The Baker's Party

I figured it was time that I stop being lazy and write another blog post. So...

Two weekends ago was my "Julefrokost" with my class. It was at one of the girls in my class's house. There were about 20-25 people that came and it was really nice and I had a really nice time. It was two days after Thanksgiving and the meal was seriously bigger than any Thanksgiving meal I have ever had! There were 5 courses. Course 1: Fish on bread with remoulade (a delicous Danish sauce similar to tarter sauce but better!) Course 2: Tarteletter (a Danish dish similar to chicken pot pies) Course 3: Frikadeller (little round, fried Danish meatloafs, but again, better!) Course 4: Flæskesteg (roasted pork) and finally Course 5: Ris a la mande (rice pudding with almonds). It was super delicious and was some of the best Danish food I have had yet. After dinner, things got a little crazy. There was a lot of dancing and some heavy drinking. There were also a few "regurgitation-happenings". About 15 people spent the night and the others went home. I stayed and slept on a hardwood floor with 1 blanket. Not the most comfortable sleep I have ever had! The next morning we had a very typical Danish breakfast of hot rolls with butter, jam and smelly cheese. I took the train home and that night went to my host mom's mother's house (my host grandma..if I can call her that). Ironically enough, she lives near Herfølge, the town that I lived in first. It was a very large dinner with endless portions. Duck, potato, a really good cucumber salad and of course cake! I was pressured with my Danish because "bestemor" (grandmother) speaks fast and mumbles: like most Danes do! All-in-all, it was a really nice evening.

This past weekend was really fun as well. Gerda, the boys and I drove to Fyn on Saturday. Actually, first we went to Aske and Hjalte's swim meet and then we drove to Fyn. Fyn is the little island between Zealand (the island Copenhagen is on and that I live on) and Jutland (the peninsula connected to Germany). It is often called "The speed bump of Denmark". Danes are so funny! :) Anyway, we visited Kjeld's (my host dad who works in Bangladesh and comes home soon) sister, Helle, and her husband, Jørn, and their twin daughters, Justine and Therese, who are 15. We got there at about 6 p.m. and had dinner and then just relaxed. The next morning Gerda and I ran really far and then my ankle started to hurt. (I cannot remember if I wrote this in a previous blog, but awhile ago in gym class I was playing volleyball and landed funny on my ankle. That night it had gotten really puffy and I iced it, but it still hurt a lot. I couldn't walk on it and so I took a "recovery day" and stayed home from school. It has gotten a lot better, but every once and awhile it starts to hurt again.) So, halfway or so through the run I walked back to the house. It was a really nice run and it was great to run with some different scenery. So, the rest of day the 5 of us kids make Christmas cookies. Det var virkelig hyggeligt.

Christmas has come to Denmark! Although there is no snow, not many decorations, no people caroling and it rains (almost) daily, there is a really big, lit christmas tree by my school that I walk past every day and that is good enough for me! The Danes are really big on Christmas, not so much with decorations and presents, but with food, candles and something called julekalendar. First, the Danes have a lot of food that is strictly christmas food. All the food we had at the julefrokost was really christmas food and if you had it outside of winter, people would make fun of you (except fish, obvisouly, and frikadeller). There is also something called risengrød, which is a mixture of rice and milk and you put butter and cinnamon and sugar on top. It is really filling, but really good. Pretty much every Dane has some way to count down to Christmas. Most popular is candles. You may have a big candle that you light every day and gradually gets down to the 24th or you might have 24 little candles (like we have). Note: Danes celebrate Christmas on the 24th instead of the 25th, no explanation except for the fact they want to be unique. And finally, julekalendar! There are some TV programs that show a 30-minute clip of a show from Dec.1st until the 24th. Two channels have them and each has 3 different shows: one for todlers, one for children/exchange students and one for adults. You can buy a calendar that count down the episodes, which is why it gets the name julekalendar (jul(e)=christmas and kalendar=calendar). My favorite show is called Pagten and it is about this boy who meets an elf (nisse in Danish) and they have to save everyone from the Ice Queen (Isdronning). It is really addicting! I will write more about Christmas after it actually happens.

I am actually quite busy for the next for weeks, and months at that. Here are some of the bigger things I will be doing in the coming months.

Dec. 23-Jan. 3- Christmas Break
Jan. 1- 8- Skiing in Norway with my host family and Justine and Therese from Fyn (my host cousins?)
Jan. 17-24- Mini-Stay with a family in Jutland
Feb. 14-21- Skiing in Norway with my host family, AGAIN!
Mar. 14-20- Trip to Spain with my class

I may not write again until 2010! So, I wish everyone a safe and merry christmas and wonderful new year. Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår!

Andy