RYE

Hey guys! Last proper blog post about my exchange year! There will hopefully be another coming just about my reflections on the year, and also one about the debriefing in February, but this post is about my trip home from Denmark so we are essentially at the end of these blog posts. Hope you guys enjoy this one, and hopefully the next two to follow.

So, after finishing packing an hour before leaving, and then hurriedly getting ready, we left for the airport at 3am. I managed to get about 10 minutes sleep (I didn’t sleep Sunday night at all) in the car, but spent most of the ride just thinking about how these were my last few hours in Denmark. We got to the airport at 4am, 3 hours before my flight left, and got something to eat before we checked my bags in.

My bags managed to be 7kg overweight so we went to pay for excess baggage (I still have extra stuff to be sent back mind you!) and then said goodbyes before I headed up to security. It felt weird saying goodbye because I knew it was goodbye but it didn’t really feel like it until I’d gone up the stairs and couldn’t see them anymore.

I went through security no worries (considering I had 3 carry on bags I was very lucky nobody said anything on any of my flights!), then headed to my gate, where I had about half an hour to wait. Sitting in the airport (and being on the plane seeing it moving away from the airport) were when it really sunk in I was leaving but luckily, I had bought a portable charger so at least I could listen to music and use my phone at the airport to distract myself a little.

Unfortunately, because my flight left at 7am, it was still pitch black when we left Copenhagen, which sucked because I had been hoping for some nice pictures as we left Copenhagen. However I got to see the sunrise as I left which was cool because I got to see it set as I arrived into Cope last year. The flight was only an hour so wasn’t too bad at all.

In Germany, I met Izzie at checkin, and Holly a little while later so it was nice to see some familiar faces. We got some food, and then headed through security again to wait at the gate.

Our plane ended up being an hour late to Abu Dhabi (as if the 6 hour plain ride wasn’t enough!) so we had an hour before our next pane left so we had to rush through the airport and security and managed to make it to our gate just at the end of boarding. We saw everyone else on the plane which was really exciting as most of us hadn’t seen each other all year.

The 14 hour flight had been the one I was most worried about as on the way to Denmark, it had taken forever and I’d hated it however it wasn’t as bad on the way back - I managed to get some more sleep and watch some TV shows and before I knew it we were flying back over Australia and it was time to get ready for landing which was pretty surreal.

We landed and got off the plane and made our way to baggage claim where we all put on our blazers (about 20 of my pins fell off when I took it out of is plastic bag!), collected our bags and went to meet our families.

The whole thing was pretty surreal, but I’ll go into all of that in another post. Hope you guys enjoyed reading this and hopefully I’ll get around to writing a reflections and how it feels to be back soon!

Thanks for reading,

Hey guys! I’ve been back in Aus for a couple of days now and finally my phone is working again so I can get photos off of it and post my last few posts! This one is about my last full week in Denmark, hope you enjoy. :)

Monday was a day off school, presumably so everyone could continue recovering from new years, and so I attempted to make some progress with my packing; which didn’t go so well!

Tuesday - Friday I had my last week of school, so were in classes for most of the day.

On Wednesday, I had my last Danish lesson with the other exchange students so I just had everyone sign my book and flag. Our teacher, Camilla, also brang her daughter so we played some Danish games with her and it was just a lot of fun.

On Thursday after school, me and Malu went into town to go iceskating as Holbæk has an outdoor skating rink during winter. Apart from the fact we completely froze it was a lot of fun despite the fact we weren’t the best at it!

Friday was my last day at Stenhus and was definitely one of those days where it completely hit me that I would be leaving soon; after saying goodbye to my class and realising I was saying goodbye to people I would never see again was pretty hard. 

After, I met up with Fie for one last trip to Holbæk; we visited a few shops including of course H&M (everyone who knows me knows how much I love H&M!) and one last kebab.

Taylor and Malu came over for dinner, as we were going to Copenhagen early the next morning, so we just chilled for the night.

I also had to say goodbye to my oldest host sister, Mie, as she was leaving for a skitrip that night, which was sad but we knew we would be seeing each other in December which makes it a bit easier.  

On Saturday, Malu, Taylor and I went into Copenhagen. It was my last time in Copenhagen, and it was really weird (just like it had been yesterday in Holbæk and Stenhus) walking by all these places that a year ago I hadn’t known existed and now that I know better than Melbourne, or just as well as Senior and Bendigo. I was also really lucky in that it had snowed a bit during the night so I got to see Cope with snow one last time.

We first went to the Greenhouse in the Botanical Gardens which was really nice.

After, we caught a bus to Superkilden; a little playground/park area in the middle of Cope which is really cool - i’ll let the pictures explain how.

After that we just did a little shopping for souvenirs and then we were on our way home.

That night, my farmor and mormor came over for dinner and to say goodbye which was really lovely. We had flæskesteg which is one of my favorites and was nice to eat it one more time.

Sunday went by in a rush, full of packing, taking pictures, signing flags and goodbyes. Lone came over to say goodbye, I went and said goodbye to Farmor one last time, me and Fie took some pictures around Sandby, we went to the shops to buy a couple of Danish foods I wanted to take home, and at 2am, I finally finished packing.

That’s it for this post, I hope you guys enjoyed! I’ll talk about the trip home in my next post. Thanks for reading,

(Hey guys; quick note - i wrote this last week however due to packing and getting ready to go home and problems with my phone, I never had time to post it. I’m now back in Australia so last weeks post plus this weeks Monday/Tuesday/maybe reflections post all be coming soon.)

Hey guys, here’s a blog post for last week. This is also the last post I’ll be writing while in Denmark, as I leave very early next Monday. Hope you guys enjoy.

The 26th, we went to my farmers for another julefrokost with the extended family which was really nice, with lots more christmas food. We also played the package game which is really common, where everyone puts a present on the table, and you take turns rolling a dice where if you get a 6 you take a present. It’s fun if you end up with a lot of presents but people can also take presents off you so that parts not as fun! Although the gifts are usually small of silly things so it’s just for fun.

That was the end of the christmas period, and it was amazing. I was really looking forward to the traditional Danish christmas, as in my house, christmas in Australia isn’t a big deal at all, and it certainly didn’t disappoint (apart from the lack of snow!), and I’m so lucky to have gotten to spend it with such an amazing family who make me feel at home.

On Wednesday, we went to Copenhagen, to Louisiana (art museum I’ve been to several times and love), and also to Tivoli.

We got to Louisiana when it opened around 11ish and spent around 2 hours looking at all the different exhibits. I’d seen it all already as I’d been 2 weeks prior but it was nice to go again and also I saw a few more things I’d missed the first time.

After Louisiana, we drove back into Copenhagen, had lunch at Maccas then drove to Tivoli. We were there from 330 to 11 when it closed, so we spent a lot of time there but it was so much fun, and the most fun I’d had in Tivoli of the 3 times I’ve been. We got unlimited ride bands so we spent the time going on all the good rides and also admiring the christmas decorations. We went on one of the worlds oldest rollercoasters, some other fun rides and all of the ‘scary’ rides which were my favourite.

We had dinner in Tivoli, and then me and Fie went on some more rides. This was probably the best part of the day, as a lot of people had left so the lines to the rides were a lot shorter. The last ride I went on, ‘The Demon’, I befriended a dad and his 2 kids, who spoke English and Danish so that was really cool. We got to go on the ride in the first row of the seats, and then because it was so empty and about to close, twice more, so it was a really nice way to end a great day.

Thursdsy was a chill day at home, and then Friday, we went to my cousins 12th birthday party. It was really fun as it was a breakfast party so there was lots of breakfast food.

Once home, me and Fie started packing but didn’t achieve very much.

Saturday was New Years Eve, so I had dinner with a couple of the girls from my class then went home to celebrate after. We did the whole ‘jumping into the new year’, a tradition where you jump off a chair as it hits midnight, and then went outside to set off fireworks. Unlike in Australia, where the only fireworks are official by the government etc, in Denmark, basically everyone sets off their own; with some throughout the night and then everyone generally at midnight which was really cool to see.

It was so nice to be spending New Years in Denmark, and I feel so lucky to have gotten to celebrate it here.

That’s all for this post, hope you guys enjoyed and thanks for reading!

Hey guys, sorry for long time no post but I’ve been fairly busy!

Christmas week started off pretty relaxed, with Monday and Tuesday stay at home days making the most of the sleep ins and helping my sister and some classmates with their SRP.

On Wednesday, as SRP was finished, we had our class ‘julefrokost’ (christmas lunch but actually dinner), which was really nice. We all just chatted, played some games and had a lot of traditional christmas food.

Thursday and Friday were also pretty chill.

Thursday, we had another julefrokost, this time with our neighbors.

Friday afternoon, we made confect, basically christmas chocolates with marzipan/nuts inside them.

Saturday, the 24th, was Christmas! (Danes celebrate Christmas on what we celebrate Christmas Eve). The morning started off with opening our last ‘nissegaver’, where I got some chocolate and a santa hoptimist.

My third host family also quickly dropped by to with us a happy christmas, and then we went to Church for the Christmas ceremony, which was nice even though I didn’t understand a lot of it. It was pretty short - only half an hour and we just listened to the priest talk and then sang some songs.

Later in the day, some family came over and we had a hyggeligt christmas dinner, before laying all the presents under the christmas tree, and then doing the traditional walking around the tree while singing christmas songs which was really nice.

After that, we all sat down together in the lounge room to open our presents. In Australia, we all open ours at the same time, so it’s generally finished in a couple of minutes, which was very different to the 2 and a half hours it took this year. Instead of everyone opening theirs at once, a person would choose a present from under the tree, give it to the person it’s to, we’d all watch it open it, they’d choose a present for someone else etc. It was really nice to see what everyone else got, and even though it took a while wasn’t boring as it was really cozy and nice.

After all our presents were opened we chilled and talked a while, until 1ish when we al went home.

The 25th was very relaxed in comparison, we slept in, had a really nice breakfast, then spent the rest of the day relaxing, so I finally started watching ‘Den Anden Verden’, this years ‘Julekalendar’ (a danish thing where each day leading up to christmas in December theres an episode of a christmas series - it’s really hard to explain but its really cool and also a cool way of seeing how far my Danish has come!).

That’s all for last week, the next post will have more about christmas, as well as about new years so will hopefully be exciting!

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!

Hey guys!

Another busy blog post for this week, enjoy!

Monday was perhaps our busiest day, as we did quite a lot. First, we went to Maccas again for breakfast with Mie, and then after we took the train to Cope.

First, we went to The Little Mermaid, which was nice as I hadn’t been there yet.

We then walked to Amelienborg Slot and Fredriks Kirke, where we looked around in the church and gardens while waiting for the changing of guards.

After that we walked down to Nyhavn and across the foot bride to ‘paper island’ where we got lunch - it’s basically a bunch of like street food stalls and is really cool.

We then went to Christiania for a little whole (look it up if you don’t know what it is because it’s really cool) - although the pusher street is more or less gone now after a shooting in the summer - which I didn’t know about it so it was a bit weird being there and not having it there as its a really famous, perhaps infamous part of Christiania.

After Christiania, we went to Vores Frelsers Kirke, which was really nice as always, with gorgeous views.

We then took the metro back to Kongens Nytorv and went to Nyhavn. We went there at the perfect time when the sun was setting and got some really amazing pictures, as well as the best aebleskiver I’ve had so far (they were a bit flatter than normal and were with nutella).

We then attempted to take the train back to Holbaek, however once again the trains were cancelled so we waited an hour and a half and then finally managed to get home.

On Tuesday, we went to Copenhagen again, but this time with Tine, Farmor, Fie and Mie because we were going to buy Fie’s dress for confirmation. It was really nice to see her try on all the dresses (she ended up buying a really pretty one) but it’s a bit bittersweet because I know I won’t get to be here when she gets confirmed.

After buying all of her things for confirmation, we went to McDonalds for lunch then said goodbye to Mabel as she took the train to the airport to go home.

After the rest of u finished eating, we took the metro to Fields (a shopping centre) and did a lot of shopping. After, we went back into Cope, had some cake and hot chocolate at a little cafe, then went to H&M and then home. We didn’t get home until 9 so it was a very long but really hyggelig day,

On Wednesday, I met up with Hannah and we went into town to close her bank account and some practical things like that as she went home on Thursday. We then went to Danish and Stenhus which was just very chill.

On Thursday, Taylor and I took the train to the airport where we said goodbye to Hannah before going to Strøget to do some souvenir and christmas shopping.

Friday through Sunday were all pretty chilled and relaxed; On Saturday night Mie, Fie and I had burritos (tacos?) with farmor, and Sunday night we bought and decorated the christmas tree. Apart from that it was just a chill weekend.

Thanks for reading,

Hey guys!

Both last week and this week have been pretty hectic so this post and the next will be pretty long so bear with, and hope you enjoy :)

On Monday and Tuesday, I had my last two days of school before winter holidays. It’s definitely very weird knowing I have 4 days of school in January and then I’m done!

Also on Monday, I had the Christmas Rotary meeting, which was 3 hours, so longer than normal, and we ate somewhere other than normal and had all the traditional danish christmas food.

On Tuesday, Taylor and I went to Danish in Roskilde, with Wilson and all the newbies. It was me and Wilsons last lesson but we had a new teacher so it was a lot of fun - we just played games and ate christmas biscuits.

On Wednesday I had no school so I just chilled at home. Mie and I had a really hyggeligt night where we drank hot chocolate, ate ice cream and watched a movie (One For The Money, which was really good) and talked until Tine and John came home so that was really nice.

On Thursday, Tine and I drove to the airport to pick up Mabel at the airport, as she was coming to stay with me for 5 days. After driving back to the airport, we drove to Asnaes, where Mie’s school is to a little bit of shopping and also to get cake which was nice. Once home we just had a nice night chilling and playing cards with Fie.

On Friday, we were up early and took to Copenhagen, to start off our 4 busy days of sightseeing. We were in Holbaek at 8, which was quite early so we went to Maccas for breakfast before taking the train up to Helsingør We went to Louisina Museum of Modern Art, which I’ve been to before and has been really good both times. It was really nice as pretty much all the artwork was different from last time i was there.

Afterwards, we went to Rosenborg Slot and took some pictures and walked around the gardens before going to the central station and getting some food before going into Tivoli.

It was my first time in Tivoli at night/at christms time and it was amazing and really lovely. We walked around looking in all the different shops, buying food and looking at all the gorgeous lights, as well as going on one ride.

We got home, and after buying pizza, discovered I had a package from my family which was nice; just a few birthday cards and some vegemite and minties. Me, Mabel and Mie read the cards and just chatted for a couple of hours until Mabel went to bed and Tine and John came home, and Fie came down and we all read my cards and talked for an hour or so which was nice.

On Saturday, we went back to Copenhagen, but this time to take a day trip to Sweden. We took a train to the airport, and then another train to Trianglen (Malmo), where, after some Maccas and Wifi, we went to an art Museum and then up the main shopping street. It was really nice to look around and go in some different shops. It was also cool to see that I could understand a fair bit of written Swedish and talk with the shop owners - me in Danish and them in Swedish.

After going down the shopping street, we went to Malmo Slot and Museum which was really cool - to walk around the old castle, go into the art museum, and to look at the aquarium/dinosaur exhibits.

After that, we went back to the main station where we got some food and went to catch our train back to Denmark, which is where the trouble started. We got on the train to be told there was a 5 minute delay, which was fine and relatively normal, but eventually turned into 15 minutes before we started driving, 2 stops later, and we were informed the train had been cancelled and the next train to Copenhagen (we were still in Sweden at this point) would be leaving from platform 1 in 10 minutes, so an entire trainfull of people all moved to platform 1. 10 minutes later, there was no train however we were then told the train had been moved to platform 5 so we all started running around to find platform 5 only to discover it didn’t exist. Eventually the boards told us trains to Copenhagen had been cancelled for at least the next hour. Luckily there was a Maccas at the station so we could charge our phones and use the Wifi to let my family know what was happening, and eventually me made it home, albeit a bit late, but safe and happy. Regardless of the hectic ending it was a really nice day.

On Sunday, we had our ‘day off’, where we woke up at 10 or so, got our ‘nissegaver’ (H&M gift vouchers and some money), and then went into Holbaek for two hours; we just went to H&M and used our vouchers, walked around to a couple of other shops, then got kebab so it was pretty relaxed but really nice.

Once home, we just chilled out.

So yeah, that was all for last week! Hope you guys enjoyed and thanks for reading,

Blog Post #63 - Week Forty Six

Hey guys!

Last week was fairly exciting, so hopefully you enjoy :)

On Monday, I had my final rotary presentation for the year - I talked (in Danish) for around 10 minutes about my year and also showed a little 3 minute video of my year. It went a lot better than I expected, and even though I talked a bit too fast, most people could understand me which is the main thing!

On Tuesday we had our normal danish lesson in Roskilde, except it was really nice because all the christmas decorations are up everywhere which makes everything really hyggeligt!

I had a day off school on Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday were just normal days at school.

On Saturday, I moved back to my first family, where I will be spending the remaining 5 weeks of my exchange, so I spent most of the day packing (came here with 2 bags…11 months later and I have 7!).

It was really nice to move back in with my first family - I have lived on and off with them for over 6 months now, so coming back here is very much like returning home. It was a pretty chill Saturday; Mie, Tine and I went out to Fie’s horses and then we came home and ate and just chilled which was really nice.

On Sunday, we had second advent - a cool thing in Denmark where on each of the 4 sundays leading up to christmas, ‘elves’ leave you a present. We also had my farmors birthday which was really hyggeligt, and it was really nice to eat lots of nice food and see and talk with all the family again.

That’s all for last week, hope you guys enjoyed and thanks for reading!

Blog Post #62 - Week Forty Five

Hey guys!

Sorry I’ve gotten so bad with these posts but I’m getting there haha!

Last week was pretty hectic as both me and my host brother had our birthdays so there was a lot going on, so hopefully this post is a bit more interesting than the last few have been!

On Monday I had a rotary meeting where we went to a food company - I can’t remember what it was called but it was nice to do something other than the normal rotary meetings.

On Tuesday, it was my birthday and I woke up to a surprise of a gorgeous sunrise. It was a really nice day - my class sang me happy birthday (the danish happy birthday song is 2-4x as long as the english one depending on how many verses you sing making it a lot more awkward when its your birthday haha) which was really nice, and after school, my first family and a couple of friends came over for my birthday dinner which was really nice. It was a super lovely night - I got some really nice presents and it was nice to spend time with everyone, it was very hyggeligt! I also got to Skype Mabel and my family in Australia which was nice.

Wednesday was a pretty chill day - I had my normal Danish lessons with the exchange students and then after school me and Hannah went into town to do a little shopping.

On Thursday it was Magnus’s 18th birthday so we went to a buffet restaurant in Roskilde for dinner which was nice.

On Friday there was the Stenhus party, which was both me and Hannah’s last one (the next one is 4 days after i leave unfortunately!). Only a couple of girls from my class went so I went with the other exchange students for most of it and hung out with the 3 from my class for a bit towards the end as well.

On Saturday Magnus has his family over for his birthday and apart from that, I spent school on Friday and the weekend watching the new Gilmore Girl episodes so nothing too exciting.

As always guys, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

Hey guys, in my district in Australia, we’re required to write a little letter about our year abroad; mine is very rambly but I hope you enjoy!

Em xx

“You build a life for 16 years and leave it for 12 months. You build a life for 12 months and leave it forever. Which one is harder?”

“Hej, jeg hedder Emmaby. Jeg er 16 år gammel og i de sidste 9 måneder har jeg boet i Holbæk i Danmark.”

In case you don’t speak Danish; “Hi, I’m Emmaby. I’m 16 years old and for the last 9 months I’ve been living in Holbæk in Denmark.”

2 years ago, if you’d told me that that was a phrase I’d be saying now, I’d have told you you were crazy. A year ago, I was counting down the days until I’d be able to say that phrase, counting down the days until I was boarding that plane to Denmark and my exchange year would start. Now, sitting here with 90 days left in this amazing country, I’m wishing time would slow down, so I can keep saying that phrase forever and so that my exchange year will never end. It’s funny how time changes things, and how much difference a year can make. And this year has definitely made a difference.

This year has been one of the most amazing years of my life. I arrived in Denmark on the 17th of January 2016, at 5pm to a -5 degrees dark and snowy Denmark. I’d fallen in love with Denmark 6 months prior, before I even got chosen to come here, and I fell in love all over again, flying over a snowy Denmark, watching the sun setting over Europe. And I’ve continued to fall in love everyday since.

I’m often asked why I came to Denmark for exchange, and often get very surprised looks when I tell them it was my first choice of country. “Why Denmark?”, they’ll ask me, and I honestly don’t know why I was so drawn to this little country at the top of Europe, but I’m so glad I did. I am in love with this country, a country that a year ago I knew nothing about. I love seeing Danish flags everywhere you go. I love the trust Danes have in each other. I love being able to take a day trip to Sweden or Germany. I love living so close to Copenhagen. I love all the pastries that you can buy everywhere. I love my host families and everyone else I have met here. I love how everything is flat and how that results in beautiful sunsets. I love how it’s so small that you can easily visit anything you want to. I love the fashion. I love hygge, the Danish concept of coziness. I love the freedom everyone is given. I even love the language. I love Denmark, and I love being an exchange student here.

I was greeted at the airport by my first family, the Rasmussens, who I’ve been lucky enough to have gotten to live with for 6 months. They made my settling into my life here in Denmark so easy, and I felt at home with them straight away, something of which I am so grateful for. My final family, the Rayoms, I have only been living with for a month so far but they have been lovely and I’m looking forward to spending my last three months here with them.

I have been lucky enough to go on several trips with my first family during my time here; all of which have been amazing.

The first one, in my winter holiday, was their yearly skiing trip; this year, a week skiing in Italy. I had only ever really skied once before so my experience skiing was very limited, however with patience from my family and several days of skiing lessons, by the end of the week I was confidently going down the easy slopes, and even a few medium slopes, which I was very proud of myself for. It was such a fun week, although very exhausting, and one of many experiences I’ve had this year that I won’t forget.

With my first family I’ve also gotten to explore some other parts of Denmark, including a visit to the most northern point of Denmark, Skagen, where the two seas meet, Møn’s Klint, LegoLand and HC Andersons Childhood home and museum. I’ve also gotten to spend two weeks exploring northern Denmark with my second family, in their summer house in North Jutland.

With Rotary, I’ve also gotten to explore some more of Denmark and Europe. There are 5 main rotary events throughout the year in Denmark, the first one being the introcamp in North Jutland, for all the newbies. In my case, this meant  30 exchange students from South America, New Zealand and Australia getting together for a week, with 6 hours of Danish a day, lots of fun and games, and a trip to Aarhus, all resulting in a really fun week.

The next big event is the Get Together (G2G) in my town, Holbæk, where all 200 of the exchange students in Denmark meet for a weekend of hanging out and having fun. The G2G is held twice a year, once in April, and again in October, and is a lot of fun.

There’s also the District G2G, which was a weekend in a small town around ten minutes from where I live where we got to explore a nearby castle, visit the beach, have a talent night and just enjoy each others company.

But by far, the best rotary trip of the year is the Eurotour; an 18 day trip around Europe with 40 other exchange students from all over the world. We travelled to Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, France, Monaco, Belgium, and the Netherland. It was an amazing 3 weeks that resulted in many friends and memories, as together we travelled Europe, getting to see some of the most amazing places the world has to offer.

But you also get to see some of these amazing sights in your own country; from the typical touristy sights such as Nyhavn, to the little things most people wouldn’t care about; like snow falling in April, or the little cobblestone streets and yellow houses, or the beauty of a sunset in a country without mountains to block the view. That’s one of the great things about exchange; you get to (and learn to) see these amazing sights wherever you go, and you learn to make the most of every single one of them because you know in a year you may not see them ever again. You learn to fully appreciate and fall in love with everything life has to offer.

The fact that I’m currently on exchange, living overseas on the other side of the world from everything I’ve known at 16 is something I still don’t think I fully comprehend. There are some days when I have to pinch myself, when I realize that I’m living in Europe, and that I have gotten to, and am currently, living and experience things many people could only dream of.

I have had many people tell me how brave I am to have gone on exchange, about how they could never have lived away from their home, friends and family for a year. But the truth is I haven’t. Yes, when I first came to Denmark I knew nobody or anything, but over the last 9 months it has become my second home; I’ve made new families and friends, and I now have several new homes as well as my one in Australia. I walk through the streets of Denmark, feeling at home, when a year ago I barely knew this country, let alone my town existed. Every day I wake up in a house with people I feel are my family, when a year ago I wouldn’t have had a clue who they were if they’d said hi to me on the street. My best friends are people I only met 9 months ago and half my time is spent speaking and listening to language that a year ago I didn’t even know how to say ‘hi’ in.  And that is one of the best and worst things about exchange; it is a hard thing to do; creating a second life in a short 11 months, but, that is the easy part compared to what happens when those 11 months end; you are back on a plane to your first home, but you have to leave the life you created behind, not knowing if you will see these places and people again, and knowing if you do just how different it will be.

However this year is not all easy; through this year, I’ve experienced some of the highest highs and lowest lows; over the last 9 months I have experienced every emotion you could think of; from pure joy to the feeling of freedom to annoyance to utter devastation, and everything in between. There are days where you might not speak to anyone at school, and the highlight of your week will be that one person who smiles at you, or you might have to go to a 2 hour rotary meeting and not understand a thing and feel like you haven’t learnt any Danish at all. Or you might just have a week where you feel like you haven’t accomplished a single thing on exchange. But on these days you just have to remind yourself that you’re 16 and living abroad in a foreign country, and that’s definitely an achievement to be proud of. But that’s not to say exchange isn’t worth it; it is worth it. And its worth it because of these challenges, not in spite of them. Because the hard parts are what make you grow, they are what makes going on exchange so powerful. On exchange you’ll go through 5 years of emotions, and with that is bound to be highs and lows, but with 5 years of emotions comes 5 years of growth; and that’s the powerful part of exchange; that even though it might feel you only walked through those airport doors yesterday, the same person you are now; in fact, it was 8 months ago and not a single part of you is the same. You learn to adapt and assimilate, just like all exchange students do, you learn the little mannerisms of your country, like shaking everyones hand when you meet them, and saying ‘tak for mad’ after eating, you start to catch onto the fashion sense, and no longer freak out over the green H&M at the end of the cobblestoned shopping street or the 7/11 in the snow covered train station or the fact that some of the money has holes in it.

Blog Post #60 - Week Forty Four

Hey guys! Here’s a post about last week; Not too much happened so it’s a little short.

On Tuesday, me and Hannah went into Maccas and chilled as well as a little shopping which was nice.

On Thursday we had a day off school, so Hannah, Taylor and I went to the movies to see the new Harry Potter movies which was really cool, and I definitely recommend watching it!

On Friday after school, I went into town with Malu, another exchange student and we just got food and did a little bit of shopping also.

Saturday night, I had an 18th party for one of the girls in my class which was really nice, I stayed the night there and then on Sunday just relaxed, as well as went for a little walk with Lone.

That’s all for last week, sorry for the short post but thanks for reading anyway!

Blog Post #59 - Week Forty Three

Hey guys! Here’s last weeks blog post :)

Not a huge amount happened, but there were a few exciting things!

Firstly, we had the first snow of the year on Tuesday night, which was very exciting! The only downside is having to bike in the snow, but its not too bad, just sometimes a little slippery.

We had our normal Danish lessons on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Thursday after school I went into town with Hannah and Taylor just to choose as well as to find me some shoes for Galla.

On Friday after school, me and Taylor got picked up by a rotarian and went to his summer house around half an hour north of Holbaek. It was actually a really nice night, he brang his son and his sons friend, as well as his daughter and partner who were all really nice and lovely and it made for a very hyggeligt night.

We mostly just played games and chilled and ate food, and on Saturday before going home we went to the beach which was really nice as it was all icy and cold.

Saturday night was Galla, which is sort of like prom but not really, its basically just a school dance where everyone gets dressed up. It was a really fun night, with a warming up party at one of the girls houses first. At the galla, there was a show with some performances, then it was mostly just a lot of dancing as well as a little traditional dance by the ‘seniors’. By the end my feet were so sore however that me and one of the other girls spent the last hour sitting down and resting our feet and talking which was also really nice.

Sunday was just a really relaxed day, and Hannah came around for a bit in the afternoon and we napped as well.

That’s all for last week, hope you guys enjoyed! Sorry these posts are getting less interesting some weeks, I’m just very busy!

Tak for reading,

Hey guys! Heres the blog post for last week, enjoy! (And finally back up to date with these!)

We got up early for Copenhagen, getting there around 11. First, we went to Rosenberg Slot and The Botanical Gardens, and then to Vor Frelsers Kirke (did not spell check that oops). We got some really nice photos there.

After that we’d done all the touristy things we wanted to do except Nyhavn, so we went there and got all the typical pictures (It was Toni’s first time) and then got lunch at Maccas and then went shopping! We got some souvenirs (mostly Toni as I can come back in December), some clothes and I also finally got a galla dress and winter jacket which was good.

We got back to Holbaek around 8ish and spent the rest of the night eating junk and watching movies.

Tuesday we got up and Toni packed. We got the bus into town then had Maccas while we waited for our train. I got off at Roskilde, and Toni stayed on an extra stop to take her connecting train to Aalborg.

I had to go into Roskilde later that day for Danish so i figured i’d just go with Toni instead of going into town twice! Luckily for me, Wilson was in town so we met up and went to a cafe and got something to eat. Once Hannah and Taylor arrived, we went shopping and Wilson went and met up with some other friends.

It was our first Danish lesson with our new teacher so we were a bit excited to see how it would go but she turned out to be really sweet so that was good.

Wednesday was a day off as my class had a writing day so I just got to relax, and Hannah came around for a ew hours in the afternoon.

Thursday was a normal day of school, and once we finished all the exchange students went up to get a late lunch of kebab before Danish.

Instead of normal Danish lessons, we went on a tour of the library in Roskilde. It was pretty interesting but not too relevant to me as I don’t live in Roskilde.

Friday was a normal day of school, and then after school Lone came over for a bit. It was a pretty chill night with dinner, and then I watched some movies with my host parents.

On the weekend, I went back to my first host family for a visit, which was really lovely.

I got picked up around 1ish and me and Fie immediately went into playing 500 while Tine went shopping. We got home, and me and Fie went to carve pumpkins (5 day late but I’d never done it before so oh well). We also went to groom Fie’s horse which was nice.

Tine and John were at a party, so we had dinner alone, with Mie, Tessa, Fie, and Mie’s friend. We had spaghetti carbonara and then Fie made waffles for desert which were both really nice. Me and Fie then watched Gilmore Girls until we decided to sleep.

Sunday was a pretty chill day; me and Fie slept in, had the typical breakfast with Tine and John. We spent the rest of the day relaxing, watching Gilmore Girls and chilling.

That night we went to a church in Svinninge for a service (my first time in a church for a service which was cool), the service was something that happens every year to remember all of those who died in that past year.

After the service, we went back home and ordered pizza and cake and had a nice dinner before I got driven home.

It was a really nice weekend and nice to see my first family again.

That’s all for last week, hope you guys enjoyed and thanks for reading,

Hey guys! My first week back at school after break was just a normal week of school.

On Monday, I had to do a presentation to my class about a Greek God, which went about as would be expected.

Tuesday and Thursday were the normal Danish in Roskilde classes. On Thursday, me, Wilson and Hannah went to a really cute cafe and had food while preparing a quick presentation about our countries as it was our last lesson with Maria as she was changing jobs. It was a fun ‘last lesson’ as we mostly just ate food and listened to music so was really nice.

Wednesday we had Danish at school and celebrated Taylors birthday, with me and Hannah going into town and buying a Halloween themed layer cake and fløderboller.

That weekend we had the Holbaek Gettogether (G2G) where all the rotary inbounds in Denmark come together for the weeked. Very convenient for me as I live 5 minutes away, whereas others have to spend up to 7 hours in public transport to get to the weekend in time.

The first night of the weekend was just spent relaxing and catching up with everyone. We had dinner and there was opportunity for dancing and singing but nothing too exciting.

On Saturday, my district was up early as we had to take to Roskilde for a district conference. It wasn’t as bad as we thought however and we just went through things to do and not to do, it was more for the benefit of the newbies but as I lived in Holbaek and everyone else was spending the day exploring Holbaek, I didn’t really miss out on much.

When we got back from the conference, we had the chance to do pumpkin carving, bubble football or relax. I was pretty tired and so took advantage of the fact I had wifi access to watch some netflix and have a nap before dinner.

We had dinner, with most people in their halloween costumes, and after we had a talent show with different people getting up and showing off their talents, mostly singing. There were a few really good performances - including one girl who sang ‘Fix You’, and a group who sang ‘The Scientist’ which obviously resulted in a lot of emotions, especially for the newbies!

After the show, we had a guy come and sing for us and then we had a DJ play music. I stayed up dancing until around 12ish then called it a night and went to bed.

On Sunday we just had breakfast and made sure all our stuff was packed up.All the winter team also got photos together as it would be the last time we would be all together.

My host mum picked me and Toni up around 10ish, with Toni coming home with me. Toni lives in North Jutland so we don’t really see each other much, but we met last year online about exchange so we’ve known each other a while so my host mum suggested she stay for a few days and we could go to Copenhagen.

Sunday, I spent most of the day working on my blazer - I had gotten 60 pins over the weekend and I struggled to find room to put them on as my pins were a little spaced out so I took all the pins off my blazer and completely re-didi it. It’s very full now but a little messy!

We spent Sunday night watching movies and planning what we would do in Copenhagen.

Anyway, that’s all for the week guys, hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!

Blog Post #56 - Week Forty

Hey guys, sorry for being so late with the next few posts!

This week was autumn break, so I had a week off school. I didn’t do a huge amount as I just mostly wanted to relax and enjoy getting a sleep in every day.

There were a few things I did do though.

On Wednesday I went into Holbaek with Taylor to do some shopping (I got a nice top and cheap cat PJ shorts so was worth it) as well as to Joe & The Juice. 

I skyped Mabel for a while, watched some movies and worked on a presentaton for school.

On the weekend before school started, Taylor held her 17th birthday party. Me and Hannah went around early and had dinner and got ready with her and then the other friends arrived, some people from her school and the other exchangers. It was a really fun night and nice to see the other exchangers who I hadn’t seen in a week.

I spent the night at Taylors and got picked up by my host mum the next day and just spent the rest of the day relaxing at home.

So that was my autumn break! Nothing too exciting, I just enjoyed getting to relax for a while, but hope you guys enjoyed anyway. :)

Thanks for reading,