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. (: