I am an exchange student...

Yes, I know, it's been two months since my last post. Well I've tried thinking of what to talk about. When I started this blog I thought I'd always have something new and exciting I'd want to write about. I mean, I'm having all of this awesome experience that no one else back home has had. (Besides those other few that have gone on exchange.) But the thing is, this life I'm now living, is just that: Life. I wake up, I go to school, I eat three meals a day. The things I do everyday seem so exciting to all you back home, to me they seem like everyday life. And I love my life.

So now that I've got that deep thinking out, it' time for some more. There's this really cool post going around all the exchange students, and I thought I would share it with you:

I am an exchange student. How do you know what is a dream if you never accomplished one? How do you know what is an adventure if you never took part in one? How do you know what is anguish if you never said goodbye to your family and friends with your eyes full of tears? How do you know what is being desperate, if you never arrived in a place alone and could not understand a word of what everyone else was saying? How do you know what is diversity if you never lived under the same roof with people from all over the world? How do you know what is tolerance, if you never had to get used to something different even if you didn’t like it? How do you know what is autonomy, if you never had the chance to decide something by yourself? How do you know what it means to grow up, if you never stopped being a child to start a new course? How do you know what is to be helpless, if you never wanted to hug someone and had a computer screen to prevent you from doing it? How do you know what is distance, if you never, looking at a map, said "I am so far away."? How do you know what is a language, if you never had to learn one to make friends? How do you know what is patriotism, if you never shouted "I love my country!" holding a flag in your hands? How do you know what is the true reality, if you never had the chance to see a lot of them to make one? How do you know what is an opportunity, if you never caught one? How do you know what is pride, if you never experienced it for yourself at realizing how much you have accomplished? How do you know what is to seize the day, if you never saw the time running so fast? How do you know what is a friend, if the circumstances never showed you the true ones? How do you know what is a family, if you never had one that supported you unconditionally? How do you know what are borders, if you never crossed yours, to see what there was on the other side? How do you know what is imagination, if you never thought about the moment when you would go back home? How do you know the world, if you have never been an exchange student?

Every time I read this I want to dance and cry and smile and scream and wave the American flag in the air! It's so true and really what I think exchange is all about. Sure there are lots of people  in the world who spend lots of money traveling everywhere, but I've never realized before that you can't truly experience a new place/country unless you uproot your entire life and live there for at least a year. I think every exchange student, past, present, and future, would agree with me...

---

I guess while I'm at this totally random and disorganized post, I guess it's only fair that I tell you a little of what I've been up to.

This past week was efterårsferie!! A long time ago kids were given this week of school in order to go help harvest. Well the tradition stuck and even though we don't all go harvest, we still get the week off of school. I started off on the Friday right before going shopping in Aalborg with two girls from my class. It was great! I love spending time with my classmates. Saturday. I finally got to watch my host brother play badminton. Boy is he good, he was definitely holding back when we were playing in the back garden a month or two ago. My host mom (Lene), host sister (Mia) and I also went into Aarhus where we went to the ARoS museum. Sunday. My host parents, host sister and I went on a little hike through the words where I confronted my fear of heights and climbed this wobbly tower:

Monday. Mia, Lene, mormor, and I went shopping. (Well they went shopping, I went looking). And one of my classmates helped me dye my hair! Tuesday. I rode a horse!! Wednesday. Was a great day for relaxing. Thursday. My host family and I spent a good part of the day at Randers Regnskov. It was this fantastic indoor rain forest! There were three different domes representing Asia, South America and Africa. I saw lots of turtles and took lots of pictures of them! Friday-Sunday. Lene and I went to her parents sommerhus (summer house). It was very....hygge! There was no internet. It was in the middle of forest. They had a fireplace perfect for curling up in front of with a good book. It was the perfect get away right before coming back to school today!!

Hope that was enough to wet your appetite for the next month or so!

Vi ses!

Kelsea Jo <3

Here are some pictures from my week --

Package from home!! (: