Thursday, April 9th

Waking up at 6:30am again was easy, as I was sleeping very well and got a good rest. Again, the weather was spectacular and the view was beautiful. Breakfast was the same, but still very good. We soon found ourselves at Herning Gymnasium, in the Spanish room. I've always taken Chinese, so I had no idea what was going on, and just sat there pretending I was being useful. Next, Kenneth took us into a large sitting area in the school, where we created writings about our trip. I wrote about the Handball match, with Ryan Sonkin. After this, the fun part of the day started. I thought this day was one of the best days we had on the entire trip. We played sports all day! Once through with Kenneth's writing lesson, we changed and headed towards the gym. Mr. Chordas and Mr. Ley explained to the Danes a very basic overview of the American game of Football. I also demonstrated the art of the extra kick with Ryan (the Kicker is undoubtably the most important player on the field, it is indeed an art). We then headed outside and did some basic drills, involving throwing and catching. We also did a few punts. After we finished the football lesson, we headed inside for some lunch. Again, I couldn't even nearly finish, as Mathias's lunches were COLOSSAL. We then went back outside, for some soccer and ultimate frisbee. I chose to play soccer. We played as America versus Denmark. You can pretty much guess what happened, we fell behind and ended up losing 8-5. We were outnumbered, I think in a fair match we could've taken 'em easily. We then got our bikes, and prepared for the trek. The trip was very thorough, taking us around Herning and all the way to Elia, a very large man made structure, and back. It gave us a very good look into the town, and showed us pretty much everything we needed to see. After we got back, we headed out to the beach to see the German bunkers. We went as a group, so it was very, very fun. We just relaxed by the bunkers and on the beach, bonding with one another the entire time. We then headed to an Italian Pizzeria for dinner. Having been to Italy and having experienced Italian Pizza, I'm being completely honest when I tell you that this place was just as good. It was a phenomenal meal. After the meal, we headed home and relaxed until falling asleep.

Wednesday, April 8th

I woke up at 6:30am to the sound of my alarm clock. I looked outside and I recall noticing the beauty of the country, I had a view of a grassy field, which looked beautiful under the cloudless, blue sky. I showered, and headed over to the table to eat breakfast with Mathias and his mother (his father had gone to work). We ate Oatmeal with milk, and bread with all sorts of spreads (jam, butter, etc) as well as cheeses. I really enjoyed the food. We then headed off to the school, and were lucky enough to have his friends drive us there, as opposed to biking. The first thing I noticed about the school, was that it looked exactly like my old school, from when I lived in China. It was all new, with clever architecture and modeling creating a very modern aesthetic. We moved into somewhat of a lecture hall area, where we all took our seats and began listening to presentations. All of the OHS students did a great job, but I was told that there was a unanimous decision, and the "American Kitchen" group was the best. I wonder who was in that group. We then headed out into a large room in the center of the school, where we were given an assembly. This began with live music and us being introduced, and concluded with their regular assembly material. After a short english lesson with Kenneth, it was time for lunch. I had a huge lunch, as Mathias's mom is accustomed to packing lunch for him, and he's huge. It was all very tasty, it consisted of three different types of rye-bread sandwiches, a Danish hot dog, a vegetable sandwich, a banana, yoghurt, almonds and water. A lot to eat for lunch. After a short history class, Mathias had an economics class, which I opted to miss, and instead, played soccer with some of the Danes as well as some of our kids. We then had a short integrated group discussion, regarding different topics and how our cultures perceive them. Once the day came to its end, we left the school, and headed to the beach. A couple of us met up there with our Danish hosts, and we just kind of hung out. There was a very large man made lake, surrounded by sand. There was also a dock, which we went out on and hung out on. We then went into the city and got a quick hot dog. It was soon time to travel to a nearby city to watch Handball. I knew what Handball was, as I had played it in gym in my old school (which was British, so they played Handball) but I had never seen a real match. It was an awesome experience, truly unique. After the match, we headed home and relaxed until falling asleep.

Tuesday, April 7th

We got to the airport at 130 to begin our endeavor out of the country. Everyone was excited and spirits were high as we starting checking our bags through and saying goodbye to our loved ones. Our first flight was a short, hour and a half long flight to Atlanta, where we connected through to Paris. The flight was around 8 hours, and from there we connected to Billund, which was about 2 hours. All in all, it was 12 hours of travel, so it wasn't very bad. Once we arrived in Denmark, at about 2:45pm local time, we were instantly greeted by screaming Danes, all of whom we had seen before. They were our hosts. There were hugs and shouts all around, as lost friends were reunited. We then boarded a bus that took us back to the school, where we ate a small meal. I then left the group for the first time, going back to Mathias's (my host) house, where I met his family. I was surprised to see how nice his house was. All I had heard about the houses in Denmark were that they were small. His house was indeed small, but it was so white, so clean and so urban. His mom and dad were just like him, so calm and kind. His sister was also very nice, she had just gotten back from Japan, where she had been volunteering for a few weeks. I had my first Danish meal there, a Pork dish, along with some mashed potatoes. A quality first meal. Mathias and I played some Madden on his Playstation until I got tired, at which point I went to sleep, exhausted.