Monday, November 7, 2011

What I've been up to these last few weeks!

Hej!
So I figured it was time to tell everyone what I have been up to these past couple of weeks since I haven't done a post in a little while.
As I said in my last blog I was on holiday for a week from school and I will just go over the main highlights of the week!
Wednesday (10/19) my host parents didn't have work, so we took a trip to the west coast of Jutland. It was very windy and we could pretty much be held up by the wind. The water was nice to see and it was a good day to be there since the weather was a bit wilder because then we got to see the waves. It was somewhat similar to Northern California beaches, but way windier! We also drove through the military base and saw the tanks and trucks returning from practice. Then we went to a small town called Ribe where we ate lunch in a small restaurant that was really just an old house turned into a restaurant. There were I think just 2 different small rooms with tables, so it was very hyggelig (Danish word with no direct translation just cozy, nice as the closest translations). We then went to Ribe Domkirke (Ribe Cathedral), which is very old and famous. It was a beautiful church with a big organ. Then it started raining, so we ran to the car. Then we went to a town and saw a lighthouse and the levee where they had some poles that showed how high the water had gotten during different storms. Then it was off to just past the border into Germany to buy candy, soda, and beer since it is much cheaper in Germany. We stocked up and then headed back to Morud.







Thursday (10/20) was I finally got to go to the foreign service registration place to fill out the papers for my Danish CPR number since my visa paperwork finally came!! Then it was Chris' 12th birthday. We went go karting and then out to dinner at an American restaurant called Bones. During go karting I kind of crashed into the barrier walls a bit, but I was fine it just took a few minutes to get the kart out, but I promised my family I drove much better in a real car. Then I just sort of took it easy driving for the rest of the time we had go karting, so I came in last place, but that's fine with me since I don't want any broken bones! Then we had dinner. It was a really good ribs place. They had a bottle of California wine on the table, co of course that was the wine my host parents had to have ;). Then we went to a candy shop and then headed home where we watched a movie. It was a really nice and fun day.




Saturday (10/22) my whole family came over for Chris' birthday breakfast. There was some of Jytte's family and some of Niels' family. It was nice to meet everyone and we had a delicious breakfast. I had peanut butter on one of my pieces of bread and that started quite the discussion about peanut butter. Then some of the daring family members decided to try it, but no one liked it, they were all pretty grossed out haha.
We watched Bingo Banko also and I was only 4 away from winning, which was pretty close for us, but maybe next time!!



Sunday I can't really remember if I did anything too exciting, but I don't think so.

Then Monday (10/24) I only had 2 classes in the morning, so Jytte and I decided it was kind of pointless for me to get up at 6:30 to go to school for an hour and a half and then have to wait 3 hours for the first bus, so I got to stay home and just sleep and relax, which was nice.

Tuesday (10/25) I had my last soccer practice. It was pretty fun, we just played a mini game the whole time and then some tv station came to film us playing because the town I play in, Veflinge, has to close it's elementary school, so for some reason they are making a video about it and our soccer team got to be in it. Then we had a dinner with the team where we ate burritos (they call them Mexican pancakes here) and played a foosball tournament. It was a  fun way to end the season, but I'm sad I won't be able to see the team very often once I move to Gamborg in around a month.

Then on Thursday (10/27) Alicia and I did our presentation in Danish class on the psychiatric hospital and it went pretty good. Then Alicia and I had decided to carve pumpkins, so I slept at her house that night also. We walked to her new host familie's house with 2 pumpkins, our back packs, and my bag of gym clothes and sleepover stuff, so we must have looked pretty funny. Cadu (from Brazil) also came with us since he is living in Middelfart right now. We had a fun day just hanging out and laughing a lot. We had a delicious dinner with Alicia's host parents who are really funny and nice.  Alicia and my first 4 classes had all been canceled for the next day, so we got to sleep in, which was really nice. Then we made pancakes from scratch while listening to some Danish and Disney music. We also worked on our pancake flipping (without a spatula) techniques, which was really funny and entertaining even though the pancakes got a bit destroyed from being flipped over and over again. Then we went to school to 2 hours and the day was done! Then I went back to Alicia's house and we hung out until her host parents were home. They brought us to a bigger town called Kolding, where we went shopping, but Alicia and I were just feeling really poor and everything was so expensive, so we only bought one pair of shoes each. It was a fun, yet depressing shopping trip just because shops are SO expensive. The cheaper option is H & M, but even that is more expensive than H & M back home. Then I came home to Morud  and it was nice to be home again. We just watched a movie and then I went to sleep!



Saturday (10/29)- My host parents had a party to go to, so Chris and I were home the day, but Jytte's mom and her friend came over for dinner, which was really good and we mostly talked in Danish, so that felt good how much I could understand. Then Chris and I watched Bingo Banko and fell asleep on the couch until my host parents got home.

Monday (10/31) I gave a presentation in Chris' class. He's in 6th grade here and I just spent the whole day at his school. I told about California, the United States, and they asked me LOTS of questions, which were fun to answer and I made brownies for them which they seemed to love. It was interesting just to see how an elementary school is here in Denmark. Then I went to a Rotary meeting that night.



Tuesday: (11/1) I went to the movies that night with Jytte and Chris to see the newest Tin Tin movie in 3D and it was really fun. It was my first time at a Danish movie theater and they are a bit different than American theaters. First of all you get assigned seats (you can decide whether you like the one's they offer you or not), but you have seats you have to sit it. Then you go in and buy food and you just grab what you want, like popcorn is already served in bags and there is no butter popcorn :(, just extremely salty popcorn. It was a fun night even though we got back a bit late.

Wed (11/2): That night I had a Spanish class field trip to a city called Kolding which is on Jutland. it was to go see a movie about abortion and the laws regarding it in Nicaragua. I went there with 2 girl from my class and the Spanish teacher drove us since we live the farthest from school I think and he had room. The first hour and a half was a lecture in Danish on what we were going to see and then there were 3 questions asked (one by a boy in my class named Martin who I know might read this- thanks for continuing my boredom ;) ) and he spent like 10 minutes answering each one, so I was a tad annoyed/bored during that part. Then the movie came and I wasn't sure what language to expect, but it ended up being in Spanish with Danish subtitles and they talked really fast, so I was a bit lost the whole time and I ended up falling asleep for some of it. To my defense I was really tired also, but that was not my favorite movie for sure. Then I got back at 11, which is the latest I have stayed up in awhile. Yes, I know I am like an old lady here, but I get so exhausted every night and my family tends to go to bed earlyish, so hey why not get more sleep?

Thursday (11/3)- I went to soccer. I thought I had gone to the last outdoor practice, but they won their school team soccer game, so they needed to keep practicing. It was good to see them all again and it was a nice practice. Then at the end they completely surprised me with a t-shirt with a picture of the team and I <3 VM Pigerne (Veflinge-Morud girls) on it. I almost cried because it was so sweet. They really made my first months great and fun even though I was pretty new to soccer. They helped me a lot and taught me lots of Danish. I met some of the sweetest people and I hope I will still be able to see them once I move, which is coming so soon!

Friday: I got to leave early from school (missed history- YES!) because I had to go home and pack and then go to the Odense train station to go to the Holbæk for a Rotary get together for the weekend.
I wil write a short post about the weekend late this week since I think and I know all of you do too that this post is WAY too long.


Well there's what I have done! I hope I remembered everything that was important!
Farvel for nu,
Nina

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like you've been busy, I suppose I can forgive you for slacking on the posts, especially because this one came just in time for me to procrastinate on my stats homework! Anyway thought you might like to know that Nichole and I had a laugh at the fact that burritos are called Mexican pancakes and that we're both jealous of how much school you got to miss!

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  2. Actually it is a Rotary issue to report, and your reports Nina are fantastic! I remember how great it was, to family and friends, to read these reports, while our son was in Australia.

    Looking forward to your next - OK I think that you do it shorter though :O). Happy New Year - Karin S.

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