I’ve been in Denmark for 2 and a half months now and it’s so crazy to think I’ll be moving to my second host family in less than 20 days. I keep myself busy with lots of things to do so time just flies by. This month has definitely had its highs and lows. My Dad’s mum here was very sick for a period of time and my Dad actually came over to see her. It was a hard time to be strong for them both but the key was to stay as positive as possible like I normally do and now she’s well underway in her recovery. It was also very hard to deal with the news of the mass shooting in Christchurch in the middle of this month. That was definitely one of the hardest days I’ve had while being here but seeing the response from everyone in NZ and how united we have shown world we are, it has really helped with knowing it’s going to be okay.
Throughout this month I have done quite a lot of things. I met up with my oldie Gaston a few times and to sum it up for you, we spent our time talking and eating. At the start of the month (1st March) I went to one of my really good Danish friends, Emma's, 18th Birthday party which was a lot of fun. The night was spent dancing, singing, eating and laughing a lot. My Dad had just arrived in Denmark a couple days before so he picked me up from her place the next morning (2nd March) and we spent the day together. I showed him around my little town, Odder, and where I go to school. We visited Torben and Ulla who hosted me for 5 days during the winter ferie (holiday) and had coffee and cake with them. It was so nice to be able to introduce them to my dad. They are actually in NZ now and they planned to visit my family when they went anyway but then my Dad ended up being in DK so they wouldn't see him in NZ. After this, we went and visited Farmor in hospital before coming back to my house for dinner. It was so nice that he could finally meet my first host family in person. The next day (3rd March) he came and picked me up and we went and visited Farmor and Hardy (her husband) as well. It was very hard to see Hardy as he was because he just wasn’t happy and didn’t really understand anything. I couldn’t understand much but what I did understand was him telling dad that he doesn’t like the care home, it’s like hell. It’s hard to hear because it’s the best place for him and he was so different to when I last saw him in 2012 which was sad. After our short visit we went to the car, blasted some country music and sung our way to Randers. We had brunch at Farfar and Marianne’s house with Martin, Gitte, Kresta and Robert which was very hyggelig. After brunch we went for a walk to see deer and a playground. We then drove back home and had coffee with my host family and then my dad left again. The day after the next (5th March), I took the day off school to spend with dad. We got flødeboller and I showed him the Salling glass rooftop which was very nice. We then walked around for a little bit and found an Italian restaurant and had Carbonara for lunch which was the best because I haven’t had that much pasta since being here. Then we visited Farmor back in her apartment and then we went back to Odder to attend my Rotary meeting. It was so nice to introduce him to everyone, especially Jette my counsellor. This was the last day I’d see him so it was a really good day. A couple days later (7th March) I was in France. For 4 days we were champagne tasting, eating lots of very good food and exploring the history of Reims which was the town we stayed in. There were about 36 of us. We landed in Paris about 3pm and had a 2 hour bus ride until we reached Reims and our hotel. I resorted to music and watching the scenery. Reims is a very old town and most of the buildings you could see the age of them from the facade. We all settled in to our *4 star* hotel and then headed out to dinner at a really nice restaurant. The next day (8th March) we had breakfast at 8:30 then had a 2 hour bus drive to get to the champagne house where we would have lunch and taste some champagne. The owners of the Champagne house took us on a walk through their vineyard that had a beautiful view and explained the processes they go through to get their product. They also took us down to the huge barrels, storage area and bottling machines which was very fascinating to see. We then took the bus an an hour away to a michelin star restaurant for dinner and has a long drive back to the hotel. Our last proper day in France (9th March) was amazing. We went sightseeing and had a danish tour guide tell us about different places and show us around. We went to a fancy Italian restaurant for lunch. After lunch, myself and two other girls left the group to do some exploring of Reims ourselves. We went shopping in a huge mall and went to the Cathedral - Notre Dame. It was so beautiful and old; the stained glass windows were absolutely magical and really helped further express the beauty of it. We then went back to the hotel after getting Macaroons and started to get ready for the big anniversary dinner. Laura (my roommate), straightened my hair while we listened to music and talked and after more music and more talking, the time came to go to the restaurant. It was beautiful and was one of the best nights I’ve had since I’ve been away. Entree was prawns with a salsa and I ate it all which I was so proud of, main was steak and fries and dessert was a lava cake with some kind of berry ice cream. (10th March) we flew home and just spent the day relaxing as much as possible. The next afternoon (11th March) I went and got smoothies and pizza with two of my friends from my Danish language lessons. On the 14th it was Antonia's birthday so we woke her and her friend up in the morning by singing happy birthday which was interesting for me considering I didn't know the words to the song very well haha. I stood there with lyrics in hand and tried my hardest so I guess that's all you can ask for. Friday 15th was a very difficult day. I woke up to news about the mass shooting in Christchurch back in NZ which broke my heart. 50 people died and 4 people have were taken into custody for the crime. It was a really rough morning full of worry and sadness. Many of the other exchange students from NZ have family in Christchurch and a lot were very upset including myself because we could see all of these comments saying to "hold your families close tonight and tell them you love them." and we can't because we're so far away. I did manage to forget about it for a while though when I had the night out in Aarhus with my 3 closest friends in my class. The next day I participated in a plastic/rubbish clean up in Aarhus with one of my exchange friends, Fausto. It was something I had really been looking forward to because it's a way to help give back to this beautiful country and to just help the environment in general. After we finished the clean up, I met with Grace and we spent the day together walking around Aarhus and talking. It was great to see her again considering I hadn't seen her in ages. Around 5pm she left and I met up with Nico and Fausto for the evening. Jumping to a week later (22nd March) I met Zara in Aarhus and we went around and did some shopping and just spent some time together. She then came back to my place and stayed the night which was so much fun. We had a bubble bath, snacked, talked for hours and listened to music which was so nice since I hadn’t seen her since intro camp in January. The next morning we woke up bright and early to get ready for the day. We arrived in Aarhus around 10:30 and I took her to the Aros museum since she hadn't been to Aarhus before. The rainbow panorama was the goal for some photos so we headed up there while there were hardly any people around. There were some other cool parts of the museum we went to before leaving to go meet some other exchange students at the train station. After this, the group of us took the bus to a beach area where we would meet some others. Some decided it was a great idea to go swimming. I happily volunteered to be the person behind the camera, aka to stay dry and laugh at their freezing tushes. We all spent the day catching up with each other, dancing, singing, eating and just having a good time. It was the last time we would get to see one of the exchange students before he left so we made sure he had a good time. When the day was over, one of my friends, Sofia, from Mexico stayed over at my place. The next day we took the bus into Aarhus again so she could get her train home. There were still a few other exchange students hanging out in the city waiting for their trains that would come around 5pm. We hung out with them at the Salling rooftop and then headed down to the river that runs through the city and sat, ate and talked. Time flew by and before I knew it everyone had taken their train home. That left Bren (a newbie like me from Argentina) and I. Her train didn’t leave until 9 pm so I decided I would stay with her so she wasn’t alone in a city she didn’t know for three hours. She lives close to Copenhagen so I hadn’t seen her in 2 months or since intro camp. We talked for ages and got to know each other better which was so nice. For dinner we decided on kebabs because we had pizza for lunch and it was slightly healthier than the other options *cough* burger king *cough*. At about 8:15 I went home because I was so drained of all energy and intended on an early night for once. HA what a joke. Ended up on call with some Australians I don’t know but Grace knows and called for 2 and a half hours. Tea was good so made up for the fact instead of bed at 9 it was bed at 11:30. It was a pretty full on weekend so I was very tired this week, but it was my sister's Birthday on the 26th so I called her which was so nice. I think I had my first twang on homesickness because it is the first time I haven't celebrated her Birthday with her. No one here is a goofy as she is and I miss that. Especially her annoying, crazy laugh. Moving on from that I haven't done anything this week really. I went to the gym with one of my great friends, Nicoline, and then to the beach yesterday. It was so nice to just be alone. Completely alone. Just me, the sea, the sound of the water lapping against the rocks and feel of my feet sinking into the sand as the sun hugged me in comfort. I've been living by the beach for 2 and a half months and I was the first time I went there and I regret not going sooner. I guess it reminded me of home and I didn't know if I could handle that until now. School has been alright but pretty boring in the classes I can’t participate in. I have amazing friends that are just the best which really helps me through the day. We have the goal set to have me go home each day with a new Danish word learn and so far it’s going really well. The other day (26th March) I accidentally spoke danish to one of my friends thinking I’d said it in English. I wasn’t taught the words it just came out so I was really happy about that. Also last week I listened to my danish playlist and was able to understand some of the lyrics the artists were singing that I didn’t know two weeks prior. Danish is a very difficult language but the people around me are really helping. I can understand more than I speak which I’m sure goes for everyone but it gets really draining having to focus so hard to try understand. By the time you understand one word someone has said, three more have followed and you get lost in the conversation so I can’t wait until I finally just get it. I have some really exciting plans for April already and I'm really looking forward to next week. Tuesday I will go to Aros Museum with my art class, Wednesday I have a charity salsa night in Vejle, Friday I have a Gymfest and Saturday and Sunday I will be having a girls time sleepover with Zara and Lexie. That's just a glimpse of next week so you can imagine what April as a month is going to be like. Hope you look forward to the next update, sending love from Denmark xx
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