Holidaying

I wrote this blog post more than a month back, but the reason I have not posted it yet, is because my laptop began to fail and I had a hard time transferring pictures to the other laptop I'm currently using. Enjoy reading :)

Alle der vil gerne læse denne på Dansk, bare tryk på den Google Translate button på højre siden (det kommer kun på computere).

The past month of my Exchange has been pretty eventful. We had our Winter vacations in school, and my host Family took me along on a one-week long vacation with them and their friends.
We had out last whole-Denmark get together in Holbæk - a city on Sjælland (Zealand). And finally, today is the day that marks my 7 months in Denmark. That Means I have only 3 months left here, and I'm going to leave this country forever.

Trip to Austria

We left for Austria on the 13th of August by train. It was a long journey; it took ore than 12 hours to get there. I had never been on skis before, and even trying the ski boots winded me. When I finally figured out how to walk with ski boots on (while holding skis in my hands), we took a Gondola to the top. At first, I was on the children's training course with my host dad, surrounded by four year olds. It embarrassed me in the beginning, but I soon found my balance on skis, and we headed over to a gentle slope. I tried something that I called the stick lift, and I fell at the beginning, causing the entire lift to stop and landing headfirst in snow. After falling once more and stopping the lift yet again (much to the annoyance of everyone), I finally managed to balance myself all the way to the top. I didn't fall off a single lift after that. I continued to ski on that slope for the next 2 days. I was instructed by one of my host family's friends on day 3and 4, and I learned a lot in that period of time. He was a professional ski instructor, and I felt so fortunate to be taught by him. On my fourth day, I tried out a steeper slope, fell about a million times, and tried the chair lift (almost knocked myself over with the lift). That day, my host father took me down some very icy slopes to a small cafe where everyone decided to meet, and after a lot of shouting (from the both of us) and crying, I made it. After taking a one-day break (because my legs felt like they were dying), I did all the same things from the previous day with a little more skill and precision, and no tears. By the end, I was ale to stand up on my skis on my own when I fell, and I consider that a great achievement. I thank my host family for pushing me to my limits. I learned a lot when it comes to skiing only becuase they put up with my tantrums and forced me down some difficult slopes. In the end, they told me that I'd done much better than they had expected. I'm not sure if that was a compliment :)

Get-Together at Holbæk

The Rotex team (previous exchange students) in Denmark organised a get together for all the exchange students in Denmark. It was great to meet people from other parts of Denmark, who I hadn't seen since intro-camp, and also my fellow Indians. However, the highlight of the weekend was the Fastelavn costume party (kind of a Danish Halloween) on the second day. We painted barrels ourselves, for a game where candy was hidden in a barrel and you have to hit the barrel till it breaks. I was obviously not able to break the barrel myself, weak as I am, but luckily we were in teams. For the costume party, I decided to play Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter (yes, the nerdiest costume ever) since it was the cheapest and easiest costume for me, and because she is the most amazing villain in the history of fiction.
It was overall amazing, and I enjoyed myself to the fullest, but the most difficult part was yet to come. It was the last time I was meeting most of the exchange students, since I will most probably be leaving for India before the next get together.

I recently realized that I have been in Denmark for 7 months now! That means that I have only 3 months left. It may sound like a lot, but the rate at which time has been passing till now, My departure day will arrive in the blink of an eye. I have been away from home quite long, and I'm beginning to miss my family and friends much more than I did before, but at the same time I love living in Denmark. I have lived with two absolutely amazing families, and I'm going to move to my third within the week. I have new friends, and I've learned so much about Denmark, the world, and most, myself.
 I've heard people talk about how they went through self-realizations and know things asbout themseles that they never did before. It's hard to believe it before it happens to you. I've found myself to be a much more confident person, and comfortable with my own personality and appearance than I was before. A year can really change a person.

Language Check: I'm a Dane.

P.S. Since this post was written a long time back, it has, in reality, been 8 months since the day I came to Denmark. I have moved to my third host family.

Mit første Dansk blog

På Ringe søen

If you cannot speak Danish, refer to the translate button on the left side of the screen :)

Edit: If your translate button doesn't translate to English, Click Here.

Man kan sig jeg bliver bedre og bedre til Dansk hver dag. Jeg har skrevet hele denne blog post uden Google Translate, men jeg har brugt lidt hjælp fra mine seje Dansk venner.

Den hele sidste måned var meget lang og spændende. Jeg har lavet mange ting. Jeg har haft et møde med en meget søde Rotex member, og det var dejligt at hør hans historier fra da han var en udvekslingstudent til Australien.

Min fødselsdagkage!

Men den maste sjovt ting jeg har lavet var at holde min fødselsdag med min værtsfamilie og min veninder. Den morgen vækkede de mig med deres fødselsdag sang og mange Dansk flager. Efter skolen, har jeg spist dejligt hjemmelavede lagkage (tak til Susanne og Karla), og har jeg også spist min yndlings brunsviger sammen med dem! (det er en lækker kage med kaffe bønner i og sukker på!). Min værtsmor har også lavede deres families specialt fødselsdag boller. Vi spillede korter og det var en meget hyggelig aften. Næste dag, jeg inviteret min venner hjemme og spiste aftensmad sammen med dem før vi gik til en gymnasiefest. Den var en meget hyggelige aften. Jeg har også besøgte min veninder i Odense.

En billede før vi gik til festen

Vi fik meget sne

Min presentation i Vestermarkskolen

Jeg har lavede mange presentationer. Jeg har besøgte min første værtssøsters skole i Årslev og fortælte 3 klasser om Indien (også hendes). Det spurgte mig om mit land og jeg var glad for at svare deres spørgsmåler. Jeg har også lavede en presentation i Vestermarkskolen sammen med min værtssøster (som jeg bor hos nu) om at være en udvekslingstudent. Det var til en internationale klasse i den skole. Det var helt vildt sjovt og vi drikkede meget lækkert kakao i den skole.

En lille tegning af os de gå til vores
Dansk undervisening

Så ja, det har vært i travl måned og jeg er meget ked af det at sig, næste uge har jeg min sidste Dansk undervisening. Mit Dansk er meget bedre nu, men jeg har lavede mange gode venskaber i mit Dansk klasse, og jeg vil hele sikkert savner dem.

Mit sprog - Det kan man alle rede se; jeg har skrevet en hele side på Dansk. Jeg prøver også at lær Spansk nu, fordi det er en spændende sprog.

Halfway through my Exchange!

Last week, the world saw the beginning of a new year, and so did I, from the perspective of another country. I wouldn't say it was very different from New Year's in any other place. A little party with friends, fireworks lighting the sky and counting down till 12; that's what usually defines New Year's everywhere. In Denmark, it is also almost a tradition to watch the Queen's speech in the evening. Overlooking the fact that it was a little bit messy this year, I quite enjoyed hearing the carols played after it. In short, it was a 'hyggelit' (lovely) evening, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Slight changes have also been made to our classes in school, and we have many people who left our class, and many new people who joined it, It's interesting having new people in the class, but also a little odd. Also, my course is going to be focused on Math, Physics and Chemistry now, so I guess that makes thing a little easier.
On a more sad note, however, I am already halfway through my exchange. I have lived in Denmark for 5 MONTHS now! Although it makes my heart weep out of despair, I can't help but start thinking about how it's going to be like to go home again. It's such a difficult part of your exchange - you love your host country like crazy but you also begin to miss your home country and start appreciating a thousand times more than you did before. In any case, time flies, and I can't help but think back to my first night in Denmark:

The last time I saw my family

"My friend and I said goodbye to our families at the airport in Mumbai and boarded the flight to Frankfurt airport. She didn't cry a bit; I cried a river and caused everyone at the airport to stare at me in curiosity. Our reached about half an hour late, and we missed the first flight to Denmark. After a long hassle and asking for help from a lot of people at the airport, we finally managed to rebook our flight and we waited for about three hours before boarding the next flight to Denmark. At the airport, we figured out that our luggage had been left behind at Frankfurt airport, and that it would be delivered to us a day or two later. Meanwhile, my counsellor and his wife, who were supposed to pick me up three hours back, had to wait near the airport which was about 1 or 2 hours away from their house. I recognised my counsellor as soon as I stepped out of the airport, and he greeted me with a warm hug that erased all my frustration about the flight and luggage. They drove me to my new house, and on the way, they talked to me about Denmark. I had heard a lot of it before, since my mother had taken up reading about Denmark as a hobby, and she kept popping random facts at me sometimes. When we reached home, my host parents had to go somewhere else, so I spent the evening with my host mom's parents. They were lovely people, and I had one of my best dinner's ever at that time - spring onion pie. Reading that, you'd think it was nothing special, but at that time, it was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. They talked to me about India and Denmark, and at about 9, when the sun had yet not set, I retreated to my bed, and tired as I was, I was asleep immediately."

The first time I met my counsellor

Every day of my life in Denmark, I picture myself virtually walking through my house, remembering where every room, every sofa, even every picture frame lies. I'm too afraid of forgetting how my life used to be before I came here. Everything seems so vivid, it's like no time has passed. I think I will hold the memory of the day I arrived in Denmark. for the rest of my life. I thank everyone I met in Denmark, and everyone in India who helped me go on this exchange; thanks to them, I happened to be one of the 25 people to represent my district in India.

Language check: I guess I'm getting pretty good at Danish, because everyone person I meet tells me that I am great at Danish; it feels amazing!

2 days to Christmas: Weekend Get2Gether & Christmas markets

There's about two days left for Christmas, and the celebrations are full fledged. There are many 'Julefrokoster' (christmas lunches/dinners) and the decorations are out. Christmas trees have been bought and every house is lighted up with Christmas lights. Danish people associate the Danish flag with celebration, so basically, it looks like a HUGE political party rally. It's snowed only once till now, and although the weather forecasters may deny it, I still wish for the miracle of a white Christmas. It's the perfect possible Christmas I could imagine - sitting in the living room watching television or playing cards with my family, while fire burns in the fireplace and the trees are covered with snow outside.


Rotary Weekend Get2Gether

Our Rotary District

Rotary arranged a little weekend for all the exchange students in our district to meet and have some fun. We toured Odense, H.C Andersen's house and a Christmas market. Christmas markets are the most crowded places I can find in Denmark. Of course, it's not the most pleasant thing, but it reminds me of home. Some of these market are unaffordable, and others are relatively cheap. I haven't found a place as cheap as the dear, sweet, crowded markets of Mumbai, but Denmark is not very expensive if you look in the right places. We spent the weekend in a little camping cabin. On the first day, we got Christmas food from all of our countries and made a little buffet. India doesn't have any Christmas food, so I simply carried samosas. I was pretty lucky since a lot of people brought vegetarian food, but I wish sometimes, that I could taste all the food people offered me. We played pakkelej (a Danish Christmas tradition in which everyone has a gift and you can steal gifts from others if you roll a six on your dice). We also had a little part (without alcohol, of course) and we danced till late at night. I still haven't caught up on any sleep since that weekend, because that's how less I slept. It was great fun, and I can't wait till the next District Event.

Christmas spirit in Odense

Christmas Shopping
Shopping for Christmas gifts is one of the most confusing things that I have ever done. You want to be a bit humorous, but not offensive, you want to spend money, but not too much, and so on. I haven't bought all my gifts just yet, but it is so difficult to choose what to buy for everyone. There are Christmas sales in a few places, but Denmark is expensive even after sales!

My fitness took a little turn since the beginning of December, when I started gaining weight instead of my customary loss of weight. Maybe, it's because of my chocolate calendar (a Christmas calendar with one candy for each day of the month), or maybe it's just the many Christmas feasts and fatty food, but Christmas is sure a month when even vegetarians gain weight. It's so difficult to control your temptations and keep track when you have an array of candy and cakes lying in front of you.

Language check: I'm on a rollercoaster that only goes up!

Santa Claus is coming... to town!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the world!

4 weeks to Christmas: Hygge

Hygge

When most of you read the title of this blog post, you're gonna wonder what it means. Hygge (hyu-guh) is an untranslatable Danish word. Imagine yourself sitting in your living room with your friends and family, huddled up in a blanket, watching television or playing cards in the warmth of your house, while it snows outside. The feeling you get is cozy or hyggelit. That's what hygge is.
Winter is a time of hygge for the Danes. They love lighting up the fireplace (or switching on the heaters), and sitting with their family. Even small things could be hyggelit; for example, a dinner with  a friend, or a movie outing, or a birthday. Hygge may seem good enough by itself, but it is often partnered with cake and candy, and that makes it absolutely great. I wouldn't be surprised if hygge was the reason behind Denmark being amongst the happiest countries in the world. Other
countries have been recently trying to adopt the practice of hygge as it results in inner happiness.

Early morning snow

First Snow

I experienced the first snowfall of my life last weekend, when temperatures reached -3^oC (the lowest temperature I have ever known), and the snow lasted for two days. Ideally, it doesn't snow before December where I live, and sometimes, it snows only after New Year. However, this year, the fields were covered in white, and the snowmen were out in everyone's backyards. It doesn't seem likely to snow again anytime soon, because the temperatures have increased again, but the feeling of holding a snowball in my hand was beautiful. There was just something amazing about waking up in the morning and seeing the streets covered with s

Snowman!

now, or the glow of the snow as the sun set, or having a snow fight with your siblings, or putting a carrot into the snowman to complete it. However, biking to school with frost all over the streets is not nearly as amazing; it's pretty annoying, as a matter of fact.

Almost all the trees have lost their leaves by now, and the landscape looks really bare and dry. Winter is obviously setting in, and the sudden snowfall made that more clear than ever. It is so great the finally know a real autumn and winter.

Language check: I'm beginning to speak fluently now, and my vocabulary increases by one or two worlds each day. I can understand much of what people say, and my friends at school have also started talking to me in Danish. My Danish writing is also steadily improving. It is a bit grammatically incorrect, but understandable. At least my use of Google Translate has tremendously reduced.

I'd like to thank all my readers for staying on and reading my blog every single time. I have a total of exactly 1160 page views on my blog now!

6 weeks to Christmas: First Presentation

Christmas is HUGE in Denmark. There's about 6 weeks left for Christmas, and everybody is already preparing for Christmas. Coming from a country where Christmas is hardly celebrated, I'm completely stoked!

Christmas play

Egeskov Castle

I also went shopping to the Egeskov Julemarked (Christmas market). It was in the premises of the Egeskov castle. There were countless amazing Christmas related things; from clothes, decorations and toys, to dry fruits, jams and drinks. However, it was extremely expensive, more expensive than Denmark already is. Coincidentally, we found a shop for spices, where I bought some Indian spices for a pretty decent price. One could feel the Christmas spirit in the middle of November at that Christmas market. There was a Christmas play going on, and the whole place was lined with hundreds of Christmas trees. It was simply beautiful, and I couldn't help but feel the Christmas spirit too.

We have been singing a lot of Danish Christmas carols in the school choir lately, and I think they are beautiful. Of course, I don't understand much, but they sound really nice and I thoroughly enjoy singing them. The songs are almost always stuck in my head.

First Presentation

Speaking at the school about India

I had to give the presentation on India for the first time on Friday at a school in front of three classes. Despite being really nervous, I reckon it went quite smoothly, and the students seemed to like and understand what I put in front of them. By the end of the year, I am expected to do it in Danish, but I did it in English at the school. It's really shocking how little I knew about Denmark before I came here and how little they know about India here. It was a great experience overall, and I realised, that the exchange program has helped me overcome my stage fright. I don't feel scared in front of large crowds any longer; I have changed a lot without realising it, in only three months.


Language check: I'm able to fluently read Danish aloud (I don't understand all of it, though) and I can also speak faster Danish now. I can type messages in Danish with ease and understand messages with a little effort. I am improving at Danish at a fast pace, and needless to say, everyone is quite impressed.

P.S. For people in my sponsor district (India - 3140) interested in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program - the last date to submit the application form is the 21st of November. You can find it here: Preliminary Form.

Month 3: New family

Adjusting into Denmark was never very hard, with really warm and helpful people everywhere around me. They made Denmark feel like a home to me. But after 3 months of living in this amazing country, I'm not gonna hesitate to say, "It's not like my home, it is my home." There are so many times when I miss India; my family, my house, my friends, the food... but leaving all that for a year is just a small sacrifice compared to what I've experienced in Denmark.

Shifting Host Families

Saying goodbye to my first family

My host families tried to make my shift as easy as possible. I packed everything into 4 bags, and we (my first host family and I) went to my second host family's house for dinner. Later, they left, and we went to sleep. When I woke up the next day, the realisation came upon me that I had really shifted. I live about a 15 minute bike ride away from school. My host family is really nice; they try to talk to me as much in Danish as possible so that I can learn the language quickly. I think that the most difficult thing about the first one week with a host family is that you don't know what to touch, what to use, or what to do. All in all, I'm really happy that I have such wonderful people as host families.

Ice skating!

Choir weekend
A day after I shifted to my second host family, we had a sleepover weekend at school for all the choir members! After school, we met in the choir room and sang some songs (including some Danish Christmas songs). We ate dinner together, later, and played some fun games. I was really tired by the end of the day, and we went to sleep in the school hall. The next morning, we ate breakfast, and resumed singing songs. We went back home at noon, after which I unpacked my bags.

Change of time
The Sunday before the last, the time on all the clocks was shifted back by an hour. It's something that's done every year. I think the reason behind it is that it is usually extremely dark when people leave home early for school or work. When I left for school today, the sun was already out, hence, it was brighter than usual.

Trick or treat?

I tried ice-skating for the first time yesterday. I reckon I was alright at it, although, I fell four times. I also carved a pumpkin (with plenty of help).

Language(s) check: I started French lessons a week back at school, and I realised, that it's even more difficult than I thought it would be, to learn two different languages at once, both of which have pronunciations very different from how they are written; while Danish words are pronounced sharply, French words are pronounced softly. While my Danish is improving at a steady pace, I have a feeling that my English is deteriorating. Kudos to my brain for thinking in 3 different languages!

I can speak English.
Jeg kan tale Dansk.
Je parle Français (not really).