Hej from Bagsværd!

Guess who made it all in one happy piece to Kobenhavn (Copenhagen)??  If you guessed me (which you should have since it's my blog and it's about me being in Denmark)...you are 100% right! After a teary goodbye with my mom and dad yesterday morning I was off on my own to begin my adventure. I could not have asked for better travel, except for the moment of panic at the beginning when the lady at the desk told me I didn't have an eticket for my first flight.  But once that got all figured out it was smooth sailing! Almost all of my flights left and arrived a little earlier than expected, I got a window seat on the way to Chicago from Omaha, I had an aisle seat with no one beside me on the nice Lufthansa plane, where we got to watch 2 movies and eat dinner and breakfast, and then in Frankfurt I made it to my gate in plenty of time and even met 4 other DIS girls.  All in all it was a calm, pleasant trip.  

Once we got to Copenhagen the other DIS girls and I picked up our bags and found DIS helpers.  I walked with one of my new acquaintances to the Hilton Hotel where we registered and then kept ourselves busy for 2 1/2 hours before my host family and her Danish roommate came to pick us up.  We had a brief Announcements and Welcome session after which they opened the doors and called us out when they found our family/roommate.  When the nice DIS girl called my name I walked over to the doorway and immediately saw the Larsen family (whom I recognized from the picture they sent me) so I told her I saw them and she gave me my paper and wished me luck.  I walked up to the family and immediately 11-year old Andreas stepped out to give me a big hug and say hello.  It was such a good welcome.  I hugged each of them, Karina, Jesper and 9-year old Rebecca (who is a little shy with the English but is extremely sweet).  I led them to my luggage and Jesper grabbed the two large, heavy ones and off we went to their sleek, silver car.  They began chatting with me right away about how the flight was, if I had eaten recently and whether it was hard to leave my family (the answer is definitely yes).  They even let me sit up front in the car so I got a good view of wintery Denmark...which actually looks a lot like bleak Iowa, haha. But I was excited nonetheless.  

It didn't take long before we arrived in their neighborhood Bagsvaerd.  It is a quaint little town with houses much closer together and more heavily vegetated than my own neighborhood in Newton.  We drove from there up to the Station that I will be walking to in the morning so I can take the train to my DIS stuff in Copenhagen.  It isn't a long walk at all; I think I will enjoy it very much.  Then we drove back to their sweet house and we carried my stuff inside.  First thing I noticed was the plethora of beautiful windows, the white walls and the colorful furniture, accessories and art that make it so cozy-feeling.  They showed me to my room where I have a bed, a cute yellow dresser, a beautiful desk and some art made especially for me by Rebecca and Andreas.  I will add pictures soon!  

After that they fixed some lunch and I got to experience my first smørrebrød (an open-faced sandwich). There were various toppings like cheeses, meats, tomatoes and cucumbers.  I made two different delicious combinations and was quite pleased with the outcomes.  After lunch the Larsens showed me their photo album from Yellowstone!! I had sent them a picture of my parents and I from this past summer when we visited Yellowstone and they were excited because they had been in the same exact place. Crazy!  So I saw beautiful pictures of places in the U.S. that I have been and also places I have never been...like the Grand Canyon and Salt Lake City.  This family really loves to travel! I later got to see their album from Greece. Beautiful! 

After a while we all bundled up in coats and gloves and drove down to a nearby lake for a walk, stopping first at a grocery store so I could tell them what sorts of things I like to eat. I kept saying I'm not very picky but I did end up telling them which kinds of fruits, meats and cheeses I particularly enjoy.  It was so strange having all the food in another language so I could barely tell what was what....oh, except for Oreos.  I knew what those were without even reading the name.  Anywho, it was actually in the high 30s or maybe even low 40s so being by the lake I felt almost like it was spring.  We slid across some melting ice and crunched through some snow, chatting and looking at the sights on the lake.  It was lovely and I the fresh air was just what I needed.

  

It got dark quickly after our walk and we all sat down and watched X Factor, a Danish version of American Idol (there is even a somewhat rude Danish Simon Cowell type guy!).  They did some translating for me so I had an idea of what was going on...but thats one nice thing about music: even if you can't understand the lyrics, you can still appreciate the beauty of it.  At this point I began to feel like it was 9:00 at night because it was dark and I was so sleepy, but then I realized it as 16:30 and we hadn't even had dinner, so I unpacked all of my stuff while Jesper and Karina made a delicious meal.  Meals have already given us some time to get to know each other and I like this family more and more every minute!  Andreas started chattering with me as soon as we got in the car today and although Rebecca is more quiet she will definitely talk to me if she understands what I'm saying and if not she just does a cute little laugh.  They have already helped me with lots of Danish words too and they said I am a fast learner :)  

Sorry this post was so detailed and lengthy, I was just so pleased with my first day in Denmark that I wanted to document all of it.  Oh! Before I forget- the Larsens loved the presents I brought them (especially my mom's caramels!) I also brought them a Knox calendar and a book of Iowa photography.  And they were intrigued with the cool ribbon I brought and they want to try to make their own (Seyb family, you should know what I'm talking about :)

Ok, now I think I can wrap this up- I'm sure I will have lots more to talk about soon but I am quite tired now as it was such a big day and I didn't get a whole lot of sleep on any of the flights.  So, tak (thanks) and godnat (goodnight)!