Social Media Blues

I hate social media.
No, actually I love it.
I love it for it's amazing abilities to keep the world in touch, 24/7. Even if the world is just you few who take the time to read these words from me. 

Because of the beauty of Facebook, twitter, Tumblr, and many, many other platforms, I can effectively keep in-the-know of most things going on outside my little Lolland bubble. (Except when people don't tell me. I know Djanga got out, Mum & Dad. Grrr.)

But sometimes social media makes me reeaaal mad. I know I promised this update to come out real quick, bam-bam, T-K-O. But Blogger blocked me out. I got all these messages, and firewalls and red tape, but the end of the story was that I was only able to gain access today. 

So I sat there, for a week, with a half-written blog that I needed to finish, like this.

Blogger will never realise my rage.

But anyway, I can finish this now. So finish it I shall! Prepare your battle axes!

I finally got a visit from home! On one happy Friday, we picked up my Aussie grandparents in Copenhagen and went on a cute canal tour, and lunched in Nyhavn like the tourists we became. Hvor dejlig!

BUT

*cue dark music* (play this whilst reading for full narrative effect)

A dark cloud descended upon their idyllic afternoon... 
A day of sunshine, al fresco lunches and over-price boat trips in their wake;
The happy four coasted down highway E47.
They awaited nothing but Jazz music, fields of corn, and broken English...
But something dark loomed on their horizons...

It all occurred in a mere matter of minutes. A bump. A gasp.
The terrible pain of disappointment.
The anger at Mercedes' anti-theft technology.
A puncture on the highway is no laughing matter! 

(You can cut the music now)

We couldn't change it because of some stupid anti-theft technology Mercedes cars have now, which means you need a special key to change it. We didn't have it, and added an extra hour and a half to our journey home, which cancelled our afternoon plans. But we came home to a throng of well-wishers, welcoming us home for a dinner party.
Food and conversation flowed like the wine, which flowed a little too well. 
The next three days I spent in Copenhagen with them, doing every touristy thing I could imagine. They also brought me TIM TAMS (omg) and more goodies from Australia, and in return I gave them some super special Kaj Bojesen tin soldier for them to take back home to Australia. It was sad to say goodbye, but it'll only be a couple of months until I see them again... so not so hard :)

He's gonna protect them on the plane.

August also marked the end of an era: I moved families again. I am no longer the ward of the Gunnersens, however I will miss them and their wooded glen in which I could do endless jump-punch dances and visit the woods without leaving my backyard. Now, I'm over in the 'Villa Quarter', and am back in a family of giants. Back to being at chest height again!

Anyway, in the week and a half that I have been with my new family, I have been pretty much Denmark 'round. 
My hectic 2 weeks went as follows: Valdemar Slot on Saturday, Aalborg Sunday-Tuesday. I my Grey Nomads (grandparents) were then with me from Friday-Monday. I moved houses on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday saw me in Randers with my new host family to visit my new host brother on his 18th birthday! We toured around Randers and then sped all the way home, with our grey people-mover breaking the sound barrier in a successful attempt to cut an entire hour off our travelling time. Friday saw me back at school and everyone else at work.
Normal day? No.  
That night, we hopped back into the Speedy Gonzales of a people mover and drove up to Copenhagen, where over the course of two days, we moved my new host sister into her swanky Hellerup apartment. That involved going to IKEA 4 TIMES IN ONE DAY. Never. Again.
Finally, finally, on Sunday evening, we drove home. It was strange, both the sense of permanence and the sense of finality. This is my last family. The very last.
The next time I pack my bags, the only place I'll be going is the airport. 

And that is a very scary thought.

And on that note, I'll see you in a few weeks!

Vi ses, 
Georgia.

Travellin'

Hello to all the people in the Internet that are STILL willing to read this silly blog... which hasn't been updated in over a month.
Yeah, I'm a bad person. I know this!
But my life has tres tres busy, because I am, of course, a woman in demand, being the foreign type in the new land that needs THOROUGH exploring. So this is what I have been doing!

For example:
Several tidings ago, I was in Odense with my niglets (read: exchange friends) for a weekend of resto-relaxo hyggeligt catchings up. After months of learning the native tongue of Planet Denmark, attempting to understand their culture, and eating their strange foods, it was comforting (and slightly horrific when we realise how bad our accents are becoming) to hang out, bag out a certain redheaded Prime Minister, and indulge in Vegemite without being judged by suspicious natives.

Odense is a tres pretty city, with much to see. We were in H.C Andersen's house,

Hot to trot!

We were in the park,

Not sure what's going on here...

and we ate wayyyy too much.

Before this, we ate pizza, and after this, we ate ice cream. And then nachos. And more ice cream.

I also found myself in Copenhagen for the ANZAC day ceremony, because I am a fantastic Australian.
Well, to be honest, the biggest draw for me was that I might, finally, get to meet the elusive expat Kronprinsesse Mary. My previous attempts of standing outside her house had, so far, proved fruitless. According to my secretive sources, she is often at the ceremony.
This is the ultimate chance, to send the photo I would take with her to everyone back in Australia, and win every bet ever. Simply because, Mary.

NSW or QLD in State of Origin? Mary photo.

Who's going to win the Melbourne cup? Mary photo.

Or other situations:
"What makes you think you're qualified for this job?" Mary photo.

"I can't grant you this home loan..." Mary photo. "Actually, we can grant you this with 0% interest and 50 years to pay it off if you require it..."

"Calculate the mass of the sun and then square it to the power of 79 and than take the potential circumference and apply it to this cake recipe..." Mary photo. A+.

The invite to the ceremony said to be there no later than 9.50am, for a 10.00am start. Oh, of course, this is Denmark. We cannot be late. WE CANNOT BE LATE.

So, when the train arrived at 9.40, minus one friend, we were forced to abandon her as we ran for our lives, and stripping ourselves of our dignity. WE CANNOT BE LATE.
But, upon collapsing in the front garden of the ambassador's house at 9.53am, we were greeted with a big, Aussie smile, and handed a welcome pamphlet.

"Sorry we're late! Oh no, tell us we can still get in!"
"It's all good, girls! No worries!"

Ahhhh, that sound. Yes, Aussies. 

Denmark, you've changed us. Worried about being late to an Australian thing? Psshh. We weren't even the last to arrive, and our friend made it too! (By the skin of her teeth).

After a gorgey-porgey ceremony, we were invited for nibbles. Little did we know that nibbles meant lamingtons, ANZAC biscuits and sausage rolls. Holy Crapola. Stuffing of the face is on the agenda.

We ate it ALL.

Not mention that the ambassador's house was schmicko as all get out. Possible dream job: ambassador to Denmark. Yes, that would be nice.

Pretty house; pretty girls.

We spent the rest of the day kickin' back in pretty, pretty Nyhavn, and were home in time for tea.

Back home in Lolland, it was time to rep it for my class in the school volleyball tournament. My singular beach volleyball lesson back home in mind, I happily signed up for it, in the hope that I would be useful to my class in something.

But... no.

We lost. Every match.
It was safe to say that I was not the only one that completely sucked, though.
With shattered dreams of joining the Brazilian beach volleyball squad one day, I retired to the showers and contemplated my utter defeat.

Next thing you know: bip bam boom, it's time to move.
One of the most equally heartbreaking and great things about rotary: 3 families, 3 months at a time. Last week, I found myself packing up my whole life, yet again. It was truly dreadful to leave the Petersens after 3 months with them... I felt like I finally had a proper home again, and as soon as that feeling sunk in, I was ripped up like a weed and replanted someplace else.

I guess it's a good thing if you and your family don't get along, but everything was peachy with mine... sigh.

My new family are super sweet to me. I have the type of mum that hugs me when I'm going to bed, and the type of dad that will help me with anything (like when I was freaking out about my Northside tickets that were lost in the mail). I have two sisters, an older and a younger, and a younger brother. It's like having a dynamic of my old family combined with the dynamic of my real family. Of course, this is just a parallel drawn to make some familiarity in the situation. I ride to school now, and the luxury of having the bike is just awesome. Not to mention the temperature's rising... time for shorts! (still gotta have at least a light jacket on though)

Anyway onto my biggest news:
EUROTOUR!
In three days, I will be bussin' it around Europe for 18 days with 50 or so other exchange students! Look out Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Lido di Jesolo, Venice, Verona, San Remo, Monaco, Avignon, Paris, Bruxelles, Amsterdam and Hamburg!!

I promise to blog about it! It'll be huge, and it'll take forever, but I'LL DO IT!
I'm to excited to think right now!

Vi ses senere!

Georgia :D  

Denmark: the land of the unfunny Vikings.

Georgia here, reporting for duty.
Notice anything different? No?
Well why the hell not? Can't you see the new signs of elderlyness and maturity? The new wardrobe and the extra kilos from excess lagkage consumption?

Well if its not obvious enough now, you may remember in my last post I may have mentioned it was my birthday in a few hours. 

As Danish tradition dictates, I was awoken by my family who came into my room singing the Danish birthday song, which sounds nothing like the global 'happy birthday to you'.
It sounds a little something like this:
(This is lovely video about a bus driver who gets a little surprise)

So imagine this: you are sleeping - a wonderful dream filled with cascading images of vegemite and milo. The sound of the danish birthday song slowly seeps into your kaleidoscope of Aussie treats and suddenly you are aware you are not alone. Oh- you realise the date. Slowly you crack open your eyes, and are confronted with the image of three people, smiley, sleepy looking people, who are leaning over you and waving Danish flags in your face. It's a sort of ugh/not ugh situation.

This happens every year on your birthday in Denmark. The danes are nothing if not traditional! 

I turned 17!
Here's a photo of me revelling in my festivities
(aww, Georgia aren't you cute?) Yes. Yes I am.

So as the 17 years/149,019 hours/6,209 days settle upon my shoulders,  I look out the window and with my new found maturity...

Giggle at this sign.

Yes, it really says 'fart'. The word is everywhere!

A town in Fyn:

My favourite- the lift in Central Station Copenhagen:

And a coachline I would not like to be on!

Hehehehehe! Denmark is seriously one of the funniest sounding languages there is. Also, impossible to understand for people who are not very used to hearing it. 

Big Scandinavian brothers Sweden and Norway are always teasing the Danes about it.
Here is a Norwegian video teasing the Danes about their language:
(It's in English, chill out)

Some other funny Danish words I have come across:

Slut: finish/exit
Slutspurt: clearance sale
Fartpilot: cruise control
Bådfart: boat speed


Hehehe!
I will never be mature, that is certain.

Just touching base to update you with my very serious exchange of seriousness.

Until next time,
Vi ses,
Georgia

Snowdate

Planet Denmark is being a little beyotch lately.

Here we are, early March, and Spring is in the air. The snow is gone, the temperature is hovering around 5 degrees and the early spring blooms can be found littering the ground with their little yellow and white flowers. This Aussie is happy. She can feel the Spring sun on her face when she goes outside and is looking forward to when she doesn't have to wear a parka to check the letterbox.

That is, until the 10th.

We woke up, on my host father's birthday, to this.

As annoying as a younger brother, but pretty as a postcard.

What the eff is this?! IT IS MARCH. Australia's getting it's annual cyclone hammering, and I'm waiting with baited breath for just a little heat. I thought my patience had paid off, but no. BUT NO. It didn't stop. Here we are, 10 days later with a goddamn mini blizzard!

I blame Siberia and Sweden. We don't want yo' sno'.

Anyway, on with the post.

SO! Last time I posted on this blog (nearly a month ago, sorrrrryyyyyyy), I was about to leave for Lalandia with my fellow exchange students.
Instead of commuting over hill and over dale to drag my lifeless body into a wild pit of lions in green and black blazers (sorry that was graphic), I just hopped into the car for half an hour after a nice long sleep-in. No 5:30am start for me! Muahaha.
So I arrived in Lalandia, Lalandia, lalalalala Lalandia-a... you can see the repetitive commercial here... (you'll have to copy and paste it into your URL browser)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGLxUcUcfUc

With an unknown 3 hours to spare. There were only 3 other students there out of 200, and all were from the USA. So I made some friends :)

Anyway, once all had arrived, we grabbed our bags and headed off to our rooms - which ended up being a good 20 minute walk away. This was probably the most annoying part of the Get2Gether, seeing as I was in the cabin at the very back of the complex. That put me about a kilometre away from freakin' everything.

Calm. Relax. Breathe.

Anyway, I met my roomies, who were all oldies except for little old me! Now, I must explain the Oldie/Newbie shebang that exists in exchange organizations. You see, we have two teams- Winter and a Summer. I am in in the Winter team, seeing as I arrived in Winter and I will leave in Winter. That makes me a Newbie. These Oldies had been here between 6-8 months, so they were all excited to meet me and get my badges, because, as they said: "You're a newbie!! You still have money, a tan, and good badges!"
Well, I DID have good badges. They cleaned me out, goddamn it. On the upside, I now have an abundance of metal and plastic objects covering my own blazer:

Not bad for a Newbie...

We were supposed to be only 8, which would leave a bed for everyone, but some Mexican girl (grr) decided to invite two friends, and so did this other Argentinian girl. So we had people sleeping here, there, and everywhere. That was no problem, I got a bed. But you try to get 12 girls ready for the day in one tiny bathroom! I took to waking up at 6 so I could shower before all the hot water was gone. GRR!
They also gave us a set amount of food to last us for two days of breakfast. fine for 8 girls. For 12 exchange student girls?! I don't think so. Needless to say, we left the house hungry and tired, after cold showers on the morning of the third day. 
But that didn't retract from an awesome weekend!

Now, no matter where you're from, if you're an exchange student in Denmark, you speak mostly English. So, all of our meetings were spoken in English. Now I know what you're thinking - why not Danish?? Well let me just express to you how freakin' difficult Danish is. It's up there with the most difficult languages. 4 years, they told me. 4 FREAKING YEARS TO LEARN IT PROPERLY. And my Danish lessons have just stopped until mid-July. I really need those!
So, that's why we had our meetings in English. Because no one would understand ;)

Anyway, the activities of Lalandia are endless. Where else can you spend time at the Waterpark in the morning, ice skate in the afternoon, bowl before dinner, fake ski, rock climb, use trick trampolines, let the kids go wild in a giant maze of fun and then get a choice of a wide selection of restaurants?!
Lalandia.
Every European family should come here in winter. It's a corner of Awesomeness and Bombdiggity.

I also met my twin! Well, my older, Colombian twin. Close enough.

Were we separated at birth, Mamma?

One of the things you learn to perfect is your ability to photobomb. What is photobombing, you ask? well see these examples:

A cute photo with our Danish teacher? I think not...

One does not simply 'take a selfie' without being photobombed...

Finally my turn! Jonty and I in the photobomb game...

So after a weekend of new friends, fun and the first time wearing a bikini in two months, we parted ways, photobombed and badged out. 

And this ties into the beginning of this blog, early march with Spring in the air... nope. Whatup continuity! 

So, as I update this blog, it is the end of march, specifically two hours before my birthday (!!!!!) aaand the snow hasn't stopped. But the snow doesn't come without fun!

(Blogspot isn't letting me attach any more photos so I'm splitting this in half)