Where does the time go?

I cannot believe that I have been in Denmark for almost 9 weeks! It is crazy to think that my time in Denmark will be over before I know it! The time is going by so quickly and so it is hard to keep my blog up-to-date with all the things that are going on. I am sure for my "active blog readers" the suspense kills you! I know my mom said that she checks it almost daily and gets somewhat frustrated when there is not anything new.

Last blog I mentioned my class party I was going to. It was really fun. It was in the middle of nowhere, but it was a really nice location. The party was in an old farm building. It had been converted into a building that could be used for parties. There was a kitchen and bathroom and a bar. It reminded me somewhat of a town hall, where people vote. It smelled like one too! There were about 40 people there from all 3 "B" classes. It is mainly a party to welcome the 1B class into the "B"-family, but since I was a newbie as well, I took part in some of the traditions. Being that it was in the middle of nowhere, my older host sister, Malene, and her boyfriend picked me up and drove me home. Consistent to the party being in the middle of nowhere, they got lost and the planned 12:00 pick-up became 12:45. We got home at about 1:20 and went to bed right away. Malene and David spent the night in my host parents room, because Jesper and Elise were on vacation in northern Zealand. I cannot remember what else happened that weekend (being that it was so long ago). It think it was a typical lazy weekend.

I am playing volleyball in Køge on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays nights, even though I have yet to make a Friday practice (for various reasons). I still am bad, but I am improving. I can now set to an appropriate height (not 6 feet), pass to the setter, block, dig and I can even jump serve (kind of). I really enjoy everyone there and am getting used to the nickname "America". I kind of like it. The coach is also speaking Danish to me, so volleyball has duel purposes.

I cannot remember what else happened that week, so I will skip to the next weekend, which was the AFS Autumn Camp. It was hosted at a school in Køge, so it was only a 5 minute drive. It was really great to see some of the people from the opening camp. They gave us a lot of time to talk to the other exchange students about how things were going with everything, which was really nice. There were a lot of crazy moments, including a 2 a.m. break-in into the kitchen, a 4 a.m. "campfire" without fire and going to bed at 6 a.m. and waking up at 8. It was really fun and was a great way to spend a weekend.

The following Tuesday was an interesting day at school. Students across Denmark were protesting the cut funds for Danish students for the next school year. After the 1st class, students locked the teachers into the lounge and then blocked off the cafeteria. People had brought cake and games and it was really fun. I was tired, so I caught an early train home. I watched P.S. I Love You with Danish subtitles and feel asleep quite early. I was really tired and was kind of nervous for the night. Explaination will be in a following post titled "Tuesday Night". I know, how creative.

Wednesday was also an interesting day, because it was "Idrætdag", very similar to a field day back home. It was only for the '2' classes, so it wasn't the whole school. The day started off rainy and 50 degrees and when we ended it was clear skies and 65. (Danish weather is so crazy!) The events in Idrætdag were:
100m, 400m, Shot Put, Javelin, High Jump, Long Jump, 4x1 Relay and a 4k relay, which was 4 people who ran 1k around a park and then came back, somewhat similar to a cross country race; minus the relay part and the fact that you were only running 1k. I signed up for the 400m and Long Jump. I ended up doing both and a 4x1 relay and a leg of the 4000m relay! I was so tired by the end of the day that I had a hard time riding my bike home for the station. When I got home I immediately began making a salad for that night's Køge Area AFS Meeting. I decided to make a salad with lettuce, chicken, noodles and feta cheese. I had had it before and loved it, so I thought I would share it with everyone. I went to Fakta, which is a grocery store that I dislike but everything is cheap, so I go there anyway. The store is so unorganized and there is an area where all the things that don't really have a place (pickles, cookies, ice cream toppings, broken things, etc.) are thrown into these metal crates and you have to rummage through everything to find what you want, even though you have no idea what is where. All in all, Fakta doesn't not win the 'Most Organized Store' award. Long lines too. ANYWAY, I made the salad and when I was done realized that the bus left in 5 minutes. I quickly changed and ran to the bus carrying my salad and wearing my backpack with heavy things in it, after having Idrætdag! I felt like I was going to die. Thankfully, the only time the bus has really ever been late, was that day. I walked on the bus out of breath and carrying my dinner in a big bowl, which, as is expected, drew some weird looks from the bus driver and passengers. I got off the bus, only to almost miss the train by a few seconds and arrived at my destination 15 minutes later. The meeting was boring, because it was a presentation, in Danish, by 3 former AFS students. One was hosted in Mequon, Wisconsin, but I did not get a chance to talk to her. Overall, it was a nice meeting.

The next week is my Fall Break. I do not really have any plans as of the moment, but some are under way. So far these are the plans: Saturday go to Copenhagen and catch a ride with Johanna's (an exchange student from Sweden whom my family was a contact family for and now she goes to school in Denmark) boyfriend (who is from Wisconsin and was an exchange student to Denmark) and I will stay with them until Wednesday when I will catch a train home and then rest and do some homework. Then, on the Saturday after I will go to Copenhagen and to see Tove! She is also an exchange student from Sweden, but she was hosted in BRF last year. It will be really fun to see her, because we were good friends. It will be fun. Therefore, do not expect a blog post untill after the holidays. I hope everyone back in the WI is enjoying the wondeful fall weather I am hearing about! Do not be jealous though, because it is also cold, windy and rainy here, BUT that is the weather ALL THE TIME! Take care.

Andy E