I had an epiphany moment last night. I was sitting in my bedroom watching Queen Margrethe's 70th Birthday Party on TV (her birthday is on Friday)and totally realized I was understanding everything. I was thinking in Danish, 'I understand everything, but I do not know how!' It was one of those weird moments when I had to take a step back clear my mind and anaylse the situation in English. From that point on, I was attempting to translate everything I heard into English. It was not an easy task and after 30 seconds I totally gave up. (I have a new found admiration of translators!) It feels like I am not learning any more Danish, but it is to the point where the absorption of Danish is happening naturally. I am sort of on auto- pilot and I do not have to try as hard to learn more Danish. It is such a crazy feeling! Maybe one day my Danish will come in handy, for example if I marry a Danish princess. That would be nice! :)
Andy E
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
On A Personal Note...
A is for Appreciation, without it I would be rude
Amy & Steve
Amy & Aaron
Anne & Larry
B is the for Blissful, you helped put me in the mood
Becca & Jeremy
Bob & Carol K
Bob & Carol Y
Bob, Anna, Matthew & David
Brian & Julie
Brian, Joann, Mackenzie & Matthew
Brian, Susan, Jamie, Matt & Cory
Brockton
C is for Compassion, caring 'big time'
Carol & Kayla
Carroll & Ann
Cathy
D is for Denmark, the reason for this rhyme
Dad, Mom, Aaron
Dan & Marilyn
Dave & Tracey
Dave, Luane & Jennifer
Dave, Sherry, Kelsey & Erica
David & Peggy
Deb
Diz
Don & Vangie
Donna
E is for Education, I am learning quite a lot
Elaine
Ellen
F is for Family, whom I haven't forgot
G is for Generous, a gift without a price
Gene & Janet
George & Beth
Gil & Alice
Grandpa & Grandma E
Grandpa & Grandma H
Grant & Geri
H is for Humility, a feeling that is quite nice
I is for International, the person I have become
Ione
J is for Joy, and knowing where I come from
Jason, Chanda, Jack & Molly
Jeff & Sue
Jim & Carol
Jim & Donna
Jim & Roxie
Jim, Andrea, Zach, Millie & Maddy
Jim, Carolyn & Emma
Joe, Jean, Caleb & Jacob
John & Sue
John, Marie, Emily & Sean
John, Mary, Jessa, Michelle, Katie & Tommy
Juanita
Judy & Ken
K is for Kage (Cake), my favorite Danish food
Karolyn, Barry, Jessica & Mitchel
Kathy & Lon
Kris
L is for Love, which I must, of course, include
Lee, Kim & Breanna
Lyle & Ruth
M is for Mature, I have come a long way
Marc & Jenny
Marlene
Mary
Mary & Vernon
Mary, John, Lizzie & Lauren
Megan & Mallory
Mike
Mike & Sue
Mike, Rita, Belle, Amber, Noah
Mildred
Mitch & Sue
N is for Ninty Kilograms, is what I now weigh (almost)
O is for Ordinary, I haven't changed a lot
P is for Phenomenal, the type of year I sought
Pam
Pat
Paul
Paul, Connie, Eric, Nathan & Lauren
Paul, Lisa, Nicholas, Nathaniel & Lydia
Paul, Mary & Megan
Peter & Jone
Q is for Questions, 'What is this?!'
R is for Reflection, a chance to reminisce
Ralph, Stacie, Michael, Rob & Brad
Rich & Jill
Rich, Judy, Olivia & Maria
S is for Support, without it I would not be here
Sarah & Lynn
Sarah & Victoria
Steve
Steve & Sue
Steve & Vicki
Steve, Sally, Sunde, Josh, Monica & Dayton
Sue
T is for Time, it is coming to the rear
Thor & Kathy
Tim, Kitti & Ethan
Tom, Sue, Tyler, Kim & Kate
U is for Unforgetable, the people that you are
V is for Vigtig (Important), because you've got me this far
W is for Wonderful, the way it makes me feel
to know that I have helping friends, always at my heel
Y is for You, which this I must say:
Thank you from the bottom of my heart; Tak ska' du ha'
I want to thank everyone that has helped me, both finacially and emotionally, to persue my dream of being an exchange student. Your gift has gone a long way and truly touched my heart. The length of the list humbles me. I cannot say thank you enough. You are extraordinary people who I owe a lifetime of gratitude to. Thank you
all so much!!!
Andy E
Amy & Steve
Amy & Aaron
Anne & Larry
B is the for Blissful, you helped put me in the mood
Becca & Jeremy
Bob & Carol K
Bob & Carol Y
Bob, Anna, Matthew & David
Brian & Julie
Brian, Joann, Mackenzie & Matthew
Brian, Susan, Jamie, Matt & Cory
Brockton
C is for Compassion, caring 'big time'
Carol & Kayla
Carroll & Ann
Cathy
D is for Denmark, the reason for this rhyme
Dad, Mom, Aaron
Dan & Marilyn
Dave & Tracey
Dave, Luane & Jennifer
Dave, Sherry, Kelsey & Erica
David & Peggy
Deb
Diz
Don & Vangie
Donna
E is for Education, I am learning quite a lot
Elaine
Ellen
F is for Family, whom I haven't forgot
G is for Generous, a gift without a price
Gene & Janet
George & Beth
Gil & Alice
Grandpa & Grandma E
Grandpa & Grandma H
Grant & Geri
H is for Humility, a feeling that is quite nice
I is for International, the person I have become
Ione
J is for Joy, and knowing where I come from
Jason, Chanda, Jack & Molly
Jeff & Sue
Jim & Carol
Jim & Donna
Jim & Roxie
Jim, Andrea, Zach, Millie & Maddy
Jim, Carolyn & Emma
Joe, Jean, Caleb & Jacob
John & Sue
John, Marie, Emily & Sean
John, Mary, Jessa, Michelle, Katie & Tommy
Juanita
Judy & Ken
K is for Kage (Cake), my favorite Danish food
Karolyn, Barry, Jessica & Mitchel
Kathy & Lon
Kris
L is for Love, which I must, of course, include
Lee, Kim & Breanna
Lyle & Ruth
M is for Mature, I have come a long way
Marc & Jenny
Marlene
Mary
Mary & Vernon
Mary, John, Lizzie & Lauren
Megan & Mallory
Mike
Mike & Sue
Mike, Rita, Belle, Amber, Noah
Mildred
Mitch & Sue
N is for Ninty Kilograms, is what I now weigh (almost)
O is for Ordinary, I haven't changed a lot
P is for Phenomenal, the type of year I sought
Pam
Pat
Paul
Paul, Connie, Eric, Nathan & Lauren
Paul, Lisa, Nicholas, Nathaniel & Lydia
Paul, Mary & Megan
Peter & Jone
Q is for Questions, 'What is this?!'
R is for Reflection, a chance to reminisce
Ralph, Stacie, Michael, Rob & Brad
Rich & Jill
Rich, Judy, Olivia & Maria
S is for Support, without it I would not be here
Sarah & Lynn
Sarah & Victoria
Steve
Steve & Sue
Steve & Vicki
Steve, Sally, Sunde, Josh, Monica & Dayton
Sue
T is for Time, it is coming to the rear
Thor & Kathy
Tim, Kitti & Ethan
Tom, Sue, Tyler, Kim & Kate
U is for Unforgetable, the people that you are
V is for Vigtig (Important), because you've got me this far
W is for Wonderful, the way it makes me feel
to know that I have helping friends, always at my heel
Y is for You, which this I must say:
Thank you from the bottom of my heart; Tak ska' du ha'
I want to thank everyone that has helped me, both finacially and emotionally, to persue my dream of being an exchange student. Your gift has gone a long way and truly touched my heart. The length of the list humbles me. I cannot say thank you enough. You are extraordinary people who I owe a lifetime of gratitude to. Thank you
all so much!!!
Andy E
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The Travel Bug Bit Me...Hard!
Once again my procrastination and lack of motivation has gotten the better of me. It had been over a month since my last post and A LOT has happened. I will try to summarize it all so this post doesn't end up a book.
March 13th I left with my class for our trip to Spain. We flew out at about 2 p.m. and got to Barcelona around 5 p.m. From there we took an hour bus ride to Tarragona where we met our host families who we would live with for the next 4 days. Everyone else had already met their Spanish student in Denmark when they came to visit, but I had not. I stayed with a girl who went to Denmark the year before. Her name was Claudia and she was really nice. She was actually a BMX'er, as in she rode bikes down rocky hills and went off jumps and stuff. You would never have guessed. I lived with Claudia, her mother, father and grandmother: none spoke English (besides Claudia), so I forced to use my Spanish which has been dormant for quite some time. They lived in a really nice house with marble floors and nice things. My first cultural shock was in the first 10 seconds upon entering their house; I asked where I should put my shoes and was told that in Spain you wear your shoes all the time. It seemed really strange to be walking on marble with my beat-up American running shoes, but I did. (The next morning I came down for breakfast with socks on and was told to go back upstairs and put my shoes on!) From then on, I wore my shoes all the time, except when I took a shower and slept.
The first night we ate a traditional meal of Spanish torillas (potatoes, eggs and onions), ham, bread, soup and fruit and strawberries with whipped cream and cake. It was one of the biggest meals I have ever eaten in one sitting; it kept going on!!! Good thing I was hungry. After dinner, we went out with the people in my class and their Spanish students. We were about 40 people all trying to go to the same bar and it wasn't very successful. We ended up walking around the entire city. Finally, a few of us split apart and went to a small café/bar. It ended up being around 3:30 a.m. by the time we went home and I was really tired..REALLY TIRED! The next day around 10 a.m., Claudia, her boyfriend, her dad and I went out on their boat. It was really nice weather and I even got to drive a little. On Monday we became tourists. We saw a Roman aqueduct, an UNESCO World Heritage Catalan monastery (truly spectactular!) and visited a 200 year old vineyard. It was a really productive day. The next day we spent a little time at the school. We all went to a different English class and after that we had a history lesson. A teacher talked about Cataluna's history in Spanish, as our teachers/chaperones translated it into Danish. They are both really, really good at Spanish. I understood most of the Danish, but I surprisly also understand a lot of the Spanish. That was a big surprise. Afterwards we took a tour of Tarragona. It is scattered with Roman ruins and to walk around and hear about this ancient city was really special. We visited the Roman circus (where there were chariot races), a large church with very artistic statues and the ancient amphitheater (where gladiators fought, Christians were burned and exotic animals were displayed). Tarragona is actually the first Roman city that was built outside of ancient Italy. I found that really interesting and felt lucky to have seen this city up-close. That night all the Danish and Spanish students had a small gathering with snacks. Then, we were in for a really special cultural treat; there was a Catalan human tower practice going on and we got to watch. They have a huge crowd of people at the bottom supporting the bottom people of the tower. People then climbed up and stood on their shoulders. It was increible to watch and I am glad I got to see it.
The next day we left our host families and took a bus to Barcelona. We checked into our hostel and took a short tour of the major sites in Barcelona: lots of churches! We also saw Barcelona's famous food market and it was awesome! Fresh fish (literally, they were still moving!), fresh fruit and delicious ice cream: it was an experience all itself. Afterwards we had freetime to do what we wanted. 3 others and I took the long trip to La Sagrada Familia, the famous unfinished church by the architect Antoni Gaudí. It was as large, detailed and well..unfinished as the pictures show. The 4 of us sat in a park next to the church and ate cookies and just talked. It was mega hyggeligt and I really enjoyed it. Then we were sort of bombarded by a swarm of Asian tourists, so we decided to leave. It was well worth the walk and was another UNESCO World Heritage Site off my list. That evening we saw another Gaudí masterpiece (his work really is everywhere!): Casa Batlló. It was an entire house designed by Gaudí for a wealthly family in 1877. It is filled with unique mosaics and stunningly-creative architecture. That night we experienced the Barcelona nightlife and let our hair down. It was a really nice night with some really nice people. Our last full day in Barcelona we spent visiting Parque Güell, and you guessed it, another Gaudí masterpiece and yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site! It is a huge open terrace with serpintine tiled benches around it. There is also a walking trail with scattered sculptures from various artists. In the middle of the terrace there are people selling everything from scarves and earrings to wind-up boats and birds? When a police officer is cited, someone blows a whistle and everyone packs up their stuff and runs away. Apparently it is illegal to sell in the park, and most of them are most likely selling illegal goods too. It was quit funny to see. The rest of the day we had free. The next morning we flew back home, all tired and ill. All-in-all it was an increible trip and a really great experience.
You can see my pictures of both Tarragona and Barcelona at this link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=11601064&l=6db7f8f856&id=544685082
The next week was quite boring and long, but the week after was Easter vacation. I am really getting used to Europe's generous holiday breaks! I didn't have anything planned the first part of the vacation as my host parents were in Londona and host brothers at a swim camp, but on Thursday I took the train alone to Sweden. I had been planning this trip for quite some time. I went to visit Tove, one of the exchange students who lived in Black River Falls last year. She and I were good friends and it was nice to see her again. She only lives about 2 hours away from Copenhagen, which is too close to not visit her. I spent the Easter holiday with her mom, mom's boyfriend, sister and 2 brothers. Swedish and Danish are similar languages, both spoken and written, (not as close as Norwegian and Danish, though) so it was fun to speak Danish to them and try to understand Swedish, we tried but mostly just stuck to English. I went to her brother's "football" game, ate 2 Easter dinners with her family and friends and ate A LOT of candy!!! We went shoppping one day and bought at least 3 kgs (6.6 lbs.) of candy. It ended up being for our Easter eggs, but still...that is A LOT of candy. In Sweden everyone has to find their Easter egg filled with candy. The eggs are about the size of a handball but because no one knows that sport I will say they are about half the size of a basketball, and they are not filled with candy, they are OVERFLOWING with candy of every single kind imaginable. It was quite an experience. The 5 days I was there, I did not really do anything extraordinarily so it is hard to write about it; It was just nice to be with Tove and her family for Easter and to be in Sweden. The last day, however, we went shopping and I bought some new jeans from H&M and I went to IKEA and took a catalog, so now I can really pretend to be Swedish!
This past month has been filled with lots of exciting things, but I also had a stint of homesickness. It is to the point now where I have seen what I wanted to see and have done what I wanted to do. I just felt like I wanted to go home. But then I realized that I will never again be able to be a teenager in Denmark, so I really should take advantage of the time I have left and do something worthwhile. The weather is slowly getting better: no rain yet. I have also started to take walks in the forest near my house. Altogether, I am ready to come home, but not ready to leave Denmark. I am doing my best to fully enjoy my final months here in Denmark, because I know I miss it like crazy when I return. I also found out that my parents will be visiting me in June!!! I am super excitied for that and really looking forward for their visit. Thanks for reading!
Andy E
March 13th I left with my class for our trip to Spain. We flew out at about 2 p.m. and got to Barcelona around 5 p.m. From there we took an hour bus ride to Tarragona where we met our host families who we would live with for the next 4 days. Everyone else had already met their Spanish student in Denmark when they came to visit, but I had not. I stayed with a girl who went to Denmark the year before. Her name was Claudia and she was really nice. She was actually a BMX'er, as in she rode bikes down rocky hills and went off jumps and stuff. You would never have guessed. I lived with Claudia, her mother, father and grandmother: none spoke English (besides Claudia), so I forced to use my Spanish which has been dormant for quite some time. They lived in a really nice house with marble floors and nice things. My first cultural shock was in the first 10 seconds upon entering their house; I asked where I should put my shoes and was told that in Spain you wear your shoes all the time. It seemed really strange to be walking on marble with my beat-up American running shoes, but I did. (The next morning I came down for breakfast with socks on and was told to go back upstairs and put my shoes on!) From then on, I wore my shoes all the time, except when I took a shower and slept.
The first night we ate a traditional meal of Spanish torillas (potatoes, eggs and onions), ham, bread, soup and fruit and strawberries with whipped cream and cake. It was one of the biggest meals I have ever eaten in one sitting; it kept going on!!! Good thing I was hungry. After dinner, we went out with the people in my class and their Spanish students. We were about 40 people all trying to go to the same bar and it wasn't very successful. We ended up walking around the entire city. Finally, a few of us split apart and went to a small café/bar. It ended up being around 3:30 a.m. by the time we went home and I was really tired..REALLY TIRED! The next day around 10 a.m., Claudia, her boyfriend, her dad and I went out on their boat. It was really nice weather and I even got to drive a little. On Monday we became tourists. We saw a Roman aqueduct, an UNESCO World Heritage Catalan monastery (truly spectactular!) and visited a 200 year old vineyard. It was a really productive day. The next day we spent a little time at the school. We all went to a different English class and after that we had a history lesson. A teacher talked about Cataluna's history in Spanish, as our teachers/chaperones translated it into Danish. They are both really, really good at Spanish. I understood most of the Danish, but I surprisly also understand a lot of the Spanish. That was a big surprise. Afterwards we took a tour of Tarragona. It is scattered with Roman ruins and to walk around and hear about this ancient city was really special. We visited the Roman circus (where there were chariot races), a large church with very artistic statues and the ancient amphitheater (where gladiators fought, Christians were burned and exotic animals were displayed). Tarragona is actually the first Roman city that was built outside of ancient Italy. I found that really interesting and felt lucky to have seen this city up-close. That night all the Danish and Spanish students had a small gathering with snacks. Then, we were in for a really special cultural treat; there was a Catalan human tower practice going on and we got to watch. They have a huge crowd of people at the bottom supporting the bottom people of the tower. People then climbed up and stood on their shoulders. It was increible to watch and I am glad I got to see it.
The next day we left our host families and took a bus to Barcelona. We checked into our hostel and took a short tour of the major sites in Barcelona: lots of churches! We also saw Barcelona's famous food market and it was awesome! Fresh fish (literally, they were still moving!), fresh fruit and delicious ice cream: it was an experience all itself. Afterwards we had freetime to do what we wanted. 3 others and I took the long trip to La Sagrada Familia, the famous unfinished church by the architect Antoni Gaudí. It was as large, detailed and well..unfinished as the pictures show. The 4 of us sat in a park next to the church and ate cookies and just talked. It was mega hyggeligt and I really enjoyed it. Then we were sort of bombarded by a swarm of Asian tourists, so we decided to leave. It was well worth the walk and was another UNESCO World Heritage Site off my list. That evening we saw another Gaudí masterpiece (his work really is everywhere!): Casa Batlló. It was an entire house designed by Gaudí for a wealthly family in 1877. It is filled with unique mosaics and stunningly-creative architecture. That night we experienced the Barcelona nightlife and let our hair down. It was a really nice night with some really nice people. Our last full day in Barcelona we spent visiting Parque Güell, and you guessed it, another Gaudí masterpiece and yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site! It is a huge open terrace with serpintine tiled benches around it. There is also a walking trail with scattered sculptures from various artists. In the middle of the terrace there are people selling everything from scarves and earrings to wind-up boats and birds? When a police officer is cited, someone blows a whistle and everyone packs up their stuff and runs away. Apparently it is illegal to sell in the park, and most of them are most likely selling illegal goods too. It was quit funny to see. The rest of the day we had free. The next morning we flew back home, all tired and ill. All-in-all it was an increible trip and a really great experience.
You can see my pictures of both Tarragona and Barcelona at this link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=11601064&l=6db7f8f856&id=544685082
The next week was quite boring and long, but the week after was Easter vacation. I am really getting used to Europe's generous holiday breaks! I didn't have anything planned the first part of the vacation as my host parents were in Londona and host brothers at a swim camp, but on Thursday I took the train alone to Sweden. I had been planning this trip for quite some time. I went to visit Tove, one of the exchange students who lived in Black River Falls last year. She and I were good friends and it was nice to see her again. She only lives about 2 hours away from Copenhagen, which is too close to not visit her. I spent the Easter holiday with her mom, mom's boyfriend, sister and 2 brothers. Swedish and Danish are similar languages, both spoken and written, (not as close as Norwegian and Danish, though) so it was fun to speak Danish to them and try to understand Swedish, we tried but mostly just stuck to English. I went to her brother's "football" game, ate 2 Easter dinners with her family and friends and ate A LOT of candy!!! We went shoppping one day and bought at least 3 kgs (6.6 lbs.) of candy. It ended up being for our Easter eggs, but still...that is A LOT of candy. In Sweden everyone has to find their Easter egg filled with candy. The eggs are about the size of a handball but because no one knows that sport I will say they are about half the size of a basketball, and they are not filled with candy, they are OVERFLOWING with candy of every single kind imaginable. It was quite an experience. The 5 days I was there, I did not really do anything extraordinarily so it is hard to write about it; It was just nice to be with Tove and her family for Easter and to be in Sweden. The last day, however, we went shopping and I bought some new jeans from H&M and I went to IKEA and took a catalog, so now I can really pretend to be Swedish!
This past month has been filled with lots of exciting things, but I also had a stint of homesickness. It is to the point now where I have seen what I wanted to see and have done what I wanted to do. I just felt like I wanted to go home. But then I realized that I will never again be able to be a teenager in Denmark, so I really should take advantage of the time I have left and do something worthwhile. The weather is slowly getting better: no rain yet. I have also started to take walks in the forest near my house. Altogether, I am ready to come home, but not ready to leave Denmark. I am doing my best to fully enjoy my final months here in Denmark, because I know I miss it like crazy when I return. I also found out that my parents will be visiting me in June!!! I am super excitied for that and really looking forward for their visit. Thanks for reading!
Andy E
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