Discovering Denmark: New Beginnings

Hey all! Yes I know I haven't updated in a looooooong time, but what can I say, I conveniently found other things to do. You can all be mad at me when I get back. ;)

My Galla dress.

Friday, December 2nd, my school had their gallafest. A dance that is somewhat like prom with everyone getting all dressed up, only it's all three years. The entire month before we'd been learning this formal dance in gym called Lancier, well I was learning while everyone else was getting a refresher. The first time I heard the music for it I thought it was a joke, but it most definitely was not. We were in groups of four pairs, and it involves curtsying, bowing, and five different movements I suppose they could be called. It was a whole lot of fun once I got it down!

This past Wednesday I changed host families! I was extremely sad. I loved my first host family a lot, I felt extremely comfortable living with them. Yet I couldn't help but be excited because my next host family (especially my second host mom) was extremely excited to host me! The Monday and Tuesday before I had off school. So I had plenty of time to pack. Wednesday evening when I said good bye, I'll admit, I cried. I told myself I wouldn't, mostly out of pride. Even though I was only moving a 5 minute walk away, it was still sad. It meant a third of my exchange was over, that I only have two host families left, that I've already been here over four months. It just all hit me at once. I mean normally around this time of year (or really the day after Thanksgiving). I'd start making countdowns to Christmas, New Years, and my birthday. But this year I find these countdowns depressing, and refrain as much as possible to thinking that Christmas Eve is in 11 days and that I'll be nineteen in only three weeks… Life just needs to slow down!!

Hello new host family! I'm coming to live with you...

Oh and all this stuff? Yea it's mine....

Anyways, once we got over to my new family's home, I had dried my tears and I was once again excited to go on this new adventure. We got all of my things out of my first family's car, and then me and my two host moms went to an Interwheel meeting. It was a fun evening where I got to meet most of the Rotarian's wives and enjoy amazing Christmas food! Then on Saturday, we had a large family get together where I got to meet a lot of the host mom's family as well as my oldest host sister. Once again I ate way to much fantastic Christmas food, but it was a lot of fun.

Other than that life has been very normal…well as normal as it can be for an exchange student. Danish is starting to click a little bit, and my confidence for speaking has spiked just a tad. My goal is that by the end of January or middle of February I'll be speaking Danish as much as I possibly can. School is still a bit boring. I'm better about trying first thing in the morning, but once it reaches after lunch time it's all I can do not to blatantly not pay attention. I can pick up random words depending on the teacher and the subject, but I'm really going to have to start trying now because after Christmas break I think a lot of my teachers expect me to start trying. It shall be interesting.

Buying Christmas presents has been very fun and challenging. Being a poor exchange students has its challenges! I can't go out and buy that 200 kroner perfume that my host mom likes and I have to make sure that the package home is under two kilos. I also now have the challenge of figuring out what to buy for a family I've only been with for a very short time, but I think I got it all figured out!! People here ask me what I want, and I always respond with, "I don't want anything." I can tell that's not the response they want. Today at the Rotary Christmas party my first host sister told me, "In Denmark we love giving gifts! Please don't take that joy away from us!!" We both got a good laugh, but I still had the same answer for her.

If you couldn't tell, I am loving Denmark!! It has definitely stole a part of my heart, and even though I miss my family I can already tell that leaving here is going to be difficult…

Vi ses!!

Kelsea Jo <3

Some Christmas things from my first host family...