French Class

It shouldn't come as a surprise that I've ended up with a slightly mad French teacher. No matter what country you're in, some things never change... She's crazy, yes, but a good kind of crazy. I really enjoy going to my French class, mostly because I can actually understand what's going on. It also feels great to be using my French. I've actually been able to "flip" the class and use it to learn some Danish. I'm interested to see what else this class has in store for the rest of the year! I'll keep you updated.

First Rotary Meeting

Tonight I attended my first Rotary meeting, where I also had to present my home country and myself. I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I spent the better part of the afternoon preparing for my presentation and I'm happy to say that it went very well. Once I got up in front of the whole club I felt relaxed and excited to tell them about where I come from. My preparation really paid off! 

It was great to meet the members, they were very friendly and welcoming. My calendar is now full of activities with rotarians, so I'm really looking forward to the next couple of months.

To summarize, first meeting/presentation = success! Can't wait for more to come :-)

The president of the club and I.

My counsellor Susanne and I.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice-Cream!

Danes love ice-cream. Walking down the main pedestrian street in Vejle you can easily find five or six different ice-cream parlours. No matter rain, shine or anything else in between, it's always a great day for ice-cream. I think I've landed in the right country!

A message to the foreigners...

Language Blunders

Before you go on exchange you hear endless stories of funny and embarrassing moments that happen while you're trying to communicate in a foreign language. It's an inevitable part of your experience during your year abroad. 

My first gaffe of the year happened today while I was simultaneously chatting with a classmate and working on a project for danish class. Here's how the conversation played out.

Classmate: "Har du spist bjørn før?"

Me: "Ja. Jeg har spist børn før!"

*Eruption of laughter from the people in hearing range*

My classmate asked me if I had ever eaten bear before (another story) and I replied, "Yes, I've eaten children before!" Whoops...

I was then stuck trying to convey (in Danish) that I was, in fact,  not a cannibal. Hopefully they understood my explanation!

Hans Christian Andersen

"To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote:

 To travel is to live."

-H. C. Andersen

I found this quote quite fitting after a trip to the famous writer's house in the town of Odense this Sunday. This trip was the most fascinating outing of my stay in Denmark up until now. Why? I remember reading the celebrated Dane's fairy tales when I was a little kid. Seeing his house and neighbourhood made those magical stories come alive. The neighbourhood where he resided is quaint and makes you feel as if you could be in a fairy tale yourself. 

My host sister Clara & I in front of H. C Andersen's house.

H. C Andersen's house.

First Week of School

I have officially completed my first week of Danish gymnasium. Other than being sick, the week went really well. I'm in a great class at an awesome school. Can't wait for next week :-)

Myself, Mady (USA), Lucio (Argentina), Kato (Thailand) & Poncho (Mexico) outside of the gymnasium.

Youtube

Hello everyone. I wanted to let you all know about my youtube channel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/25cchase?feature=mhee

One of my favourite ways to document my life in Denmark is through film. Throughout the year a lot of my updates will be through this channel. So please feel free to go and check it out.

Intro Camp

 This pas week I was in the town of Bjerringbro attending an event called Intro Camp, that Rotary organizes each year for all 150 international exchange students across the country. It was so cool to get to meet so many new people from all around the world.

The camp was run by a group of "Super Awesome" teachers and was held at a local højskole. Each day went something like this... We started with breakfast and a morning assembly, before heading to six hours of Danish lessons. I was disappointed with the Danish course, because I had learned all the curriculum before arriving in Denmark, then was retaught it at language classes in Vejle and finally had to sit through another six hours of lessons I had already learned twice, each day. Oh well, c'est la vie.

During the evenings we had different evening activities we could choose to participate in. I decided to have a go at filipino stick fighting and advanced danish courses. I'm happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself at both activities. 

On the other nights of the week we took part in a bonfire, where we roasted bread over the fire, traded pins for our blazers and had the chance to rock climb. There were so many students trading pins that evening, that by the end of the night I wasn't sure who I had giving already given my pins to and who I hadn't. It was chaotic. Fun, but chaotic. On our last night there was a talent show, where each class had to present a little show. Most classes showcased music or dances from the different cultures present in the class' students. My class sang Hakuna Matata in English and Danish.

Another highlight of the week was an outing to Denmark's second largest city, Aarhus. In the morning we got a tour of one of the coolest art museums I've ever been to, ARoS. My favourite pieces of art were created by the artist Olafur Elliason. This artist likes to make you part of the art work. His master pieces were like nothing I had ever seen before. The finale of our ARoS tour was a walk around Elliason's rainbow creation, which offers visitors a panoramic view of the city in all the colours of the rainbow. It was breathtaking. 

Your Rainbow Panorama - Olafur Elliason

So if you're ever Denmark, ARoS is a must see.

The rest of the day we spent exploring the city.

Sunday it was time to head home. I was sad to say goodbye to all the cool people I met, but happy to be heading home, where a nice long sleep awaited me. Thanks Rotary for an amazing week in Bjerringbro!