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I had the best christmas ever.

Do it.

When people look back on their exchange year, most of them, hopefully, will tell you that it was the best year of their life. They will tell you that it was the best decision they ever made. They will talk about all the amazing things they experienced and the wonderful people they met. They will tell you how much they grew and how independent they have become. This is all so true. I cannot stress enough how glad i am that i chose to apply to be an exchange student. There had not been a day where i have regretted my decision.
I wanted to be challenged. and leaving, i knew that while exchange was going to be the best time of my life it would also be one of the hardest.
This is also very true.
Would you like to know what makes exchange the best year of my life thus far?
It's freaking hard.
I'm tellin' ya. Some days you aren't going to want to get out of bed.
Last week, i spent lunch in the bathroom crying. I have friends at school, it wasn't that. School is actually really fun. It's just some days you have to cry. Because even though everything can be so incredibly wonderful, it doesn't mean that this hasn't been the hardest years of my life.
Sometimes you are going to feel alone.
Sometimes you are going to get frustrated and grow tired of putting yourself out there again and again and again.
There will be many awkward moments. There's no avoiding it.
Sometimes you are going to feel lost.
Sometimes you aren't going to want to smile, but you will anyway. Because you are strong, and exchange makes you strong.
You will feel more insecure than you have in your entire life.
Exchange will test you. In ways that no other situation will.

Some days i don't want to eat bread with a knife and fork.

It's Christmas time folks. I'm spending my first Christmas away from Alaska. I don't want to go home. Denmark has become a second home to me. This Christmas i am so grateful for the people i get the opportunity to spend it with. My family has grown. Some of the people i've met here i have only known for a short while but i consider them family not friends. I am so showered in love.
This doesn't mean i don't miss Alaska. I miss my mom, dad, and Ben so much. Honestly today all i wanted was a big hug from my little brother. He gives the best hugs. I watch my siblings be silly with each other. I can't join in. It's only been a month. While i am comfortable, i'm not that comfortable. Ben i genuinely miss your obnoxious behavior.
I have never had so many mixed feelings in my life.

And you change. One of the hardest things for me is realizing that i no longer fit into the empty space i left less than five months ago. Some of the people who i was closest too i can no longer relate to. Some of the people who were the most important in my world...we no longer see eye to eye. I'm different. But i was ready for different. And looking back i realize i didn't really fit in that space anyway.

SO TO ANYONE WHO MAY BE CONSIDERING EXCHANGE IN FUTURE YEARS.

DO IT.

Honestly, even in the hardest times it's so so worth it. It's the best thing that will happen to you in life so far. I can't even imagine my life if i hadn't chosen this path. I would've been an entirely different person. And i love the person i am becoming. There will be days when you have never felt so terrible. But there will be days when you have never laughed so hard. Every day i fall in love. I am passionately in love with life. Never before have i been this deeply inspired. A good majority of that i credit to this experience so far. I can't express to you enough how completely extraordinary even the most un-extraordinary things seem.

I can't speak for anyone but myself. But coming from someone who is the middle of her exchange year right now. It's all that i could've hoped for X100000.

And that's pretty much all i have to say.

I'll update more about Christmas in a bit.

5 Birthday Cakes.

My Birthday was this Friday. I am now seventeen years old. I had five birthday cakes.
I made one, a girl in my class at school made one, and my host mom made three.
My Birthday Day went something like this:
Woke up to singing, candles, and presents. It is Danish tradition to wake the Birthday person up in the morning in such a way. My lovely host family paid for a ticket for me to go to the Copenhagen Royal Theater for the Nutcracker on the 20th with Lulu. I also received a big box from my lovely family back home. It was full of goodies. Then i went to school. My class sang to me. Some girls had bought me a bunch of chap stick. Because i ran out of mine, and i was always asking people for chap stick. Another girl bought me chocolate on a stick. Because i love chocolate on a stick. Then i came home and my host mom had arranged for my other two host families to come eat cake and hot chocolate. It was very nice. Then i went into Odense for my friend Andre's 19th birthday. There was around 60 other people there. I got to see everyone! Even the people i don't see very often. It was great. Even though it was Andre's party we celebrated mine too. It was truly the perfect birthday.

I changed families since i last blogged. I am now with my second host family. They have three kids: Emily (19) and Magnus and Laura (15). I am so comfortable and so at home with them. They are so nice. I feel like my danish has really improved living with them because Magnus and Laura don't like to speak English. I'm so happy i'm spending Christmas with them! I feel like i just keep repeating myself over and over. But i'm seriously so happy. Denmark feels like home.

The week i moved in my new Morfar taught me to make Christmas wreaths. There are so many new Danish Christmas traditions. The celebrate on the Christmas Eve not Christmas Day. We have a Candle that we light every day and it counts down the days until Christmas. We also have advent, and a wreath with four candles on it. I am not sure how to spell what it is called. But on each of the four Sundays before Christmas we light at candle. On those four Sundays everyone gets a gift. We have Jule Frokost. Which is Christmas Lunch. It's very big here and many people go to them before Christmas. There are also some Danish Christmas decorations that are very traditional. They weave hearts and fold paper stars. Emily and I sit on the couch every week day night and fold them all night. By the end of December our house will be overflowing. They also make these little basket cones to put candies in to put on the tree. This way when we walk around the tree and sing on Christmas Eve we can eat candy.

Two Wednesdays ago i went to Copenhagen with my language class. They paid for us to go and they also paid for our entrance into Tivoli (a theme park) I spent the entire day with Elisa, Lulu, Alandra, and Ayca. It's a wonderful time of year to wander in the streets. All the decorations are up. At night everything sparkles and twinkles. It's gorgeous. We went to some Christmas Markets and other shops. Then we went to Tivoli. It also had all the Christmas decorations up. It was themed "Russian Christmas" this year. We didn't even go on any rides we just ended up taking pictures of it all. It was a really great day.

Two Fridays ago i joined a gym! Elisa and I usually go together. She has an entire work out plan. I don't know what i'd do without her.

Two Saturdays ago i went with Stine, Nadia, and Josephine (some girls from school). We went to Josephine's house and then out. It was fun. They are super nice girls.

Two Sundays ago i was invited by a woman from my Rotary club to come make bolcher with her and her family. The bolcher didn't work out so well so we ended up making Christmas cookies. I spent the entire day with her, her husband, her nine year old boy, and her twelve year old daughter. It was really fun. I wasn't even so sure who she was before i went to her house. That was the best part. Some lady who i didn't even know invited me to spend the day with her and her family. She let me in to her family's holiday traditions. They were all so warm and friendly and open.

This past Thursday i went and made Christmas cards with Lulu, Alandra, and Elisa. We bought all this professional card making materials from a store in Odense. We spent the afternoon listening to Lulu's Christmas playlist and crafting. It was the best. Elisa made us all Italian Pasta for lunch. Lulu also made us fresh cinnamon buns. Also we discovered that if you spread nutella and creme cheese on a piece of white bread it's basically the most amazing thing one will ever taste. I highly recommend it.

Friday was my birthday.

Saturday i went with Susanna (my host mom) and Emily to a Jule Market in Odense. We bought many good things. It was in an old part of Odense and some of the older people were all dressed up like they did back in the old days. It was the cutest thing. Then we went to my twin host cousins fifteenth birthday. It was some good family bonding.