October has been an emotional month with some sad goodbyes/ see you laters but also many many fun activities! I began the month with a family trip to Ebeltoft where we stayed from Friday night to Sunday morning. I got to meet so many more people on John’s side of the family which was really nice. We played board games, went for walks, played a game called rundbold which is similar to baseball, and made something called snobrød. Snobrød is basically bread dough that you twist around a stick and cook it over the embers of a fire. You then fill it with jam and enjoy, it was a really cool experience. It was a great weekend because I spent a lot of time playing with Jacob, my little host brother. We climbed trees and ran all around the place haha. As we left Ebeltoft, we also went and explored this huge ship called Fregatten Jutland. It’s one of the world’s largest wooden ships and it’s absolutely beautiful! The following weekend I went to a town called Struer with my 3 best friends from my class. We stayed in the summerhouse of my friend Emma’s Uncle which was so cosy! The first night we went to a spa and spent 3 hours there making sure we used every spa and sauna in the establishment haha. I haven’t felt so relaxed all year so it was really lovely just to relax and talk for so long. The other days were also spent relaxing, playing cards, cooking, and lots of talking! It was a fantastic weekend and I got to know them even better. This week was Efterårsferie (Autumn break) and I spent a couple days out shopping with my host cousin Nikoline and another girl called Anni from my school. On Thursday, we held a farewell dinner where everyone from Mette and John’s family was invited (the people I got to know really well). It was so nice but really emotional because they have come to be my family here so it was almost like leaving my family in NZ except I can still visit them in my last couple months. Friday was my last day with them. Mette, Jacob, Mette’s mum and I all went to a place called Leo’s Legeland which is similar to Chipmunks in NZ. It was so much fun and I definitely used up a lot of energy chasing Jacob everywhere haha. We then made a visit to IKEA right next door where we had lunch and looked around the store because I hadn’t been there before. After this, we headed home and I spent the afternoon packing. We ended the day by having Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner and watching a movie together. After dinner Mette and John gave me a gift which was a photo book with all the things we had been doing together. Understandably it made me very emotional haha. Saturday came around and then I was moving family. We all ate brunch together at my new house and I said my goodbyes. I’ve been with them for about a week now and it’s great. They’re so nice and my host dad Brian reminds me so much of my own dad. We are constantly laughing which is so nice and within 3 days of me being there we already had inside jokes hahaha. I have 2 host siblings; Madeline (17) who went on exchange to Australia and Bastian her younger brother (15). I also have 2 half host sibling but they live with their mum most of the time so I haven’t met them yet. This weekend just gone (25-27) I had a Rotary get together in Holbæk where I got to meet every exchange student in Denmark with Rotary. It was so cool and we partied both nights all night long. I made some really good friends and caught up with the friends I hadn’t seen in such a long time. For example, there were a group I hadn’t seen since intro camp all the way back in January. There were a few activities we could participate in like Pumpkin carving, watching a movie or playing soccer but most of the time we just spent talking and enjoying the time together. We had a costume party on Saturday night and Zara, Alanna, Lexie and I all dressed as nuns! It was so fun. There was also like a cultural performance we all had to do that represented our country. Me and the other two girls from NZ sang 3 Maori songs; Tutira Mai, Te Aroha and E Papa. I was so nervous because we were only 3 people on stage but it was alright because we had each other and just had fun. It was really cool to watch all the other performances and how they represented their countries. They varied from dances to songs, plays or even just speaking about the special things in their country. That night we had live music and then a DJ which provided for a long and extremely fun night. Sunday morning was tear filled as we all had to say goodbye to each other. It was the saddest for us (the Winter team) because this is most likely the last time we will see each other again. One of the Argentinian’s (Damian) is leaving on Wednesday and he is a close friend to us all so it was really hard. We are an extremely close group, more like a family, because we have been through a lot together and we were each others constant apart from school. We understand each other so it was hard to say goodbye. It also brought around the reality that we only have 2 months left which is crazy! I have so many plans coming up and I just know time will fly by.
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September has been a roller coaster month for me with a couple of really low lows. I’m going to start with those to get them out of the way and to move on to the rest of the month where the good stuff happened. So my month began by waking up really early one morning in something called sleep paralysis. This is not a fun experience at all and is extremely terrifying. In case you don’t know what it is, it's when your mind wakes up before your body I guess, and you’re paralysed, unable to move anything or talk, and for me even breathing was difficult. You feel so helpless because you can’t do anything and panic really sets in when you try and yell for help and no sound comes out. I was quite rattled for that day. One week later, one of my Farfars (my dad’s step dad) passed away and I attended his funeral on the 12th of September. This was one of the toughest times for me because I lost a family member. I needed to be strong to support my Farmor (Dad’s mum), my aunt and my cousin who knew him a lot better than I did. It was so hard to see them in so much pain as well as having to deal with my own emotions as well. I have never wanted to see my dad more than in this moment so for a few days I was also dealing with some homesickness. The closer this year is coming to an end the more homesick I become which I believe is very normal but it still sucks.
Sadness and low points aside, I had a really good month. The first Friday of September I attended a fredags cafe which is just sitting at school with friends and having a great time. After this my class held a party and I went to that as well. It was really nice because all of my close friends from class weren’t at this party so it gave me the opportunity to talk with and get to know my other classmates. I’m now not afraid to go to a party when my friends won’t be there because I had a really good time with the others. Even surprised them with my danish that had improved over summer break. That weekend my real Uncle and Aunt from Horsens picked me up and we went to Copenhagen where one of my cousins was having a name giving ceremony. It was so nice to see all of my family again. We ate a lot of food and socialised the whole day. I also stayed and had dinner once all the guests had left so it was really nice. The next Friday, my school had a Gymfest which is a party at school. This time the theme was rainbow so there was lots of colour everywhere which was really funny to see because Danes mostly always dress in black. There were also meanings to the colours you wore; for example, green was single and ready to mingle, blue was cheap and easy, yellow was it's complicated, red was taken, and there were a couple others as well. It was a really cool party and I had a lot of fun. Saturday and Sunday I was in Odense with my best friends Zara, Lexie and Alanna and we met some newbies. Like all of our meet ups we just talked, ate and listened to music. Zara, Lexie and I stayed at Alanna's house and had a really nice sleepover and ate pancakes in the morning <3. On the 19th, I went to a citizen help centre, I’m not too sure what it’s called in English but in Danish it’s the Borgerservice. I had applied for my citizenship back on the 10th and they told me it was accepted, so now I am officially a danish citizen! This was really exciting because then in the same day I ordered a danish passport which has now arrived. Having a danish passport is a huge advantage because it opens up all of Europe to me for travel or even future places to live and work. It also means I can come in and out of Denmark a lot easier in the future so I’m extremely happy. The 20-21st, I was in a town called Holstebro for my friend Beatriz’s 18th birthday. She is from Brazil and the other people there were all Brazilian newbies and one Argentinian oldie like myself. It was really nice to be invited and I had a great time! All of the people were so nice and I got a chance to practice a little danish with her danish friends. The following weekend my host family and I went to Skagen and stayed. It is a really beautiful place and I loved seeing where the 2 seas meet as well as the few bunkers scattered over the beach. We had a lot of fun walking around and jumping all around the sand dunes like the big children we are haha. Our nights were spent chatting and playing board games which was so lovely. It was a great way to conclude September. This month has shown me the important things exchange has taught me. One of these being that exchange has given me a lot of strength emotionally with all the different challenges we face here. I could really see this when my dads step dad passed away because I while it was an emotional time for me, I remained strong and was able to support my family as well in this tough time. Strength isn’t always about putting a brave face on though, and I have also learned that strength can also come from recognising when you aren’t okay or admitting when you’re upset. Recognising it can help you move past everything and that is where the strength comes from… overcoming and growing as a person. To me it’s one of the most important things I have learnt so far. Sorry for my posts being delayed recently. As the last stretch of this is here, my time is also being stretched with everything going on. But regardless, I hope you enjoy this entry and look forward to Octobers! Sending all my love... |