Experiences, experiences!

Okay so I’ll start this delayed blog post by apologizing for not giving any sign of life the last THREE months. The plan was to update this blog and fill all you wonderful readers in on what I’m doing at least once a month, but a tight schedule mixed with a bit of laziness and a sudden realization that I don’t have that much time left here in sunny San Diego, have led to that this this blog post haven’t been posted earlier..

A lot has happened since January when you last heard from me, so I’ll already now warn and prepare you on a long post:

First of all I’ve started on a new semester in school, which didn’t mean a whole lot of difference, but I do English and engineering instead of  government and art (I can’t choose classes myself). I have to admit that I find engineering pretty hard but I’m not the only one and so far I’m definitely not failing. We’re doing all sorts of crazy stuff – are building (pretty advanced) windmills and calculating on space shuttles for instance. Obviously it takes a little more work and the amount of homework increased quite a lot after getting engineering instead of art, but even though engineering absolutely isn’t my strongest subject, I’m fine, and I’m definitely learning and doing things I never thought I would do. My English class is really interesting, and though it sometimes is a little tough to work my way through grammar rules and vocabulary quizzes I’m finding it all really helpful and it is something I really want to learn.
(Below is a picture of the (unusually empty) main commence of my school. All the colorful rectangles hanging from the catwalk are flags from countries, that the school has had exchange students from, travelled to or somehow been in contact with - yes the Danish is there!)

In the end of January I wiped the dust of my trumpet and spend what felt like every day of February playing. I’d said yes to play in a musical called “Gypsy” that was playing in a youth theater here in San Diego. A friend from school was playing the lead, Gypsy, and got me involved in the orchestra. I was pretty rusty after not really playing for half a year. I’ve only been playing easy hymns and stuff I already knew and I wasn’t playing more than twice a month or so. It meant that it was hard to get started again, but despite my lack of practice, it was quite an experience. I’ve never played for a musical before, and it is actually very different, and the other musicians were all really good and experienced, but it was cool to try and it was great to play again. The musical itself was really good too, and though it was “only” a youth theater they were super professional and we did some great shows.

Along with Gypsy I spend January and February playing more soccer. I still really like my team and coach, so when the season ended in February (remember soccer is a winter sport and it is no problem to play in shorts and t-shirt the whole season - the picture below is taken December 22), I signed up for indoor soccer which I’m playing now – it is not real indoor as we do in Denmark, but the field has “walls” so it’s a different way of playing. I’m having fun with this too, but I’ve realized why it’s a great idea to make soccer a winter sport! When we get to field around 4 pm, the sun’s been shining down on the artificial turf we’re playing on the entire day, and because of the walls on the field there’s no wind to carry the heat away and it just get warmer and warmer. For my poor Danish body that is only used to a temperature over 20 degrees in the middle of summer, this is just way too warm for me, and I can barely walk out there without getting a heatstroke (OK I may be putting it a little too strongly, but it is really, really hot!)

But now that I’m telling about the weather anyway – I can’t help mention it every time, because it is just so amazing – I can say that I’ve already been at the beach a couple of times and I even went swimming in the Pacific, which is really cold. Currently I’m sitting in our backyard wearing shorts and sunglasses, and I’ll say the temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius. I could keep going for pages and pages about the weather here in San Diego, but I got plenty of other things to tell about too:

Next thing on my list of things I have been doing lately is an amazing trip with CHI to the Grand Canyon. 16 other exchange students and I left early Thursday morning in huge vans and drove for around nine hours to a big house where we were staying, an hour from the actual Grand Canyon. We were gone for four days and it we had so much fun! The Grand Canyon is an amazing piece of nature and it is extremely beautiful, amazing and definitely “Grand.”

Besides from the Grand Canyon we also went to an area called Sedona. I’d never heard about it before and didn’t really know what to expect, which just made the experience better. While driving out into this area, cool rocks in a beautiful red color started showing up along the road, and became more and more amazing as we drove. If you’ve ever seen the movie “Cars” you know what I’m talking about when I’m saying I felt like McQueen as he drives up and get to look out at the landscape – amazing that something like this exists without I even knew what it was; Just think about all the other places I’ve never heard about.

This trip was simply just great – it had beautiful, amazing and overwhelming nature and I was with great people too. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve enjoyed spending my time with the CHI students, but I’m not just enjoying spending time with them anymore, they’re my friends and some really good ones too J We’re only around 23 students in our little San Diego-area group, which means that I feel like I really know everybody. I don’t know what is so special about the other exchange students, but we’re all just having a great time together. We’re all having the same experience, we all know what it’s like to leave everything you know and suddenly be 100% on your own, and in a way we all really have respect for each other’s courage to do so, because we all truly know what it feels like. And last but not least they’re all just really funny and lovely people.

In March I also had two weeks of spring break, and besides from going to the beach, hanging out with friends and my family, Mom, Caroline, Nick and I took a road trip up north through Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and ending in San Francisco. This is another thing that deserves its own blog post, but I’ll try to tell just a bit about it anyway. The reason why we got to go on this trip was that three years ago a couple called Ken and LizAnne from the Santa Cruz area came and visited us in Denmark. I’m, a bit far out, but still related to Ken, so while I’m here in California I wanted to visit them – a thing that turned out to be a great idea. They are wonderful people and live in a beautiful area. Before getting to their place we drove through the cool and rich street of Santa Monica, and spend a night in beautiful Santa Barbara, visited Solvang (a Danish city in the United States), where it was kind of hard to recognize Denmark but really funny and cute. The day before Solvang, we’d found a Danish restaurant in Santa Barbara where I got a real “Hakkebøf med brun sovs” and mashed potatoes, almost as good as my mormor (grandma) makes it J and in Solvang we got Danish pastries, and “smørrebrød” for lunch (Yep, I got my beloved “karrysild” – pickled herring with curry). I also met some Danes and talked with the cook form Svendborg at the restaurant in Santa Barbara, and it was all just really fun and I got to show a bit more of Denmark to my family.

Generally this trip was filled with great experiences and more beautiful nature, not to mention the cities. California just impresses me; it’s amazing how much more CA got than just the pretty beaches you’ll see in movies. I got to see dolphins, Big Sur, Redwood trees, the cool streets of San Francisco, nice grass-covered hills, blue skies, elephant seal and so much more. California is great!

I’ve now set the date for my ticket back to Denmark, July 11, and I’ve realized that it’s only three months away. Though I can barely wait to get back and see friends and family, I don’t feel that I’m done here. I still have so many things I want to do, people I want to spend my time with and things I want to see, and I already have so many plans for the next months that they are going to fly by me. I can’t imagine leaving this beautiful state already in July, so until it is actually happening I’ve decided to not think too much about it. So long I’m just looking forward to some great months and more great weather here in San Diego.

Happy New Year!

I can’t believe that it already is 2013 and that I’ve already been here for five month or half of my time here! It only feels like a month or two… It’s been a while since I updated the blog last time but I’ve been busy with celebrating Christmas and New Year and of course having winter break is pretty hard and stressful too J

December has been a very good month and even though I haven’t been home I’ve enjoyed Christmas and every day leading up to it. In a weekend in December I went to “December Nights” in Balboa Park, downtown San Diego. It was super crowded but fun and it got me in Christmas mood. The park was decorated for Christmas, stands was put up selling everything from ornaments to Kettle corn (crispy popcorn with a layer of sugar – recommended!) Different high school choirs were singing on a big scene and rides were put up too. My favorite part of the night (and Balboa Park in general) was that in a part of the park a lot of small houses, which all represent a nationality, is build. There’s a house of China, a house of Germany, a house of Italy etc. and last but not least a house of Denmark. This night they were all open and selling different kind of food all special from the country. So I of course went to the Danish house and some of the people running it were Danish immigrants, so I got a chance to speak a little Danish – which actually is getting harder and harder – while eating “æbleskiver” served by the Danish house.

Christmas Eve and Day were surprisingly good and joyful. I was prepared to be a little sad, miss my family and the Danish traditions, but no, I didn’t really have time to think about all that because we were celebrating Christmas here too and even though it wasn’t in the same way, it was just as good.

I started Christmas by making “risengrød” for my family the 23^rd . We had the same day been to a show in a little theater in La Jolla and ended the day at home with “risengrød” and “mandelgave”
Christmas Eve wasn’t really a big deal. We went to an aunt’s house and had a nice dinner and she lives close to the beach. So we walked down there and I had my feet in the Pacific on Christmas Eve and walked bare-footed home without even freezing!
Then the next day I was waked up but my excited siblings and we went into the living room where Santa Claus had been over night and filled our stockings and the floor was full of presents. So we all sat there the morning December 25^th in our pajamas and opened our presents. Afterwards we had a big breakfast (still in pajams) and later the grandparents came and it all ended in a big nice dinner. All in all a great Christmas!  

So now I’ve survived what is said to be the hardest day of an exchange year and if this is going to be the toughest part of my year, I’m definitely prepared for whatever the next half year will bring!

I’m still not done telling about all the stuff and been doing this Christmas, though, so unless you’ve already fallen asleep or is tired of reading, I have more to tell..!

Between Christmas and New Year’s I had another great experience – I went to a football game! (For my Danish readers it’s football, not soccer – I’ve made that mistake a million times) It might sound a little boring or like something I could have experienced back in Denmark by sitting on the couch and watching the Super Bowl or something, but no, this was so much more intense. I went with my Mom, sister, uncle and grandparents and before the game we met with some friends and had a little tailgate party (people were bringing food and barbecues and we had a little party around the cars in the parking lot) and we weren’t the only ones. There were people everywhere with barbecues dressed in the playing team’s colors and the atmosphere was just amazing. The playing teams were UCLA (Bruins), a college from Los Angeles, and Baylor from Texas and I had borrowed one of Meme’s UCLA shirts, so when I was walking by other UCLA fans, they would say “Go Bruins” or other cheers for UCLA. Another important detail that made the game even more exciting is that my family is big fans of UCLA and especially I I (granddad) follows this team – As Dad said, he isn’t just a fan, it is his religion. So I got the whole explanation (mostly by my Mom ‘cause I I was too busy watching the game) about the rules, the game, the players and there was an answer for everything I could possible want to know about football J By been watching a football game and actually understand it, I’m now one step closer to become a true American…

Last but definitely not least we ended our winter break with a three day ski trip to the San Bernardino Mountains. We stayed at a beautiful place called Big Bear and the sky was blue and the sun was shining the whole time. It was cool how we drove for around three hours and suddenly, our warm 15-20 degrees Celsius weather was changed into snow and way below freezing at night. California is amazing!

I’m looking forward to another great half year here – I already have a lot of plans for the next six months and if they are going to go as fast as the first five, I’ll be home before I can count to ten… 

Three down, seven to go

November is almost over which means that I’ve been here for three months or a third of my year, and it doesn't feel like that at all. In a way the time went by so fast and it's not before now I'm able to slow down and realize what's happening around me - the first two months was just overwhelming and filled with impressions and new things all the time. But on the other hand when I think about it seven months it's still seems like a long time, but if it'll go by as fast as my the first three it isn't that long. 

Anyway, as I wrote I’ve settled down, got used to the routines, the people, the place, the language and finally the weather starts to actually feel like some kind of fall. I’m still not wearing my jacket but like the San Diegans says, November is “sweater-weather” so it's getting a little chilly, and if you stay out for a long time you might actually start freezing. But a raincoat or umbrella? Not necessary… I’ve only seen rain three times since I arrived in August and if it actually should rain someday I don’t even need to go outside – everything, like soccer practice, gets cancelled if there’s change for rain J

October 19 I was in Los Angeles with my organization. We were around 20 exchange students visiting Disneyland, California Adventures, Universal Studios and Hollywood and had an amazing trip. Of course it was really fun to be in all these amusement parks and tourist places that I’ve heard so much about, and we had so much fun, but the coolest part was to be together with people from all over the world! I really enjoy spending time with the other exhange student, because even though we all are from different countries, we have so much in common. I can now say that I have a friend in Germany, Japan, Brazil, Italy, China, Slovakia, Belgium, Thailand etc which I think is pretty cool! 

Else I’ve been visiting Meme and I I’s (my host grandparents) ranch, which I also attached a little picture of, a couple times and I can’t say anything else than that place is lovely! I’ve been driving around on the golf cart (we’re Americans after allJ ) to pluck avocados and oranges from the trees, go in the little pool or hot tub, or just walk around between the trees and bushes. The ranch lays around an hour drive away from where we live but for an American that's just a short drive, so we're often going there in the weekends.

At school the winter sport season has started, and I’ve been to tryouts for the soccer team, which seems really fun and I definitely need the exercise. I'm on the JV-team, level 2 out of 3 and we have already had our first game. I'm at practice three times a week and have one or two additional games, so a lot of my time is spend with soccer. The school is going well – I’m able to keep up and understand 95 percent of what’s going on in class and my teachers and classmates are nice. I still have the same three classes - art, government and math - and we won't switch before January.

I've experienced two big American traditions the last month - Halloween and Thanksgiving. On Halloween I dressed up with my siblings and we went trick and treating with some friends around in the neighborhood. It was amazing how some people had decorated their houses with gigantic spiders, gravestones, mummies and skeletons, and the streets were filled with kids with cool costumes and huge bags of candy. Every store was selling Halloween decorations and there was pumpkins everywhere, but as soon as Halloween was over, we started on the big Thanksgiving decoration instead. And now when Thanksgiving just ended EVERYTHING is about Christmas.

I celebrated Thanksgiving together with my dad's family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so we went all the way to the east coast. It was a really nice trip and the weather in Pittsburgh made me feel almost like home - cloudy, a bit rainy, cold and the leaves were off the trees. I got to meet a lot of new people, because my dad has ten siblings (!) and they were all there for Thanksgiving. But even though it was a bit overwhelming and I still only remember half of their names, I had a great time and we had a real traditional Thanksgiving with turkey, mashed potatoes, a lot of cake and pie, and we watched and played football and went to museums and I got to see the city. I had never heard of Black Friday before I came here, but it's a big sale day after Thanksgiving that starts at midnight and people go crazy. They camp outside their favourite store in lines, that makes BILKA's on a bad day look like nothing, to be there when it opens. I didn't go because we where on our plane back from Pittsburgh, but I saw on TV how people where stealing things out each other's shopping carts, started arguing and eventually start fighting.

(The picture on the right is of my 10 year old sister Caroline and me on Halloween, and the pic above is just a house in the neighborhood that really spend some time - and money - on decorating their front yard)

Christmas is coming up and I have to admit that it feels wrong not to be home this time of the year! I already miss all the Danish traditions and the people that keep them alive, but on the other hand it's going to be exciting to experience an American Christmas and waking up December 25th and opening presents like in movies :-) 

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Almost two months!

So it is October which should mean rainy, cold and grey weather with sweaters and big boots, but here in San Diego I’m still wearing my sandals and tanktops and regret every time I forget to bring my sunglasses. I’ve only seen rain a single time since I got here and that was yesterday. But except from the weather I’ve started getting used to everyday life here. The days are just passing by and starts looking pretty ordinary. I already feel that I’ve improved my English a lot – I’m not that much better than when I arrived, but I’ve learned to just talk without thinking about that I’m actually talking a foreign language, so thumbs up J

The school is also going pretty well. I haven’t really found anybody yet, that I could call a true friend, but I try to keep up and take everything with a smile and then just believe that it’ll come someday.
In class I’m actually doing well. I’m proud of how much I understand and my grades are not that bad – even though it’s not really important to me this year, I’m still happy about it.

The past month I haven’t been doing any big revolutionary things, but it had been a good time though. I have settled down and got to know my family better, which have only been positive. I’ve been at my first baseball game ever, which was a huge step closer to become a true American, because what is more American than baseball? J Else I’ve been going to the beach a couple of times – yes it’s still possible until the end of September! – visited my grandparents at their wonderful ranch and next week my organization, CHI, have planned a trip to Los Angeles. I’m so excited! We’re going to Hollywood, Universal Studio and the beloved Disneyland, which is a place I’ve dreamed of since I saw the first commercial of the place,  as the intro to “Aristocats”.

People have asked me a lot of questions about Denmark – some more intelligent than others. For example did I get the question “Do you have cars and television in Denmark?” and another day I said as a joke that I still believed in Santa Claus, which ended with, that a girl came and asked me if everyone in Denmark did that… Irony and sarcasm isn’t really an American thing. The most asked questions is “Do you like the States so far?” which I can only answer with a yes. Then it is always followed by the question “Is it very different here?” which I need to answer with a no, because even though I’m almost at the other side of the Earth, life is actually pretty similar.

A big difference, though is the food. The Americans have some different eating habits, which was something I already knew, but it’s still doesn’t make it easier to eat salad and peas without a knife. We’re also often going out for dinner and are eating burgers, hotdogs etc. It’s funny to go to some of those fast food places – I can tell that SmashBurgers is pretty good – and then find 80 years old ladies eating their dinner here. And then the dinner isn’t important as it is in Denmark either – if nobody isn’t really hungry we just skip dinner or eat an apple… And then at last everything is pre-made or “package” food – after all I’m in America.

Some other differences are:

• ·         We drive A LOT more here. If you want to get somewhere, you drive. I’m the only, kind of crazy peron who tries to bicycle San Diego.
• ·        People are actually looking forward to rain!
• ·       You can get refill on almost every restaurant
• ·         All walls are painted. A wall is not white, but yellow, blue, red or whichever color you like.
• ·         1/3 of my class speaks Spanish at home and comes from Mexico.
• ·         People have the funniest last names. My personal favorite so far is Giggleburger.

I hope you’re all well, back in Denmark!

Love Marie

The first days in San Diego

New address, new family, new school, new people, a new country and a new culture. I don't think I really realized it yet, even though I've been here for almost three weeks now. But hey, here I am and I'm still excited about everything.

When I decided to spend a whole year of my life in California, I didn't really know what I was going into. I wasn't able to imagine how it would be, how I would feel etc. The only thing I was sure about was that I wanted a year full of experiences and get a look into the American culture - And that is a thing that I know will come true! I've been planning this trip for almost two years and now it suddenly happens

I arrived at August 19th (I've figured out that I travelled for almost 18 hours!) and so much have happened since. I've moved in with my new lovely family, started school and meet a lot of new people!

I spent the first week after my arrival together with my new family. We went to the Zoo, the beach, I experienced my first horse race, celebrated my birthday and meet the other exchange students from CHI (I'm the only and lonely Dane) I did and still do feel really welcome and my family is so open, nice and welcoming and they're so easy to be together with. I feel really comfortable in their company even though I'm still on the "settling in"-level. 

For almost two weeks ago I started at school. I'm in High School as a senior which means that I'm the youngest in class but I don't feel like it matters. I'm entering a different kind of high school so it's without the football team, cheerleaders. In the beginning I felt like I missed the change to experience a "real" American school, but after being at High Tech High International - as my school is called - for two weeks, I totally changed my mind. I really like the place! The teachers are great, the building is comfortable (even though the Californians have a very special relation with their air-conditioning) and the students are so nice and out-going. It's a little weird though, to only have three classes and the same schedule each day. My schedule the first half year is Multimedia (which actually is an art class, and I have it for two hours every day. It feels like a lot of art, but it's a really cool subject and I like it) followed by Government (which back in Denmark used to be my favorite class, and here in the time before the election I couldn't imagine a better class) and the day ends with Calculus (math), which is really, really hard. 

So status quo for the first three weeks of my American life is extremely positive! I like the place, the people and the environment and that's how I'm going to end my first post!

With a lot of love and Californian thoughts,
Marie

(The view from our terrace - Downtown San Diego in the background)