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.