Hej,
I apologize for not being able to write last week; I was on what DIS calls “core course week”, a week dedicated to spending time and travelling with the main course of your semester. For my travel trip, we ventured into Western Denmark, exploring Jylland and Fun, the two parts of Denmark other than where Copenhagen lies. While on the trip, we visited places that pertained to educational experiences, such as the Østerskov Efterskole, which is a boarding school for students in eighth through tenth grade. At this school, they only learn through role-playing activities and lessons, such as the Salem Witch Trials, Murder Mystery, WWII, and toga week. It was a crazy experience, but I loved the alternative way of learning and teaching that takes place in the classroom. We also visited a Vikingcenter, where I toured recreations of authentic Viking housing, made “viking bread” over the fire, and actually learned how to fight like a Viking with wooden swords and shields. It was an amazing week of travel, learning, and bonding time with my classmates.
On Saturday night, I attended the filming for Danmark’s Har Talent, the danish version of America’s Got Talent. Even though I was only an audience member, this is the first time I have ever been “filmed” for a real show. If you aren’t doing anything on October 1, 2016 and have access to Danish national television, you should turn on Denmark’s Got Talent and look for me in the audience! It was a great show to watch, with some really good performances and some that deserved the four x’s. It was weird to have to redo certain scenes, like the entrances of some contestants or the entrance of the judges. Also, the makeup crew came out between every other act to fix the makeup of the judges; like was that really necessary? All in all, it was a fantastic experience, even if everything was in Danish and I had no idea what was happening most of the time…
I can’t wait to write again next week! Take care,
Bethany
These days are set aside for what we call “field days”. They are opportunities for all of my classes to give the students experiences in the field, regardless of the subject or content area. For example, this week, my Danish language and culture class took a trip to a local high school. Besides feeling completely out of place in my flannel shirt, jeans, and birks, it was my favorite classroom experience thus far. The students there have the age range of 16-19, and I swear they all look like they just stepped out of a Calvin Kline magazine photo shoot. Our time there was spent asking and answering questions about ourselves, our hobbies, our schooling, and our home country. The students (who speak flawless English) were genuinely interested if our cafeterias looked like the ones in Mean Girls, and if college was just like American Pie. It was a great experience, and a fun way to get to know the opinions of youth in the country.
On Friday, my host father Michael celebrated his birthday. We had a small party for him, where I was able to meet my host father’s parents and grandmother, as well as my host mother’s parents. None of them speak English well, so I spent most of the night listening to rapid Danish, without a clue of what they were saying (my host mom did act as a translator at some points). My favorite parts of the birthday were the cake, the decorations, and “cheers”. The cake was a traditional Danish cake, store bought layers of cake with filling and fruit between each layer, topped with a glaze and whipped cream. The decorations consist of Danish flags. Like a lot of flags. Basically picture a super ‘Murican, Fourth of July party, with everything as red, white, and blue, with American flags everywhere. Now change those flags to Denmark flags and that’s a birthday celebration. My host mom keeps telling me that she is going to decorate the apartment with American flags for my birthday, and I have politely told her “no thanks” several times. The best part of the night was the “cheers”, or “skål” in Danish. It’s not like in America, where you toast in the beginning and it’s done. Nope, this continues throughout the meal, creating a game of calling out people for drinking their wine, then forcing everyone to stop eating and take a drink. As the newcomer, every time I picked up my wine, I was told “skål”, forcing me to wait for everyone to get their glass and say “cheers” for the table. It was a very fun, and new, birthday celebration experience.
Haj fra København, Danmark! 
have been here for a week and two days, and I have loved every second of it. I am living with a host family; I have a host mom and dad, as well as twin host brothers (12 years old) and twin host sisters (25 years old). From the second I met them, I have felt like a part of the family, so if you decide to study abroad, definitely choose a home-stay (if that is an option).
number one way to commute. They do not stop for anybody or anything, so I am constantly aware of the bike lanes out of fear for my life.
