Time for a blog about my first day in school (Monday), which was AWESOME! I started the day with Maggie, who is the person who is responsible for all the exchange students. She is really nice and used to be an exchange student herself, so she knows what we go through. We filled out some paperwork and she told me that if I ever needed anything or someone to talk to, that I should let her know. Then she gave me a tour and showed me where all my classes are. During the tour she also introduced me to several students form drama and my other classes. My schedule is currently this:
-Earth Science (Haven't had this yet)
-Creative Writing
-American History
-ESL (Advisory)
Lunch
-Business Law
-English 10
-Choir
I didn't do Earth Science since I was with Maggie during first hour, so my first American class ever was Creative Writing. I love that class. The environment is so friendly and the other kids (Everyone calls us kids, which is a bit strange) are really nice. We sat in a circle reading from a book about writing, and when you read you got a Barbie sticker (the guys were ecstatic ;D) then we started writing on a story. Before I knew it, the class was over.
My next class was American History. I sat next to a nice guy I had met on the tour named James. He was very helpful and funny, and I found out that I have 3 classes (and drama) with him. the teacher in Am. History is a bit of a character. One minute he is all smiles and the next he is all serious and aggressive-ish. He was, however not boring at all, and everyone in the class sat quietly taking notes, so I guess the "bipolar" behavior is making everyone respect him. Students have a lot more respect for teachers here, so the classes aren't as chaotic as in Denmark.
Next up was ESL (don't remember what it stands for) with the 4 other exchange students and a girl named Eldie (I think that is how you spell her name). It's practically a class for us to get to know each other and get help with homework if we need it. Sometimes we are gonna take small trips to ex. the courthouse, so we get to see more things. There are 4 other exchange students: Miguel from Brazil, Mahro from Equador, Camill from Poland and Pauwa from Thailand (I don't know how to spell their names, but this is how they sound) and they are all really nice. I have Am. History with Pauwa and Eldie. I especially liked talking to Eldie and we got along really well. Our teacher is Maggie.
After ESL I have lunch. Since it's a small school everyone eats lunch at the same time. I brought some noodely thingy (Love that word) and got hot water from the teacher office. That was also a good time to check in with Christi, who was anxious to see how my first day was going. After I got the water I went down to eat lunch with the other students. I ate lunch with one of the girls I had met at church, unfortunately I didn't really feel like I could talk to her and her friends, so lunch was kind of a bummer. It feels weird that lunch was the down part of my school day ;D
Originally my next class was Algebra 2 B, but I quickly found out that it was a lot of stuff I had never heard of, so I switched it. Maggie thought Algebra 2 A might be better, but they didn't teach it during 5th hour, so that didn't work. Then I checked out Algebra 1 but that was all freshmens (14 year olds) and it was waay too easy, so that didn't work either. About 5 mins. before the hour ended, Maggie figured out that I don't need to have math (!!!!!) so I got business law instead. Needless to say I didn't really have that class that day, since I spend the entire hour running from classroom, to classroom.
After a very stressing period I had English 10. I didn't really get to experience that class either, since they did a test I couldn't participate in, because I wasn't in the system yet. The teacher seemed nice though, and I have it with Miguel.
At the end of the day I had choir. Amazing class. We are currently singing the American national anthem, and it is kind of weird, since everyone but me knows it. But I love the class, and it's amazing that I get to sing everyday with other people who likes to sing!
After school there was Drama auditions. This year we are doing Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I think it went pretty well, and I met a lot more nice people, who I instantly got along with. It was just great. Also James asked if I wanted to hang out the next day, which I said yes to. After drama I got picked up by Christi.
We went to an open house at Salida Dance Studio and I am now doing ballet every friday at 1a.m. after the dance studio we went home.
All in all I had a pretty good first day of school.
The second day of school started out with Earth Science where we drew pictures of our hands and colored them... a bit weird, but it was something about respect and reliability that they had spend the entire week working on. But as far I could see on the syllables it is the same as our Geography and a little bit of chemistry. I also had Business Law which seems to be very interesting. At the end of the year we are going to have a civil law case, where we are the lawyers and stuff. It is a small class, but the teacher is nice.
In English we started a new writing project, so I am going to be writing a lot between English and Creative Writing. It seems like it is going to be fun.
At lunch I ate with the other drama kids, and my stomach was literally hurting from laughing too much. It was a much better lunch than the first day, and I really felt like I fit in.
After school I hung out with James. We went to the Alpine park and the weather was great, a perfect day for hanging out in the park. We pretty much just talked, climbed on the playground and had several grass fights (which I totally won.... or something ;D) I had a lot of fun, especially since James is a pretty funny guy, but for some unknown reason my phone decided to stop receiving texts, so when Christi texted me saying I should be home by 7pm (We had to pack and get up early to leave for Maine) I didn't get the message. She called me around 7:30 asking why I wasn't home yet, so I explained that I hadn't gotten the message and hurried home. Once I got home and explained what hat happened, all was good again, they were just worried because I hadn't written back. My curfew is now at 9 on school nights and 11 one the weekends ;D
The next morning we had to wake up at 4 am (!!!! ;C) to leave for Maine, but I will write more about that later, right now I need to sleep ;D
- Malene XD
USA Here I Come!
fredag den 30. august 2013
mandag den 26. august 2013
Arrival in Colorado Springs and The first days in Salida ;D
I left Denmark on Thursday on the 22nd at 9.55 am. It was a really
weird feeling that I wouldn't see my parents again for ten months, and I
didn't manage to not cry when I had to say goodbye. Thankfully I
travelled with a girl called Annahita and talking to her really helped
me get out of my head. It was really nice to have someone talk to.
Unfortunately we only travelled together to Paris, so I had to take the
next plane alone. We helped each other finding our terminals, and then I
was on my own. I had spent a little too much time trying to buy lunch,
so I had to run down to the gate. I made it in time and found my seat. I
sat between a boy and a girl a little bit older than me, but we didn't
rally talk (I'm pretty sure they were both French), so It was a bit
awkward. And I can also say, that 9 hours in a plane does not make your
back happy, but besides the back pains it was a pretty good flight.
In Atlanta I had to go through immigration, which took some time. I also had to recheck my bag and go through security. It went pretty painless, but I did have to run to get to my next plane. This time I sat besides two Americans who were very nice. They talked to me and told me things about Salida, and they were pretty funny as well. About 20 minutes before we landed in Colorado springs airport, I saw lightning in below in the skies (a very crazy and a very pretty sight) and I also saw some of the infamous fires Colorado has been having lately. This one was on the border of Idaho. When the caption said there was 10 minutes till we landed in Colorado springs, there started to come more and more lightning. It went quite crazy, and it didn't take long before we were told that we wouldn't be able to land in the Springs, because the airport had been shut down. There was a crazy storm, and it wasn't safe to fly. Instead we landed in Pueblo airport, where we had to sit in the plane for 3 hours. I was very happy that the men next to me talked to me, otherwise I probably would have been more bored and scared. Because I wasn't really scared, even thought there was like 4 lightnings every second , everyone was really calm and there was a pleasant vibe. After 3 hours we were up in the air again, and we landed in Colorado springs airport about 10 minutes later. Then we had to wait for the gates to be reopened, and that took another half hour. When we were finally allowed to walk out of the plane, people cheered.
Christi and the girls had been waiting for me for little over 3 hours, so they were all tired, but we had to wait again for the luggage to arrive, since there were several planes that had landed at the same time, due to the storm. When I finally found my suitcase (Which Riley helped me locate and push) we ran out to the car (it was still raining) and drove to the hotel. I think we got there around 12:30am so everyone was really tired, and we just went straight to be. I think I ended up being awake for 26,5 hours that day! The next morning we all slept in. Once we woke, we got breakfast, where I tried peanut butter and jelly on a bagel for the first time. Not as disgusting as I thought it would be, and Riley and Audrey told me it is there favorite kind of sandwich. They are really excited to have me as their big sister, lots of hugging going on. After breakfast we went to Target to pick up some stuff I needed. Target is huge and has everything you can imagine. They even have 4 isles with cards for different occasions! I bought some of the basic school supplies, which were a bit hard, since I don't know which classes I am going to take yet. I also got some new shoes. After Target we had lunch in a restaurant called "Chilli" and it was really chilly in the restaurant because of the aircon (sorry for the bad joke, I just had to ;D) and then we went to Salida.
Salida isn't a very big town, it is the kind of town where everyone knows everyone (Christi says hi to about every second person we meet, I find it very impressive how she knows everyone) I noticed that the houses look very different and I think that it adds to the personality of the town. I will upload some pictures later, so you can see the town, house and my room. Speaking of my room, it is completely purple and it has wooden doors, and I think it looks very homey.
We didn't really do much Saturday, they didn't wanna fill my first few days with a lot of stuff.
Today we went to church. Since it was the first service after summer vacation, it was held at the park. I must say that church is a lot more exciting here than in Denmark. The music is more modern, and they had a full band and 4 singers, and the priest (or pastor, or father, or minister or what whatever this domination of Christians call the dude that preaches) was way more enthusiastic and fun to listen too. A lot of people showed up, and people got really into the songs (waving hands and saying amen and stuff). After the service there was free food (The best thing ever!) which was barbecued brisket, potato salad and some kind of macaroni. After we finished eating Christi introduced me to girls from the high school. They were all really nice and I especially like talking to two girls named Audrey and Jamie. They told me about two different youth groups and asked if I wanted to come, and Audrey offered to show me around the school, so that was really nice. I think they were both juniors, so hopefully I will be a junior too. I also met a guy who said I could borrow one if his guitars, since I couldn't bring my own ;D After church we went to Wallmart, who apparently everyone hates here (Christi said it is because it is the only big store they have, so people find stores like Target more exciting - the grass is always greener) I thought it was great. I bought the necessary toiletries which I forgot to buy at Target. On the way home from Target we stopped at the library and got me a library card.
Tomorrow I start school and I am really excited and a little bit nervous. I don't know what grade I will be in, so I will start the day at the counsellors office where I will get my schedule.
I think this is all for now, I will try to update tomorrow about my first day of school.
- Malene
In Atlanta I had to go through immigration, which took some time. I also had to recheck my bag and go through security. It went pretty painless, but I did have to run to get to my next plane. This time I sat besides two Americans who were very nice. They talked to me and told me things about Salida, and they were pretty funny as well. About 20 minutes before we landed in Colorado springs airport, I saw lightning in below in the skies (a very crazy and a very pretty sight) and I also saw some of the infamous fires Colorado has been having lately. This one was on the border of Idaho. When the caption said there was 10 minutes till we landed in Colorado springs, there started to come more and more lightning. It went quite crazy, and it didn't take long before we were told that we wouldn't be able to land in the Springs, because the airport had been shut down. There was a crazy storm, and it wasn't safe to fly. Instead we landed in Pueblo airport, where we had to sit in the plane for 3 hours. I was very happy that the men next to me talked to me, otherwise I probably would have been more bored and scared. Because I wasn't really scared, even thought there was like 4 lightnings every second , everyone was really calm and there was a pleasant vibe. After 3 hours we were up in the air again, and we landed in Colorado springs airport about 10 minutes later. Then we had to wait for the gates to be reopened, and that took another half hour. When we were finally allowed to walk out of the plane, people cheered.
Christi and the girls had been waiting for me for little over 3 hours, so they were all tired, but we had to wait again for the luggage to arrive, since there were several planes that had landed at the same time, due to the storm. When I finally found my suitcase (Which Riley helped me locate and push) we ran out to the car (it was still raining) and drove to the hotel. I think we got there around 12:30am so everyone was really tired, and we just went straight to be. I think I ended up being awake for 26,5 hours that day! The next morning we all slept in. Once we woke, we got breakfast, where I tried peanut butter and jelly on a bagel for the first time. Not as disgusting as I thought it would be, and Riley and Audrey told me it is there favorite kind of sandwich. They are really excited to have me as their big sister, lots of hugging going on. After breakfast we went to Target to pick up some stuff I needed. Target is huge and has everything you can imagine. They even have 4 isles with cards for different occasions! I bought some of the basic school supplies, which were a bit hard, since I don't know which classes I am going to take yet. I also got some new shoes. After Target we had lunch in a restaurant called "Chilli" and it was really chilly in the restaurant because of the aircon (sorry for the bad joke, I just had to ;D) and then we went to Salida.
Salida isn't a very big town, it is the kind of town where everyone knows everyone (Christi says hi to about every second person we meet, I find it very impressive how she knows everyone) I noticed that the houses look very different and I think that it adds to the personality of the town. I will upload some pictures later, so you can see the town, house and my room. Speaking of my room, it is completely purple and it has wooden doors, and I think it looks very homey.
We didn't really do much Saturday, they didn't wanna fill my first few days with a lot of stuff.
Today we went to church. Since it was the first service after summer vacation, it was held at the park. I must say that church is a lot more exciting here than in Denmark. The music is more modern, and they had a full band and 4 singers, and the priest (or pastor, or father, or minister or what whatever this domination of Christians call the dude that preaches) was way more enthusiastic and fun to listen too. A lot of people showed up, and people got really into the songs (waving hands and saying amen and stuff). After the service there was free food (The best thing ever!) which was barbecued brisket, potato salad and some kind of macaroni. After we finished eating Christi introduced me to girls from the high school. They were all really nice and I especially like talking to two girls named Audrey and Jamie. They told me about two different youth groups and asked if I wanted to come, and Audrey offered to show me around the school, so that was really nice. I think they were both juniors, so hopefully I will be a junior too. I also met a guy who said I could borrow one if his guitars, since I couldn't bring my own ;D After church we went to Wallmart, who apparently everyone hates here (Christi said it is because it is the only big store they have, so people find stores like Target more exciting - the grass is always greener) I thought it was great. I bought the necessary toiletries which I forgot to buy at Target. On the way home from Target we stopped at the library and got me a library card.
Tomorrow I start school and I am really excited and a little bit nervous. I don't know what grade I will be in, so I will start the day at the counsellors office where I will get my schedule.
I think this is all for now, I will try to update tomorrow about my first day of school.
- Malene
tirsdag den 13. august 2013
10 days to go!!
As the title says, I now have 10 days untill I leave Denmark and go to Salida. I am leaving on the 22nd of August at 9:55pm from Kastrup airport. Then I change planes in Paris and again in Atlanta. My final destination is Colorado Springs. I will arrive in Colorado around 7:40pm. My hostfamily and I may get a hotelroom in Colorado Springs, and then go shopping for school supplies the next day. Since I have to be at the airport in Copenhagen two hours before take off, I will travel to Copenhagen the day before. On the 20th I will spend some time with my grandparents and say proper goodbye to them.
It's been a while since I last posted on here, mainly because I have been busy enjoying my last time here in Denmark and spending time with my family. But since last time I got my final vaccination and got checked for tuberculosis which, surprise surprise, I don't have ;D I also went to the American embassy and got my visa. I didn't take nearly as long as I was told it might, we were done within half an hour, but it was a bit scary with all the security. I went there with a group of other My Education students and it was nice to have someone to chat to, who are also going through this period of endless waiting. I got my visa about a week after I visited the embassy.
I've also held a birthday/goodbye party for my family (even though my birthday isn't untill the 18th, but I didn't know whether or not I would be home when we planned it) and it was a really nice day. It was good to see everyone and to say goodbye in a proper way. I got some much needed money (when is money not needed ;D) and a new camera, which I am really excited about. It is a really good one too, so I can upload lots of good pictures on here ;D
It's kinda surreal that I am leaving in just 10 days. I'm starting to get a bit nervous, mostly about the trip over there, because I am scared that I will miss a plane or something like that. The realization that I am actually going to do this is also starting to hit me. I've noticed that I get more emotional about things than I normally would, but I guess nerves are pretty normal when you are about to leave everything you know for something completely new and unknown. I am still, however, very excited to see what the next 10 months will bring. I have just started packing my suitcase, and it is a lot harder than I thought it would be to pack everything on only 23 kg.
Untill next time, which will most likely be on the 21st. or 22nd.
Malene xoxo
It's been a while since I last posted on here, mainly because I have been busy enjoying my last time here in Denmark and spending time with my family. But since last time I got my final vaccination and got checked for tuberculosis which, surprise surprise, I don't have ;D I also went to the American embassy and got my visa. I didn't take nearly as long as I was told it might, we were done within half an hour, but it was a bit scary with all the security. I went there with a group of other My Education students and it was nice to have someone to chat to, who are also going through this period of endless waiting. I got my visa about a week after I visited the embassy.
I've also held a birthday/goodbye party for my family (even though my birthday isn't untill the 18th, but I didn't know whether or not I would be home when we planned it) and it was a really nice day. It was good to see everyone and to say goodbye in a proper way. I got some much needed money (when is money not needed ;D) and a new camera, which I am really excited about. It is a really good one too, so I can upload lots of good pictures on here ;D
It's kinda surreal that I am leaving in just 10 days. I'm starting to get a bit nervous, mostly about the trip over there, because I am scared that I will miss a plane or something like that. The realization that I am actually going to do this is also starting to hit me. I've noticed that I get more emotional about things than I normally would, but I guess nerves are pretty normal when you are about to leave everything you know for something completely new and unknown. I am still, however, very excited to see what the next 10 months will bring. I have just started packing my suitcase, and it is a lot harder than I thought it would be to pack everything on only 23 kg.
Untill next time, which will most likely be on the 21st. or 22nd.
Malene xoxo
tirsdag den 4. juni 2013
My Education Meeting and Last day of school!!!! ;D
Another big thing that has happened is my last day of school!!! It was an awesome day and we all had a lot of fun.
We started the day at one of my classmates house where we had breakfast. After we were done eating we went to my school to throw caramels to the younger students. We were allowed to bring waterpistols to school, so once we had no more caramels to throw, we started shooting them with water instead. It was a very uneven fight, considering they didn't have any water to shoot at us, but hey - I spent 10 years in school, and there has to be some perks ;D Especially one of our teachers got soaked... It was very satisfying.
It is also a tradition for the graduating classes to do a sketch about our teachers. I think ours went really well, and it was fun to see the others;D
After school we went to Mindeparken (Rougly translated: the memory park) where we met up with all the other 9th graders in all of Aarhus. The weather was perfect and we had a really good time just hanging out with everyone.
My class spent the evening at one of our classmates house, where we ate pizza and hungout. We talked, played games, went down to the beach and just had a really nice evening together as a class. Then we went to a party for all of my schools 9th grade, and it was good to end this day together rather than in three different places.
I had a really good day, and I am going to miss all of my classmates and friends from school. But I can also feel August coming closer and closer, and even though I don't know when I am leaving yet - I am getting more and more exited to leave for Salida ;D
I am technically done with school. I only have two oral exams left and then graduation!
Here are some videos symbolising my last school year:
At the start of my last school year I was like:
For the final weeks of the school year I was like:
(the overall feeling of being sad because thing are ending, obviously not the part about people dying ;D)
And then on the last day of school I was like:
And now I'm like:
I would like to take this time to acknowledge the fact that we live in a world where you can find a harry potter inspired song for every situation. It makes a PotterHead (Harry potter fan) like me very happy ;D
And now some photos from my last day of school:
Me and my best friend Laura ;D
Me as a vampire
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Me after the waterfight with our teachers
The waterfight
My friends and I in our costumes (at least some of us were)
Alsmost my entire class in their cool costumes
tirsdag den 16. april 2013
HOST FAMILY!!!!!
I am going to Salida, Colorado! It's a small town with about 5,500 citizens. The school is called Salida High School and has about 350 students, so it's not very big either. From what I've read, it seems like Salida has a great sense of community, and that is something I have hoped to experience. I am also really happy that the school doesn't have like 3000 students, because this way I won't just be another kid in the crowd ;D
The nature in Salida is absolutely beautiful, and I predict many photos of it ;D
 |
| the high school |
My host family consists of mom Christi, dad Jeff and their two daughters Riley and Audrey. Riley is 6 and Audrey is 4, so I am going get 2 new little sisters ;D Christi works as a teacher and Jeff is a head mechanic. They have 3 cats, fish and chickens. They seem to be a bit more outdoorsy than me, but that probably won't hurt me ;D
I talked to Christi on the phone last Saturday. I was really nervous when I called them, but I didn't need to be. Christi sounded really nice and excited to hear from me. She said that they were all looking forward to see me, and then she asked some questions about whether or not I was okay with younger sibling, a small town etc. which I have absolutely no problem with (I have small siblings myself) She also said that they were planning a vacation to Maine in August, and asked if I wanted to come, which I of course said yes to ;D
overall I had a really good weekend, and it is nice to finally have an answer to questions such as "where are you going", "when are you going" and "Who is you hostfamily". I don't have the date for my flight yet, but school starts August 19th, so somewhere around that date. It was also really nice talking to Christi, it made me a lot less nervous, and now I am just excited! ;D
- Malene XD
onsdag den 3. april 2013
A year ago today
2 days ago it was a year since I went to the USA for the first time! I was in NY and Orlando with my mom, and it was soo great... I can't wait to experience more of that country!
Today it is a year ago since I met Nick Jonas in NY, and since I am a huge fan, I think that deserves a little notion on here ;D
- Malene
Host Family?
So yesterday I was looking on World Heritage site trying to find myself again, but this time I couldn't find myself under the tags I could before. The weird thing was that the other girls who were on the tag, were still there, so I started wondering if it meant something. And I guess I was right!
Today My Education called me and said that there was a family who wanted me, but the school wanted to know what kind of math education I had. In the USA they split it up, but in Denmark we have it all in one class, so I guess they need to know that I've had the kind they offer? or I don't know why, but Marianne from My Education said, they needed a written statement from my school saying which kind of math I've had.
I've just called my school, and they can have the statement ready on Friday, and now I am just hoping that everything goes okay, because if it does, then I think I have a family!!! I haven't gotten any info on them, World Heritage just wrote that they needed the statement... I am sooo excited and nervous, and hopefully there will be a new post with same title minus the ? very soon!
Until next time ;D
-Malene
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