Monday 18 March 2013

conquering three danish cultural activities... in two days

Two months ago, I was sweating it out in the Australia, counting down the days until I would hop on a plane and jet set across to the other side of the world to a country that I knew little about. Two months in and I am continuing to love every moment. Exchange was honestly the best thing I could have ever done, and I am so thankful that I have been given this opportunity to travel and experience the world. 

If I were at home, I would have been almost a month into my degree at UNSW, and by some Facebook statuses floating around in my news feed, I would have spent my nights cramming over confusing text books and essay questions realising that year 12 was a walk in the park. Instead,  I find myself on the other side of the world, sitting in a Danish school classroom, surrounded by a new and strange language.... and on that note I can't imagine being anywhere else right now. 

These past two months have flown by and I am finding that every day, I am settling into the Danish way of life. This weekend I was lucky enough to experience more aspects of the Danish culture... the kind that were up my ally :) 

So on Friday, two of my friends from class came over. We took over my host families kitchen, and made pavlova and cinamon scrolls. It was really nice to make the pavlova with my school friends, as they had only ever seen it before on Master Chef (they actually have Masterchef Australia over here! I watch it at the gym) Anyways, the pavlova's turned out DELICIOUS! So much so that we had three helpings each and my tastebuds were extremely satisfied as they were reunited with their one true love. The fresh, hot cinnamon scrolls were also delicious and I have saved the recipie so I can share it with all of you when I get home! Funnily enough we used a recipe called Sarah's cinnamon scrolls. Coincidence?! I think not
None the less, it was a very good afternoon in the kitchen and I really enjoyed spending time with my school friends outside of the classroom. In Danish terms, we had a hyggleit time. One of my friends then stayed the night at my host families house and we bonded over a packet of Oreos and the movie Mean Girls. With our tummies exploding from pavlova, cinnamon scrolls, Oreos and danish candy we called it a night. 

The next morning (Saturday) we woke up to the smell of freshly baked bread. My host mum makes THE BEST balle's in the world. I love them so much! So we ate some delicious breakfast and got ready to go to my friends gymnastic event. Gymnastics is an entirely different culture in Denmark. It's like a cross between dancing (minus the insane dance mums, false eyelashes and heavy stage make up) and the gymnastics that we know and love in Australia. I loved going and watching my friend perform! So the day began with a flag march- where the whole audience stands as the danish flag is walked through by competitors. Then the event began! So most of the day consisted of small kids showing off their routines. It reminded me of being at a dance estedford, without the bell, adjudicators and stage lights. It had a relaxed atmosphere and I loved it! My friends team were awesome although they didn't do a routine that i would think was gymnastics.. it was more contemporary and hip hop dance. It was awesome! And of course it included some epic flips and cool gymnastics tricks... I had a really great day seeing what gymnastics was all about! So I came home and was feeling pretty tired. I watched two movies with my host family. The first was a Danish movie about two painters. It was of course in Danish, but it was cool listening to the danish and reading the subtitles. I like listening to the prouncination and am starting to hear more and more danish words in conversations. Anyways, this movie was really cool, as it was based on the painters who painted the paintings that I saw last week at the art gallery in Copenhagen! I loved it, it was a really well made movie!
The second movie was Skyfall. A classic James Bond that I had not seen! Went to bed exhausted!

Yesterday, I caught up on some sleep and ventured to the gym with my host mum, host brother and his friend. I did a body flow class which I am really enjoying as it gives me the opportunity to stretch and work on my core strength which has seriously declined since arriving!! The classes are in Danish which can be funny at times. So after the gym, I came home, had some lunch and then we ventured into Copenhagen for the afternoon. Thats the greatest thing about living so close to Denmark's capital! This time in Copenhagen, we saw the musical Frankenstein at the acting house which is located near Mary's palace, right on the harbour. It had a lovely atmosphere and I was so glad to be on the theatre scene. I had been missing it! 

The play itself was of course in Danish, but having studied Frankenstein last year, i found it good as I had a basic grip on the content and characters that were being presented. The play was not a traditional one, and it steered clear of Mary Shelley's setting and some of the characters. But what they had done with the text was amazing. The sets were unbelievable and the writers had included song to tell the story. This was very clever and something that I really enjoyed. The singer (who is also famous in Denmark) had such a powerful voice that would given anyone (even an english speaker) goosebumps. The actors were also really good and overall I thought that it was a really good production. I later found out that the theatre is a place visited by the royal family. Mary sure lives the good life here in Denmark!

This week will be a super dooper week!!!!! I have my first school party on Friday (which has a rave theme). I am really excited for that, and it should be a fun night. Then the next day, I'm waking up at 4am and going to NORWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CAN NOT WAIT!

Miss you all Australia
xxx  






  

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