Vacation Week

Fall break, or as a lot of exchangers call it, potato week, was a lot of fun.  I traveled and saw a whole bunch of friends during the trip.  My family and I borrowed Mormor og Morfar's car and set off to see others in the family.First we went to Nyborg.  Here we stayed with family for 3 nights and ate lots of food and of coarse drank our weight in tea and coffee.  During this stay I met a few of my friends who I knew lived in Nyborg which was a lot of fun.  Rebeca, Paublo and a few other exchange students went to the beach one of the days.  It was very cold, but I was glad to go and spend time with my friends.  I always miss the times that the other exchange students are away, I want to spend all my time with them.  I missed going to a castle in Nyborg with the family while at the beach, but sometimes you have to trade one thing for another.  Nyborg is a fairly large city on Fyn.  It is popular for its sea port and hosts the bridge that goes onto Sjælland.

After that we traveled back home to drop off Boris for work and went up to ____ and visited other family.  This was fun and we ate cake and ate a lot.  We also went to the zoo type place.  This zoo was very different from the zoos that I am used to thinking about.  You could feed most of the animals... and as far as deer and non-deadly animals, there were not many cages.  It seemed really dangerous as 30 or 40 bucks would stampeed across the path to go to another side of the park.

We also went to an art museum in Århus which was a lot of fun.  We only had enough parking time for an hour and a half so I didn't get to see too much in the large (maybe 9 floors) complex.  I really wish we had more time but I don't think my family were too into it.  Maybe they have been there before???

Over all the break was a lot of fun.  I learned a lot about Danish and also got to see my friends.  The reason we call it potato week is because this time of the year used to be time to harvest potatos and that is why we get time off.  Most Danes do not know this is the reason for the break and just think we are weird... it's okay though, they already think we are weird.

-The Daily Drive-

There are a lot of things new and fun in Denmark.  Little things I do every day are so different from what I do in The States.  After the shock of it though, I forgot exactly how different things really are.  

Transportation

Bikes are the main mode of transportation through the community.  I ride my bike or walk everywhere because my family does not own a car.  To get to school it only takes around 10 minutes, while to get to the town it takes 15 minutes.  I live in the town of Askov, but Vejen has the closest facilities as in super markets and bus stations.  Vejen also has a train station which is important.  I have traveled lots of places, mainly by train, which tends to be expensive.

School

School has no defined beginning and end.  I can not stress enough that the days are really relaxed and some days you only have two classes lasting one hour each.  This is okay though... I think.  The school has 4 short hallways and a common room.  The school has somewhere around 400 students.  Between each class we have a 10 minute break where people walk around and eat.  We also have a 20 minute break around noon to eat again.  I pack my lunch so I eat throughout the day during classes.  Another interesting thing is that everybody has laptops in class... everyone.

After School

After school I go straight home as does everyone else.  Once every two weeks we have a party after school on a friday.  This is when I get most of my socializing done.  For the most part nobody talks in class, this could account for the lack of socialization here.  Once home I can do homework or relax.

Kolding and AFS Camp

AFS had its fall camp last weekend.  It was a weekend starting Friday after school and going until Sunday.  The people who went to the event were people in our district and not everyone in Denmark.  There were about 40 of us who met in Kolding (a town next to Kolding)  for the event.

Through the camp we were devided into groups.  Each group had responsibilities such as cleaning, this is because we were staying in a school and we had to clean up after meals and at the end of the camp.  These groups also were the groups we studied with.  The reason for the camp was to discuss good things and bad things for far on our journey.  Then we discussed how to improve our stay.  These group sessions were okay, but the main fun was just hanging out with the kids.  We did a lot of dancing, and Saturday night the staff said we were allowed to stay up until 4 am... which I personally did not do.  The meals were really good and I enjoyed the stay while I was away from home.

I love to Limbo!

Then on tuesday I went back to Kolding to go shopping with my exchange student friends.  I was in need of a scarf and thought that it would be a lot of fun, which it was!  Kolding is the 7th largest city in Denmark with a population of 55,596 people living within city limits.  The town itself has grown as a seaport and has many industrial companies principally geared towards shipbuilding.  Kolding is only a 30 minute train ride from Vejen, and the train ticket cost only 36 Kr.  When we arrived we walked around some of the shops in the inner city, but eventually we boarded a bus and went to the mall.  We ate pizza and I bought a scarf, so the day was well spent (you can see my scarf in the first picture).

Overall the last week was very fun.  Upcoming events include vacation next week with the family car so we are traveling.  I also plan on learning to knit the danish way (different from how we knit).  I am learning the language quite well so far, but still have a ways to go before I am comfortable speaking.  Grades are going well I think and I am attending classes regularly.  Bassoon is going well and I do have a teacher although I am concerned about the cost.  She gives longer lessons though, she said 2 hours or so... lol... yeah.  I am still waiting for a camera from home to replace my now dead camera, one is coming soon.  Piano is going well!  Special Alert!!!! I am now in a music class in school.  It is more like rock band class though.  I play guitar and sing in a group of 6 of us, and the school sets us up with gigs.  Fun stuff!  I will get back to more posts later and give more information about the places I go.  

TTYL

Kicking off the new month

I will kick off the new month by describing the average day!!!! 

• School begins at 7:55 am and classes vary depending on the day
• School lets out usually at 1 pm
• The bike ride between school and home takes about 10 minutes depending on which way the wind is blowing... on average getting to school is easier then getting home again.
• Once home I start boiling water in preparation for hot chocolate, I have not yet tried their coffee and don't think I want to start.  I have been planning on asking them if they have tea, because that would be more healthy I think.
• I study (play games) on the computer with my cup of coco.  It is very nice.
• I go to bed at about 11 pm each night, although I always am in bed at about 9 pm.  Those 2 hours are spent talking with friends online.  I have not yet mastered hanging out with them although I have tried.

Yes'm, It is very exciting living in Denmark.  A tip for those going to other countries through any exchange program, don't expect to be treated like a tourist or guest for long.  I was never a guest, and thus you do things for yourself.  It is real life when you are abroad, and this does not mean it is exciting or full of activity.

Love all you guys reading my blog.  I will soon post some fun pictures I plan to take at the school around my house place.

CYA

Kyle