SGY i Prag

On the 28th of March, only five days after returning from my Manchester trip, I found myself on a bus headed to Prague with about 50 other Støvring Gymnasium students.  The 12 hour bus ride, was nearly killer, but totally worth the 4 days we had in Prague! There was no one in my class with me on the trip, so for the first time in almost 8 months I was pushed way outside the comfort zone I didn't realize I had created here in Denmark. I knew a few people from my music class, and one of the other exchange students at my school was going, but other than that, I found myself branching out and meeting people that I would have otherwise never met. I loved getting to know them because we had something in common, music. And everyone knows that when you have something in common it becomes much easier to talk! Over the course of the 4 days I spoke so much Danish that it started to feel weird when I did speak English. It was one of the most incredible feelings in the world, and one that I definitely knew was a milestone for my exchange.

Even though as students we just wanted to have fun, the real reason we were there was for a music competition called YoungPrague. My school entered two groups, one choir and one folk band. Since I can't really sing, and I brought my clarinet with me to Denmark, I was apart of the folk band. There were many other groups in the competition from the United States, Serbia, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Russia, Britain, the Chzech Republic and Scotland. The choir ended up sounding really good, and I was really impressed! And our folk band didn't do too shabby if I do say so myself. My gymnasium is definitely full of some talented people… The weekend was full of events for the competition, that really were for us to get to know the other groups in the competition. We had an introduction night, where we all introduced ourselves and where we came from. We had a large parade through Pargue's city center, all of us chanting for our countries and carrying flags and signs!  At the very end we had an awards ceremony where our choir received bronze level and second place and the folk band received silver level and second place. Even though we of course would have liked to win, we were very pleased with ourselves and had a wonderful time, so we headed home with our heads held high.

Even though we were there for the competition, we still had plenty of time to see the city and take it all in. We got to visit several churches and I was absolutely blown away by the archetecture and the artwork inside them all. They were all just breathtaking. They also had their Easter market going on. So there were little huts lines along the walking streets that were selling all sorts of food and trinkets, and they were covered in bright ribbons and little chickens. It was absolutely adorable! But by the end of the weekend we were all exhausted from our long days running around Prague and almost everyone slept on the 12 hour bus ride home. I can't wait to go back on EuroTour!

Vi ses!

<3 Kelsea Jo

First time getting Starbucks in Prague, surprisingly they pronounced it right, despite the crazy spelling!

CREPES! Om nom nom.

Late night hot chocolate run with the girls!

2c i Manchester

March started off quite slowly. My class was really looking forward to our  class study trip to Manchester, England, and so was I. Exchange has given me a bit of a travel itch and I was now ready to see some other parts of the world and this gave me a great opportunity to do so. We all got a class sweatshirt (that perfectly show cased Danish humour) and we wore them on the way over there which made it easier for everybody to find each other as we found out way through the Copenhagen and Manchester airports. Which were huge!

We started out by leaving our school at midnight  on Saturday the 17th (or Sunday the 18th, depending how you look at it) and after riding it for five hours we finally arrived at the airport. None of us got to sleep very much so we were all very tired and as we tried to sort through the confusion of checking in. Since two classes from my school were going to Manchester, there was about 55 of us to check in, check our bags, and get through security! Immediately after arriving at Manchester Airport we headed through customs. Now if you haven't travelled to a country that is apart of the EU, then you should know that when you go through customs you have a line for people coming from an EU country, and then there is a line for everyone else. So everyone headed over to the EU line while I headed through the other line all alone. Luckily they didn't really give me much trouble, the girl sitting there was training so she had to ask all the questions "Why are you traveling? How long are you staying?" but it was a little nerve wracking because for some reason she kept looking to the person next to her to approve my answers! I think the fact that I was an exchange student in Denmark traveling with my Danish class to England may have confused her a little….

After we all made it though we took the train closer to the center of Manchester and closer to where we were supposed to stay. After dropping off our bags at the hostel, we went for a walk around the city for a couple of hours. It was very exciting (and I may have been having a little bit of a mild freak out) but we were really tired after the long journey so most of us wanted to go back to the youth hostel and sleep. But instead sleeping we had for our first dinner in England together at this wonderful Indian restaurant before finally making our way back to the hostel and crashing into bed.  After that the week went by much too quickly! We were treated to a English breakfast every morning by the hostel. It was the traditional English breakfast with eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms, and beans, but not a lot of us dared eating the beans. While we were there visited Caritas, a worldwide organization that helps the homeless in the community become functioning again, they help young mothers so they don't lose their children, and then help in foster care and adoption. We also visited the Manchester University campus and spoke with a few students. Many of my classmates were curious as to how the students felt about having to pay for their university, since here in Denmark they don't pay for university. On our own time we visited Arndale, a huge shopping center with over 200 stores. Mia (my first host sister ) and I enjoyed some Taco Bell for the first time in 8 months!  It was nice to be back in a country where the prices on things made a bit more sense. It was nice not having to pay the equivalent of 4 US dollars for a 20 oz bottle of soda! Of course while I was there I took advantage that there were Starbucks (almost) everywhere. It was great to drink a white mocha, white chocolate americano, and vanilla bean frap again!

Sadly our time in England had to come to a close. We all thought that it went much to quickly, but at the same time we were all ready to go home and sleep in our own beds and drink some normal tasting tap water. The trip home seemed to drag on as we moved from train to plane to train to bus, with lots of waiting in between!  But finally we made it home at about 7:30 the next Friday and I fell into bed sleeping for a solid 11 hours before waking up again.

Vi ses!
<3 Kelsea Jo

Just before we headed back home.

Six Months and Counting

Fastelavn boller!

February 6th was a huge milestone because it marked my sixth month here in Denmark! It was a huge revelation to realize I have spent half a year in this amazing country, and it also made me quite sad because it reminded me now that I only have about 5 months left in Denmark. I made a vow to myself to live it up even more than I already have! February also marked the Danish tradition of Fastelavn. The best way I can describe this holiday is a happy Halloween. Little kids dress up in costumes and come around singing for candy and money. There is also a usually a piñata that is made out of a barrel filled with candy. Back when the tradition first started in the beginning of the 1800s they actually used to put a cat inside! Poor kitty...

Fastelavn fest at school. (:

This past week my school had winter holiday. The week was well spent relaxing, hanging out with my host family and friends, and getting a head start on the next weeks homework. Yesterday (Sunday) we had a welcome meeting in my district for the Winter 2012 team, my newbies! There are only ten of them, compared to the 35 of us that arrived back in August but it was fun talking to them and realizing that was us not to long ago. They were incredibly sweet though and I can't wait to go on EuroTour with them!

This is inbounds (S11 and W12), outbounds for '12-'13, some rebounds, host families, club counselors, club presidents, and district chairs. We have about 45 exchange students in 1440!!

Now that I'm back to school, my class is really looking forward to our upcoming trip to Manchester, England.  We'll leave early in the morning on March 18th, and then return late on 23rd. It should be a fun five days. I promised I'd help translate for them if I have to, since they translated a lot for me in the beginning. Soon after I return from Manchester, I leave on the 28th for Prague. My school choir and band is participating at a competition there! We're going to take a bus…so it should be interesting. We'll return on the 1st of April  ready to start Påskeferie (Easter/Spring Holiday)!

I'm pretty sure I'm missing something! But I think I got most of it. (:
I hope you have a great next month! I'll probably post again in April on Manchester and Prague.

Vi ses!

♥  Kelsea Jo

A Long Overdue "Hej" til 2012!!

New Years Eve

Okay sooo my other January post, yeeeea didn't happen. So I'll just post it at the end of February!

My new years eve was a great night! At exactly 6:00 in the evening, I sat down with my host family and watched the Queen's speech. Luckily, there were subtitles so that I could understand a least a little bit of it due to her speaking an older more proper form of Danish. Afterwards we sat down to dinner, I ate very quickly because I had a party that night at a friends house. By nine o'clock we were all assembled at my friends house, just a small group of us but it was definitely the best New Years ever. Just a bit before midnight we all stood on either a chair on the couch. That's right, the Danes have this awesome tradition where they jump into the New Year. So beware to friends and family back home, if you celebrate the New Year with me anytime in the future, I will force this amazingly awesome tradition upon you! After it struck midnight and our jump into what is now 2012, we all hugged one another, wishing one another a "Godt nytår!" and then danced a few more hours until we were to exhausted to do so!

Chocolate!! (:

We started school back up again on Wednesday the 4th, and then my birthday was the next day! At 6:10 in the morning, my host family came in singing the traditional Danish birthday song. It was a great way to start my day. We then ate breakfast together, which we don't normally do on weekdays, so it was really nice. Here in Denmark it's tradition for you to bring the cake. So I brought cupcakes with "American" frosting, as my class calls it. They loved it and many people asked for more then one. What can I say? Danes love cake! Then on the 6th of January I had the 3 girls from my music class and one of the other exchange students at my school come over for hot chocolate and buns. It was great getting to know them better and we made plans to hang out again! On the 20th of January I had the girls in my class over to help celebrate my birthday. It was fantastic! The girls in my class helped me realize how much they really do love having me in their class. They pooled their money to buy me a picture frame and then we took a picture of us all that night, so I can put that picture in the frame to help remember them all by! They also bought me lots chocolate, knowing my addiction to the wonderful concoction that is European chocolate, along with a few other small very meaningful gifts.

I have just decided that I'll make a separate short post about February or else this one would be way to long!

Vi ses snart!

♥  Kelsea Jo

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

A lot has happened since I moved in with my second host family a month ago. I've come to realize I really enjoy living with my second family. Even though it's a different pace of life in Denmark, I like to think I've already found my place in their rhythm of school, work, afterschool activities, and weekend life.

Christmas was definitely different from back home in the states. On the 23rd we had "lille juleaften" which isn't really celebrated in anyway, it's really just day with a name. In my host family however, that's the day we go and chop down our Christmas tree during the day and then decorate it after dinner.  I think it turned out pretty well.

The 24th "Juleaften" is the big day here in Denmark. I woke up at 9ish and has a normal breakfast with my family. Then at about 11 I went and spend some time with my first host family. It was nice to be able to see and talk with them for the first time since I had left. My first host Mom, Lene, taught me how to make these awesome Christmas stars and I was quite proud of myself for doing it with almost no help. At about one I went back home and  had a light lunch. For the rest of the afternoon we cooked, and hung around the house. Finally at 6:30 we sat down for dinner. Our meal consisted of duck, flæskesteg (a type of pork roast with a crunchy top), brown potatoes, rød kål (a sweet red cabbage), potatoes with brown sauce, potato chips, and I'm almost positive I'm missing a few things. After dinner we cleaned up and put the presents under the tree. Then we sat down to the traditional Christmas desert of risalamande which is made out of rice pudding mixed with whipped cream, and almonds. Then it's served cold usually with a cherry sauce on top. (I personally think if you don't eat it when the cherry sauce It doesn't taste as good.)  Usually in risalamande there is a whole almond, and if you find it you get a prize! Well since we had so much risalamande plus some isalamande (the ice cream version of risalamande) we hid three whole almonds. And after three servings and having it been my fourth time having it I finally found the almond (well one of them)! Probably one of my proudest moments here so far!!

Finally at around 8:30, we went into the living room to open presents! Yet of course in true Danish fashion we held hands while singing, walking, and running around the tree and through part of the house. At nine we finally sat down to open presents.  My host family has a tradition of everyone opening one present at a time. So someone got a present and then once it was open, they got up and found a present for someone else, trying to keep it so everyone got to open presents evenly. I was absolutely delighted at the presents I received. Everyone kept in mind that I'd have to get everything home at the end of the year. So I got many small meaningful things and a few practical things as well! I received two Pandora bracelets (one of the things on my list that I wanted to buy before I left Denmark) so I was able to go and trade one in for two charms. I got two spinning rings, another thing on my list. Plus gloves, a new scarf, and a hat, (because I'm always commenting on how cold it is here), and quite a few other things as well. We finally all head to bed around midnight with everyone in extremely high spirits.

Walking and singing around the tree. (:

The 25th, "1. Juledag" or "First Christmas Day," was spent with my host Dad's side of the family. We spent a good part of the afternoon eating and talking. There were about 20 of us, and I could not for the life of me remember everyone's names!  The 26th, "2. Juledag" or "Second Christmas Day," was a day of relaxing and a well needed break from the heavy Christmas food.  During both of these days, no mail is delivered and most of the shops are closed. Though some of the shops (mainly supermarkets) are open on 2. Juledag.

All in all I had a really good Christmas! Though I love my family's Christmas traditions back home, there are definitely some of the traditions here are I'd love to take back home…even though I lit my hair on fire. (That's a story for another time!) And since this post ended up a lot longer than I expected, I promise to update about New Year's Eve and my birthday within the next week or so.

Vi ses!
Kelsea Jo <3

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...

Snow!! The Monday/Tuesday before I moved. Then it melted. ):

Almost every single family over here has a countdown candle, it's basically unheard of not to!!

 Fuzzy hygge socks! No holiday season is complete without them.

Julestjerner!! Which translates to Christmas stars. (:

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!! (:

Two weeks and counting...

So I know it's been a super duper long time since I've posted last, and honestly I've kinda been putting it off! Soooo much has happened in the last two months. I had my goodbye party, I flew internationally for the first time, I arrived in Denmark, I've started school, and started my new life here. I'll try to remember every awesome detail for you though!

The Friday before I left, I had my goodbye party, it was so much fun and extremely sad at the same time! We ate lots of food, played frisbee and had a fire. It was great to just relax and talk, not necessarily just about exchange but other things too.

Miss you guys!! ):

The following week was crazy! Of course the procrastinator in my put of major packing until just a few days before I left. Saturday I finally made a list, Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday I started piling things into the living room, and Thursday I was finally packing bags! I finished packing around 9 o'clock that night, which was much earlier than I expected. I sat on the floor with my bags and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I could start relaxing, that the craziness was over! Sleeping that night was basically impossible; my nerves were finally starting to catch up with me.

The morning of my flight was the weirdest thing ever. My family went out for breakfast and it was the most normal thing in the world. It was weird knowing the next time they at breakfast I wouldn't be there. The hour drive to Sea-Tac was really quiet, it seemed to go by in 5 minutes. I got all checked in at the airport and sat with my parents for about an hour. Saying goodbye to my family was probably the hardest thing I've done on this trip so far. I saw my Dad cry for the fourth time in my life. Just thinking about it right now makes me get a bit homesick... When I finally got to my gate, I was surprised to find two other exchange students from Alaska going to Denmark! This really helped the wait go by really fast as we talked and talked and talked and talked. My flight boarded at 11:45, but we ended up sitting on the runway for almost an hour and didn't take off till nearly 1. The nine hour flight was not very fun. The food wasn't good, I was shmooshed between two people, but I think I collectively slept for about 4 hours. The airport in Amsterdam was huge! In order to get through to my next flight, I had to go through security...AGAIN! Which was just overall kind of annoying, not really that big of deal I suppose. I had a 3 hour layover, so I took the opportunity to freshen up. The flight to Aalborg, while only an hour, seemed to take FOREVER! But I finally arrived. (:

Second host family, me, first host family (minus Emil).

I arrived in Aalborg at 1:35 in the afternoon, which was an amazing time of 4:35 am back home! Needless to say I went to bed at 8:30 that night and slept for a solid 14 hours. The spent following week I walking around Støvring with my host sister, getting the lay of the land. I went shopping in Aalborg with my host sister and a friend of hers. I went and visited a viking museum with my host family, and saw some viking graves. (Super creepy...) Tried some Danish candy, including salty licorice! Which is quite yummy if I do say so myself...

I met with the school rektor (principal) on the Friday before school started and got to tour the school. The first thing I noticed was how clean and well taken care of everything is. There isn't gum all over the ground outside, chairs aren't half broken, the students actually take care of their school! So by the time Tuesday rolled around, I was so excited to start and meet my class. If you haven't talked to me already, you need to know, I LOVE THE DANISH SCHOOL SYSTEM! Even though we move from classroom to classroom, we still stay with the same classmates all day. My class was so welcoming and nice. At first I was a bit confused as to why no one was really speaking to me, but as time went on, I found out it was because they were worried about their English not being "good enough." I keep telling them not to worry and that I can understand them just fine. (: My host sister is in the same class as me, so she translates every now and then so I can kinda understand what's going on. Getting used to having my schedule change every day, is going to take some getting used to.

So, if you couldn't tell, I'm doing super duper well! I love it here and I know I'm going to have the best year of my life. I can't wait to see what else is in store for me...

Vi ses!
Kelsea Jo <3

It's finally starting to feel real...

Up until this point, going to Denmark has felt like a far away dream. Up until this point my conversations followed the routine "I'm going to be an exchange student!" "Really? Where?" "Denmark!!" "Where in Denmark? When do you leave? What school will you go to? Who will you live with?" and it always ended with me saying, "I don't know." Well last Tuesday, that all changed when my district received my guarantee forms. Since I was on vacation, my district youth exchange chair was amazing enough to scan them all and e-mail them to me. It's no longer a dream.

In my previous post I let everyone know I'm going to district 1440. Now I know I'm being hosted by the Rebild Rotary Club. Rebild is a neat county that actually holds the the largest 4th of July celebration outside of the United States! How cool is that??? I'll be living in Støvring, Denmark, a small town of about 7,000 people. I've had a chance to e-mail back and forth with my first host family. I'll have a host sister about a year younger than me and a host brother who's just a few months older than my own brother!! (And of course I can't forget about my host cat, Sofus!)  They seem absolutely amazing and I really think I'm going to enjoy my time with them. My family lives about a 3 minute walk away from the school (Støvring Gymnasium) both my host sister and I will be attending. They told me that the school actually focuses on music quite a bit! I'm absolutely ecstatic about that, it couldn't be a better fit!!

The little flag with the "A" is Støvring. The red "X" is Copenhagen.

Here are the only pictures I could find of my school. My host family said they might be able to send me one!

So I finally can give my friends an actual answer when we have that conversation. I actually have an answer. It's not a dream anymore. There are actually people in Denmark who look forward to me coming now, and that just makes me want to fly over there tomorrow even more!

Where do I go from here? Well right now I'm waiting to receive my guarantee forms from my district. As soon as they come, I'll get my visa application sent off to the consulate in New York and then I'll buy my plane tickets. Everyone who said it starts happening fast is right. I found out that Denmark wants me there on the 6th or 7th of August. I have two weeks left at my job and four weeks total till I leave for Denmark. Oh my goodness!! My emotions range everywhere from excited to nervous to happy to sad. I love it.

Indtil næste gang mine venner!

Kelsea Jo

DISTRICT!!

So two weeks ago, I found out my district!! Finally!!! I'll be going to district 1440. 

As you can see, it's in northern Denmark. If you look on a globe you will see, I'll be really near to both Norway and Sweden. Since then I filled out my information to their online database. Hopefully I'll have access to that soon so I can start finding out more information!! I'm starting to get a wee bit nervous, but I know it will all work out in the long run...

Indtil næste gang mine venner!
Kelsea Jo

The Adventure Begins

I thought I would go ahead and take my first post to answer some questions that have come up since August from friends and family.

Why do you want to go abroad?

I guess I always answer this question with a question: why not? Why not take the opportunity to live in another country and learn about their ways? I’m already ahead in school, so why not take a year, just for me? Just to learn and have fun for my benefit. It seems to me like the opportunity of a life time. I get to go to Denmark for 10-11 months, live with three different families, go to school, and learn to live in a totally different way than I’m used to. May sound crazy to you, but sounds like fun to me!!

Why gap year?

Honestly, this was a recent idea for me. I had never thought of going on exchange until this past summer, and by that time my only option was gap year. Honestly though, I’m very happy I’m doing a gap year exchange. I’m already done with high school, so I don’t have to worry about credits or coming back and finishing up high school. I’ll most likely be in the second year of gymnasium, so I’ll actually be almost the exact same age as the kids in my class. If I had gone my Junior or Senior year, I would have been a year or two younger.

Why Denmark?

One of my main reasons for picking Denmark was I wanted a country that was different. I didn’t want to come back and say, “I went to Denmark.” And then have other people say, “Oh I’ve been there too!” I wanted to go somewhere different, a place that wasn’t in the news all the time. When I came back I wanted to be able to educate people about the place I went to. On top of that, I’ve always loved the Scandinavian countries. They’re so pretty and have a very rich history.

Will you miss me?

Of course I’ll miss all of my friends and family! I mean most of us are leaving for college anyways, but you guys will come back for Christmas and Spring Break. I won’t!!

What's the time difference?

Denmark is GMT +1 or 9 hours ahead of PST.

Will you go to school? Won’t that be boring and just feel like a 5^th year of high school?

Of course! I will most likely go to the second year of gymnasium which is almost equivalent to senior year of high school here. I don’t think it will feel like a fifth year of high school because since I am in running start, I am already used to adapting to different teaching styles and I don’t really feel like I’m in high school anyways. Plus I will probably be spending more time trying to figure out what their saying more than being upset I have to do homework.

Where will you live?

I will live with 3 host families. I’ll get to live with each family for about 3-4 months.

What language do they speak?

They speak Dansk (Danish) and English is the primary second language.

Do you speak Danish?

No I do not. I know a few basics, and hope to pick up a little bit before I leave. But I will go basically not knowing the language and hope to be fluent by the time I return home.

That’s about it for now I think. I will definitely answer some more when I get them; I just really wanted to get my first post up! Today was the day I officially found out I am going to Denmark. I cannot wait to continue on this adventure…

Indtil næste gang mine venner!

Kelsea Jo <3