Another little post with some of the nature at the moment....

A rare sunny day
Chilling out with mates and a melodica
Iceskating

Soetkin's boots and the leaves.
Autumn
Walking
From Sam's yacht
"Only on a leash" - another addition to the funny danish signs.

Another month in Denmark!

Busy month this was! Apologies for the lack of a recent blog update, but I've simply been out there trying to make the most of my last 3 months in Denmark...

Firstly, if we go right back to a month ago, it was my birthday (fødselsdagen, på dansk) and I had a fairly laidback day. I had a classmate over for dinner and we ate a BRILLIANT three course meal prepared by my lovely host mum, with the compulsory lagkage (layer cake) for dessert. I got some sweet cds, lots of chocolate and a danish song book.















There was a day soon after this where Sam(hostdad) had to move his yacht from Århus to Horsens, about 5 hours away by sea. We sailed in the freezing weather, mainly under motor, but also a little bit under sail, when the wind favoured us.










There was then a big Rotary get together, with all the exchange students in Denmark gathering at Holbæk in Zealand. It was the last official get together, and it was thus a little bit sad, but good fun was had by all. There was a bit of a halloween party on the Saturday night, with many exciting costumes. I also carved a pumpkin for the first time in my life - no, not a Danish tradition, but a pretty fun way to spent an afternoon.



After the Rotary camp, I went straight to Roskilde to visit my penfriend, Marie, for the 2nd time this year. On the Monday night, me, Marie and her friend went to the the band "The Streets" play in Copenhagen. It was very cool to hang out with her again, and the music was also very awesome. I also went with her to her university for a day, as she is studying a business course entirely in English. There were some people in her class that had also been Rotary exchange students, including a Brazillian who was now back to study his degree in Denmark, who had lived not so far away from where I do, and knew a lot of the Brazillians that I know. Small world really...

I've started playing with a proper band at the Ungdomsskole where I learn Danish, with some guys from the Gymnasium. They are all VERY talented musicians, some of the best I've played with, and we are playing a bunch of original rock numbers. There might be a gig coming up sometime in the coming weeks....We practice for about 3 hours once a week. I've also joined the newly formed Silkeborg Voices choir, arranged by a teacher from the Gymnasium, and there's about 30 of us singing, including a respectable 8 or 9 guys. We'll be singing at a christmas concert soon, and there is a kind of Choir Tour planned, possibly to Germany, but not before I go home. As we say here in Jutland, det er træls.

Luis from the Dominican Republic had the cool idea of entering a poster competition to design the poster for next year's Silkeborg Riverboat Jazz Festival. Jose Juan from Mexico, Luis, and I got together and brainstormed ideas and eventually came up with three pretty cool designs.


We find out early next week if we've won the 10,000kr prize!

Soetkin came up to visit from Belgium for a week, on a break from university, and stayed here with my host family. It was great to hang out again and spend a bit of time together, as well as introduce her to all the new exchange students. We hung out in Silkeborg just like old times, and went out in Århus on the Friday night with many exchange students. It was a big night in the city due to the launch of the annual Carlsberg and Tuborg Christmas beers, and the whole city was out to celebrate this once-a-year-event, drinking and partying the night away. It can be perhaps said that Danes LOVE to drink, and a great deal of Danish culture involves alcohol in some kind of way.

And that just about does it. School's going alright, there's just 3 weeks left before I'm free for the winter break, so things are a little relaxed now. I'm too scared to count exactly how long it is, but there is under two months left before I'm back in Australia! Strange to think...
I was told this month that I speak fluent Danish! Apart from with exchange students, I speak Danish all the time and it definitely dominates my headspace. I have to get a 45 minute presentation in Danish ready for my Rotary club for mid-December, so I should probably get started on it soon...

My host parents are off to the Carribean for a few weeks next Wednesday, so I'll be relocating temporarily to live with my 2nd host family again. I've been to visit recently, and I really miss their piano and spending time with my sweet host siblings, so it will be nice to have a little more time with them.

It's cold, dark and wet here nowadays. It rains most days, and the sun is hardly up when I get to school and is down by 4:30-5pm. But I can battle through! The thought of arriving back to the wonderful warm, long Australian summer is a very good one, even if it means the end of my time here.

Love to all, Dan