Thanksgiving and other Shenanigans

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Arriving back to KBH after a two week break was great, except for staring school back up. It was especially hard going two weeks without having my danish language class. I find it really peaceful to have everybody around you speaking a language you don't understand the majority of. It is lovely sitting on the train in the morning, half asleep, and not having to unintentionally listening to people’s conversations (not that people talk on the trains in Denmark...that's another story). Well, all my friends here were so happy to be back to seeing each other, it's incredible how great of friends you can make in just a few months. I really could not have hoped for better friends. Over break two of my good friends, Ashley and Meagan, had their birthdays, so the following Saturday after being back we were to have a joint føselsdagfest for them. The theme was to be “stereotypical Americans”.
On Friday night, Ashley, Meagan and I really wanted to go out and have a nice relaxed night in the city with a few of Ashley’s friends who couldn’t make it the next night for the birthday party. But when we arrived in the city, Norreport station was having a giant party to celebrate the trains running all night on Friday and Saturday nights. I guess they do this every year because of all the Christmas parties and drunken people, but this year they are talking about keeping it going all year round. So, Norreport had a DJ, flashing lights, lasers, a dance party, and free martinis. Just imagine walking off your train and seeing this. Already we knew this night was not going to be as low key as we had hoped. We stayed around the station for awhile enjoying the music and people. Afterwards we went to a few bars, including one we went to on my birthday, called the Basement Bar. We ended up staying out till the wee hours of the morning. I don’t think I got home until around 11am. I’m not sure how that is humanly possible for me to do, but I did it.

The following day, Saturday, was the day of the føselsdagfest. I slept a few hours before I had to go back into the city to meet up with the gang for the birthday party. Six of us met and walked to a Thai restaurant where we ate great food, but had poor service. Ashley was dressed up as Barbie, and Meagan as a proud liberal arts student. We had a great time eating out together, because it is a rare occurrence here in this ungodly expensive city. After dinner we went back to the station to meet up with more friends. We went to a few bars, but ended up at one called L.A. Bar. They played all sorts of music including Barbie Girl as requested for Ashley. They played a lot of fun music like the Macarena, and also what we believed were Danish Christmas carols. Half of the group left to go to a house party, but I stayed with Ashley and a few others and had a great time till about 6am when it was officially time to go home and sleep. I got back to the house around 7a.m. and slept til 5:00pm. I completely missed seeing the sun that day, and that was really, really strange. Although I needed the sleep, I was sad that I missed a day with my host family, but when I came out of my room at 5, my host parents had also just woken up! Peer and the boys had gone to see a boxing match at a bar at 3am (the fight was in San Francisco), and Birgitte had been out late with her girlfriends, and met up with the boys later. It was a looong weekend, but I had so much fun and it was defiantly worth it.

The following week was Thanksgiving week, which my program so graciously gave us time off for. I only had class Monday and Tuesday of this week. On Thursday at 11:30, Lance arrived and I picked him up at the airport. We went directly back to Brøndby so that we could start baking our pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving that night. Lance brought in his suitcase: pumpkin, evaporated milk, pie crust, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and two boxes of mac n cheese (for me). Lance took a nap in the afternoon to burn off some of the jet lag, while I peeled lots of potatoes, and started making turkey place settings out of construction paper. We had 15 people over for dinner: My host family (6), Lance and I, Birgitte’s good friend and family (4), another good friend, and Peer’s mom and dad. Lance and I have never cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner before, let alone for that many people before. Birgitte got home around 3:30 to stick the turkey in the oven. Mashed potatoes were cooked, cranberries were popped, bread was warmed, gravy was made, sweet potatoes were cooked, and the turkey was carved. Everybody arrived at 8pm, and dinner was served by 8:30 after much scrambling to put it all together. All the Danes were nervous about the sweet potatoes with marshmallows on them, especially my host family who had been asking about them for weeks. Luckily, they all REALLY liked the sweet potatoes! After dinner we sat and talked and digested (just like at home!) and waited for the pumpkin pie. I don’t think any of the Danes had had pumpkin pie before, and I think most of them enjoyed it, although it is a weird texture if you’re not used to it. Some of them put sour crème on it, which I told them not to, but that’s what they put on all their cakes and pies here. It is just not right. Dinner ended around 11:30pm. It was so much like a Thanksgiving at home, the food tasted great (despite what my mom probably thinks!), and the company was wonderful. I’m so thankful that Lance could be there to help share our American tradition with the Danes. It was a Thanksgiving to remember, for me, and for the Danes. One of Birgitte’s friends was asking for all the recipies, and they were talking seriously about making this a tradition for them every year as well.
On Friday, Lance and I slept in a little bit, and then headed into the city around noon. I took him around the city. We saw the botanical garden (which I hadn’t been to yet), Rosenborg Slot, Nyhavn Amalienborg Slot (where we met up with our cousin Elsebeth), the Little Mermaid, and back around the city towards where I go to school. It started to rain, and we got cold, so we headed inside so that Lance could try Gløgg, which is a very popular drink in Denmark in the wintertime. It is very strong, hot wine with raisins, and almonds. We were supposed to wait around in the city until 7pm when my host parents were to meet us to go to Tivoli, but we were tired of walking and cold, so we headed home. We cooked some pasta for dinner and took the night to relax and also so I could work on my 10 page paper that was due on Monday.
Saturday we went to watch my host brother, Magnus play soccer for the first time in awhile because he has been injured, afterwards, we went out to brunch with my Host parents and my host brother Mathias. Afterwards Birgitte took Lance and I to the laboratory that she works in because she thought Lance would be interested to see what she does, because they both work in labs. It was really fun to see her workplace, and it is clear that her and her colleagues have a lot of fun together. The weather was beautiful all day. We decided to head into the city around 7 to meet with some friends and go to Tivioli. It started raining as soon as we left the house, and we ended up riding tandem on my bike to the train station because the buses were going to be another hour. When we got to the station we were soaked, but it was kind of funny. When we finally got into the city we met with my friend Ashley and we went into Tivoli. It would have been much more pleasant if it had not been raining. We went inside after awhile and got something warm to drink while being questioned about Arnold Schwarzenegger and Obama by some random Danish men. After Tivoli a group of friends met us at a bar and we eventually met up with my host brother Kasper who was out celebrating Christmastime with some of his friends he goes to school with. Kasper, Lance, and I headed home on the night bus around 3:30am, and Lance and I had to ride tandem again, luckily it was no longer raining. I wish that my nights would not cut so much into my sleeping time, but Copenhagen’s night life doesn’t really get going till after midnight, and when it gets going, it is REALLY fun.
Lance left Sunday morning, we drove him to the airport and said goodbye. I wish he could have stayed longer, it’s nice having a real brother around every now and then ;-).

My friend Clare from SCU, who is also in my program, and I had to write a 10 page paper that was due just last night, so that was stressful on Sunday, but it is now done, and we are both happy with it, so that is a relief. Now I am off to meet my friend Pilar at Kongs Nytrov for lunch and to catch up! I can’t believe I only have a few more weeks. I am defiantly not ready to call it quits and head home. They turned on the Christmas lights in the city today since its December 1st, and everything is becoming so hyggilight. This morning I woke up to present from Santa outside my door, it was one of those things you put on your lap to put your laptop on. I love the way that Denmark celebrates Christmas. I wonder what else is in store for me in these last few weeks…?

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Photos

Thanksgiving 2009
Lance and I cooking dinner

Thanksgiving 2009
Some of the turkey place cards I made!

Tivoli
Trojan Raindeer