State basketball trip

Busy? Me? No no, not at all. I realized though yesterday, I never wrote about my trip to Green Bay, and since I am already on my way to new adventures, I better do it now. The reason that I was going to Green Bay was state girls basketball tournament. That is a competition, where the best teams from whole Wisconsin, play for the final state champion honor. Before you get  to excited, my team did not play. We were simply just there too watch. It wasn’t just everybody from the team that could go either, but mainly just varsity. As I have explained before, I am not good enough to play varsity, so I play JV. And now you ask, how come she plays JV, and then went to the tournament? See, I had expressed an interest in going, and since not all the varsity players went, there was a spot for me. I was a really fun weekend, even though we only watched 6 games. There is also another problem taking 12 girls away for a weekend, and don’t give them any space for themselves. The last night came the problem, and drama was all over. I tried to stay out of it, for the record, but the friend I went there with, got in the middle of it. So I kind of felt I was standing with a leg each in 2 different counties. It got kind off sorted out, and we went home Saturday, around lunch. Green Bay is about 5 hours from Webster, so that is not bad.

The weekend before this little road trip, I went shopping with my American friend. She wanted to get a solo ensemble (I think I have explained this before) dress, and I happened to get 2 long summer dresses for my Hawaii trip. Her dad drove us to the mall in Duluth, and we almost went to every women cloth store in that mall. My friend was a little picky about what she wanted. Like I am never do that (Right mom?). I am known for doing that too, and it was fun.

So now I am sitting in the airplane on my way to Los Angeles. From there I take another flight to Honolulu. I must admit because it has been so long since I have flown, I was/am a little bit nervous. I made the mistake of looking at the weather this week in Hawaii; Saturday: Thunderstorm. Sunday: Change of storm. Monday: Change of storm. Thursday: Partly clouded. And that is why I brought my raincoat and pants, and sweatshirts… I go to Hawaii, to get Denmark weather? Well at least I am still going, and Danes don’t normally trust weather forecasts, so why should I? 

- Troldungen

March and something to look forward to

Wow the time go by fast now. Almost half of march has gone by, and spring is on its way. Now it is about 40 fahrenheit (A little over 0 celsius) and you only need a sweat shirt on when you go outside. It is so nice, and my winter depression is finally over. Even though the weather has gotten warmer, there is still a meter snow on the ground. And it has turned grayish. 

So basketball season is over, and we finished with a bang. Our last game was 74 to 10. The problem was just we were the team that only got 10... I do really miss basketball, but every good things has to come to an end. There might even be a change I can play in Denmark in a club. I do though really like the concept of school sports, because there is then a bigger possibility that more kids do sports. it is also easier to try a sport, and you compete with the other schools in the area. 

Track season has now started, and i tried it monday. First day of practice, and my shin splint was hurting just like in cross country. As I am explaining lower down, I will be gone most of april, and that will result in I will miss a moth of practice. The meets don't start until marts, so even though I would also do it when I come back, competing in a meet is not even sure for me. So therefore I am not doing track. I have so many things to do, and I won't get bored. Yes I would have liked to do a spring sport, but it is probably the best choice. 

Something to look forward to? A lot! This saturday I am going with a friend shopping for solo/ensemble clothes. Solo/ensemble is when you learn a solo (Vocal or instrumental) and perform it in from of judges. They then judge you, and you get a score. I am going to perform a piece called Come raggio de sol. Italian, and I have to memorize it completely... I just thought I could wear jeans to it, and when I said that, my friends dropped their jaw. There were stunned... That was actually a little bit funny, so now I have to buy some nice to wear. The weekend after that I am going to state basket ball with the team. Of course we aren't going to play, but we are defiantly going to watch. It is in Green Bay, and that is about 5 hours away. The weekend after that, march 29, I am flying to Hawaii. Jep that is right, I am going to sun and more warmth. This is an AFS trip, and it lasts a week. 

So there is a lot to look forward too, and nothing can ruin my happiness right now. I hope you are having a good time, and is enjoying the long wanted spring.

- Troldungen

A true exchange student

I have been asked the question many times “What do Exchange students even do?” Well to tell you the truth, it’s a lot more information than what anyone expects, but I sum it up into one word “LIVE”.

Not to toot my own horn, but Exchange Students are some of the most outstanding people you will ever meet in your life. We have all been bitten with the disease to explore the world and to become something more than what we are. We have to travel and see as many parts of the world as we possibly can. We are not satisfied staying in one place for too long.

What do we do? We study. We leave everything familiar to us. We explore. We make bonds with people all over the world that no one else can even fathom. We break boundaries. We educate others. We become something that we never knew was possible. We change. We adapt.

We are the crazy kids that get dropped in the middle of a foreign country, with no idea of which way is up. We become the people our parents always wished that they could be. But most importantly, we thrive.

Many people try to relate exchange to the same difficulties of going of to college in a new town, but trust me, it is much more difficult. Most of us are at least 3000 miles from our “homes” and spend months contemplating our decisions of coming to the unknown. After initial shock, we realize that we couldn’t picture ourselves anywhere else. We learn languages, even ones not related to the culture we are submersed in. We expand our knowledge of the world, and want nothing more but to share it with others.

We attend schools in another language and have no idea what is happening, but continue to push ourselves to be as uncomfortable as possible. We are comfortable being uncomfortable. We realize that we have many more homes than what we thought. We have one thing we all want… to explore!

We start to think about traditions back home. We forget about them. We start forgetting our own language and can only remember the words in our new language. We are happy. We are sad. We are depressed. We are ecstatic. We love to have a healthy dose of knowledge and an unhealthy dose of food. We have happy “Hello’s” and tear-filled “Goodbye’s”.

We know what we want. We don’t know how we want it. We don’t know where we want it. We don’t know how we will do it. But, we know we will do it. We are wanderers. We are travelers. We are anything we think we are. We talk to strangers. We eat things that only resemble food. We live.

Exchange is not something that can be understood, because it cannot be defined. It can only be experienced. We can tell you “Oh exchange is this amazing thing where you go to another country for a year and learn a new language and culture.” Well in my opinion that just does not do Exchange any justice. It is much, much more than that. Exchange is more difficult than moving to a new town. But, more valuable than all the money in the world. Exchange is not a Year in the Life, but a Lifetime in a Year.

-Jay Rhoden Outbound to Poland 2013/2014

Found this really good quote on this blog: http://nonstopadventure.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/what-is-a-true-international-student/

- Troldungen

February fun

Now almost half of February has past, and yesterday we had another little snowfall. Winter is not giving any signs of being over soon, and the birds has not yet returned from the south. The snow yesterday came though in the evening, and before that the sun was out and it was very nice. Me, my liasion and my sister Mink therefore went out tubing. It is a lot like water sliding with a big round ring that you rite on. Here the water was just replaced by snow. It was a lot of fun! 

Last week was Snowball week, and you can say it is kind of Homecoming. Everyday is a speciel dressup day, og it ends Friday, with a dance. Unlike homecoming, Mink and I actually went to the dance. It was really fun, and I wore my new dress, so I am not complaining. Here is a picture of the new dress. 

The AFS kids form Webster excluded a german boy. It was really fun.

So we got basketball pictures taken the other week, and they arrived... I am so proud! A sport I actually thinks is fun, and I might have a little bit of talent for!!! (I know, who would have thought of that?) And now I even have documentation for it:

I found this funny picture on Facebook. Yes, this is exactly how much snow we have got...

A couple of weeks ago I got my first black eye! It was actually pretty cool, it didn't hurt for that long. Even though the next morning I had a little trouble opening the eye. The first picture is from the night I got the black eye, and the next 2 are from the next day. 

The date has finally arrived! We won a basketball game! And then we won the next one! Our last 2 games have been outstanding, just look at the scores! We are getting better!

Yes I know it is a long time since I last wrote, but everything is just normal for me now. Besides what I already mentioned, there really hasn't happened something really interesting the last couple of weeks. 

On Facebook there are all these groups about being an exchange student, and sometimes I love the pictures they post. They just hid the nail right on. Here are 2 examples:

- Troldungen

Hello January... Goodbye?

Wow I just thought we said hello to the new year, and suddenly the time is gone with the wind. In a couple of days it is already February, and I am starting to recognize what people were saying about the time after New Year. Now you have settled completely, and the time flies away with your daily activities. Day after day. Almost week after week. The weird part is that I love doing the daily activities even though there isn't anything really exciting about it. I really love school (weird right?), I LOVE basketball (Even though I kind of stink at it), and best of all: I have found some really good friends. Yes I had some problems before Christmas, but that's a part of being on an exchange. You have to deal with stuff, that I personally would rather avoid. I know this might sound a little cheesy, but i really understand now what Kelly Clarkson meant with her song:" What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". Well it is true. If somebody stamped on you, don't take revenge or cry about it. Learn how it can make you stronger. I have heard a lot of other people say this, and it haven't ever really sunk in. For a lot of people, they need to experience it for themselves. I have now. And if you are a really nice and forgiving person, you can almost thank the other person for making you stronger. I haven't reached that point in my development of my thoughts, but one day perhaps. 

So as I mentioned earlier, there hasn't really happened that much. Last Tuesday though, one of my american friends invited me to the movie theater to watch Frozen. Even though I have seen it before it is a great movie, and I thought why not. We went after basketball practice, and it was almost funnier the second time. And then after the basketball game Friday (WE WON a c-scuad game! 24-23. I made 2 baskets.) I then went to the same persons house and spent the night. Saturday was spent with Pretty Little Liars all day, and then I returned home. We had a great time, and it is nice to have such great friends. It is also worth mentioning that I am the only person in this house, except for my host-parents, that haven't gotten the really nasty flu. Friday I was the only one of the 6 kids going to school. It was very scary standing out in the dark and the cold, waiting for the bus alone. Well I survived, and I still haven't gotten sick. 

Yesterday and today the school was closed because of the cold... AGAIN! Not that I'm complaining, but as I stated earlier, I like school, and I get a little restless. Everybody says there is school tomorrow, and then the 2. semester is starting. I then exchange debate with anthropology and anatomy with sociology. So I should have a lot to do tomorrow. 

- Troldungen

Improvement and a little creativity

As I wrote last week, Monday and Tuesday were some cold days. It was in average between -40 celsius and -45 celsius given the chill factor. Because of the cold, we had snow days, and Monday night I was already going a little crazy because of staying inside and watching TV. Therefore I went down in the craft room and got to work. One pattern I found on the internet, the other I made myself. 2 bags came out of that day, and Wednesday we went back to school with a 2 hour late start. 

In basketball we have 2 girls teams in the school. Varsity and JV. Varsity is the one that have played a long time, and they are pretty good. JV are normally for the younger ones, like the freshmen's and some sophomores. Therefore they are not as good as the varsity. Because we are so many on the JV, sometimes our couch arrange extra games for those who don't play that much. This is called c-squad games. Thursday night we then had one of these games. Even though I play a lot JV, I was told that if I wanted to go, I could, because they needed post players (tall people). The c-squad game went better than the rest of our games and we only lost by one point. AND, I made my first points! Friday night we had a normal JV game, and then we only lost by 8, 27-19. We are making progress, and in this game I made 3 goals, 2 point each, and a 3-throw line one!

If you haven't noticed I have turned on the comment facilities, because I think I am ready now. Feel free to comment, ask questions or anything you want to contribute with. 

- Troldungen

New years! and a perfect definition of exchange students

A new year, a new start. Well that is anyway what everybody says. I, on the other hand, don't believe in a new start and in the new years resolutions. Why is it a new start just because you had a holiday break and it changed year? You are still in the same school/work, and you still have the same friends. The only time I believe in a new start is when something has changed. Like when you start in a new school, or in a new job. I don't believe in new years resolutions, because nobody ever achieves them. Everybody is like: This and this will I do better this year, but when February arrives, everybody has forgotten the things they promised themselves. The worse thing is then, they don't really care, so they let themselves down even without thinking it over. 

I had a nice quiet new years evening. We were celebrating it at home with some guys over from the church. It was nice, and a lot of board games was played. I love board games. Over here fireworks, jumping into the new year, and toasting the new year isn't a tradition. At midnight we saw the ball drop on Times Square, and I went to bed at about 2, so nice and quiet. 

Yesterday we had a basketball game. We lost again, not a big surprise. Even though the score was not something we had hoped for: 6 to 53! The worst so far. We can hardly be any worse, but it is still fun to play.

Over here January, the coldest month of the year, has started, and they have already cancelled school on Monday because it is apparently going to be the coldest day they have had for over 20 years! We are keeping warm, hope you guys are doing the same! Happy new year!!!

Found this amazing picture. It describes us exchange students quite well!

- Troldungen