Happy, Smiling People

Time doesn't seem to slowing down, and neither am I. Or at least I am trying. Last week we had a 4-day weekend, so we took advantage of that and took a trip to Jutland(Jylland). We left early Thursday morning for LEGOland! (I thought it was comical that to drive from one end of Denmark to the other takes only 3 hours. Man, this country is small!) LEGO was founded in Denmark and is stand for "lege godt", or 'play well'. It seems to be one of the stereotypical things that the world knows Denmark for. The park was not so 17-year old exchange student friendly, but I did get a few rides in. The main attraction is called 'Miniland'. It is an area of different "themes" where everything is made from LEGO bricks. Some of the themes were: The Queen's residence, Scotland, Amsterdam, Norweigan fishing village, Kennedy Space Center, etc. It was really impressive and I found it hard to take it all in because there was so much to look at! Thursday evening we went to a restaurant that was trying way too hard to be American. It was filled with everything you would associate with the US: baseball, fishing, license plates and Marilyn Monroe. There was even anti-Canada memorabilia. What?! I did, however, have about 30 servings of coleslaw because I miss it so much and it was surprising good for such a tacky restaurant. We slept at a hotel, had the best contential breakfast in the world and then made our way to an outdoor science park. It was only about 40 minutes from Germany, so I heard a large mixture of languages. The park was a really neat concept with very children-friendly science things. There was a lot to do, but again, 17-year old exchange student. The highlight of the day was a Segway driving course. Segways are a fun concept, but I was unimpressed, I will leave it at that.

Wednesday night was a highlight of my exchange year. In March I went to Spain with my class for a week and it was so incredible. Our teacher thought it would be a really nice idea to get together and share our pictures over some Spanish food. We had planned this evening for a quite some time and I had been looking forward to it for awhile. It was, simply, hyggelig, an untranslatable word for the feelings of cozy and comfortable. We had a huge amount of delicious food and sat and talked for long time and saw a slideshow of all the pictures. Both our advisors from the trips were there (Spanish and History teachers), along with our English teacher. I ended up talking to our History teacher as we unloaded the dishwasher. A few days before we had found out that she is being cut from the teaching staff next year (also our English teacher) due to budget cuts (It isn't just the United States!). I asked her what her plans were for the upcoming year and how she felt about it, not to make conversation, but because I truly care about her and her situation. Something I forgot to mention a long time ago was that Danish teachers are called by their first names, by everyone. (If you asked me some of my teachers last names, I could not even tell you!) It isn't out of disrespect, but it is quite the opposite. At that moment while I was talking to Mette, I realized that a title doesn't necessary show respect, but instead a friendship, like the one I have with my teachers, is the greatest sign of respect one could ever have. At around 8:30 we bid our goodbyes, but the party wasn't over for my class. Instead we made our way to one of the bars near the school. We all just talked and all-in-all had a wonderful night. It is a night I will not soon forget!

School is winding down and the temperature is rising. No good. This Friday was the last day for 3'gere (the equivilant of Seniors) and it was a really exciting day. First off, all classes were cancelled. Second, the temperature was in the 70's. Lastly, all 3'gere were dressed in outrageous outfits and each class put on a funny skit in front of the school. It was really fun to see something so different than the US. School was followed by a party in the park. There was at least 700+ people in the park, along with a DJ and a giant field of foam, courtesy of the Roskilde Fire Department. It was a beautiful day filled with beautiful people. I enjoyed myself a lot. Next week is my last instruction week of school; then come the exams. I am starting to enter a phase of limbo, with that thought "I may never see these people again." It is really uncomfortable to think that I will be leaving my class and Danish friends. Whenever the subject comes up, everyone says "We aren't going to talk about it." As sad as it is to leave, I am humbled that it will be hard to leave my friends. Imagine if I left with no friends, connections, memories; That would be sad.

"Sometimes the best friends you have are those across the world!"

36 DAYS!

Andy