1 month

Hello everybody! I'm beginning to realize why so many exchange students struggle to keep up with their blog. So much happens, its so hard to keep track of. I'll start with last weekend. My host mom set a play date up for me and my host brother with some kids from Johannes shooting club, Anne and mads. They came over and we all ate cake in the garden, and then we drove the Quad around and gave them a tour of the property. I also learned to play a traditional Danish game called Kubb, and the object is to knock over wooden blocks with sticks. Then they stayed over for dinner, and we ate lamb. And then I had my first taste of the very traditional danish dessert, Rødgrød med flød (which also doubles as a tongue twister for English speakers).The next day my host mom took me to this viking museum, and showed me the sight where one of the largest viking halls in denmark was located, right on lake Tissø. Later that day Anne invited me to go to their family barbeque, and to the beach afterwards. I was confused why anyone would go swimming in the ocean so late, but as we all shuffled out of the car, I began to understand. It was sunset when we arrived, and it was so peaceful and beautiful. We all dived right into the very cold water (comparable to Oregon water) But swimming in the ocean in Denmark is a completely different experience from ''swimming'' at the beach in Oregon. There aren't waves and the water is crystal clear. So I was able to swim really far out, and enjoy the sunset as it dipped below the horizon. After we finished swimming we walked down the docks and looked at all of the sail boats. We headed back that night and I got home around 10:00, and I still had to pack because I was leaving for intro camp in bjerringborg at 8:00 the next morning.

Intro Camp
It was incredible. My week consisted of hanging out with exchange students from all over the world for a week, and experiencing Denmark. I had Danish lessons for 6 hours everyday. That seems like a lot, but actually it was nice to have a proper Danish, lesson, because so far, my Danish has all been self taught, so its very flawed. We had lots of workshops at night to keep us busy, for example there was a Michael Jackson choir, Phillipino stick fighting, Salsa workshop, yoga etc. etc. Oh and yes, I took part in the Philipino stick fighting. I have achieved my dream of becoming a ninja master. One night we had a concert, and the up and coming Danish rock band Velvet Volume played for us, and the last night we had a dance party. I look like a dying beluga whale when I dance, so thankfully my friends taught me a few moves. Oh and can I just say, South Americans will beat you in a dance off EVERY time. I don't care if you are Micheal Jacksons secret love child. South Americans, they can dance like nobodies business. Moving on from that, one day they let all 165 of us go to the local grocery to buy candy. I hate lines and competition when it comes to food, so I led the herd of exchange students to the store, and stayed ahead of the pack. I raced in and garabbed all the chocolate I could get find, and raced through the line. I ended up buying 118 kroner worth of chocolate. I regret nothing. The best part of intro camp was going to Århus, the second biggest city in Denmark. We went on a tour of the coolest museum I have ever been in, ARoS Art museum. It has Nine levels, and it is set up so that you are starting in hell, level 9 in the basement, and walking up to heaven, the rainbow window circle at the top, where you can see the city in all of the colors of the rainbow, and the view is incredible. In hell, there were these rooms with mirrors on all the walls, so you just see your self go on forever. It was pretty genius, at least in my opinion. There was also this statue of this child, squatting. I am about as tall as his knee. The boy looks so real and life like, its insane. I posted a picture on face book of the boy so you could see. If you want to look it up, search ''ARoS Dreng''. I think one of my favorite rooms in the museum was this fog room, with al the colors of the rainbow, but you would wander around the room not seeing anyone, even though they were three feet away from you. As you would walk into a different color of fog, you would be blind for a little bit while your eyes adjusted. I took a video of it but I realized all you see is color, so it would not be nearly as cool for someone to watch. I walked into the walls several times. If you ever find yourself in Denmark, I highly suggest you go to ARoS Kunstmuseum. After the museum,  my friends and I wandered down the shopping district in Århus, and got some Chinese food for lunch with the old Australian exchange students( the Australians have been here since January, so they are given the name of oldie.) We visited this old church and several cool shops, and we got some Ben and Jerry's Ice cream(ice cream is a necessity). These were just the highlights of intro camp, but really the best time I had was hanging out and singing Whitney Huston and eating chocolate and swapping embarrasing (fart related) stories with some amazing people. Its crazy how you can be thrown together with a bunch of crazy teenager, all struggling to learn an impossible language and integrate into Danish culture, and you find some of your greatest friends in just a week. I sometimes grumpily talk about how annoying people(in general) can be, but really I love people. We are all so different, and see the world so differently, and we live very different lives, yet we share so much in common. When you look past the stereo types and what you thought you knew about a person, or what your country tells you to think about someone, you see a human being, same as you. You see that they have a passions and feelings or opinions you never expected, or stories that make you chuckle, or amaze you. Humans are pretty incredible, and exchange has taught to appreciate people more, and how unique all of our lives are.
Moving on from that tangent...
The next week, my host mom took me to Carmels, a cafe in Slagelse, and I got a heaping plate of curry pasta with bacon, it was as fabulous as it sounds, and learned the hard way that take home boxes aren't a thing in Denmark. Its tragic really. They don't know what they are missing out on. I also had my first tennis practice last Monday. I have never played before, but I kicked butt. It may be because I was playing wíth 10 year olds, but I think I'm on my way to being in the Olypmics. I know, I'm so humble. All jokes aside, My coach wants to move me up to the more advanced class, which is pretty exciting, because really I have not 1 athletic bone in my body. Hopefully my coach doesn't figure that out. Anyways, exciting news, I had my First sleep over last Friday, and I even set it up myself. Bibi came over and we watched High School Musical 3 sing along, and ate a whole box of Flødeboller (no regrets) and it was super hyggeligt.
Oh one last thing, I need help thinking of some American food to make for my family. Got any Ideas? Comment below.(Something other than burgers and pizza)