Good Weekend

Herro everyone!

Went to an ice hockey game today in Herning, a nearby city, and man was it a great time. The Herning Blue Fox vs. Sonderjysk, second and first in the league respectively. The away team had a 2 goal lead going in to the third period, then the Blue Foxes made a remarkable comeback to steal a win 3 to 2. The atmosphere was actually way more electric than I thought it would be, overall a fantastic time.

Heres a link to some photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/kristian.hjornholm/Ishockey?feat=directlink

On a more sad side note. I have a feeling that I am not using Danish enough. It's become "okay" in my head to just speak english when I don't wanna go through the bother of conjugation and finding out which proposition to use. By the way. Danish propositions SUCK! haha. But I am resolving to turn this cycle around. No doubt about that.

Visiting The Coast (second time)

Here is a link to a video my host dad shot of me and my little host sister on a Danish beach. Viewer beware, "beach" is a nice way to put it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biKEd5Ss-lc

Sorry

Hey everyone. So I haven't posted in this blog for nigh on two months now. I have a whole bunch of excuses why I didn't, but none of them are good enough. I want to apologize to everyone who has been missing out on my exchange because of this, expecially my rotary club back home, I have been somewhat of a bad exchange student, you guys sent me here and at the very least I can keep you informed of how I am doing. From now on I will be trying a different method of keeping this blog updated. Instead of doing it at the end of every week I am going to post as much as I feel I need to. A problem I was having is recalling everything I wanted to say, so maybe if I post while the event is still fresh in my mind I will have more success. One thing that I want to address first of all is my last post. A lot of you may be thinking that my exchange is going horribly and such but in reality I having the time of my life. Suffice to say, the last two months have been absolutely amazing. A trip to Norway was the highlight of this part of my exchange, climbing mountains, enjoying traditional Norwegian food, RELAXING (oh so important).

My issues with the language are starting to dissolve daily. I am feeling more and more confident in my ability to speak and understand Danish. Really this is a huge weight off my shoulders, in a year without many cares or responsibilites the few ones you have tend to become a tad overbearing. A big contribution to this is my visits to a language school twice a week, the learning atmosphere is a huge help. The people attending are there to LEARN, trying to learn Danish in my regular school or at home just is not the same.

I have succesfully moved to my second family and if the first was great, the second is absolutely amazing. I know this may seem like a bit of snub to my first family, I'm not trying to convey that at all. This family I am with now is way more my style, for lack of a better word. I'm sure that a big part of why this family feels better is my growing experience of exchange, but these people are amazing, they make it really hard for me to be sad. :D Don't let this go to your head Kristian (current host dad), I know your reading this.

A couple things that I am looking forward to are the possibilities of starting to play ice hockey again, a couple parties my friends are throwing and maybe a trip to Copenhagen at some point. So life is really, really, really good.

For the record, Supernatural is by far the best show I have ever seen, a friend loaned me the seasons and I have been watching faaaaar too much of it, but it is soooo addicting, definetly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Hell, I am having the time of my life here, did anyone expect any differently?

Sincerely, Horrible Exchange Student Brett Taylor

First Bump

A couple more weeks in Denmark, all in all, really good weekends. But this is the first time I have felt down yet, whats more is that I hurt people in the process. I was feeling more and more like I couldn't fit into my family, not from them rejecting me but because I can't bring myself to replace my family back home. I can call them mor(mom) and far(dad). I have no idea if it is a failing on my part, but it really made me feel down. Last night I had a good sit down with them and we talked it out. My host mother actually cried and I did too. They told me that they love having me around, that the kids love me to bits and that no matter if I go to another family, I'm always welcome back here. I think my barrier is beginning to break, it's not a barrier I want, but it's also not a barrier I can tear down. I hope that it will dissipate eventually, I really love these people.

So 3 Weeks Later....

APOLOGIES! I got super behind on this blog of mine. And now am having trouble recalling all that has gone by in three more awesome weeks in Denmark! But please, bear with me, I will try my best to recap the overarching scheme of things. So 3 weeks ago it was my third week here in Denmark. And nothing interesting happened! Or so I remember. :D Honestly, I know I had a great week, probably made more friends, felt more at home, etc. But nothing mind boggling!! Don't worry, I hope I will never have to sum up a week into a single sentence again. I promise in the future to stay on top of the updates! Anyways! Enough about my failings, the great news is that the week after that I went to the Rotary sponsored Language Camp in Bjerringbro!!!! One of the better weeks of my life. There is 157 of us inbound exchange students, compared to around 50 at the last camp. So a lot busier, but a lot more fun as well. The week was full of tons of activities, trips to the cities of Viborg and Aarhus and tons of Danish. I am now fluent in Danglish, the combination of the Danish and English languages to create sentences that make absolutely no sense! "cheers" The teachers were a great help though. Supplying tons of info, many workbooks, to continue our learning after, and in general a listening ear. One of the real treats of this week was seeing the other exchange students. Never before have I seen around 30 Brazilians break out into spontaneous song with naught but a tiny guitar intro. As soon as their song was done, the Mexicans, not to be outdone, would have their own little concert whilst the Canadians and Americans were wondering what they could sing. (we never did) :( On Thursday night they actually had a pretty popular Danish band play a private concert for us, the Striving Vines, search for them, they are worth it. So you have probably gotten my drift when I say Language Camp was awesome! Last week I had to put my nose back to the grindstone however and get back to school. All in all, not that hard to do considering I'm not expected to do anything. Still haven't become quite comfortable enough to join in the ridiculous shower fun that the Danish boys have. They take European openness to a whole new level. As for what they do for fun, it's pretty much party, sports and chase after hot girls. So the regular teenager? I'm not sure, they are pretty nuts over here if you ask me...some of the stories I hear...hahaha. But as usual, life is good. I'm comfortable, happy, working on my danglish, so it's all coming together. Enjoying every minute! And you better enjoy this effort, or lack thereof, I put into this post! OR ELSE!

Week 2...Plus 1 Day

Hey everyone. So I apologize for getting this out later than I wanted too, my weekend was pretty busy...but that just gives a whole bunch more to talk about! Problem is, where to start. Last week went well. Got my first 2 days of school in and all my anxiety about being around kids my own age is gone. The student exchange counselor at the school is a great help, arranging for 2 kids from my class to help me out when I need it. The guy one, Emil, even went so far as to let me hang with him and his friends the entire day... and the next, which is pretty awesome if you ask me! Give it some time I keep telling them, I'll be able to speak Danish eventually. On that note, the language is coming slower now, or so it seems. Maybe I need to apply myself more? Any thoughts on this?

So the days of school gave way to an awesome weekend, my host family drove across Denmark to Sjælland, the island København is on, to attend my host mom's, brother's, fiftieth birthday. Talk about a time and a half. Met the extended host family and yet more Danish hospitality poured forth to affirm my belief that ALL Danes are good people. Following the birthday bash my host parents and I drove back to Jylland, the peninsula attached to mainland Europe, to go see U2 I HORSENS! One of the best times of my life, the music was incredible, special effects were even more so! And I have to say, if I ever go see another concert again, I'll do my best to get in the standing section. The feeling was intense down there, even though I was pretty sure I'd be crippled by nights end. :D So two fantastic nights, we got back to Holstebro at around 2 a.m. Monday morning, and to cap it all off, my host dad said to forget about going to school the next day. So I know there is no contest for best host family, but I think it would be a no-contest event if there was one. The Pugholms would win hands down!

First Week

Alrighty. I have just completed my first week of my exchange. Things are going great! On the practical side of things, my family is amazing, the food is wonderful, and school starts in 3 days. So things are looking up. On the emotional side of things I'm starting to feel comfortable here. There was a period where I was afraid to express displeasure about anything. Hell, I had a smile plastered on my face ninety percent of the time, smiling and practicing what little Danish I knew. Then I had an epiphany. They keep telling me to do what I want, to take what I need, be myself...maybe I should listen? My family has gone out of their way to ensure my comfort, to keep me occupied and to make my days fun filled. All they really want from me in return is to make an effort and contribute to the family life. So I figured I better get on that! The early indecision luckily occurred when I was with with a family that were letting me stay with them for the first 4 days of my exchange. Unfortunately for them, I really didn't get to show them who I was. But on the bright side, when I came to first host family, last Wednesday I think, I was much better prepared for that transition into a new family. I've made some friends, that I will see at Gymnasium (school) so I'm not too worried about the whole eating alone in the back of the cafeteria bit, I'm too awesome for that! And my Danish is progressing very well! With two young kids, Malte and Eline, to teach me the danish words for stuff through hand actions and a host dad that has very good English, for phrases and translation purposes, I think I have a great advantage, other than being naturally talented and brilliant! ;D I honestly am a little unsure of what to include in a blog, so if anyone has any questions please feel free to comment. I'm sure I will get better at this as time progresses, just let me know what you, the readers, want to hear about!