Danish school: Støttefest and A.T

Hey there everyone!
Hvordan går det? Det går rigtig fint for mig, men jeg er rigtig træt nu. In otherwords, I am doing well, but at the moment I am pretty darn exhausted.
Wanna know why? dun dun duuuunnnnn *drumroll please* FUNDRAISING. That's right folks, the lovely act of selling things, doing lots of silly and strenuous work, and getting money out of it. Let me explain.
So, it is a big part of second year of gymnassium in denmark to take a 'studietur' or 'study tour'-- basically you go to a different country for about a week and do minimal school and lots of fun stuff. This is possible because, again, in Denmark you take classes with the same group of people all the time, your class is really YOUR class. You have the same teachers, schedules, homework...basically you get to know your peers really well. So basically you can take that group of people on trips pretty easily. This is a big plus to the danish school system. Anyway.
So, being in 2.g(second year) myself, my class is also going on a trip. We are going to Rome, Italy(yay!), in March. To raise money for these trips though(the initial cost is pretty low) for things like admission to concerts and museums, for example, all the classes of gym having kind of 'parties' to raise money. All the 2nd year classes in the school get about two class rooms, and they kind of have free range. My class decided to make one of our class rooms into an 'italian restuarant' kinda thing, and the other into a room with 'guess how many pieces of pasta are in this jar' and face painting and some games for kids.
For the 'restuarant' part, though, we decided we needed about 100 pizzas. Actually, to rephrase, not *about* 100 pizzas. ONE HUNDRED FREAKING PIZZAS. My friend Noah and I stayed over at our friend Emil's house to make this ridiculous number of pizzas. We calculated it would take about 8 hours to make them all, but I think it ended up taking more like ten hours.

It's a pizza pie-l! (pizza pie mixed with pile...get it? PUNNY!;)

Pretty much we did nothing but make pizzas for a whole night and morning.

Then the next day, we had to go to school pretty early to get the classrooms ready for the fest. Then the actually 'støttefest' was about 8.5 hours long. Then we had to come the next day(today) pretty early on to clean up the classrooms.

Needless to say, it was pretty long/tiring. HOWEVER, the idea of a completely-student-arranged fundraising party is very danish. Kids and youth have a lot of freedom here, a lot of trust, and definitely a lot of responsibility. You want to have a good trip to Rome with your class? Well, you make it happen.

Something else interesting and very danish happened with school as well, recently. So, this last week, again, all of the 2nd year classes had a sort of 'project week' called AT. Being the bad exchange student that I am, I am not entirely sure what that stands for, but in summary, you work with two subjects to create innovative projects/designs for items/ideas that could better the school and the community in an environmentally way. My group decided to work with the idea of food waste in our cafeteria, and how we could lessen the amount of food/impact of the food that ends up being thrown out.

We spent the week researching, interviewing, creating presentations, and attending meetings. At the end of the week, we had a kind of 'fair'(think science fair) with all the different presentations, and we had to go around and vote for our favorite. The group that I was in ended up winning(woot!), and after that all the winning groups had to go the a big room where we had another sort of 'fair'-- but this time with each winning group from each class. Then we voted again...and, well, we won again! Basically it was a very different type of school for a week, and now I have a free ticket to the cinema.

A.T is another great example of why the danish school system is unique. It is common to take time out of the regular curriculum to refresh the students, employ some critical thinking skills, and gain other types of experience.

Because of these two things, my week in general has been kinda hectic, really interesting, super busy. Also the christmas season has already made it's way into Denmark full-force, so everyone's already starting to get exciting for the holidays.

Thanks for stickin' with me, and vi ses! Write more soon.
Much love
-Rowen

Different aspects of exchange+ Getting into the 'meat and potatoes' of exchange

Hej alles!
So, now that I've been in Denmark for a while(a bit over 2.5 months) I've gotten over the 'honeymoon' stage, and have had some time to figure out what my life is going to be like while I'm here, and feel a bit more secure and stable with different aspects of my life. I could write this in a formal kind of blog post, but list format seems better.

1. Danish. So, the ways that I am learning danish have changed a bit. I used to be taking just one danish class designed for exchange students twice a week for about four hours a week. Since then I have enrolled in another danish class(a harder one) that is more designed for adults who have immigrated to denmark and are now working on learning this rough language. My house family and I are also pretty much exclusively speaking dansk now, and in my class I am trying to incorporate more danish into my conversations. I have also progressed from little kid's books to tweenage/young adult books. Yay for progress! Also I can now understand pretty much all small talk, and participate in some of it.

2.  Art! I am staying with the billedkunstskolen(BGK) for the whole year! I am so excited about this..it's hard to describe. The people I have met in BGK are some of the best people I have interacted with in denmark so far. Like-minded people get along with like-minded people, I guess. Haha. We just finished a pretty big project(a halloween parade/performance art thing), and so now we're getting on to more individual pieces. Expect pictures soon!

3. Friends. Venner, på dansk. Friends are probably one of the biggest exchange student concerns(and for good reason. it's not all that easy to make friends in a country where you don't even know what friends DO together), and I'm feeling pretty good now with my mates...both in my class, from BGK, and also from an lgbtq cafe that I attend occasionally. Of course you also make friends by making friends-- what I mean by that is, the more friends you make, the more of THEIR friends you meet and get to know, and it's just kind of a snowball effect. Going to cafes, hanging out at people's houses, and doing various things around with people I really care about is probably my favorite part of exchange.

Sorry for the unorganized nature of this, but here are some photos from recently!

Vi ses snart everyone!

In all the best

-Rowen:)

A quick note about exchange:

TODAY was the kind of day that reminds me full-force why exchange is so amazing, and why I'm here. Getting to spend time with amazing people, see amazing places, and have wonderful experiences make all the kinda-rough patches, occasional missing, and uncomfortable situations worth it(none of which are all that common, by the way).
These are the kind of days I write about, so that way I can remind myself how lucky I am to be here.
Hope everyone is doing well,
jeg skal skriver mere snart.
(much love!)
-Rowen

Denmark in the autumn months

So, much to my dismay, time has indeed been passing. WAY faster than I would like it to, but what can you expect on exchange to a country you love? It is no longer summer, and definitely no longer August like I have been telling myself it is, and contrary to what I tell everyone: it's getting a little cold. Denmark is known for the gray-skies, windy, sitting-inside-with-a-cup-of-tea, hygge-encouraging sort of weather, and that is definitely what I have been experiencing as of late.

My life has gained a sort of nice, comfortable routine at this point. I don't feel like I'm going to faint of excitement every time I go into a store anymore, and now when I go to school it's school-- not a magical land of tall blonde fashionable young-adults and vending machines filled with magic beans. Walking around my city still gets me though, and I don't see that fading any time soon(hello people, cathedral, remember?). I've heard the next few months are the hardest part of exchange for a few reasons: 1. You are no longer a kind of novelty to your classmates and friends...you're just a person. 2. The 'honeymoon' stage of exchange is over- not EVERYTHING is new anymore, and not EVERYTHING is super amazingly fantastically wonderful. 3.This is when language starts to get frustrating, continues to be difficult, and is limiting in terms of what you can express(This is also a time where many host families stop speaking english to their exchange students, mine included.) 4. You realize you miss some things from your home country; friends, family, food-- whatever.

HOWEVER, all that being said, I am still having an amazing time, and calling this anything but lovely would be an under-exaggeration. I admit I can feel the pressure of language starting to kick in, and I know I need to remind myself that the only thing that will get me where I want to be with danish is persistence and hard work. But liverpastej with rødbeder is STILL heaven, and being around my friends and classmates is something I value a lot.

School for my classmates has started getting difficult, and the week before holiday they had to submit a massive, 1/3 of their final grade-worth paper, and knowing this is one of the toughest years of schooling-- I can see it continuing to be as stressful. This means a bit less flexible time for hanging out and relaxing, a bit less patience(probably) and people being a bit more worried.

The equivalent for me is, of course, danish. And danish lessons. I have an interview in a few weeks with my commune to see about some more danish lessons and level placement. And, as I've mentioned, I already have danish lessons(for the exchange students in my area) twice a week. The ones I have now are getting harder, and if I add in the additional lessons that will of course be more work as well. Also the art that I do for 6 hours a week(the billedkunstskolen) is really great, but pretty fast passed and some deadlines are coming up. All of this basically means that the attractive life quality of 'not busy and not obligated' is going away. Of course this is also a good thing, because it means I'll be getting shit done! Haha.

Denmark, in terms of autumn weather here, is pretty similar to back home in the states for me(wisconsin). The trees change colors(mainly to pretty golds and yellows), the wind picks up, the temperature cools down a few degrees. Also the danes have started pulling out the MASSIVE circular scarves that are so popular here, big jackets, and gloves(seems a little early for this wisconsinite, but I GUESS its cold...). The general aestehtic of my city has just changed, and it is really, really beautiful. Also christmas-type things have started coming out, and I've heard a danish christmas is not one to be missed-- so that's pretty exciting already! I've heard lots of sweet things, alcohol(like always, hah), and many varieties of pickled herring. Exciting stuff.

I think this update is rolling around to a close, but know that in general things have been kicking along, and it's really great.
ses till next time everyone!
-Rowen

October holiday!

Hej alles! Hvordan har du det?
Today I want to talk about 'efterårsferie', or the week-long holiday in october that most danes have. Students get off from school, many adults get off from work. It's pretty common to go on vacation or trips during this time, and, fortunately for me-- my host family went to Berlin! Now, I know that talking about Germany isn't *exactly* about my life in Denmark, but knowing about other cultures, experiencing other ways of life, and being open about lifestyle is a very danish thing-- so this is still relevant, never fear!

I was in Berlin for about 5 days, and I had an AMAZING time! I don't personally have too much experience with big cities(I've been to Chicago, Budapest, Minneapolis....but never for long, and not too frequently), so the whole 'always alive' thing still gets me pretty excited. Many different aesthetics, different ways of living, different food, different stuff, different places....ah! I think the 'muchness' of it all is kind of overwhelming... and really good to experience.

Berlin has a reputation for being an top-dog art city(especially within Europe), and the amount and quality of the art that I saw while there definitely lived up to that.

I could write for hours about the art that I saw and the impressions that I gained, but this isn't really the place for that-- so I'll just try to summarize what we did.

First night: (as a note: Berlin is beautiful at night.) We arrived, and found our way to the apartment we stayed in over the week. After putting our stuff down, we decided to explore the part of the city a bit, and eventually made our way to the mauer(wall)'s east side gallery. The gallery is parts of the wall that are still left, and on one side there are photo projects; the other, striking graffiti/murals. (put picture here)
Then we just roamed around some more, enjoying just being in the place. But, seeing as we are people-- hunger came into play eventually, and after attempting(and failing) to find some really 'tysk'(german) cuisine, we settled for italian.

  

Next four days:
For one of the days, we biked through berlin-- and I think this might've been my favorite day, just because cycling is a very person and hands-on way to explore a place. Not too much to report from this day, but we did see the DDR museum(REALLY good!) and a lot of the more tourist-y must-sees.

 Some other highlights from the trip:
-checkpoint charlie museum
-nues museum
-Hamburger Bahnhof gallerie
-berlinische gallerie

Basically I had a really great time seeing the city, and it was my first time in deutschland, so that was pretty exciting too! My mom was actually an exchange student in Germany when she was in highschool, so getting to see some of the places she was like, 25 years ago was really cool.

Okay, I'll write soon about more danish-ish adventures, but for now, vi ses!
-Rowen

Basically, I'm living in a fairytale. (1 month in denmark in review!!)

Hi everyone!
So, a few days back marked my one-month point of my exchange here in Denmark. Being the introspective, reflective sorta-sappy person that I am, I figured I would summarize where I am in this whole adventure.
1. Adventure is the perfect word. I usually think people are being a little dramatic when they talk about having 'adventures', but I think I now really know what this word means. Everyday I really don't  have any idea what I might encounter, I'm always meeting new people and places, and funny language miscommunication is around every corner. I have never felt more like I am in a fairy tale, oh, and the fact that when I look outside my window there's a cathedral doesn't really help. Haha:)

2. I really freaking love this country, and I am so, so lucky to be on exchange here. Again with the sap- I know, but almost everyday I think to myself, 'whoah. This is a really awesome place.'.
3. Danish food is very distinctive and really good. LOTS of meat and bread, and lots of cakes and sweet things. Basically it's viking mixed with the genius of modern-day danish candy makers.
4. Danes are sarcastic, and if someone says something to you that seems really uncalled for...assume sarcasm. From what I've seen, there's almost always good intention behind the bitter, sharp mannerism.
5. Opportunites to do stuff you like to do, and meet people you want to meet, are all over the place- you just have to look. Yesterday I started a visual-art-school kinda thing that's six hours a week, and I'm really excited about it. I'm also signed up for some other art classes, and I'm part of a social-activism-type group. I'm also on the school newspaper! Basically, extra-curriculars aren't going to jump out at you in Denmark, but with a little motivation and seeking, you can find a place to do what you love to do.
6. DO NOT TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY. If you say something about yourself that's arrogant, the response is either gonna be a smirk, or, if you're lucky, a sarcastic comment that'll make you laugh at yourself. Basically, this is really cool because I've rarely heard people bragging(unless, of course, it's about drinking or sex. Don't get crazy, of course. We're in Denmark.;), and when I have it's usually followed by eye-rolling.
7. Well, let's just say I am definitely not fluent in Danish yet. However, things are moving along pretty smoothly, so we'll see where I am in a few months. Basically it's hard, but I'm getting somewhere at least.
8. DANISH BIRTHDAYS ARE THE BEST. My next post will be starring my ever-lovely younger host sister, because she had a birthday this past monday! IT WAS SO FUN.
9. The work-life balance in denmark is pretty essential. Or, in my family at least. Like, yes, you work hard and do you work well, but at the end of the day you hang out together with your family, talk to each other, care about each other, etc. I'm not exactly sure how common this is, but my family sits together to eat most times, and it's not like we just sit and stare at each other-- everyone cares about everyone elses lives, and this is SUCH a nice thing.
10. Having other exchange student friends, and ALSO having danes as friends is a good way to about stuff. Having other exchange students to talk to about your experiences, practice your muddy/awful danish, and get icecream with is really cool-- but also having danish friends is kind of the point of being on exchange, so, well, yes.

Basically, I am having the time of my life and ROSKILDE IS MARVELOUS! I freaking love this city. More updates to come super super soon! Also, flip book #1 is on the way! Keep an eye out.
Write ASAP,
Vi se's guys!
-Rowen

My weekend outside+ what it means to be a 'scout' in Danmark!

Hej guys!
Hvordan har du det?

How are you?
I think it's been about a week again since I last posted, and I figured that after doing something a bit out of the ordinary this weekend, now would be a good time to make an update.

This weekend, after an exhausting(men sjovt!; but fun!)week at school trying to learn more Danish, på lørdag(on saturday) my host family and I woke up bright and early and drove down to the forrest, and arrived at a scout camp!

Now, I'm not sure about your personal experience with scouting, but my own connotation with scouts, especially girl scouts, is not even close to the Danish experience I got this weekend. I myself, was actually a girlscout for a few years in elementary school, and, though I liked it, I have to say the Danish scouts kinda kickass in terms of being 'the real- deal'. What I did in scouting was mainly indoors...reading books, articles..discussing news issues...maybe going to a museum every now and again. Oh, and you got a cute little round badge to iron on your vest when you completed some kind of task. I think we went camping....once? Maybe? And we didn't even use tents or anything. I'm not saying this kind of 'scouts' is a bad thing....but, well, let's get on to the Danish version.

So, scouting in Denmark, as my host family says, is a big tradition. You start when you're a little kiddo, and quite a number of people continue scouting through adulthood. Scouts here in Denmark, or, at least the kind of scouts I saw(called 'spider') are not seperated by gender(so nice!), and are VERY outdoors-oriented.

Lots of being around the campfire, singing really silly songs(in danish, mind you. I heard one that I think translates to 'the light blue banana' in english...), building shelters, canoeing, finding stuff, biking, running....basically 'adventuring'. I think growing up in 'spider' in denmark sounds like an awesome experience. Another big plus to doing this sort of scouts, is that, though Danes have a reputation for being reserved, these kids are super cuddly and friendly with each other, and it just seems like a really good way to make super solid, close friends.

'Spider' also wear this freaking adorable blue bandana thingy around their neck, and then they have this blue canvas-y jacket thingy, that has tons of various shaped/sized badges and stuff on it.

The actual camp I went to this weekend was a once-a-year, whole-family-goes special sorta deal. It's also the camp where the kids who are moving up a level in scouts make that transition. This one was harry potter themed, actually, and we were seperated into groups by houses, obviously. I was in 'gold gryffindor' (woooottttt), and we had to complete all of these different silly, fun tasks as fast as we could. So we were running back and forth between the 'headmaster' and these stations, trying to fill up our house bottle with unnaturally blue liquid. Basically, silly, danish fun stuff.

At night we did the whole bonfire thing, and after that, the adults(I was in this category because I am not a scout, obviously) went off and took a dark walk in the woods, did a beer tasting/guessing competition(very danish, this. Have I talked about the dane's drinking habits yet? Hahahaha), some more song-singing, etc.

Needless to say, even though I am not a scout, at the end of this whole thing I was very tired.

Sorry about this post being so rambly/without pictures, but I just wanted to document this funny little nuance of Danish culture.
Vi se's till next time guys!!
-Rowen