The Denmarkian in Daneland

A record of my adventures in Scandinavia.

Maths ...

Today I was speaking to my maths teacher, who said that if I was going to miss out on all the maths we're doing after the yearly exams, I would be really behind in year 11 and 12 because they expect us to build on what we learnt at the end of year 10.

So she told me to take my maths textbook with me (which is like a kilogram - thank goodness there is a version on CD ... then again I'm considering just photocopying the last few chapters we have left - I hate having to stare at the computer while trying to do homework) to Denmark, and to give her my email address so she can email me my maths homework, which is really nice of her.

She also suggested that in Denmark I request to my teacher during maths class to let me do my Australian maths homework during class, and to ask her for help if I needed any.

I feel like a bit of a suck-up saying this, but my teacher is really quite awesome.

I just wish I didn't have to do my maths homework whilst on exchange!

-Stella

Vegemite!

- Kun to måneder og seksten dage indtil jeg start til Danmark -

Vegemite: An Australian exchange student's best friend. And their host family's worst enemy. Watch out! :D

I really, really hope it's allowed in Denmark ...

-Stella

Luggage checklist.

A letter detailing the pre-departure orientation arrived in the mail today.
It was excitingly big, so I ripped it open, just like I have been doing to every other envelope unfortunate enough to bear the SEA logo on its front.

Orientation day confirmed: Saturday, September 19th, 2009

Arrival times:
Students: 9am - 1pm
Parents: 12pm - 1pm

Exchange is beginning to feel very real indeed - at times I lie in bed and think about attempting to navigate through an airport (believe it or not, it's one of the things I'm most nervous about - the last time I traveled on a plane was in 2005, and I really wish I had paid more attention to the security procedures, etc, rather than just standing in the line and complaining about how bored I was and playing string and hand games with Aileen). I wonder if it's all a big mistake and that I'm just not capable, nor mature enough to travel alone to and live in another country. It feels rather frightening.

But of course, these thoughts are always fleeting, never truly serious, and I know that in reality I would not pass this up for the world.

They say that exchange (whoever 'they' are) always feels very far away - just something in the distant future - until you notice the clock ticking away and the calendar rushing forwards until before you know it, there's only one week left. And from then on in it's all cold feet, panic and tears.

I could say right now that the prospect of exchange still has a fairly 'dream-like' quality to it - I still feel as though something's going to prevent me from going, and I simply don't believe that in 3 months time I'll be in a plane by myself, camera, journal, luggage and all, and heading towards Denmark on a 36hr trip.

Speaking of the time I have left:

Til Danmark i to måneder og tyve dage.

To Denmark in two months and twenty days. 


List of things to bring:


Carry-on:

- Name tag
- Hairbrush
- Camera + charger + computer cable
- Phone + charger
- Watch
- Wallet
- Things to entertain myself with on the plane (plane letters, books, etc.)
- Passport, plane tickets, ISIC, Travelex Visa Cash Passport Card, eKit card and itinerary
- Pen
- Retainer case (oh yes. The dreaded retainers ... )
- SEA documents

Luggage:

- Clothing in general (will need layers)
- Bathroom shoes
- Bobby pins
- Maths textbook/CD/photocopies
- Advantan
- Piano sheet music
- Gloves, scarves
- Socks
- Hair ribbons, bands
- Earrings
- Journal
- Lip balm
- Shoes
- Hats
- Peacoats/coats
- USB
- Smaller bags
- Oxy, face-wash and moisturising cream
- Things for school
- Toiletries (if my host family isn't providing them)
- Locker key (need to make sure to empty out my current locker!)
- Vegemite
- Host family gifts
- Australian/European adapter


I hope I don't go over the weight limit at the airport ...

-Stella

On an unrelated note ...

Does anyone else feel slightly stalkerish when they read a stranger's blog?

Eep.

-Stella

I can be really, really stupid sometimes.

Countdown: 2 months, 28 days until I leave.

So before I had another blog, with exactly the same name, same content.

But I decided to play around with html and templates today, with the result of me completely screwing things up - all the words were overlapping and it was hard to navigate, etc.

... which is why I've made this new one. With my previous layout.

The only thing that has changed is that I had some 'followers' in the old one, and now they've all been erased. Haha. Joy.

Moral: Don't let Stella near html.

-Stella

(P.S Now I have a label for stupidity! :D Because I can guarantee it's going to crop up sometime during my exchange! Lovely.)

'Dear Stella,

Thank you for talking with ****** ****** and presenting yourself so well for the interview. I am delighted to confirm you meet all our eligibility criteria and have been formally accepted for our program. Congratulations!'

So a few months ago I got this letter, and I've been so excited about it ever since!

I'm going to be a short-term exchange student to Denmark for three months from November 2009 - February 2010, with Student Exchange Australia.

Dates:
19/09/2009: Pre-departure orientation
07/11/2009: Departure

So this blog will be where I document my (hopefully) many adventures and discoveries in the Land of the Vikings! I'm planning to get a journal to write in as well, which will be a bit more personal than this blog.

My goal is to write in here at least once every two days (or even better, daily), and I'll try to achieve it - but there won't be any guarantees ...

Another goal will be to improve my Danish, even though learning it wouldn't be very practical anyway. Many say it sounds more like someone with a throat disease choking on a potato than a language! Haha, but I like it ...

Obviously by the end of three months I won't be fluent, but it's still a goal I have in mind.

Even though it's been a few months now, I still don't really believe I'll be going - something's going to prevent me going on exchange, whether it be that I get violently ill or that something goes wrong with the whole process, or some other factor.

But hopefully that's just paranoia.

This will be some exchange, ja? (:

Farvel, og vi ses!

-Stella