My Danish Adventure: Introcamp :)

Hello! I just came back from a great week at introcamp where I got to make so many new friends, learn so many new things and have a great week. In Denmark with rotary every year they have this week sometime in the beginning of exchange where you meet all the other students and have Danish lessons to help you with the language. I was super tired the entire week but I was also really happy. So I took a bus early in the morning on Sunday with all the other students in my district and headed off to the camp. We got there after a long bus but fun bus ride and got our rooms everyone had someone in there room with them. My roommate's name was Katie and she was from Oregon. After getting settled in we met our class and teachers and then we had a talk about lollipop moment which are how the little things you do for others can really impact their lives it was really nice. Then we had dinner and after dinner we took a walk through the city and this forest to a park where we all took a bunch of pictures with flags and messed around eating apples and stuff it was a really good time. On Monday we started our Danish lessons, it was three hours in the morning then lunch break and then three more hours in the afternoon everyday except Thursday which I will talk about soon. Anyway three hours of Danish wasn't as bad as it sounds, it could be boring occasionally but I learned a lot of stuff and my teacher Anne helped keep things interesting and fun. After Danish lessons we had dinner then we had a choice of activities that were lead by the teachers. I choose hygge which was basically getting some blankets and hanging out with everyone playing cards and eating snacks. Its was fun and cozy and I got to get to know some people a lot better. On Tuesday I had my daily dose of Danish I think that we did pronouns and verbs that day along with a campfire song.(the song was really catchy btw). Then in the afternoon before dinner we got to go to the store which was hilarious. I walked down with Kiara and Mariano. I don't think I've ever had so much fun at a store but it was great. All the Danes in the store were like what is happening why are there so many foreign teenagers here. So it was really funny and we got some "American barbeque" chips also we got my first Kinder Egg. It came in a pack of three and only one of the Kinder Eggs contained a minion so Mariano, Kiara, and I made it a game to see who would get the minion. Of course I got it I'm still pretty bitter about it I really wanted the cat that Kiara got but oh well. Then after we got back from the store we had some break time and then dinner. After dinner it luckily stopped raining and we got to go outside to the rock wall and do some climbing and have a bonfire. I didn't end up climbing instead Kiara and I roasted bread, marshmallows, and a hotdog over the fire. It was really fun though our bread was a bit doughy since we didn't spread it thin enough on our stick. We also took some more typical flag/exchange student pictures. I was representing with my USA flag with Marley from Hawaii and everyone had their own flags too it was pretty great. Then it was Wednesday and more Danish all day. But afternoon Danish class was different this day cause we got to talk about being a teenager here. It was interesting to talk and point out all the differences with my class. after dinner we had some break time and then there was a concert from a Danish punk rock band. They were good but I didn't really like the kind of music they were playing so I went with Kiara, Marley, and Mariano to the gym and we played some ping pong and basketball and then some other people joined us and some how Marley got away/ lost/ was in her room. That became the joke of introcamp "Where's Marley?" the world may never know. Thursday was a special excursion day to Aarhus which meant no Danish lessons and more time just to hang out and have fun it was awesome. We got up normal time and got on a bus which took us to the ARoS museum. It was an art museum so I thought that I might not like it because I can never understand art, but it was awesome actually! It was full of installation pieces which meant you had to step into the art work to experience it. For example there was a room full of mirrors that gave the illusion that you were up really high. There was also a room full of colored lights and fog that was really awesome. After the tour we got to go up to the Rainbow Panorama on the roof. It gave a beautiful view of the city through colored glass and it was breath taking. I loved it. After taking lots of photos I went with some oldies and other exchange students to a Chinese restaurant and had some lunch and then Marley, Mariano, Kiara, and I left that group and went to the shopping street on a quest to find a pin for my blazer. I found one its really cute and we also got some ice cream because I might die if I go a week without ice cream. After that we walked down to the harbor and also the Cathedral. They were both really pretty. Then Mariano and Marley started to head back to the buses and Kiara and I started to head to the Latin Quarter. We didn't end up finding it but we found this really cute replica or something of old Danish towns. It was super cute and we ran around taking pictures because we had to go back to the buses at 4:30 and it was almost that time so it was kind of a crazy rush to see stuff there. After we got back we had dinner and then I chose beach volleyball as my activity. I was with my normal crew ( the happy llama group, it has that name because I taught them the llama song you do in middle school in the US and it kind of just caught on) minus Kiara and Luzia cause they didn't want to play volleyball with us but we got to hang with Roxann which was awesome too. Anyway we sucked and won no games but I had a great time. I think that our team definitely won the most enthusiastic award and I think that we are all winners in our hearts. After beach volleyball we played bullshit and spoons until curfew. It was a really great day and also very tiring. Then it was Friday we had our last Danish lessons and an evaluation of the week and a discussion on culture shock. After that we had dinner and then sometime to get ready for the end of week party. Roxann was a lovely person and did my hair in a very cute bun and I loved it. Then we went to the party where we danced until we got tired and then we played some more cards to round out the week. Finally came the very sad end to a really great week. On the bright side my district planned for us to go to the circus after the long boring bus ride back to Copenhagen. Everyone in 1470 went and it was another really fun activity. We got free popcorn and candy and saw a great show. Then we had to go home and it was really sad moment but its ok cause we still have all year to see each other again. I wrote a lot here and it can't even describe how great this week was and how surprisingly close you can become to people in a week. I'm so glad I can hang out with everyone I met in the future and I can hardly wait to see you again.
-Abbie

Pictures (brace yourself there are a lot of pictures today and they aren't in order at all) :