids in the world! They are sweet hearts and I had so much fun with them. I learn more danish from them then I do in my danish lessons. When we went out it was nothing like Halloween in America. Trick or treating is very new in Denmark. We only saw one or two other kids out and the costumes were very last minute. The unimportance of the custom reflected when we went to the houses. When we rung the doorbells people only came to the door every 1/3 of the time and even then it was a scramble. They ran around their house looking for something that they could possibly give these kids. Oranges, money, crackers, cake, you name it they got it. It was very funny and unpredictable but nothing like the pillow cases of candy we got. They had about half a lunch bag full of candy and they were done and sure they had hit the jack pot. I was so shocked. When we trick or treat in America we do it for hours and only go back and dump our bags to go out again when we cant cary it because of how heavy it is. It made me very homesick and I was surprised how something we grew up with our whole life could be sooo different somewhere else.
Along with trick or treating my wonderful grandmother sent me candy corn in the mail. A little piece of home that theyve never seen here. I gave the kids in my class some and most of them didnt know how to even eat them and the majority of them hated it. They compared the taste to caramel but a disgusting caramel. It surprised me beyond belief that they have never seen it let alone tasted it and most of them didnt like it! Nothing like home at all.