#usajournal

I think thats all for now, happy thanksgiving everyone !

Xxoxoxx DanThy

Denne opdaterings-journal kommer til at blive på dansk, da jeg snart begynder og glemme mit modersprog... hvilket sucks lol. Der er dog gået en del tid siden jeg sidst har fået skrevet et indlæg, og både familie og venner undrer sig sikkert over hvad jeg går og laver og hvor henne jeg er i livet. Mandag den 21. September fik jeg en ny værtsfamilie. Til jer der ikke ved det, gik det ikke med min første værtsfamilie. Jeg må desværre ikke give detaljer ud, da det går under min organisations regler. Jeg blev så flyttet hen til min område repræsentant/lokale kontaktperson, hvor jeg så boede i næsten 5 uger og gik på Austin High School. Well, nu bor jeg i byen Needville som er en halv times kørsel fra min tidligere by, Sugar Land. Med hensyn til at jeg fik en ny værtsfamilie, betød det også at jeg skulle flytte skole. Jeg går nu på Needville High School, en del mindre skole end Austin med (kun) 930 elever. Jeg er begyndt og vende mig til min nye rutine, dog var det lidt hårdt i starten at skulle forlade min anden skole og min midlertidig værtsfamilie. Jeg har ændret lidt på de fag jeg tager på skolen, så nu har jeg madlavning, sang, idræt, matematik, kemi, US history og engelsk. Jeg går i skole hver dag fra klokken 8:00 til 16:00, men står op klokken 6 for at kunne nå bussen 7..... Skoledagen er en del længere end hvad jeg normalt er vant til, men det gælder bare om at komme ind i rutinen. Jeg bor lige nu med et ældre ægtepar, som har taget godt i mod mig. De har 3 sønner som er flyttet ud, så det er bare mig i huset. Er tilfreds og glad for min nye værtsfamilie og har det godt her i USA! Savner DK, og håber I har det mindst lige så godt som mig. Xxxxx

Hi dear family, friends, strangers. So, its already been one whole month since I arrived in Texas! Its really been a rollercoaster from the very beginning. I’ve been feeling every kind of emotions you can possibly think of. At some points I’ve been feeling anxious, lonely, helpless, angry, sad, insecure… but looking aside from those emotions, I also felt excited, curious, inspired, happy and blessed. This past month have really been educational. Adapting to a new culture is really hard, it might sound easy, but you’re in a whole new country with different norms, prejudice, religion and aspects on life. I had a little rough start in my exchange year, the thing with moving host family and such, but it also opened up my eyes that this is not home and I have to adapt. Finding and getting a bond from a new support group is not easy when you’re so different. School also started btw, the first few days were nerve wracking af lol. It was super crowded. I wake up at 6am everyday, cause classes starts around 7:20am, which is waaaayyy too early. Choir and dance are literally only the fun subjects I have in school. School ends at 2:30, so I have the same schedule everyday, 7 subjects, 5 minutes to get to each class. Made a few friends in choir that I’m having lunch with. Other than thaaaat ((school))), I just love weekends. I go to the mall very often and eat a lot of different and delicious food. Went to a lot of birthday parties too, even during weekdays. Also been hanging out with a lot of exchange students from all over the world. I love meeting and talking to them, because we’re all on the same boat, and it’s so easy to create bonds with them. As I said before, I’m living with a temporary host family until my organization find me a new host family. I just hope it will be in my current district. I made a lot friends and contacts here that I don’t wanna leave. Missin’ home loadss Xxx.

Hi guys, it's been awhile since you guys have heard from me. I've been doing a lot lately and I haven't had time to write anything on my blog. I moved family since it didn't work out and I'm not gonna go into details why. Though I'm perfectly fine now, so no worries. I haven't started school yet, so during the two weeks here, I've been shopping, meeting other exchange students, eating out (A LOT), went swimming, exercising and just having a nice time. The subjects I choose in my high school are: english, us history, math, chemistry, us government, dance and choir. I might switch dance to something else, idk why I took that tho... Oh well, I'm gonna try it out and see if I like it. Also I'm not gonna play tennis in school, since the tennis team is too good for me, and I'm not on the same level as them. I'm starting school on monday august 24th, and I'm super excited. For people who don't know yet, I'm living in Sugar Land, near Houston. I'm attending Austin high school. I'm gonna be a junior (3rd year) and theres around 2500 students there. There was only around 200 students in my old school, so this is gonna be a big change. Also wanted to say that I'm deeply appreciated by this opportunity. I get to explore the states for one whole year. This is an one lifetime experience to live as an American teenager. For only being here for a short period so far, I realised that I have to stand on my own feet, which is not easy, grow my aspects in another culture and just be more mature. I don't say and show it a lot, but I'm really grateful. I really have the best family and friends. I'm on a journey right now, and it's my choice if I want it to be an amazing one. I promise I will do my best. Hope y'all having a great time, missing my friends and family much. xxxxx

The first thing I noticed in New York, Manhattan, was the smell... It smelled deep-fried LOL. Well, on the other note, New York was hugeeee and I always saw something new. I'm bad at navigation, luckily I made a few friends (Agnete and Heidi from Norway, Malin from Germany and Julie from Denmark), I'm kinda surprised they could navigate around New York and remember our meeting spots. We went sightseeing a lot and I got to be active a lot more than I usually am. Some of the places we saw were Grand Central Terminal, Grand Central Park, Bryant Park, Wall street, World Trade Center, Times Square and lots more. We went shopping in Soho, Manhatten and Jersey Gardens Mall. Well it was very fun, I got to eat and shop a lot. New York is also really beautiful at night. I'm still so thankful for this opportunity, and still so, so, so overwhelmed by everything. As I write this post... I'm sitting in an airplane on my way to Houston Hobby airport, where my host family will be picking me up. I'm a bit excited and nervous. Uploading when I have wifi lol.

One thing I'm really certain about, is that I'm going to gain weight. Which I really want to avoid, but also... I want to enjoy my stay and eat tons of food. I hope that I can join the tennis team, so I at least can have an excuse for eating more, but also to learn a sport of course lol. Went out for lunch with my grandparents, mum and brother today. Said goodbye to most of my friends already and I'm just trying to be social most of the time. I'm going to New York tomorrow with a group of other exchange students, from the same organization. Have to wake up at 6am and meet up at Kastrup airport by 9am. Anyways, hope everyone are having a great summer and good luck to my friends who are starting in high school, 10th grade, boarding school, exchange somewhere in the world, or something completely different. Take care and good luck :)

Anyway, I had my farewell/16birtday party last week and most of my relatives came to celebrate my birthday and to wish me a wonderful year in the states.