Abundant Adventures

So much has been going on! I'll just run through my journal and give the highlights :)

Very recently after my last post, I had a week of Holiday. My host family too me to Hamburg and Amsterdam!! Amsterdam is probably one of the interesting and beautiful cities. There is so much to do! Yes including "Coffee Shops" and The Red Light District. Of which I did see. It was quite the cultural shock. The first day we were in Amsterdam we didn't do much sightseeing. We stuck to the shops and everyday non-tourist life. My host parents spend 2 years in Holland, so they are very knowledgeable. I also ate Snail and Bloodcake/Black Pudding. Quite interesting. I can't say that I would like to eat either of those again, although it was a fun experience. Also the freedom in Amsterdam cannot be compared to any other. I expected people to be smoking marijuana, but they have Cannibus Lolipops and Hash Brownies right next to the tic tacs and the cash register! Anyway, the second day in Amsterdam was the day for sightseeing. I saw the Van Gogh museum, which holds the worlds largest collection of Van Gogh. I was prepared for boring art, but the stories behind Van Gogh and his paintings are really riveting. We also went to the Rijks Museum which holds all of the famous Dutch Art. The paintings there are also absolutely stunning. Also to a Diamond museum. Yay for shiny things haha. And finally to the Anne Frank House. That was something I would love to experience again and again. It's one thing to read Anne Franks Diary, but it's another completely to be there where it happened. I saw her original diary (extremely careful and neat handwriting) And many seemingly small but very moving things. Such as pencil lines on the wall where Anne's father marked the height of the kids. It's a haunting experience which I would recommend to everyone. And yes I did see the outskirts of The Red Light District. Prostitution is legal and kept as safe as possible. And it's not something that words can describe. The girls are really just RIGHT there in their windows and people go shopping for them as if they were shopping for shoes. And All of the money goes directly to the girls, eliminating pimps. It's honestly a business just as any other in Amsterdam.

Also, I recently went hunting with a member of Rotary. It was a long day full of walking and at the end of the day they got 74 pheasants, 2 foxes, 1 rabbit, and 1 deer. It was actually very fun. I enjoyed myself quite a lot. Even though I was just walking with them, the entire atmosphere of hunting and the Danes is just amazing. He also invited me to go to Lithuania with him and other members to go hunting again. I'll be going the first weekend of December. I am very excited!!

Like I mentioned before, there is always something happening in school. Recently we had a man from the UK come and talk to us about Opera. It wasn't just a lecture. More of a workshop. We played (educational) games and sang and played music. And then recently we went to the Opera that we learned about. It's not for me, but I'm very glad I went. I've always wanted to see an Opera.

Ok well those are all of the highlights! For the general things...my language is improving. Slower than I would like, but I can be impatient with myself sometimes. I'm also beginning to like the food better. It took me some time to get used to some of the bread that they eat, and I can eat the pickled herring if I Have to, although it's certainly not my first choice. Food here is never "stocked up" as we do in the states. They will buy enough food to cook for the week at the most. Which is different for me, but neither better nor worse. Friends in school are opening up more. I did a few presentations about the American Dream and American History at the request of my english and history teacher. All of the students as well as the teachers had really great questions and we had some enlightening discussions. It's difficult sometimes to get people to see me as more than just The American if that makes sense. And one person asked me if I was Proud to be an American. Of course I am proud. That is another difference in culture. Yes, of course Danes love their country, however they aren't a very prideful country.

Well that's it for now. If anyone has any questions about my experiences or the culture feel free to email me. I would love to discuss it!

- Carol


P.s My host brother would like me to inform all of you that he is the best host brother I could possibly have gotten in all of Denmark. haha Just kidding. But for real..he's pretty cool

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