Another mooooovie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33kaJA2xYvo&feature=youtu.be This is a movie that was also filmed at our last GTG. It shows all the activities we did. And i'm actually in this one! Sort of. Not significantly.

movies and things like paris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxlFKOv0DDg Watch it if you can! It's the slideshow that was showed last weekend at our last get together. It sums up everything pretty well i would say. and if you fancy hearing some danish watch this. http://www.tv2oj.dk/arkiv/2012/4/21 start at 7:47 and you will see what i did with my Saturday. Yes i LARP-ed. Yes that stands for live action role playing. Yes it was absolutely awesome. And yes....we did make the Danish news. Last week i was in Paris with some kids from my class. I was sick! Which was sort of a bummer...but then again i was in Paris so i'm not exactly complaining. I saw the Mona Lisa...which in all honestly i found to be a little unimpressive. I think what was more impressive was the insanely out of control amount of people elbowing there way through trying to catch a glimpse and get some pictures of this itty bitty painting of a very sad woman. This painting that was surrounded by others that in my opinion, were far more outstanding. But i do understand that it holds so much more than just the painting itself...if that makes any sense. This museum was fantastic though! I could have spent days and days in there if my feet weren't screaming at me. I'm excited to go back in May and have another look around! The Eiffel Tower was also quite exquisite at night time. I have a video of it! And only about 400 pictures. I'll try to upload them. But it was something. We climbed the stairs all the way up. Which was good before right before i had this pancake that was probably one of the singular most delicious things i have ever tasted in my life. The pancake place across the street from the Eiffel Tower. Go there. All the other pancake places i went to were a little stingy with the nutella. This guy seriously didn't hold back. I got one with nutella, strawberries, and whipped creme that tasted like vanilla. It, was, so, good. I can't stress that enough. Anyways up the Eiffel Tower was probably the highest i'd ever been in my life. It was a little thrilling. I saw the Arcs of Triumph old and new edition. The old one was gorgeous, of course. Just like all olden day architecture. The new one was actually pretty neat too. It was surrounded with all this super modern buildings and modern architecture. The kind of things that make you feel like you were in the future...or outer space. And that was the singular time the sun shined on our entire trip. We also took a bus tour around. I feel like i know the central areas of Paris pretty darn well. I took tons of pictures though! I was also a bit of a language disaster. Only moments after stepping off the plane i bumped into a lady and told her "undskyld" which is sorry in Danish. She looked at me like i was from another planet. I would always ask directions or order st restaurants and i would always end up speaking a messed of version of english/danish/french with all of them. I was in the middle of asking a police man for directions and just burst out laughing because i realized i had spent the first half of my conversation speaking danish too him and he was utterly baffled. Then! once i got the french thing down, i bumped into someone of the street and told them "Merci"...because it was the first french word that came to mind. Merci is thank you. I thanked a french man for bumping into me. You can imagine how quickly he scurried away from me. It was hard though! My brain was a giant jumbled mess. I didn't even tell you the funnest part though! Since we were in France....people spoke French...meaning rarely did we run into people who spoke Danish. Which means we had a secret language! We'd just sit there and talk about people i.e. on the metro right next to them and they wouldn't understand a word we said! It was so cool! I was the only one who was really excited about it though. For the rest of them it's pretty normal. I think that's because you can go pretty much everywhere and speak english and most will be able to pick up at least a little of what you are saying. Oh also there are about 100000 of these men wandering around Paris all trying to sell you identical little statues of the Eiffel Tower. They go around shouting "3 for one Euro" "6 for one Euro" and so on. The greatest part though is that they call all Americans Lady Gaga. Not even joking. Weird right? I though it was funny. I tried snails! They didn't taste like much. They were actually kind of gross though, just because they had the texture of snot. I suppose the tasted kind of like raw clams though. It was also because i just ate one plain. From what i've heard you're supposed to have this white onion sauce that goes with it. I would be willing to give it another whirl. The Metro was insane! So, so so so so many people. Like it the movies where you are cramming, noses almost pressed up against the glass of the windows. It get's really hot at gross after awhile. And from my experience French people are a smidge rude, as far as my standerds of manners go. But it was fun, mostly because the entire week i just pretended i was French. Eating baguettes and wearing horizontal stripes...riding the metro. You know. FRENCH PEOPLE HATE SPEAKING ENGLISH. This is speaking as an overall statement. I did meet some who were quite friendly. This is not a stereotype. From my experience some of them were plain nasty about it. The lady who worked the cashier and H&M practically threw my change at me and quickly said "have a nice day" in a monotone under her breath. Though she could quite easily just been a little cranky. I have other examples of this though! I'll upload pictures next time.

Hej.

Thoughts and things.

1. I never went upstairs in my second host families house. Not once. How weird is that? I never even asked. I have no idea what's really up there.

2. I live in a castle. I forgot to tell everyone.

3. Denmark has the worlds best cakes. It's probably why they are the happiest people in the world.

4. I'm going to Paris on Monday with my school for a week.

5. My new little host brother is the funniest kid ever. For the first two weeks i lived here he did nothing but stare at me blankly. I smiled...in return...a blank stare. It was super awkward. Then he started laughing. He has the weirdest laugh in the entire universe. It makes me laugh, that laugh of his. I imitated it for my parents already on skype. I'm afraid i can't do that for all of you so you're just going to have to take my word for it. Also, i think we've talked about it like 12 times already at the dinner table. He persistently tells us all that he likes clams because they taste like pasta. No, no they do not. I don't know where in the world you've tasted clams but i'm tellin' ya buddy, they most certainly do not "smage lige som pasta". It's super great. He's also they only one who corrects my Danish. He always always does. I love it.

6. I made glass figures one day. With this lady in my rotary club. We made glass things. I made a little girl and boy. They were a little too little. But i think they turned out all right.

7. I love so many people. I'm pretty sure i'm now that obnoxious teenage girl who goes around just puttin' all there love on everyone. But i really do. Pure honest real deal heartfelt love is what i feel for them all. But I really am so grateful for all the lovely people in my life that make it so easy for me to love them.

8. I like my house. If you felt like google imaging it just write "Erholm Slot Denmark" into google images and it should turn up.

9. I am at peace with the fact that i have 3 months left of this exchange. I'm done whining about it.

10. There's a blog called 1000 Awesome things. And i love it because all the things really are truly awesome.

11. My third host mom is a teacher. My third host dad.....is something really confusing. My two third host sisters and 17 and 14.

12. bleh.

Hugs.

I don't know if i've talked about hugging yet. Or more specifically to hug or not to hug. It comes up frequently when first meeting your host family, other host families you haven't lived with yet, and their families. It's awkward. Horribly uncomfortable. I think everyone has experienced it at one point or another.
Going in for the handshake...The spasm of hands, arms, and upper body flailing and flinching awkwardly and bobbing side to side trying to read the other persons body language. Realizing they intended to hug you and resulting with an horrible half hug/pat on the back.

Or what more frequently happens to me, which is even worse. Going in for the hug. I am a hugger. I like hugs. I think they're a friendly way to greet someone without overstepping the other persons personal boundaries. But Danes are weirdos. I go in for the hug, they stick out their hands, either i end up feeling like i'm smothering them with my overstepped display of personal affection or i quickly withdraw myself, placing my palm against theirs.

I have developed a hugging system, one that i feel is socially acceptable here. When you are first meeting someone, for example you're host moms' sister...you shake there hand. When saying goodbye you hug. And from then on the hugging barrier has been broken and you can feel free to squeeze away.

Sometimes it just takes a little determination. Sometimes all these Danes need is a little push. I think to myself No, we've met about 34617864826 times. We've had conversations. You hug all the other family members in the room. I am not going to be the awkward foreign child who gets the handshake. We are hugging. And you'd think that after initiating the hug over and over again it would begin to become a natural thing. But no, every time i am offered the hand.

To all those thinking of hosting an exchange student. HUG THEM. Hug them when you first meet them. You handshake with strangers, this kid is going to be a part of home. They are family the second they step into your house. That may seem strange, because yes they are technically a stranger...but i swear to you they will appreciate it.

Or maybe not. This is definitely a cultural thing. It's just how they are here. You go to Brazil and the give you kisses. And as much as i dread the awkward confrontation if they don't feel comfortable hugging me than i respect that.

There's this thing we do in my host family now too. When we greet the Grandparents. I've gotten okay at it but it's a little complicated. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It's a variation of one arm on a their side, the other on their shoulder...? i think, i'm not actually sure of the correct placement. Then you press each others cheeks together. Sometimes you make a kissing sound...sometimes it's an actual kiss but very rarely. I've always wondered if there was a correct side to lean it. Is it a universal thing that when this greeting takes place there is a specific side we must lean to? I think it's left. I'm not really sure. Which of course leads to me bobbing from side to side indecisively every time. I like it though. It's definitely not typically Danish.

That's all i have to say on the matter of hugging at this time.

My ears are ringing and my stomach hurts.

For all those who were curious i ate 5 pieces of brunsviger today. Five. Two with my class, and then i went over to my friends house and ate three more. If that's not enough we also made risengrød. I don't know if i've talked about risengrød yet...but it's basically delicious vanilla rice pudding covered in kanel and sugar with a hole in the center where you place a chunk of butter that eventually melts and trickles over onto the rest of the pudding. It's quite labor intensive in that it takes an hour to make. Now my stomach is aching.

The concert was super duper. My first concert ever. I've decided that i'm a fan of tasteless danish pop music. It's catchy and makes me feel eccentric and foreign. Sooo....♥NIK OG JAY♥

Nik og Jay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daoRMfRjZig

Here's a link to the concert i'm going to later tonight. I'm going with my host sisters. These two are a pretty big deal over here. My first host sister described them to me like this: Before Nik og Jay Denmark was a relatively conservative country when it came to showing off wealth. But Nik og Jay came along and made it "cool" to be flashy.

I'm excited to go. Not necessarily because i enjoy the music. Danish music overall tends to be a little awful. The majority of the music they listen to is from USA. But Nik and But i like it because it's in Danish. And it's fun listening to music in Danish.

Also now everyone can hear what Danish sounds like!

So, that's what i'm doing with my Friday evening.

Brunsviger.

This. This is the most disgustingly delicious thing i have ever tasted. It's a little horrifying. Most of the time it is topped with more candy and frosting decoration. Whoever came up with the is sick. It's basically sugary bread lathered in a brown sugar/butter mixture. Those dark puddles you see on top..those are puddles of melted butter and brown sugar. Most Danes eat for as one of their birthday cakes. Or just all the time. For example i'm eating it today in class, because today is Cake Day. Every friday is cake day.

http://www.dk-kogebogen.dk/opskrift2/visopskrift.php?id=16773

If any of you curious souls out there dare to try it....the link to the recipe is above. It's also in danish, so some google translate and unit conversions will be needed.

But it's seriously delicious.