Paris!

Finally, a blog update!

Well, last week I travelled with 50 other danes on a 16 hour bus trip to Paris. We left at 5pm and arrived in Paris at 9am. The bus journey was long and uncomfortable, but I managed to get some sleep on the floor of the bus amid the many excited Danish travellers. We stopped in Germany and Belgium on the way, but I can't tell you much about it as it was 3 am and very dark.

Paris was incredible. Our hotel was quite basic, but it was just walking distance to all the main Parisian sights and very close to shops and creperies.

Mette and Marie outside our hotel -


Each day, we got up at 8am to eat breakfast and head off to see the sights. Our class presented short presentations on each of the monuments of paris at each site and it was a good way to have a cheap tour guide!
In no particular order, we visited:

Den Tour d'Eiffel -



Versaille -



Versaille again, with a statue posing behind me:



Versaille hall of mirrors:



Tina med Versailles Gardens:



Den Triomfbuen med Nette, Tina og Marie:



The Lourve with Marie and I:



Sacre Cour i Montmartre med Mads, Maria, Mette og Michael:
We spent about an hour wandering around a ghetto in Paris before we found this church. We were looked at very suspiciously as affluent danish tourists and managed to get some death stares in a Muslim cafe after we said we were from Denmark, due to the Danish newspaper publications of Mohammad.



Streets of montmartre:



Daniel i der Musee D'Orsay:



Daniel with just about the best crepe i've ever eaten in my life:



Asbjern, Michael og Alexander on one of many trips through small French alleys shopping:



Marie and I on a shopping trip, me with my new hat:



An Australian eating japanese food with a Dane in France. nice!:



A pretty little cafe near Montmartre:



The Pompidou Centre with our passionate french guide:



Eating Rugbrod (danish rye bread) with my roommate, Niels:



Danes eating baguettes in Versaille:



Many of the class in the Notre Dame:



We went to a Turkish restaurant to hear turkish music, with the Danes dressed up in Berets and false french moustaches and had a great night:



Another dinner out with me, Kristine og Johanna:



Torturing Danes with Vegemite on the bus trip:



Other ways to pass time on the bus:



Basically, each morning we visited the sights of Paris with the class group, and in the afternoons, we were free at about 3pm to do as we wished. We caught the metro all over Paris to visit places we wanted to see more of and to shop and spend time together. At night, we split into small groups and found restaurants to eat at. After dinner, we would often go to French pubs and clubs to socialise with our class. I also went out with a few boys one night to find some live music, but we couldnt find the place and ended up in a Turkish restaurant where they happened to have a live Gypsy band playing and it was very very cool.

I came back yesterday morning and I feel like I know all my classmates much better. Niels, my roommate, has invited me to go to Roskilde, one of Europe's biggest rock festivals, with him and I really hope Rotary will let me go. I didnt have school today, but instead spent time with a US exchange student, Dierdre, also just back form her class trip to Austria. Tomorrow is a normal school day, but then I have a week of holidays. My family is planning to go to Germany on next Wednesday for a day trip. I still can't quite comprehend that I can catch a bus to Paris, and take a day trip to Germany, but that's Europe for you!

I'm having a brilliant time with everything here. I have bonded so much with my classmates on the "study tour" to Paris which was much more of a social trip than anything. I felt a little homesick for Denmark while in Paris which was a strange experience, but i definately feel as though i am settled in here.

I will update again soon!

Love to all, Daniel

Another week in Denmark!

Another crazy, cold, wet, windy and wonderful weekend in Denmark! School goes on as usual, and I can now understand little snippets of conversations and lessons which is pretty nice. People can ask me how goes it without too much difficulty and I can even manage short replies! I'm getting along great with everyone at school and classes aren't too bad. My society teacher gives me handouts in English that help me understand what is going on and the physics teacher likes to sometimes teach in English as he is American. English classes are excellent, as I am the sole native English speaker in the room so all pronounciation checks come straight to me. ("No, its not monoTONously, it's moNOtonously"). Though the class hardly needs help with their English, they are all very fluent in the language. My music class is very nice also. In a month or so we are performing "Space Oddity" by David Bowie at an assembly.

On the weekend, I caught the train to Arhus to meet a Brazilian exchange student and two American exchange students and we saw a couple of bands at a Student Union concert.

the cold walk there:



it was about 0 degrees, and blowing and windy so the walk there was not very nice. However, we made our own fun on the journey and had a good time. Gustavo, the Brazillian, James, the American and Hana, also American have all been in Denmark 6 months so they were telling me of the typical wisdom that is passed down from oldie to newbie. (ie. how to come home late without your host parents noticing, how to ask for money from rotary, how to avoid getting sent home etc etc).

Myself and Gu:



And some photos from the concert:





The concert hall had a cloakroom where everyone puts their big jackets that are neccessary outside. Many people there were quite drunk, and it was a great change seeing normally very shy Danish people who will look away if you walk past them in the main street suddenly turning into your best friends. "Oh, du taler Engelsk! I love speaking Engelsk!"

We got home quite late, but the next morning i got up at 8 am to go back into Arhus to meet some other exchange students. We shopped and wandered around the town and took it fairly slowly.

Enjoying a hot chocolate:



I arrived home at 7:30pm in Ry, and found that someone had stolen my bicycle! I searched thoroughly around the train station but it wasnt there at all. I rang home and they came to pick me up and we looked some more, but we couldnt find it! I went to bed dreading telling Rotary that I had lost their bicycle, but fortunatly for me my counsellor wasnt home and I didnt have to do it instantly.

On Sunday, I caught the train into Silkeborg to meet Tina and Mette-Marie, two friends from school. We went for an epic bike ride to the highest point in Denmark, Himmelbjerge, a whole 150metres up!

Mette and I eating lunch:



Tina, Mette and the view:



Tina enjoying a violet crumble that Dad sent over:



Hans Christian Andersen stone:



The bike ride:









While on this bike ride I was using Tina's brothers bike. But halfway up, i received a phone call from Freddie saying that he had found my bike! It was on the side of the road in Ry so it was very lucky! No damage at all. And no need to talk to Rotary!

The next two days, I have no school due to the class doing presentations. Tommorow i will go to Arhus with two exchange students for lunch, and then I'm not sure what I have planned for Thursday, but hopefully a sleep in!

There's now only 9 days til Paris! I can't wait! Thanks for the comments. I'm technologically incapable of replying to a comment, so I'll reply here. Paul, Introcamp was an alcohol-free event, as Rotary organised it. Fun was still had by all! Argentinian tea was quite the experience for those of us who dared it. And thanks for the news Claire, I'm jealous of the warmth! Which city will Edward be staying in in Germany? And never will Brazilians outdo Australians in having a good time. They did however beat us consistently in table soccer.

Love Daniel

a few more photos from introcamp:

they are now sized so you can actually see them properly here.

matt, the crazy novacastrian who is awesome at the drums:



the gang: (will, siri, sophie, alistair and myself)



me and camilla:



a better photo of all the rotary students:



and someone got much too tired after a week of crazy exchange students:



and me on the piano:

INTROCAMP '08

The past week I have been at my first Rotary Exchange Student camp of the year. There were about 30 aussies, 10 brazillians, 3 argentinians, 5 new zealanders and 2 south africans making for one awesome week.



Each day began with breakfast, then Danish lessons from 9-12. We learnt so many new things and the teachers were very very nice! I feel much more confidant with speaking a little danish here and there now.

In the afternoons, we would sometimes go on day trips to towns and lakes and cities. Our first day trip was to Viborg, with a beautiful church, originally built in 1160 but rebuilt in the 1800's. The town was very very pretty, with cobblestone streets and lovely Danish people everywhere.



Eating tasty marshmellows-with-chocolate-coating-and-biscuit-base-things in Viborg:



The gang (Siri, Me, Matt, Sophie and Alistair) at a lake:




We also went to Arhus, Denmark's 2nd biggest city. We saw the museum of contemporary art, where the feature item was made by an Australian artist:



Saw a busker (with Siri, an exchange student from Gosford, dancing:



At night time, we were fed delicious food by the camp staff. Freshly baked bread, tasty salads, indian curries, prawn salad things and lots of tasty meat. After dinner, we would sometimes play soccer, or do trivia but often we just socialised, playing pool and chatting with people from all over the world.

On the last night, we had a big farewell party with DJs and performances by exchange students. I played my hsc performance piece on the piano, and the New Zealand girls did the haka. All the australians joined in for an epic rendition of "Land Downunder" and the Brazilians almost outsung us with a Brazillian song.

Tim from Melbourne and I:



A short skit:



Dancing:



Myself and Camilla from Argentina:



And finally, Siri and I (note my new hat!):



After a week of very little and lots of learning, it is very nice to be home. After a week of talking to lots of exchange students, it is good to know that other people can relate exactly to what you are feeling, and I am missing all of them already after just a couple of hours. I will sleep very well tonight, but I can't wait til the next exchange student gathering in April!

Planned for me in the next couple of months is a school trip to Paris in March with my class. Lots of sightseeing and socialising in the city of crepes and rude waiters will be lots of fun! In April, there is a gathering of all the exchange students in the country (160 of us) for a few days which will be awesome! I have booked my ticket for the Eurotour trip in May this year, and I cannot wait!
In the closer future, I have school again. Language school twice a week on tuesday and Wednesday morning, and school everyday. It will be good to see my classmates again. I may also meet up with exchange students in Silkeborg (the city of my school) in the close future as we had such an awesome time at Introcamp.

Love to all, Daniel

cold, cold denmark

IT SNOWED!!!!! yes, it was a little exciting but also really really really really cold...even warm thermals underneath my clothes could not defeat that cold.



last week was pretty good. ive settled into school and my classmates are very friendly. I can understand a little in a bit of each class, and music is pretty fun. i have a great teacher who loves the beatles, so I think we will get along. Chemistry and biology and physics are not so good, but my social sciences teacher has said he will conduct a few lessons in english to allow me to get involved.
on friday afternoon, i went with 10 of my classmates to eat at an icecream buffet. they had 30 differents toppings and soft serve icecream, and i had about 5 bowls of it. i feel very welcomed in the group, and its definately helping me settle into Denmark.

on the weekend, I went to a music camp with my host brother, Soren. We jammed, composed and ate our way through three days of musical joy. I had a fantastic time, and was able to get involved in four performances for the final concert on the Sunday.





if you are super-keen, you can "see" a video of one of the songs we wrote on youtube. the quality is not very good as I simply sat the camera down next to where I was standing on the piano, but you can hear the song and me on the organ a little:



we also performed "kung fu fighting" and i was on the flute for that. it sounded awesome! all 40 of us were playing, and it was very very cool. (im on the far left of the stage)



now, for a quick look at funny danish signs :

i wonder what this boat runs on...


(interesting fact: "fart" means speed in danish. when Queen Elizabeth comes to visit, the danes cover up all the speed signs to avoid offending her.)

a sign at the pool, illustrating exactly where one must clean before entering the water:



beware: leaping deer on the loose.



Next week, it is the Rotary Introcamp week, where all the exchange students in Denmark meet up for a huge week of bonding and language camp. it's going to be brilliant! I've also confirmed myself for a trip to Paris from the 10th til the 17th with my class from school, and they are all very excited about it!

love to all, Daniel