Hello again!
I'm in the midst of the apocalypse that is final projects month trying to get through it so I can get home, but I'm taking a break to write about the past couple weeks.
Last Thursday was Thanksgiving! So, my host mom bough some big turkey breasts, potatoes and vegetables, and took the day off so we could cook it all for the family. I also had a life-saving delivery from my friend Patti's sister who came from the US to visit, of evaporated milk and pumpkin (for pumpkin pie), and stuffing and cranberry sauce! The final menu included: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, broccoli casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie with freshly made whipped cream to top it off. It was really fun and a lot less stressful than I imagined cooking Thanksgiving would be. My friend Haley who I met on the Ribe trip a few months ago came up to eat with us and spend the night so we had a full house. Overall, everything was delicious--my host brother Rasmus actually went back for thirds! It was also really nice to have everyone there to talk to and compare cultures with. I learned a lot and I got a lot closer to my host family.
The next day, Haley and I woke up and had pumpkin pie for breakfast, then went to Kronborg Castle near my house to have a look around. My host mom had provided us with some free tickets, so we trudged through the snow to the castle and back, then we had tea and watched my favorite Danish movie - After the Wedding.
Saturday my host mom left for Berlin for 5 days. In the beginning of the semester, she had been planning to go to France, and couldn't because she had been having back problems. I admit though I felt bad, that I was the slightest bit relieved because at that time I had no idea how to cook for myself for so long. This time though, we were fine, because I now know how the oven works and where all the food is. So, Sofie and I were on our own for a few days. We made throughout that time: chicken and pasta, chicken tacos, lasagna, chicken curry, and pasta with tuna and corn. Not too glamorous as far as food goes, but we didn't starve and we were pretty proud of ourselves.
When my host mom got back this Thurs (after flight cancellations due to the record low temperatures in Germany and Denmark--coldest in 45 years in Berlin and 100 years in Denmark for this time of year) we went to the opening of the Helsingor bibliotek, which houses 2 stages, a huge library, and soon, a huge maritime museum, where we ate aebleskiver with strawberry jam and powdered sugar (yum!). Then we came home to make Christmas decorations. Before I get to that I will talk about my last day at practicum.
My paedagog Henriette wasn't there again, but I spent the say with another paedagog, Mette and her class. We danced around and watched the snow fall outside (I was so glad they had them stay inside, because Thursday was extremely cold). I helped with lunch (rye bread and toppings--smorrebrΓΈd) then played with the kids from this classroom and my normal classroom. I cuddled a lot with Vega and Monica and Tobey and drew pictures with all the kids. I'm really going to miss them!
So, Christmas decorations. A few weeks ago, my host mom had gone to Sweden with some of her friends to pick up some stuff for decorations. This means she came home with bag after bag of Swedish nature--pine branches, moss, mushrooms, pinecones, twigs, etc. Then we all sat at the kitchen table and packed pots full of clay then placed candles in them and surrounded them with a mixture of whatever nature we wanted to put in, as well as glitter, or fake snow, or tinsel, or ribbon. Mine was like this: an advent candle (a candle you burn each day before Christmas with numbers on it to count down) moss, fir branches, 2 kinds of pine cones, silver and white glitter, and a red bow. We also had more aebleskiver, a pan-fried ball of dough similar to pancakes, and tea while we listened to Christmas music and enjoyed each others' company. It was such a hyggeligt and relaxing evening, and this is definitely a Christmas tradition I will bring back with me.
Last night, I went to the ballet. It was a production of Sleeping Beauty, or Tornerose in Danish. The performance was at Der Kongens Teater in Copenhagen, near Nyhavn. It was only $10 to go, which is great, since usually they are about $40-50. I think I am not a ballet person. I thought I'd try out another one after Nutcracker, but still to no avail. I am thoroughly impressed by their skill, but it seems difficult to tell a story in that way. For example, about 20 minutes was spent by the fairies dancing to impress the King and Queen. They'd all come out, then they left, then they came out one by one, then all together again for 2 more dances. I don't know, it just seemed like an unnecessary amount of impressing. I loved the music and the costumes, and it was interesting how the prince was found - Sleeping Beauty is asleep behind a magical portrait in the museum and the 2 docents are the good and evil witches/fairies and they are constantly working against each other. I did appreciate that aspect, it was clever. I just don't know if such a simple story does so well as a ballet. I often found myself not watching the dancers, and watching the orchestra instead. So, it's not for me, but if it is for you, I think it was quite good for a ballet, though I think I prefer Nutcracker, there are more facets to that story.
Now, only 2 weeks left in Denmark before I go home. I've already begun to tackle the monster that is packing. I'm ready but I'm not. I want to go home but I'll miss my new, temporary home and my wonderful family. This is an experience that I will never get to have again, so I'm going to get as much as I can out of the time left. The next post will most likely be on my last day in Denmark, as I've got a lot to do: a 12-15 page paper, finishing up a 7 page paper, writing a journal in Danish, 2 two page papers, and spending as much time as possible with the people who have made this experience-my family and my friends.
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