3.28.10-4.3.10 – Czech This Out!

The first half of my two-week travel break was spent going on an adventure trip organized by DIS to the Czech Republic. We left at 6pm on Sunday evening from Copenhagen on an overnight bus that got us to our castle retreat at about 8:00am the next morning. I had never been on an overnight bus before, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. Our trip leaders had several movies that they picked out for the drive, which kept me occupied for most of the time (including a silent horror film set in Prague – I still don’t really understand what happened in that one). Also as part of our overnight journey, we took a ferry to cross from Denmark to Germany, which also helped to break up the trip a little bit. The ferry also had a duty free shop on board, so we were additionally revitalized with cheaper chocolates and candy! I did also manage to sleep a little bit on the bus, however it is rather uncomfortable and I had a very difficult time getting/staying comfortable even with two seats to myself.

DAY 1: We arrived at our castle hotel at about 8:00 in the morning on Monday where we were able to check into our rooms (which were nicer than DIS portrayed to us), had breakfast, and prepared for our first outdoor activity.

FYI: This trip was located in the mountainous region in the north Czech Republic and revolved on a variety of outdoor activities and out final day spent in Prague.

Our first adventure was a three-hour mountain bike ride through the woods and hills of the region we were in. I decided to challenge myself further by going on the more intense of the two rides (we were given a choice). It was a lot of fun, and I kept up better than I expected. I must admit though that there were several larger hills where I simply could not make it, so I had to get off my bike and walk. Parts of the ride were definitely more difficult than others not just because of hills but also because several areas were really muddy or trees had recently been cut in the area. These obstacles caused some back ups (since I was in a group of about 20 other students from my group), but we all still managed rather well. This ride also sensitized us all pretty quickly to the fact that we were going to be getting dirty over the next few days. Since it was muddy and wet, we all ended up with some lovely mud splatter on our backs, legs, faces, etc. We also got a chance to see some neat scenery through our ride though including the mountains and countryside in the valleys. At one point we also stopped at a fresh water spring to get a nice cold drink. It might have been the best water I have ever tasted! (mainly because I was getting tired, and it was cold and refreshing).

After our bike ride, we headed back up to the castle for lunch and some group building activities for the afternoon. The group building activities were okay, however it had started sprinkling and raining while we outside, which complicated things a little bit. For example, we were doing these activities where we were competing one on one to try to grab a flag or doing a trust activity where one of us was blindfolded and would simply run and the rest of us had to catch them so that they wouldn’t get hurt or run into anything. However, with the ground being wet and slippery, it was very difficult to get push off from the ground and stopping without sliding into the ground was almost impossible. It definitely made some of the activities more interesting, but it also got sort of annoying too because we all kept falling on the ground. It was a little funny though ☺ After a while, we all took a vote and decided to head inside for the rest of the afternoon to continue our group bonding, including the human knot and trust falls – to name a few of my favorites. Our human knots only had limited success though because we kept ending up in multiple circles instead of one (once this was done by our guide even though we had it right the first time). It was definitely a good way to get to know each other, since most of us had never met each other before. People definitely warmed up to the activities more once we were inside and were not sliding all over the place in the mud.

That evening, we all headed to dinner (except one lunch, we always had breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining room at the castle). Afterwards, most of us had an early night (after a relaxing drink) since we hadn’t exactly gotten the best night sleep on the bus the night before and had already had one long day.

DAY 2: Our morning activity today was to go orienteering. After breakfast, we were given instructions for the course and how to use our tools (compass and map). We broke up into teams of two or three and each team headed out on the course in 2 minutes intervals.



While we would have had fun within our groups, my friend, Kassandra, and I actually joined up with two other groups on the course, so that there were 6 of us going through it together. I think it made it all the more fun and enjoyable in the long run. Our compass skills were actually overshadowed by our ability to read the map. We figured out which dotted lined showed the trails that ran through the woods, so we simply figured out which trails we could take to different markers. While perhaps not the most adventurous, we did only get lost once and made it to all the markers successfully. Later that day at dinner, we discovered that our teams had the slowest times, however four of the other teams got disqualified, so technically we didn’t come in last ☺

The afternoon activities consisted of a high ropewalk, zip lining, and rappelling. I had never rappelled before (and I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be the most thrilling in my book) so I decided to do that first. It lived up to my expectations. It was fun and interesting to do, but I didn’t feel like I was doing much, simply letting myself down. I think it was made a little more difficult because the rope was a little difficult to feed through, so that I could let myself down. I am still glad that I did it though.


(I didn’t get any good pictures of my rappelling, however I did get some of my friend Julie, who can be seen throughout this blog.)








After rappelling, I changed harnesses so I could get hooked up to the zip line and do the ropewalk. I always think zip lines are fun, but again you aren’t really doing much but hanging there. Also, when I jumped off the cliff we were on, I spun around, so I could only see the ravine below and not the beautiful view out into the valley. I then relaxed for a little on the other side of the ravine while a few others who were before me headed out onto the ropewalk. It was really nice sitting on that side because the sun was shining in my face, and I felt nice and warm.

Soon enough, it was my turn to head across the ropewalk. It is a wire line running from one side of the ravine to the other. We also had hand wires that we could hold onto to balance ourselves. It was probably my favorite thing to do out of all the activities, however others didn’t seem to like it as much as I did. The only negative about it was we were walking across the ravine away from the prettier view of the valley. Therefore, we had to stop halfway to turn around and get the view instead of being able to walk towards it the whole time.

After the afternoon of those activities and everyone getting their own turn, we had a little bit of time before dinner to clean up and relax. At dinner, we once again had a filling meal. Every meal at the castle started with soup and then a large plate of a meat plus a starch/grain. They were all good though, so I wont complain. Also at dinner, we learned who the winners were from our orienteering challenge in the morning. (We were actually timed and had marker cards to see who completed the course correctly with the quickest time). Our collection of groups got the last three places, however four teams were disqualified (so we really didn’t come in last).

After dinner, we had a nighttime scavenger hunt around the castle. We were divided into teams and we had to go to different markers, which were “hidden” all around the castle grounds. On each marker there was a clue consisting of multiple letters. Once we got all the clues we had to organize the letters into words to get the final clue. Some how our team failed to get the very last clue (#20) so we had the entire things figured out however we didn’t know what the last word was. It was making reference to a black “something”, but we didn’t know what the “something” was without the last clue. All of the clues were all mixed up too, so we didn’t know which marker was clue #20. We eventually figured out that it must have made reference to a black “knight”. One of our guides for the week was wearing a black cape, hiding, and trying to scare everyone during the scavenger hunt. Once we figured it out, we then proceeded to walk around the castle grounds to purposely be scared. It was sort of odd. It was also completely dark out by this time, so it was also a little scary. By the time we finally got scared, we were too late and a couple teams had beat us and got the last piece to receive the final prize (a key to get into the tall tower). It was goofy, but it definitely made for a fun evening.

Once we rallied after the scavenger hunt and figured out who won, we all made our way to the bar (at the castle) for a drink or two. I didn’t stay too long since I was exhausted from the day and still needed to shower.

DAY 3: Our day started relatively early because we were first driving part way to our location for rock climbing in the morning. It was probably about a 30 minute drive followed by a 30 minute walk/hike/climb up to the top of the hill where our rocks to climb were located. Overall, it wasn’t a bad way to start the morning, however it wasn’t exactly the nicest day outside. We could all tell that it was probably going to rain, but we were hoping that it wouldn’t happen.





Once we got to the top of the hill, our guides showed us our options for the morning (3 rock climbing paths and rappelling) as well as reminded us about the equipment and safety gear. When they were done with their little introduction, we all began to harness up. Unfortunately the clouds continued to head our way and eventually it did begin to rain rather consistently for most of our time up on the rocks. Luckily, I managed to get in my chance to climb before it got too bad, however the rocks were still cold and getting wet. It wasn’t too bad; the hard thing was that my hands went numb about two-thirds of the way through. I still made it to the top though ☺ After rock climbing and since I was already harnessed up, I decided to give the rappelling another chance (even though I didn’t think it was all that fascinating). This time, however, it was a little more interesting because the last half of the rock face we went down was simply hanging in midair and gradually letting your self down (still not that thrilling, but better than the day before).

After everyone got there fill of rock climbing and rappelling (and most of us simply couldn’t take being out in the cold, rainy weather anymore), we headed down to our lunch location. For the first time in several days we were eating somewhere besides the castle! It was a little local pub; we had traditional Czech cuisine – pork and dumplings (which look like pieces of bread). It was good, but a little for hearty for my tastes. It was nice and dry though, which no one could complain about.

Following lunch, we were supposed to go for a trek, however due to the weather situation no one wanted to be outside for much longer (including our outdoorsy guides). Instead, we headed over to a local cave excavation where we took a tour of the caves underground. It was interesting with all the different formations that were there. We also saw one of the underground lakes, which is this beautiful light blue color. A funny thing about the tour though, our guide didn’t speak English, however he had this tape recording about the caves. So he walked us around from one location to the next and would simply stop and press play as well as point of objects with his flashlight. It was goofy, yet still effective. It was probably one of those things where you would have had to be there for the humor.

After the caves, we headed back to the bus so we could get back to the hotel for evening. Once at the castle, most of us relaxed, showered, or begun to pack, since we were leaving the next day, before heading to dinner. Dinner was as filling as always. Then most people either headed off to bed or the bar.

DAY 4: We got up relatively early this morning, so that we could eat breakfast before we left the castle at 8:30am. We were leaving so early because we had about an hour and a half drive until we arrived in Prague where we were spending our last day. It was sort of ironic since I would be back in Prague with mom in a few days, however I decided it would be a good way for me to familiarize myself with the city.

We got to Prague in the late morning and technically had the whole day to ourselves to do whatever we wanted. DIS did have an optional walking tour scheduled in the early afternoon, which I decided I wanted to do (thinking it would be the best way to figure out my way around). Before the walking tour, I headed out into the city with a couple of friends, where we managed to see the Charles Bridge, the Castle (from a distance), and a rather interesting statute in front of the Kafka museum. We then headed back to the Old Town Square for lunch, since there was an Easter Market set up there, which had relatively cheaper food. I got something that was more like a dessert. It was this slow baked dough roll with cinnamon, sugar, and almonds. It was really good. I actually had another one later in the evening prior to getting on the bus.

After our goofy lunch in the town square, our group that we had been walking around with began to split up. A few people went to see some sights, others went shopping, and then me and one other girl went to meet up with the group doing the walking tour. It was about three hours long going all over the city to different areas. I really liked our guide, Emma. She is currently a student studying history at the University in Prague. She was not only informative but also gave us some random facts about the city as well. I did feel a little bad during the walking tour because I didn’t want to see too much without mom there, however we didn’t really go into many places (except for a couple churches). Therefore, it ended up being the perfect was to understand the city a little bit more and simply get oriented.

Once our tour ended, me and Julie headed back down to the town square to meet up with some friends for dinner. We were desperate for anything that was NOT Czech. After a little searching we found a nice little Italian restaurant. I had this really good mushroom tortellini and ended up finishing the whole thing. After dinner, we headed over to meet back up with our entire group (at least those of us who were heading back to Copenhagen; we had the option to leave the group in Prague if we wanted). As I mentioned a few of us got some sweet snacks at the Easter market before heading up to the bus. Once we got to the bus we began our overnight bus ride back to Copenhagen. I unfortunately didn’t sleep very well on the way back, but overall it was fine.

We got back into Copenhagen around 10:30 (earlier than expected). My friend, Kassandra, and I then made the additional trip up to Hillerod. In the end, I got home a little before noon and almost immediately began to unpack, do laundry, repack, and shower. I didn’t have much time since I was leaving to head to the airport around 5:30 to get MOM! That pretty much ends Part 1 of my travel break, and I cannot wait to talk about Part 2: Copenhagen, Prague and Vienna with Mom.

3.27.10 – X FACTOR!

Today I woke up gradually by watching some TV online in bed before actually pulling myself up out of bed. Once up, I walked into the center of my town, Hillerod, to get a few things for my trip to Czech Republic – snacks and random things. I decided to walk because my transportation pass was expired (as of yesterday) and it made me think more about using my temporary cards (which only had 10 uses on it). It was good though because I needed to walk to wake myself up and get moving. After my errands into town, I started to lie out some clothes and things in an attempt to start packing. Overall, the majority of the day was spent just relaxing around home – ate lunch with host family, watched some TV, talked to mom, etc.

The big event for the day though occurred in the evening. At around 5:00, we (my host parent, Caroline, and me) headed into town to go to the live finale of X FACTOR! X Factor is pretty much the Danish American Idol. It was held in town at the soccer (football) stadium. Before the show started they had some performers go on singing one song each, then finally the show began! It was absolutely crazy. It was interspersed with the 3 finalists singing as well as well-known Danish musicians. I didn’t recognize anyone who was singing, except the contestants. I had watched a couple of the shows on the TV with my host family prior to the finale, so it was fun to be there in person and actually see them perform. It is kind of funny though because since all of these talents shows are comparable, it didn’t really matter that I couldn’t understand what anyone was saying (it was all in Danish). However, they do sing some songs in English, so I could at least understand that much. It was just a lot of fun and is definitely a Danish experience that I will remember!

PS - I actually have to run to head to the Czech Republic :P but I promise I will add photos from the show when I get back.

3.22-26.10 – Midterms…Enough Said

This week was filled with mind numbing schoolwork. I will spare you all the details, but overall it was a tough week. Monday and Tuesday weren’t too bad, however my attempts at trying to get work done and studying for events later in the week had only limited success. I then had my first midterm on Wednesday morning; it was for my leadership class. It was completely written and involved analyzing a case study. Fortunately, we were able to use our laptop, Internet, class notes, and what our professor considered “resources available to good leaders”. I think I explained myself rather well, although I am a little unsure about how I will do because this is actually the first written assignment I had submitted for that class. After my midterm, my marketing group had a short meeting with our professor about our big report we are working on for the semester. It wasn’t bad at all, except for the fact that he was asking us about questions in our report and we had yet to talk about as a group. Additionally, none of us were in them mindset to think about the report since we had much more pressing assignments going on. Following that I headed home because I had a lot of studying to do for my history midterm – my biggest concern for the week. For my midterm, we were covering three centuries of development in Copenhagen in addition to recognizing different architectural styles. My last minute studying seemed to be pretty successful because I felt like I knew everything on the midterm, which was the following day (Thursday). I was simply disappointed because I ran out of time. Again, I will just have to see how everything goes when the grade comes. I have a feeling though that he might be rather lenient in the grading because there was simply SO much on the test.

The rest of Thursday was spent wasting my time in DIS. Once again I had intentions to work on my Danish paper and study for my Danish oral midterm. However, it was even harder on Thursday because everyone was getting really excited for the travel break and for many people, it was their last day of classes. I also don’t have that much enthusiasm for studying Danish. I actually spent the rest of my day relaxing and trying to clear my head from the events of the week.

Random Note: On Thursday evening, I actually watched the second Twilight movie with my host family (they recently purchased it). It was a movie I promised myself I would not waste my money on to see in theaters although I was intrigued to see it. I had read the books and had heard that the second movie was better than the first. All in all, the acting was a little better, but the movie as a whole still ranked poorly in my book. I am more than biased though because the second book/plot line was my least favorite in the series.

On Friday, I woke up earlier than expected because I was very anxious to get the day over with because that would mean that I would be on break! Since I was up early and still had work that I needed to get done, I went into DIS early. Once there, I finished my paper and managed to refresh my memory for my Danish midterm. I was definitely ready to get my oral midterm over with though. I was to the point in studying where random phases were popping into my head – in Danish, French, and English. It was crazy! I think the midterm went okay though, but the best part about it was that it was my last assignment for the week. Therefore, I was pretty much done! I did have my last class after that but I had definitely checked out. I did feel bad for the professor in that class though because there were all of eight of us in a class that normally has about 30 students. Additionally, we had a guest lecturer in class, which made the situation even worse. Anyways, once the class was over I took my time heading home. It was a beautiful day in Copenhagen, so I decided to take a longer walk to a train station a little farther away.

Once home, I simply wound down from the week by doing several little thing that were on my To Do list, watched some TV, and simply relaxed. At around 8:00, I went over to the hojskole down the street to meet up with a few of my friends to officially celebrate being on break! We were going to hangout a little and then go out in our town, however we all started to crash pretty quickly since we all had long weeks. In the end, we mostly hung around and chatted a lot, which was actually really nice. (We did manage to celebrate though with several drinks.) Overall, it was a nice way to end a very long week.

3.19-21.10 – Gearing Up for Midterms

The week finished up easily without any big surprises. I have found the end of the weeks more difficult though because I start to lose my motivation because the weekends come so quickly after Wednesdays. The biggest challenge I completed last week was beginning my visa application for London. It is going to be interesting getting it from Copenhagen, but overall, I think it may actually be easier and less time consuming to complete it here. This is primarily due to the fact that I have easier access to the British Embassy than I would at home. While I have begun to collect all of this information, the majority of it will be completed right after I get back from my two weeks travel break. This makes it all the more important that I get all of my documents and information together now since I don’t have much time to get it all organized when I return.

Friday was relatively low key. I began my day by getting more passport photos taken. I went to a different photo booth this time though because I needed them to be in color this time. They are definitely better than the first set, however still not very good (however I think by nature passport photos aren’t supposed to make you look good). I then had my two classes, which were rather uneventful. Primarily, I was simply interested in getting my classes completed so that I could go back home because I was planning on Skyping with a several of people that evening. I had planned to talk to my mom and Tory (who was getting ready to head off to Jamaica!). I also unexpected got a short chance to talk to Natalie a little bit. I am definitely getting jealous that all of my friends at Elon are off on their Spring Break and I still have another week to suffer through. I definitely need to try to figure out how to motive myself to get through all of the work I have coming up next week.

Friday evening wasn’t too eventful, although I did manage to catch up with some of my friends from the hojskole. I met them at the 7-Eleven, where we proceeded to get several pints of ice cream. We then headed back to the hojskole to watch a couple of movies for the evening. It was really nice to simply be able to relax and hangout with some friends. This is one of my favorite things to do at home, and I hadn’t got a chance to do it yet – watching movies and eating ice cream…I really couldn’t complain.

I then took my time getting up on Saturday. I did manage a meager attempt to be productive and get some homework done. However, the most exciting part of my day was when I got a chance to go for a run. It was a little rainy outside, but I still managed to meander my way through the park around the castle. I was probably out for about 45 minutes. While my body did go through a little bit of a shock still adjusting to my attempts to renew my physical exercise, I overall was really excited that I got myself out and moving. In the evening, I then went with my host family to my host dad’s parents’ house for dinner. It was my “host grandmother’s” birthday. Unfortunately, I was not feeling that well when we left – I had a slight headache and my stomach hurt, which forced me to have no appetite for anything. I was a little comforted though because my host sister was feeling tired and was mirroring some of my actions. Since I still wasn’t feeling well when we got home, I simply climbed into bed, watched some Bones episodes, and got to bed at a decent hour.

Sunday mimicked Saturday in that I took my time waking up, watched some more Bones episodes, completed more homework (although I am still lacking motivation to get work done = not a good thing), went for another run (although it was a little more difficult this time, since my muscles were a little sore from my run the day before), showered, did some laundry, and had dinner at home with my host family and my host mom’s parents. I had a couple of other random tasks in there as well, however the day consisted primarily of relaxing and trying to mentality prepare myself for the week ahead without overwhelming myself. It is going to be a mediocre week in that I have a considerable amount of assignments (1 written assignment, 1 paper, 2 tests 1 oral exam), however it is all relatively manageable because it is spread out throughout the week. Everything is also individual work, which is a nice change ☺ and easier to coordinate with my time. I know it will pose some additional challenges because I am definitely feeling the need for time off as well as simply getting excited for my travel break! I guess it is simply time to let the week begin (as well as get it over with ☺).

3.17.10 – St. Patrick’s Day in Copenhagen

Today was a very productive day; this is becoming a trend for my Wednesdays. I got up relatively early because I planned to complete my history assignment in the morning, which consisted of walking around one of the neighborhoods that surround Copenhagen, Vesterbro. I kept debating doing it this morning though because it wasn’t the nicest of days outside and it looked like it might rain, however I persevered and decided to get it over with. It was actually relatively enjoyable – except for the lousy weather (which was only cloudy; the rain held off!)

For the assignments, I was given a walking map around Vesterbro, which would allow me to familiarize myself with the area in the past and the present. Vesterbro is one of the working-class districts of Copenhagen and developed during industrialization. The area originally consisted of many tenement houses with little breathing room. Since then, it has undergone several urban renewal projects, however it still maintains evidence of its history. Many younger working-class families continue to live in the area as well as an emerging immigrant population. Throughout the walking tour, I was introduced to 16 different sights in Vesterbro including churches, renewed tenement housing, a mini model of Medieval Copenhagen, schools, the local YMCA, one of the rare parks in the area, and presence of old factories to name a few things. It was definitely informative and interesting to see how the history in the area has evolved while also being maintained. I had never been over to this area of Copenhagen, so I also enjoyed getting to explore a new area.

After my trip around Vesterbro, I walked back to the main station and continued to DIS. I had about an hour and a half before my afternoon field study and needed a place to warm up and eat my lunch. Then at around 12:30, I ran into some people who were also getting ready to head over to our field study – a business visit to Norrebro Brygghus, a local brewpub. This was quite fitting considering it is St. Partick’s Day. The “business” aspect of the business consisted of a gentlemen (who was the original drafter of the business plan) telling us about the history and concept behind the restaurant and brewery. It was interesting because they chose to use an “American” twist on the idea of how they develop and produce their beer. Additionally, they are a very small producer in the rather large beer production in Denmark. Since we were visiting a brewery, we were given the chance to “sample” some of the products. Throughout the presentation, we were given four different beers to try – they were all pretty good in their own way.(In the picture, one of those glasses was for water, and they are "smaller" than a regular size beer - just letting you know). It was also interesting because the gentleman would tell us about the inspiration and brewing concept behind each beer that we tried. I feel like I am learning quite a lot about beer during this trip (additionally my business core class is now focusing on the beer industry as our primary topic). As you can guess, this “business” visit was a good start to everyone’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

After the visit, I went with some of my friends to a restaurant for an afternoon bite to eat (as well as something to absorb some of the alcohol we had just consumed). Following that I made my way back home for the rest of the evening. I didn’t have any plans to do anything for St. Patrick’s Day, and additionally, I have a cold that I am trying to get over. I did have a lot of energy though once I got home, so I decided to go for a run – which may or may not help my cold. It was really good to run though, since I hadn’t gone running for such a long time and needed to do something to release some energy.

The rest of the evening was spent doing some homework and relaxing. I did attempt to get to bed early, since I have felt exhausted recently, however I just don’t feel quite as tired when I actually crawl into bed. Instead, I end up reading for longer than I should and not getting enough sleep. I really need to kick this habit over the next few days; it may also help me get rid of this cold too.

3.16.10 – A Play in Danish

Today, I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep after a busy couple of days. I took my time waking up, took a nice morning shower, and began my day. First, I had to stop at the post office to send in my (dreadful) passport photos. It was the first time I was free when the post office was actually open. It was a pretty simple process; the post office is right next to the train station so it was also convenient. On the train ride into town, I wrote some much deserved thank you emails to family and friends for various birthday gifts.

Once in town, I had my two classes: Danish – I got my first test back to day, and I had done very well. Leadership – not too exciting, but I am finally beginning to like my teacher for the class, and it finally feels like we are making progress in the information we are learning and applying.

After classes, I headed straight home because I needed to be ready for a very important event for the evening…My host sister, Caroline, was having a play/musical at her school and I was invited to attend. It was a rather small affair with a cast of about 20 students. There was a lot of solo singing parts; Caroline had one of them. She seemed very nervous (although she had no reason to be), but she did very well. Obviously, it was in Danish, so I have a very limited idea of what the play was about. In general, it took place in a café, and there were several different couples that you followed throughout moments in their relationships. I am going to have to ask Caroline to explain more of it to me tomorrow. I did still enjoy it though.

After the play, we stopped and got pizza to bring home for dinner. For the rest of the evening, I am just planning on relaxing and maybe trying to get some homework done (although I don’t really see that happening). I am still a little tired though, so I will also try to go to bed early. Ta ta for now.

3.15.10 – ITS MY BIRTHDAY

I AM 21! – Whoa! While clearly the highlight of today was the fact that it is my birthday, however I first need to address the stresses of the day, which detracted from the happy occasion – at least for the first part of the day.

On this lovely Monday morning, my classes began earlier than usual at 8:00AM because in my business class we were presenting our analyses of the different businesses and industries we researched. To be able to fit in all the presentations, we had to start early – we actually ended up running over time as well. In addition to the presentation, we also had the large group paper (the one I worked on for most of my time on Sunday) due during class. I think the presentation went well, so it wasn’t too bad of a start to the day.

I then had my history class to sit through before I could hit the books again during my five hours break. Class was okay, but I simply was not focused because I was worrying about another group project that I had due in my marketing class later as well as a marketing midterm (which I had yet to study for, due to my concentration on my other project). You should already be able to tell what I did during my break. I had to write my section of the group paper (only a draft was due though, so not quite as big a deal), meet with said group to piece together the draft, and attempt to study for my marketing midterm. I succeed with the first two goals, however the last was a little more illusive. I simply didn’t have any more energy to devote to anything productive to be able to study. I also have a hard time studying marketing because when looking at the material, it all seems like common sense (there are simply terms labeling what different things are – the hard part is remembering all those terms). Needless to say, I don’t think I did that well on my midterm, however you never know, and I might do better than what I am currently imagining.

Once all the annoying classes, projects, papers, and tests were over, I finally got to start the celebration part of my day. I planned to meet up with Sofie, my host sister, at Lyngby – another train station off my usual line. From there, we would meet up with the rest of the family for a birthday dinner at a local sushi restaurant. We found each other just fine, which was very helpful because my phone had actually died earlier in the day, and it would have been difficult to contact each other otherwise. We had a little bit of time before our table was going to be ready, so we headed over to the shop where Charlotte – my host mom – works. I hadn’t been there before so it was nice to see. It is simply a clothing store located in a mall area. After a quick hello we headed over to the restaurant.

Clearly I couldn’t order much because I could read much on the menu, however I eat pretty much any kind of sushi, so it didn’t really matter. We ended up ordering 4 different trays – 2 were the rolled sushi and 2 were cooked sticks. It was a lot to eat, but it was all very good, and collectively we finished all but one piece. Also at dinner, my host family gave me a present, which were a shirt and a scarf (which I am wearing as I write this). I was surprised because (1) I wasn’t expecting anything from them and (2) they were colorful (a rarity to see in Denmark.

After dinner we all piled in the car to head home. On our way, we stopped for some ice cream to have with some coffee as a dessert once we got home. While we were waiting for the coffee to brew, I took the liberty to open a couple of the packages I had received from family back home. I opened a box from my Aunt Rena and Uncle Jack, who sent me some o my favorite chocolates. I also unwrapped a package from my dad and Bob, which included a couple cards, a hat, several boxes of granola bars, and a battery powered hamster (which I still don’t quite understand). We then all sat down in the family room where my host family serenaded me with the Danish birthday song. We also had the previously mentioned ice cream and coffee, which was really good. I haven’t had ice cream for a while, however I resisted from eating too much all on my own. We then just watched some TV and relaxed for the evening.

At about 10:00, I made my way up to my computer, so that I could hopefully catch some people on Skype. Fortunately, I was able to talk to Tory and my mom. I actually waited to open the package from my mom until I talked to her. It was fun cause I think the best part of opening presents is doing so when the other person is there. Then they have a chance to explain and comment where needed. After all of my presents, I have quite a lot of food to consume, including granola bars, 4 jars of peanut butter (this will not be a problem), and several bags of candy. I feel like I am always eating; I just recently finished all the fudge my Nonno sent me (I’m not complaining about it though ☺).

After Skyping, I then got ready for bed and read for a little bit before falling asleep. It was definitely a good birthday. Thank you again to everyone for the cards, gifts, kind thoughts, and awesome birthday wishes! We will have to honor my birthday though again WITH A DRINK when I get home.