cultured folk!

I have been a rather busy exchange student during the last week. So many new things to try, new people to meet, activities to observe and new information to consume. This week, the focus of my Danish adventures was cultural activities! And, the more I learn about the Danish culture, the more I love it!! 

So last Thursday night, two of my friends from school invited me to watch their gymnastics team train :) (Hej Christina ;) ) t Gymnastics, as I have already attempted to explain, is pretty big in Denmark and I would assume that one in two people has tried it in their life. It is not the gymnastics that we have in Australia though. It lacks the glittery tight costumes and the unusual mind blowing flexibility. So I was quite surprised when I went to watch their training as it was not what I had expected. Watching their class actually reminded me of a dance class in Australia... just like being back in the Uniting Church Hall at Rebecca's Dance Studio. The class had a very similar structure;  warm up, corner work, and choreographed dances. The only difference was that there was one routine with a ball, and that there was another team training around them doing flips on the springboard (typical gymnastics right).  It had a relaxed atmosphere and it made me miss dancing. Their dances were really really fun and well choreographed and I enjoyed watching them! I had a really fun night :) I love the gymnastics in Denmark. I think that it is awesome and I was so glad that I got to see one of their training sessions! I am even considering joining a team, I just have to consider how much of a commitment I can make as I am a rather busy little exchange student :) Of course, after watching gymnastics training we made a quick maccas stop. I managed to order in Danish without the lady switching automatically into English (slight victory dance in my head). It was actually my first trip to Maccas in Denmark. And of course, this American money chewing family restaurant was almost identical to those in Australia, except that you could order carrots instead of french fries with your meals. The Danes seem to love carrots.... :) 

On Friday, one of my friends from school invited me to her house for dinner. She and her mum love the Danish royal family, and they had a collection of royal magazines from various events, so I was able to study up on the Danish royal family. The magazines were just beautiful and so special! The first was from Mary's wedding. Seeing her long train took me back to when I was a little girl, sitting at home watching, amazed, as an Aussie girl married a prince and turned into a princess. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to end up in the same land as her.. one catch though- im an aussie girl without a handsome prince. After the marriage, we moved onto the next milestone- the birth of her four beautiful children and also the christenings of each. So special! It was cool to see the Danish magazine and be able to read and understand some! Then of course, there was the other prince (who is sadly taken). This was Fred's brother, who i actually didn't know existed! We browsed through magazines from his two weddings, and also from the birth of his children and the christenings. After we had finished, I was surprised at how much I had learnt! This was a very important lesson also as I am heading into Copenhagen to see the royal family wave on the balcony for the Queen's birthday! I can now proudly say that i will know the names of every single person standing there and a little bit about their history! It was really hyggelit and I had a wonderful time at her house :) I love the Danish royal family, probably as much as some Danes!

Saturday was also a busy fun filled day! I met up with my Aussie friend Lauren from Holbeck in Copenhagen. We caught the train in together and caught up on whats been happening over the last month. We shared our excitement for Euro Tour (which is now less than a month away) and just chatted about our every day life. It was so nice to be with someone who is experiencing the same things as I am! So once arriving at Copenhagen Central Station, we strolled through the city streets and admired the gates to Tivoli which is now open. It looks so much fun and I can not wait to go there! We eventually found ourselves at the shopping street and began our little shopping spree. We picked up a few essential items, and then met up with Darcie from Aalborg, who is another fellow Aussie Rotary exchange student. It was so good to see her again too and we sat in Burger King for like an hour just talking about our exchange and our experiences, both the good and the bad. We, along with our credit cards were rather tired at the end of the day and took a much needed break at Paradis. Which is the most amazing ice cream shop in the world.. It lacks the mixings from cold rock, and doesn't look as cool as yogurt land, but it is just plain home made ice cream which is so heavenly and creamy that i will have withdrawls when I go back to Australia... We went back to my house very very tired and Lauren and I crashed and put on our matching onesies ready for a girls night! Of course popcorn and faxi kondi were involved and we decided to watch Nynne, which is like the Danish Bridget Jones (I actually love it). It was a lot of fun and we stayed up into the late hours of the morning. It was a real girly night! 

We woke up late on Sunday morning, and looked outside and decided against going to the Roskilde fjord for a picnic. So instead, we went into Cafe Vivaldi in Roskilde town for some nachos :) Then the weather seemed to turn nice so we went to the Fjord in the afternoon taking a walk through the park in Roskilde. It is so so sooo beautiful! I have only ever seen it from my bus window, but actually being in the park was beautiful. And because it is spring now, all of the flowers are begining to bloom so there was a beautiful rainbow of purple, yellow and white flowers everywhere. It was just magical. I love Spring in Denmark! After our little adventure to see the viking boats we walked back up the hill huffing and puffing, and reality sunk in...... our new layer of exchange fat has deprived us of our fitness and summer bodies. NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Anyways, we continued walking to the station and sat talking while we waited for Lauren't train to come. We said our goodbyes, (but not forever because EURO TOUR!!!!!) and i caught the bus home!

My host mum, host brother and his best friend then took me to the circus :) This circus was in Roskilde and was deemed to be Denmark's best circus. I felt like a little kid again walking around the circus tent with starry eyes and the smell reminded me of the Camden Show. We bought our tickets, and then went to Mcdonalds for icecream as we had an hour to kill. Mcdonald's in Denmark has carrots as fries, but they also have delicious cornetto mcflurrys which are gods gift to the world. THEY WERE SOOOOO GOOD OH MY GOODNESS! Anyway, after eating some ice cream we then drove back to the circus. It was in the same place that the Roskilde Festival is held so it was quite a large area and I also got to explore a little part of the town that I had only seen from the highway. We took our seats and listened to the circus music that was playing and the excitement of the light flashing little kids created a sweet atmosphere for a Sunday afternoon. The actual circus was awesome. They had a lot to offer- elephants, horses, dogs and even cats?! My favourite act however was the clown who was extreemly talented at engaging the audience. The costumes were awesome and some of the tricks were pretty impressive. It was a very fun afternoon! 

So I was quite exhausted after the last four days! So an early night was had for me last night. 

My plans for this week are rather awesome (if i do say so myself) 

Tonight, two of my friends from school are sleeping over 

Tomorrow, I am going into Copenhagen with my host mum and two friends to see princess mary (well, technically the queen... and technically it will be from a distance but mary will be there). It is the Queen;s birthday and it is a tradition for Danish people to go to her palace and wave the danish flag. I am very much looking forward to it. It will be an experience! After, we have plans to go to Tivoli! i am so excited!!!!!!!!! 

Then I have an ordinary week of school, language school and probably a few trips to the gym

On Saturday however, it is my host mums birthday :) yay more danish traditions!

Then on Sunday night, I am flying to Berlin to meet chris, sal and the kids. SO EXCITED FOR BERLIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vi ses venner 

xxx

Note; i apologise if this blog makes no sense what so ever.. my english are not good ;) haha just kidding but it is seriously declining as my danish skills 'improve'. Hopefully i will be able to piece together a sentence when i get home.