A Day in the Life of Andy Epps

6:05-Wake up, hit the snooze button

6:08-Get out of bed, open my window and check the weather for the day, which by the way is impossible because it is pitch black.

6:09-Decide what to eat for breakfast. It switches between corn flakes with bananas or 2 pieces of bread: one peanut butter, one Nutella. One day every 2 weeks we have Danish pancakes, which are a conbination of American pancakes and crepes; not too thick, but thick enough to stuff with Nutella and bananas. Yes, I eat my pancakes with Nutella and bananas. Breakfast is usually accompanied with a little Danish lesson from the newspaper, which I forget 12 seconds later.

6:18-Finish breakfast. Go to my room and decide what to wear for the day. Usually after I look through my limited supply of American clothes I realize that it doesn't really matter what I wear, because 1) I am American and Americans wear whatever they want to and 2) Whatever I wear will be covered up by the sweatshirt I will be wearing all day because it is so cold. After this thought, I grab something and head to the shower.

6:20-I stand in the shower and forget that the water is 112 degrees, because it only says 44 on the handle. I usually silently sing a song in my head that I played on my iPod about 264 times yesterday. It is possible.

6:26-I turn off the shower and feel bad I have just been standing under expensive hot water for 6 minutes. I then proceed to open the window in the bathroom to let all the moisture out. Usually 3 seconds later my feelings for taking a 6-minute shower are relieved. I then for no apparent reason stand in the shower, covered with a towel and waste about 23.75 seconds of my morning. I change and proceed to my room.

6:29-I close my open window and get my backpack ready for the day (books, gym clothes, money, etc.). I get all my warm clothes ready and start to put them on, while watching Simpsons on TV 3+.

6:38-I am ready for school and also the weather of the North Pole. My typical wardrobe for a day consists of:
1 t-shirt
1 long-sleeve t-shirt (sometimes)
1 sweatshirt and/or sweater
1 pair of socks (although I have wore 2 pairs before)
1 pair of underwear
1 pair of the 3 jeans I own
1 rainproof jacket
1 pair of rainproof pants
1 winter jacket
1 scarf
1 pair of $3 gloves
1 extremely positive attitude!

6:39-I realize that I have not brushed my teeth, shaved, applied deodorant to my axilla or stared at myself in the mirror. At this time I also question my daily routine and wonder if it is the most efficient. Luckily, I have built in time for this exact purpose. So, I brush my teeth, shave, deodorant myself and stare into my eyes for 8 seconds in the mirror.

6:43-Get ready to brave the Danish elements. Say "Har en god dag", "Vi ses" and/or "Hej Hej" and the occasional "See you later alligator" to Hjalte and Gerda. I get on my bike and say out loud, "I hate this bike." Seriously, I say this every single day. My bike squeaks, randomly changes gears on its own, has the most touchy brakes ever and sometimes runs into curbs...so, if you ever see me run into a curb, it IS NOT me, it is the bike. I just remembered that 95% of the readers of this blog live 4,000 miles away and will never see me ride my bike. And the 5% that do not live 4,000 miles away will still, never see me ride my bike, so....

6:46- Halfway through my bike ride to the train station and I am thinking, "I hate wind. I hate rain. I hate dark. I hate cold." Sometimes this thinking is done aloud.

6:50-I reach the station, lock my bike and stand on the platform waiting for the train that comes 7:04.

7:04-Get on the train and remove my "Santa Claus" clothing. Get out my iPod and find a new song to play 264 times that day.

7:40-Attempt to sleep after remembering that I only have 10 minutes to take nap or risk falling asleep in one of my classes.

7:51-Arrive at the station in Roskilde and either: get my stuff together and walk off the train or wake up with drool on my chin, get my stuff together and walk off the train. Optional 2 is more common.

7:59-8:02- Depending on my walking speed, how cold it is, whether the train was late or not, I arrive at school anywhere between this time. As soon as I enter the door, I say "God Morgen" to as many people as possible.

8:05-(1:40-3:25)-School. An accumulation of me playing backgammon on my iPod, pretending to listen/understand during lessons, eating chocolate chip scones (Yumm!), going on Facebook, standing or walking around awkwardly and talking to myself. Pretty boring...

2:08, 2:38, 3:08, 3:38, 4:08-I take the train home, depending on my class schedule that day. My train leave every 30 minutes "On the 8's", if you were wondering.
Note: We will say today is a normal day, when I would take the train at 2:08.

2:55-I arrive in Haslev after waking up 3 different times to see if we were in Haslev yet, almost missing my stop. I get my bike and it is all wet (SHOCKER!). I unlocked it and ride home.

3:03-I arrive home and am greeted by Hjalte and Aske playing "Let's kill people" computer games. Not my thing, but thats cool. I usually watch an epiosode of Navy CSI (NCIS, as it is called in the States) or something else. Maybe a little Facebook time, but I usually just relax.

5:00-Dinner preparation time. If it is Wednesday (my day to cook) I start to make the meal, but no matter what day it is I usually help the cook because I like to peel carrots and potatoes...not! I do it more because then we can talk and my Danish improves and I get to know a little more about them, and they get to know me also.

6:00-Aftenmad. We are pretty good at eating at 6:00:12. Danes like to be precise!

6:25-We finish eating and clear the table. The cook cleans the kitchen and the table. Computer time for the boys, M*A*S*H time for Gerda and me.

7:00-8:29-I don't know what I do. TV, Homework, Reading, Danish, Ice Cream, etc.

8:30- Top Gear! It is a British TV show about cars. I am not a car enthusiast, but it is really funny and entertaining. It reminds of Car Talk on NPR ( for those of you who do not listen to Car Talk or for that matter NPR, shame on you) where only 30% of the show is actually about cars. Most of time the show is about these random competitions between the 3 hosts. One was about who could make the best amphibious car and one time they went camping and accidently set their camper on fire. Funny stuff. Top Gear can also be substituted for MythBusters. There is a ridiculous amount of American TV here.

9:30- Again, like clockwork, we all go to bed. However, I have "the foriegn card", so sometimes I can get out of going to bed early, but normally I am dog-tired. Sometimes, I even go to bed at 9:00. Trust me though, if you were hearing, reading, speaking, learning a new language 24/7, you would go to bed at 9 too. Also, if you didn't remember, I get up at 6:05...EVERY morning!!!

10:02-Random time, but I would say I usually fall asleep around then, after some intense thinking.

You have just experienced 'A Day in the Life of Andy Epps'. Thank you for reading and just so everyone knows, it was snowing today! Whoa!

Andy E