G2G in Ry

On the weekend of September 4 to 6, we went to a town named Ry for a meeting with all inbounds of our host district, 1450. It was a little different from planned, as we were supposed to canoe through the region's lakes and climbing one of the highest hills of Denmark, Himmelbjerget, with "impressive" 147m! The highest one has 170m, so it's nothing major for any of us...

Group picture on the top of Himmelbjerget

Continuing the story, we couldn't do the canoeing trip due to non stop rain from the day before, so a bus took us to the top of the hill but we weren't able to enjoy it fully because it started to rain again while we were there and it was really cold, but fortunately we got the chance to go there

On that day's afternoon, we had an activity which involved a machine that shot flødeboller*, and yes, that guy on the picture is me trying to pick one with my mouth; it didn't work but I got it with my hand and ate it ;) When no one else wanted to play it, the caretakers started a war with them, and some got back inside all dirty and sticky!

There's also a report about the meeting on the Danish Rotary website, if anyone wants to see it, here's the link:
http://www.rotarynyt.dk/distrikter/distrikt1450/nyheder/artikel/udvekslingsstudenterne_trossede_vejrguderne/
It's all in Danish but just translate!

Resting in the mattress before we go home

Vi ses!

* Danish candy that is a soft marshmallow ball covered in chocolate.

Introcamp and 1st week in school

Today it's been exactly a month since I'm here in Denmark, and I can say that at this time, in the 8th of August, I was at Amsterdam waiting for my flight, and it's hard to believe that this time has passed already! As my last post was some two weeks ago, I need to tell some stuff...

On the week of August 23rd, we had an Introcamp with all the inbounds in Denmark, at a boarding school in the town of Bjerringbro.

We had lots of activities, like Danish classes (6h per day!!), or some stuff to do during the night, and the food was wonderful! We had a room where we could stay during the breaks or whenever we wanted called the Pejsestue (fireplace room), and there was always coffee, tea and food, so it's possible for you to see where was the place to be in there hahahah

Miss that :(

One of our lunches: frikadeller med rugbrød,
kartoffelsalat og æg (pork meatballs with rye
break, potato salad and an egg)

  

In the week after, I started school (I even wrote this on the classroom), and I'm still not used with having to move around classrooms or that some days can begin earlier or later some days, but it's still good, even though different from Brazil, where I go to school every day from February to November at 7 to 12:40! As I already mentioned, another 11 exchange students come here, and I got to meet the ones who aren't Rotary, and they come from India, Italy, Hong Kong and Bulgaria....

Still on that week (more precisely on Wednesday) we got the chance to see Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark, closely! The city was all decorated with Danish flags for her visit; one of the meanings of the flag is celebration, so some shops and restaurants also hung some flags and people carried it as she passed through the crowd... 

On the next post, I'll write a little about the weekend in Ry with all the district inbounds!

G2G em Ry

No fim de semana do dia 4 a 6/9, fomos para uma cidade chamada Ry (se fala Ruí) para um encontro com todos os inbounds do meu distrito, 1450. Foi um pouco diferente do planejado, pois iríamos fazer um passeio de canoa pelos lagos da região e depois escalar um dos maiores morros da Dinamarca, o Himmelbjerget, com "impressionantes" 147m! Para matéria de comparação, o pico mais alto daqui tem 170m, o que (é claro) não é nada pra nós...

Foto grupal no topo do Himmelbjerget

Continuando a história, não conseguimos realizar o passeio de canoa pois chovia muito desde a tarde do dia anterior, então fomos levados ao topo do morro por um ônibus, mas mesmo assim não conseguimos aproveitar muito pois começou a chover (de novo) depois que chegamos e estava muito frio, mas felizmente tivemos a chance de conhecer aquele lugar!

No mesmo dia à tarde, tivemos uma atividade que envolvia uma máquina de atirar flødeboller*, e sim, aquele na foto sou eu tentando pegar uma com a boca, o que não deu certo mas eu acabei por comê-la mesmo assim ;) Quando ninguém mais se voluntariou para isso, os monitores começaram uma guerra com elas, e alguns voltaram todos sujos e grudentos para dentro!

Há também uma matéria sobre o encontro no site do Rotary DK, se alguém quiser ver, siga o link:
http://www.rotarynyt.dk/distrikter/distrikt1450/nyheder/artikel/udvekslingsstudenterne_trossede_vejrguderne/
Tudo está em dinamarquês, mas é só traduzir!

Descansando no colchão antes de irmos embora

Vi ses!

* Doce dinamarquês que consiste numa bola de marshmallow cremoso coberto com chocolate; o mesmo que uma Nhá Benta, mas mais gostoso

Introcamp e primeira semana na escola

Hoje completo exatamente um mês aqui na DK, e posso dizer que nessa hora, no dia 8/8, estava em Amsterdam esperando meu vôo para cá, e nem acredito direito que já se foi tanto tempo! Como fazem umas 2 semanas que não posto nada aqui, preciso contar muitas coisas....

Na semana do dia 23, tivemos o Introcamp com todos os outros intercambistas daqui, em uma escola interna na cidade de Bjerringbro.

Tivemos várias atividades, como aula de dinamarquês (6h por dia!), ou algumas coisas pra fazermos durante a noite, e a comida era maravilhosa! Tínhamos uma sala onde podíamos ficar nos intervalos e em outras horas, o Pejsestue (sala da lareira), e sempre havia café, chá, comida, então já dá pra ter uma noção de qual era o lugar mais popular de lá hahahah

<=Exemplo de um almoço: frikadeller med rugbrød, kartoffelsalat og en æg (almôndega de porco com pão de centeio, salada de batata e um ovo)

Saudades disso=>

  

Na semana seguinte, comecei a escola (estou escrevendo esse post na sala de aula), e ainda não me acostumei com a rotina de ter que trocar de sala ou que o dia pode começar mais tarde ou acabar mais cedo alguns dias, o que não deixa de ser ótimo mas mesmo assim diferente do Brasil, onde eu vou na escola todo dia das 7 as 12:40! Como já tinha dito, estudam aqui mais 11 intercambistas, e pude conhecer os que não são do Rotary, e eles vêm da Índia, Itália, Hong Kong e Bulgária...

Ainda naquela semana, mais precisamente na quarta, tivemos a chance de ver a rainha Margrethe II de perto! Tirei aquela foto à uns 2m dela, e a outra retrata a cidade toda decorada com a bandeira pra visita dela; um dos significados da bandeira é de festa, então alguns restaurantes também colocaram
bandeirinhas pela loja e pessoas carregavam-a enquanto a rainha passava pelo meio da multidão...

No meu próximo post, vou falar um pouco do meu fim de semana em Ry com os outros inbounds do meu distrito!

Sprogcenter (Danish school) and Vejle

Bryggen, the local mall

It's been a week since I started Danish school in Vejle, so I should share a bit of the experience in here! I study only with foreigners, but there are all really cool and receptive, some with more dificulties with the language, some with less. Some of us walk to class together, and have lunch and/or walk through the city also together, and it has been great! We learn simple things in there, like how to introduce ourselves, questions and useful vocabulary for exchange students...

Fresh fruit for sale at
Torvegade

The city of Vejle is very different from what I was used to in Brazil, because of its location (by the sea) or by the people's behaviour: in there (as well in the rest of Denmark) the pedestrians don't cross the street when the light is red, even when there are no cars coming; bikes and cars lve in harmony and there's no need to worry a lot about walking about with backpacks or holding your phone in the middle of the street!

I'm changing families on Friday and then going to Introcamp on Sunday with all the other inbounds, so I'll get a chance to update here soon!

Vi ses!

Sprogcenter (escola de dinamarquês) e Vejle

Collin, Corey, Courtney e Amelia (EUA), Julia (Taiwan), Victoria e Roxann (Canadá), Kristell (México), Jimena (Argentina) e eu no Sprogcenter

Bryggen, o shopping de Vejle

Bem, hoje faz uma semana que comecei a escola de dinamarquês em Vejle, então acho de devo compartilhar um pouco da experiência aqui! Estudo só com estrangeiros lá, mas todos são muito legais e receptivos, alguns com mais dificuldade com a língua, outros menos. Alguns de nós andamos pra aula juntos, e depois almoçamos e/ou andamos pela cidade juntos, e tem sido ótimo! Lá aprendemos coisas simples, tipo como nos introduzirmos aos outros, perguntas e vocabulário útil pra intercambistas...

Frutas frescas à venda na
Torvegade

A cidade de Vejle é bem diferente do que eu estava acostumado lá no Brasil, seja pela localização geográfica (no mar) ou pelo comportamento das pessoas: lá (assim como no resto da DK) os pedestres não atravessam no vermelho, mesmo se não há pedestres vindo; bicicletas e carros convivem em harmonia e não é necessário se preocupar muito com andar com mochilas ou usar celulares no meio da rua!

Vou mudar de família essa sexta e no domingo parto pro Introcamp com todos os outros inbouds daqui, e com certeza escreverei aqui sobre ele e colocarei fotos!

Vi ses!

First days!

This post will be a little longer than usual, but I need to do some updates since I made it to Denmark!

Our flight till Amsterdam was awesome, we were (almost) all seated together and we spend almost the whole night chatting; some (including me) tried to sleep but we gave up after...

We made it to the amazing Schiphol airport, full of stores, people, places to sit down and, of course, the well-educated Dutch people, who helped us a lot on getting around that huge airport, and that were really nice to us in our flight! On our way to Billund, me and my friend (sitting right behind me) caught the eyes of the couples sitting by our sides because of our blazers, and we talked a lot with them! By my side there was an English couple from the Manchester area, and by her side, a Danish couple.

My arrival was pretty good, Claus and Tove (my counsellor and his wife), plus three of my other families' host brothers were there waiting for me!

There's not much to talk about yesterday because I spent most of it tired due to jet-lag, but we had lunch with my other host family over here, and I got the chance to know them better, especially my younger host brother! They looked very forward to have me in their home as I am to stay over there!!

Today we went to Horsens to hand out my documents to the Danish authorities, and after that we went to Vejle so I could meet my teacher there in the school, which is by the way really big and modern! Shortly after I was driven to Jelling with the Rotary members and the Youth Camp; this city is considered the birth site of Denmark, as king Gorm, the Viking king, wrote down the name of the country for the first time at a Rune stone, and also where he was buried by his son, Harald Blåtand, or Bluetooth (I can explain the relation if someone wants me to hahah)

Speaking of modernity, I'm finding everything here really modern and functional, from the houses to street crossings and other small details...

I'm finished for now, but in the weekend I'll speak a bit about the Danish course!

Vi ses!

P.S.: Here's a video of our landing in Amsterdam: