Copenhagen, Bike Problems, and School

I moved in with Anette on the 10th of August. Her daughter, Nanna, would be leaving the following day so her friends came over to wish her off. We spoke about the differences between Alaska and Denmark, and learned how blunt Danes were. The questions of boys, life, school, and the normal going-ons of life were familiar. It was a nice evening.

On the 11th, Nanna woke me up for breakfast and we ate some cereal and soon after we got ready to drive to Copenhagen. The drive to Copenhagen took about four hours, and once we got there we met up with Anette's other daughter, Sabina, and Nanna's dad.

We sent all the students off, and I met a Japanese girl who was also sending her brother off for his exchange. She told me she'd see me soon at the IntroCamp and I told her I looked forward to it.

The rest of the day, Anette, Sabina, and I walked around the central part of Copenhagen where they showed me the shopping street, Tivoli (the oldest amusement park in the world), and the Queen's castle in Copenhagen. I was told that the Queen was still in her summer house in Aarhus.

After our excursion in the city, Anette and I drove back home to Skanderborg where I rested up for school the following day.

When I woke up on the morning of the 12th, I was excited to bike to school but the bike I was supposed to use had a flat, so Anette had to drive me. All the new students were receiving rice showers. Apparently, it's a tradition for the older students to throw rice at the incoming students to "welcome" them.

Because I had to finish registering at the front office, I showed up to class late and everyone stared at me as I walked in. No one really wanted to talk to me, and I was super nervous. We had to introduce ourselves with some information, and the only thing I remember is telling the class that my favorite animal is the penguin.

On the 13th, I received my CPR number, kind of like a Social Security Number. It logs me into the Danish system, meaning if I had gotten hurt I wouldn't have to pay for medical care.

On the 14th, I rode my bike to school and that's when I realized my legs were going to look awesome by the end of the year.

During the weekend, I got a little homesick, but I spent a lot of time out in the gardens where I ate apples and plums off the trees and berries off of the bushes.

Monday the 17th, I went to my first Rotary meeting where I was introduced to all the club members. This is when I found out how much Danes looooove to sing and how much music is incorporated into their lives. I later found that songs are used to celebrate birthdays, confirmations, and other milestones in life.

On the 18th, I received my cell phone. The rest of the week was spent doing homework and spending time in the garden when possible. :)

Lost luggage, Greenland, and the Skanderborg Music Festival

So many things happened this week! The immersion process was crazy. I loved that most everyone was able to speak English with me, but my favorite part was that the family I was living with had a daughter who had just returned from exchange in Canada. It was really good to spend time with someone who had experience in all the emotions that I was currently going through.

Sunday

I was woken up early in the morning, around 7 or 8 by my host mom, Marianne, to eat breakfast. I brushed my hair and went upstairs, where I was greeted "good morning" by my host dad (Hans Christian whom we called HC), host brother (Kristian), and host cousin (Ludvig). Ludvig, as I understood it, was visiting us from the west coast of Denmark where his parents were fishermen. 

We spoke about the different types of fish that we fished for in Kodiak while I tried some very Danish foods. In front of me were rugbrød (rye bread), regular bread, leverpostej (liver pate), and pålægschokolade (thin pieces of chocolate), cheese, fruit, different types of meats, and jam. 

I tried a piece of rye bread with liver pate on it but I didn't like it. The pålægschokolade on white bread was pretty good and I also liked bread with a slice of cheese and jam on top. I had never eaten cheese and jam like that before, so it was a little weird. 

After breakfast, I called back home to Kodiak to let my parents know that I had arrived. Let them know about my excursion on the train and how I didn't have my luggage yet because all the businesses were closed for Sunday. It was an emotional call because it really struck me that I was on the other side of the world from my parents.

In the late morning, I headed in to Skanderborg with my mom. She drove me around town showing me where my school, the bus/train station, and the main shopping streets were located. It was really different to see mostly brick buildings, but it was comforting to see the lake. It reminded me of Kodiak and the ocean. 

We grabbed sandwiches for lunch and headed home after she finished some paperwork. 

When we arrived back at the house, I went on a walk with my host sister (Anne Katrine or AK) and our dog. I thought that the place where the house was located was pretty urbanized because there were many houses together, but just a few turns here and there and we were in fields and trees. 

After getting back to the house, AK and I watched a Swedish film because she thought that it was mostly in English. It wasn't mostly in English, but mostly in Swedish with different parts being in English. We also couldn't figure out how to turn the subtitles on in English, so I watched a Swedish film without help from a translator. AK would look over to see if I was following along, and she was surprised I could give her a recount of all the events in the film. 

We ate dinner after the film, and it was pretty normal. Meat, potatoes, veggies, and a roll. Because HC worked at an ice cream factory where they develop new flavors, I was able to taste some flavors I had never known existed before, including blueberry torte. 

Rest of the Week

The rest of the week was kind of a blur.

Monday my host sister and I left to go to the Skanderborg music festival. We helped her friend set up a tent and I was introduced to the large drinking culture for the first time. It was a shock to see students my age walking around with cases of beer and bags full of liquor.

We also joined a group of people who were just sitting around talking and when AK told them that I was from Alaska they didn't believe her. They kept saying that I was from Greenland and I understood everything they said because I knew how to speak Danish. It turns out that the guy telling me all these things would be in my class the following week. 

When we came home from the festival, my luggage had arrived! I was really happy to be able to access all the clothes I had packed for the year. I was just glad I came from Kodiak and had learned about lost luggage and delayed flights and had packed extra clothes in my carry-on. 

On Tuesday we relaxed quite a bit and on Wednesday, AK and I went back to the festival to experience the music and festival life. I met with my next host mom, Anette, and she explained that the reason I had gone to live with HC and Marianne was because she was working late hours at the festival. I told her I understood and she let me know that she was very excited to have me stay with her. 

At the festival, AK and I got lost trying to find where the tickets were sold, so we went back to the camp to figure out where to go. We walked through the woods, and AK brought me to the ticket counter to retrieve her armband for the weekend, and she surprised me by buying me an armband for the evening. She told me her parents wanted me to go see the main stage. I was so grateful! 

That evening, when we went to go watch some of the bands, we followed the lights in the woods to see the main stage. There were lights in the trees and a huge windmill in the middle. It was a sight to behold. I've made it my life goal to go back and experience the whole festival for myself. 

On the way back to the campgrounds where I would be picked up, we grabbed a shawarma. It was super tasty. 

The rest of the week, was spent at home except for the day that my mom and I went into Aarhus and ate lunch at RarBar. On Saturday evening we had dinner with some of HC and Marianne's friends and went to the festival and listened to some country music. It was very relaxing.

My first week in Denmark was full of new experiences and I am so glad that I was able to spend it with such a wonderful family. 

Denmark, At Last!

The only word close to the mix of emotions that I was feeling as we approached our destination is ANXIOUS. The excitement, nervousness, happiness, and fear made my stomach turn, but I knew that after the plane landed I'd have one more flight and I wouldn't have to see another plane until I left to go back to Alaska. 

Once we got off the plane, we went off to get our bags. Two of the American girls were getting picked up in Copenhagen so their luggage came through the baggage pick-up. Oregon guy, Idaho, Canada, and I had one more connecting flight to Aarhus and where we'd be picked up by our families. 

We told the Rotarian who came to aid us at the airport that we were told we would have to recheck our baggage one last time in Copenhagen so we waited, and waited for our bags to come through. The line signaled that there were no more baggages coming so we had to figure out what was going on. 

The Rotarian called some people and found out that we didn't need to recheck our luggage and that we should've already been on our plane! We rushed to try and catch the plane, but we missed it by only five minutes. I mean the bus was driving so fast I was surprised we didn't hit a curb! 

After a few calls, where we didn't know what was going on, because we didn't speak a lick of Danish, we were lead towards the train station. We were going to ride the train to Aarhus! This was exciting for me. I'd never been on a train before. 

We were given our first class train tickets and the Rotarian waved us off. The train lurched forward and off we went on our adventure. We drove across the country of Denmark, going through underwater tunnels we were unaware of and stopping at stations with weird names we could not pronounce. 

Oh, except Middelfart! We could read that one pretty well. I couldn't help but giggle, and even though the others chastised me on my childishness, the man sitting across the aisle from us did get a kick from my amusement. We also passed through the city of Skanderborg, where I would be going to school and living for the year. 

At 1 or 2 AM on August 2, 2009, I was finally received my first family. HC and Marianne, had smiles on their faces, and welcomed me with hugs.  I was only going to stay with them for the first week but that just added to the adventure. On the drive home, they told me how there were many of them at the airport waiting for us to arrive, and that they were very worried when they found out we would be arriving by train instead of plane. I would have loved to speak, but I was speechless. I was shocked by their hospitality and so grateful they stayed up so late to come pick me up. 

The first thing I did when I got to the house, was take a shower. After over 50 hours of traveling, I felt dirty. As soon as I was scrubbed clean, HC asked me if I would like to call my parents to let them know I had arrived. I explained that it was during the middle of the day and no one would be home so  we settled on calling the following moring. As soon as I was tucked in bed, I was out like a light. 

On the Road to Denmark

Okay, the title might be a little bit off. First of all, I wasn't on a road, I was in the air and lots of airports. I had quite a few lay-overs. As per my itinerary, I would fly from Kodiak-Anchorage, Anchorage-Portland, Portland-O'Hare, O'Hare-Warsaw, Warsaw-Copenhagen, Copenhagen-Aarhus. Here are the happenings from each lay-over until we finally arrived in Denmark.

Anchorage

I arrived distraught. After going through the airport debacle where I thought I wouldn't be able to say "good-bye" to my parents I just felt defeated. I hoped that the incident wasn't a foreshadowing of what was to come during my exchange year.

I had almost six hours to kill in Anchorage so I checked into the Military YMCA/Lounge and read while I waited for one of my closest friends to visit with me for a while. We were texting to figure out the best place to meet up. I ended up leaving my sanctuary to find her in the departures area.

She brought me the pins her mom had been able to acquire for me, and we spoke about life and caught up. The hours passed and it wasn't long until it was time for me to go through the security area and wait at my gate to board. There were more good-byes and lots more hugs, but I was so happy I was able to see her before I left on my journey.

While going through security, I met a family who had just said good-bye to an exchange student who went through another program, Youth for Understanding (YFU). They shared their laments with me and wished me luck on my travels and my year.

As I sat waiting for my plane to board, another man came up to me. He told me he saw my blazer, and wished me luck on my travels, as well. The man was a Rotarian. He wanted to give me a pin from his country, I believe he was from South America, but all his pins were checked-in with his other bags.

I knew that being a Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) student would lead me to meet many people, and this was just the beginning.

Portland

Portland was my longest lay-over. It was so long I had to pick my luggage up at the carousel and recheck-in five hours later. I dragged two pieces of luggage, my backpack, and my purse around for five hours. 

Well I didn't really lug them around the whole time. I only had an hour until the desks opened, so I found a coffee shop and ate breakfast. I was so glad my flight from Anchorage was at night so I accomplished sleeping on the plane.  I found a nice cozy table where I was able to bring out my computer and look on Facebook. Without Facebook, I think I would have lost my sanity. I was also very glad that my flight from Anchorage to Portland was during the evening so I was able to sleep on the plane. 

After checking in, I went through security and sat around at the gate. I got bored after a bit so I went and walked down to the food court, checked in on Facebook (my sanity for most of the year), and killed more hours on the internet. 

As the time for my next flight loomed closer, I laid out on a bench. I knew that there I should be meeting with some other exchange students on their way to Denmark, but I didn't know when they would be arriving or if they were already there so I just waited (lots of waiting). 

Two girls came up to me, as I laid their like a dope. One of them was from Canada and one from Idaho (yes, I did ask the one from Idaho if she came from potato country). We (yes) waited together and while we sat there we deduced that two more would be joining us for the journey to Denmark. 

An hour before boarding, a guy from Oregon joined our waiting party (not really a party), and soon after him, another girl (also from Oregon) arrived. Together, we flew to O'Hare. 

O'Hare

I thought Portland was a big airport, but it's small compared to O'Hare. It was the busiest airport I had ever seen (and I've been in a lot because I've travelled to and from the Philippines quite a few times in my life). People everywhere were rushing to get to their gates to catch their connecting flight. If I hadn't been with the group, I'm 99.9% sure I would have gotten lost and missed my flight completely. Luckily, I was in a group and we had plenty of time to get to our next gate. 

Oh, we also gained a new member to our waiting party. Another member for team USA! 

On the plane we were all pretty separated, except for the guy from Oregon, the girl from Idaho, and me. Oregon and I sat together and Idaho sat a couple rows back from us to the right. 

Oregon kept me entertained as he tried to hit on one of the stewardesses. "Are you from Denmark?" he asked. 

"No. I am Ukrainian," she retorted, appalled he would think her a Scandinavian. 

She walked away so quickly he wasn't able to say the punchline, "Because I heard that Danes were the most beautiful people in the world." 

Good think it was another night flight so he could sleep away that burn. 

Warsaw

When we arrived in Warsaw, I assumed we would have to go through customs and declare all of our belongings, but we walked right on through (I had anxiety over all the paperwork we would have had to do for nothing!). They stamped our passports and waved us into the country. 

The only thing that stopped you from misbehaving were the militaristic looking officials, kind of like the Polish version of the TSA, but G.I. Joe looking. Even the female official looked like she could take on a guy twice her size. We tried to get a picture of them, but they told us it was not allowed. 

We settled on finding food and shopping around for things to remind us of our little stint in the Polish airport. When it was almost time to board the plane we were told to get on busses and we drove out to another building where we boarded our plane. 

And so the journey to Denmark commenced. We were all so excited to start our year in Denmark we were relieved that the bulk of our travels were over. 

Leaving for Denmark

July 30, 2009

My family decided to have a going away party for me, so I invited a ton of my friends to come over to say good-bye. It was great. I was so happy to see everyone. My bags were already checked in, all I had to do was go back to the airport to get on the airplane.

The party was dying down and the time to get on the airplane was getting closer and closer. Some of my dad's friends showed up late, so we brought food back out and the adults began to chit chat. I needed to get to the airport at least 30 minutes before my flight to get ready for boarding so I left with my Godmother, my parents promising to be right behind us.

We get to the airport, meet with my Rotary Counselors, and wait for my parents. Minutes pass, and soon enough they're calling for early boarding. My parents haven't walked through the doors yet. I wait for the last minute to board. The final boarding call comes through the intercom. I ask the flight attendant to hold off the plane. "I'm waiting for my parents. I haven't said good-bye to them yet, please, let me wait a couple of minutes," I beg.

After another five minutes my parents have yet to walk through the doors. "Sweetie, you have to go on now," the attendant tells me.

"No, please, just a couple more minutes they said they'd be right here. I'm leaving for a year, I have to say good-bye," I explain. Tears are beginning to well in my eyes.

She leaves and talks over the radio system to let the attendants on the plane know that they were still waiting for one passenger. Five more minutes pass and the attendant comes back and lets me know they can't hold the flight any longer. I have to get on the plane.

I begin to follow her towards the door when I see my mom walking through the door. I drop all my things and run to her, the tears flowing down my face. "I thought I wouldn't be able to say good-bye," I told her.

"It's okay," she says, "I'm here. You're going to be okay. I love you. We're going to miss you."

I ask her where my dad is. She says he's parking the car. He'll be right in.

As she's finishing her sentence, my dad walks through the doors. I run to him for a big hug. "I love you, Daddy! I'm going to miss you so much. Tell Anthony (my little brother) I love him and I'm going to miss him," I whisper to him.

"We'll miss you, too. Have fun. We love you," he whispers through my hair.

The flight attendant comes and tells me it's time. I hug both my parents one more time and walk towards the plane. Walking towards the plane, I look back towards the window and wave to my parents. I knew, at that moment, their love and support would be the backbone of my year abroad. They would help me get through all the upcoming challenges, no matter what.

This was the first time I truly knew that my parents were my number one supporters, the two most important people in my life.