Trick or treat!

Okay, der er måske ikke vanvittig meget overensstemmelse imellem billedet og overskriften, men det har var altså hvad vi oplevede da vi var ude ved min trustee, Rob Kellner, for at dele slik ud til børnene. 

På billedet ser du en kvinde som går tur med sin hund.. I sin golfbil.. 

"Welcome to America!"

Vi havde i øvrigt besøg af 8 børn som alle fik et stykke chokolade ;-)

I aften skal jeg til halloweenfest nr. 2, men først en smut forbi highschool football kampen - årets største rivalopgør!

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Okay, there might not be a clear relation between the picture and the title of this post, but this was what we experienced when we went to my trustee, Rob Kellner's house, to give out candy to trick or treaters. 

In the picture you see a woman walking her dog.. From her golf cart... 

"Welcome to America!"

We also had 8 trick or treaters who each got one piece of chocolate ;-)

Tonight I'll be going to halloween party no. 2, but first we'll go by the high school football game - the biggest rivalry of the year!

White suits, red lipstick and and vocals

Tirsdag aften havde jeg fornøjelsen af at opleve Voca People her i Valdosta. 

Det er en gruppe på 8 som opfører et helt show kun med vokal og beatboxing - rimeligt nice! Jeg ved ikke helt hvad jeg forventede af showet, men det var virkeligt et fantastisk og sjovt show!

Det var yderst underholdende og inddragede hele publikum i enkelte dele af showet, og forresten, så har de i øvrigt optrådt på Broadway! 

En stor tak til Nancy Warren og hendes venner hos the Turner Center for the Arts som skaffede billetter til mig og Alyssa :-) 

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Tuesday night I had the pleasure of enjoying the Voca People right here in Valdosta. 

It is a group of eight who perform an entire show based only on vocals and beatboxing - pretty cool! I didn't really know what I was expecting of the show, but it was amazing and so much fun!

It was very entertaining as they included the audience in parts of the show, and by the way - they performed on Broadway too!

Again a big thanks to Nancy Warren and her friends at the Turner Center for the Arts who got the tickets for me and Alyssa :-)

I've made a new friend...

Jeg har bogstaveligt talt lavet en ny ven - en græskarven!

I aften har vi været ude ved Jim og Theresa for at lave græskar til halloween. 

Jeg kan huske at jeg en gang har lavet et i "fritteren" (fritidsordning), men det er vist riiigtig mange år siden... 

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I have literally made a new friend - a pumpkin friend!

Tonight we went out to Jim and Theresa's to carve a pumpkin for halloween decorations. 

I think I remember making one sometime back in 3rd or 4th grade, but that is a loooong time ago....

Bringing nations together for HOMECOMING

With Meghan Duke, Jasmine and Audrey King

Heart Walk in McKey Park

I dag var den "store dag" hvor det rigtigt er homecoming..  Har man set en amerikansk highschool film, så har man hørt om homecoming, men hvad er det nu lige det er udover noget med en homecoming king og queen? 

Homecoming er en uge om året, hvor tidligere studerende, alumni, plejer at komme "hjem" til deres gamle college i anledningen af årets sidste hjemmekamp for footballholdet. Så det er altså homecoming for alumni og footballholdet, og så bliver der afholdt en hel masse events i løbet af ugen op til kampen. 

Min dag startede kl. 7.00 hvor jeg deltog i en "Heart Walk" i en af byens parker sammen med Audrey King, Valdosta North præsident og Jasmine, hendes datter som jeg tidligere har besøgt på UGA (se indlægget her). Arrangementet var sat sammen af en NGO samt flere forskellige lokale virksomheder, og overskuedet går til forsking indenfor hjertesygdomme. Det var tidligt, og det var koldt, men der var heldigvis kaffe :-) 

Derefter blev jeg sat af ved vores Center for International Programs hvor alle de internationale studerende mødtes for at gøre os klar til at deltage i homecomingoptoget. Der var flag fra alle lande som var repræsenteret i optoget, og som den eneste dansker var jeg naturligvis den eneste til at bære det danske flag. 

Efter optoget var der tailgating og så homecoming kampen. Vi smuttede efter kåringen af homecoming king and queen i halvlegen, men på det tidspunkt var det også rimeligt tydeligt at The Blazers (vores hold) ville vinde :-)

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Today was the "big" day where it was actually homecoming.. If you've ever watched an American high school movie, you've heard of homecoming.. But what exactly is it, other than something with a king and a queen?

Homecoming is an annual event that goes on for about a week where alumni "come home" to their college for the last home football game of the season. So it's homecoming for alumni and the football team and there are plenty of other events going on during the week before the game. 

My day started at 7AM with a Heart Walk up in McKey park with Audrey King, Valdosta North Rotary president, and Jasmine, her daughter, who I met earlier up at UGA (read the story here). The event was hosted by a NGO and several local businesses and the profits go to heart disease research. It was very early and very cold, but there was coffee :-)

When the walk was over I was dropped off by the Center for International Programs where all international students got together to get ready to participate in the homecoming parade. There were flags from all the countries represented and as the only Dane, I of course got to carry the Danish flag. 

After the parade there was tailgating and then the homecoming game. We left after the halftime where they announced homecoming king and queen, but at that time it was also pretty obvious that the Blazers would win the game :-)

Neon, glow sticks and twerking

Som led i Homecoming ugen var der i går et stort arrangement i skolens sportshal som de kalder for "Pep rally". Som jeg forstod på det går det i bund og grund ud på at man hylder skolens atleter. 

På VSU har man tilført temaet "Blacklight" - også kendt som neonlys. 

Det er sjovt hvordan skolen er forbundet til sport herovre, modsat derhjemme hvor vi er vant til at man skal være med i en klub for at dyrke sport. Her skal man på et meget tidligt tidspunkt vælge hvilken sportsgren man vil dyrke, og så skal man kæmpe for at komme på skolens hold. Mange forsøger at få et scholarship til at dyrke sport når de kommer på college, for på den måde at få sin uddannelse betalt af skolen. 

Hvis man så endelig kommer på holdet, så bliver man til gengæld også behandlet næsten som en superstjerne. Udover at have fordele når det kommer til valg af fag, lektiehjælp, fravær m.m., får de f.eks. også vasket tøj, massage og behandlinger, transport m.m.

Det forventes til gengæld også at man kommer til træning hver dag - ja, hver dag, og at man deltager til alle kampe, møder osv. 

Tilbage til vores pep rally blev alle atleterne altså kaldt på gulvet så vi kunne klappe af dem, og cheerleaderne og danserne underholdte ind i mellem. 

Efter pep rally, var der lipsync konkurrence - mime-konkurrence - hvor man kunne tilmelde sit hold og udføre nogle forskellige numre. Det var primært fraternities or sororities som deltog, men det var både med twerking, cowboystøvler, Backstreet Boys og hvad der ellers hører sig til. 

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As part of homecoming celebrations there was another big event yesterday called "Pep rally". The way I understood it is that it is basically about celebrating the school's athletes. 

At VSU they have added the theme blacklights to make it more exciting. 

It is funny how school is connected to sports here, opposite back home where you have to become a member of a club to do sports. Here you have to, at a very early time, chose what sport you want to do and then fight to get on the school's team. A lot of the students even try to get a scholarship through their sports so that they get education paid by the school. 

If you are lucky enough to make the team you will however be treated almost like a superstar. Besides the advantages when it comes to choosing your courses, help with homework and getting off about attendance, you also get the benefits of someone taking care of your laundry, massages and treatments, transportation etc. In return you are expected to go to practice every day  - yes, every day, and of course go to all the games, meetings etc. 

Getting back to our pep rally all the athletes were called on to the court so we could all cheer them on, in between we had entertainment by the cheerleaders and dance team. 

After the pep rally they had a lipsync competition where you could sign your team up to perform a variety of songs. It was pretty much just the fraternities and sororities who participated, but it was with twerking, cowboy boots, Backstreet Boys, and everything else.

Having some Wild Adventures

I går var vi en tur i Wild Adventures. Eftersom denne uge er "Homecoming", var parken i går udelukkende åben for VSU studerende, og da entréen i øvrigt var gratis var der godt fyldt derude da vi ankom. 

Wild Adventures er en forlystelsespark som ligger ca. 15 minutters køretur fra Valdosta - umiddelbart minder det mest om Djurs Sommerland, Fårup, eller lignende - der er forlystelser, vandland og en mindre zoo. I går var det dog kun forlystelserne, og så naturligvis alle deres sæsonarrangementer i forbindelse med Halloween! 

F.eks. har de folk ansat til at rende rundt og skræmme gæsterne klædt ud i forskellige uhyggelige kostumer som død brud, klovn og lignende. 

Dem af jer som kender mig ved at jeg ikke er kæmpe fan af vilde forlystelser, men jeg fik da prøvet en af deres vildeste rutsjebaner efter 45 minutter i kø :-) 

I aften er der flere homecoming events, og jeg ser frem til at opleve denne del af ærke-amerikansk kultur!

Beklager de elendige billeder, men i mørke og røg er det ikke nemt at få fokus eller undgå alien-øjne :-)

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Yesterday we went to Wild Adventures. Since this week is Homecoming, last night was only open (and free) to all VSU students, so it was pretty crowded by the time we got there. 

Wild Adventures is an amusement park approximately a 15 minute drive from Valdosta - it reminds me of some of the amusement parks back home as it has both rides, water park and a small zoo. Yesterday only the rides were open, and of course they also had seasonal events related to halloween!

One example are all the actors running around in different creepy costumes trying to scare the guests. We don't have anything like this in Denmark, so it was kind of creepy at first until you got used to it. 

For those of you who know me, you'll know that I am not a big fan of crazy rides, but I did try one of the crazy roller coasters after waiting in line for 45 minutes :-) 

Tonight there are even more homecoming events, and I am looking forward to experiencing this very American tradition. 

I apologize for the terrible pictures but in the darkness and smoke it isn't easy to focus or avoid the alien eyes :-)

Almost feeling famous...

My trustee, Rob Kellner introduced me and GRSP

My host parents Jim Bone and Theresa Lamie

I går var turen kommet til den anden Valdosta Rotary klub, hvor jeg fik chance nr. 2 til at fortælle lidt om mig selv, og rigtig meget om Danmark :-) 

Jeg må indrømme at jeg har været rimeligt overvældet af al den opmærksomhed jeg har fået efter artiklen i Valdosta Daily Times (læs historien her), og det var nok med til at gøre at fremmødet på dagen var omkring 70. 

Siden sidste præsentation havde jeg valgt at tilføje et par ting. Eftersom onsdags-klubben også bliver omtalt som "gammel-mands-klubben", er skemaet ikke helt ligeså stramt, så jeg tænkte at jeg ville inkludere et par ting som jeg ikke synes der var plads til i min første præsentation. 

Jeg endte med at tilføje et par minutter til at gennemgå det danske skolesystem og hvilken vej jeg er på vej igennem det, og i samme forbindelse tale lidt om hvad sabbat-år er, og hvordan det kan være at jeg (stadig) er en "college-student" i en alder af 24.

Her i det sydlige Georgia plejer man nemlig at være færdig med college inden man fylder 22, og når man er 24 er man typisk gift, har børn, hus og fast arbejde, hvilket ikke helt er ligesom den danske kultur hvor gennemsnitsalderen for førstefødende er 29. 

Eftersom der var en del andre ting på programmet, var der ikke så meget tid til spørgsmål og hyggesnak efter præsentationen, men jeg fik heldigvis tid til at overrække Ry Rotary's banner til Valdosta Rotarys klubpræsident, Bob Moon, og i øvrigt udtrykke min taknemmelighed overfor medlemmerne for at sponsorere mig i år. 

Jeg er i øvrigt blevet inviteret til også at præsentere i Nashville-Berrien Rotary club, som jeg naturligvis takkede ja til - en forside artikel er åbenbart rimeligt effektiv ;-)

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Yesterday it was time for my 2nd presentation at the other Valdosta Rotary club, and it was a 2nd chance for me to tell a little bit about myself, and a whole lot about Denmark :-) 

I must admit that I have been quite overwhelmed with all the attention I have received after the article in the Valdosta Daily Times (check the story here), and it probably had something to do with the fact that around 70 people showed up for the meeting. 

Since the last presentation I had decided to add a few things. Since the Wednesday club is also known as the "Ole man's club", the schedule isn't quite as tight, so I thought I would include a few things that I didn't really feel like would fit in my first presentation. 

I ended up adding a couple of minutes to go through the Danish school system and the way I am going through it, and in that relation also talk about what a "gap year" is in Denmark and what it is like to be a college-student at the age of 24. 

Here in the Southern Georgia it is common to be done with college by the time you turn 22, and when you are 24 you are typically married, have kids, house and a full-time job, which is not quite like the Danish culture, where first time mothers average the age of 29. 

Since there was quite a few other things on the program, there wasn't a lot of time for questions and chit-chat after the presentation, but luckily I did have time to present Ry Rotary's banner to Valdosta Rotary club president, Bob Moon, and also express my gratefulness to the members for sponsoring me this year. 

By the way, I have also been invited to speak at the Nashville-Berrien Rotary club, which I of course will be happy to do - I guess a front page article is quite effective ;-)

Front page, baby!

Jeg er sørme på forsiden af den lokale avis i dag!

Som jeg nævnte i går blev jeg interviewet for en uges tid siden til Valdosta Daily Times, og ifølge reporteren skulle historien være i avisen i dag. 

På grund af lidt eksamensstres havde jeg slet ikke haft tid til at tjekke, så jeg opdagede det først da jeg var til Rotarymøde til frokost. 

Jeg synes selv det er en rimelig god artikel, og er lidt imponeret over at være kommet på forsiden, og have næsten en halv side inde i avisen, med et stort flot billede af min kære familie :-) 

Du kan læse hele artiklen her. 

Hvis du har problemer med linket, er du velkommen til at sende mig en e-mail 

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What do you know? I made the front page of the local news paper today!

As I mentioned yesterday I was interviewed about a week ago for the Valdosta Daily Times, and according to the reporter the article was  planned to be in the paper today. 

Because of a bit of exam stress I hadn't even noticed it before I got to my Rotary lunch meeting. 

I am very satisfied with the article, and I must admit I think it is pretty cool that I am on  the front page and have almost half a page inside the paper with a big picture of my lovely family :-) 

You can read the full article here.

If you experience problems with the link, please feel free to send me an e-mail.  

Something I haven't told you yet.....

Der er noget jeg ikke har delt med jer endnu... Men som jeg faktisk går og er en anelse spændt på...

For et par uger siden var jeg til frokost med to piger på et af de lokale steder nede i byen. De arbejder begge to for Valdosta Daily Times, og formålet med frokosten var at interviewe mig til den lokale avis!

Interviewet var uformelt og rigtig hyggeligt, og artiklen skulle gerne komme i avisen i morgen :-) 

Vi var omkring rigtigt mange forskellige emner, og jeg er spændt på at se hvad de har valgt at fokusere på. I sådan en situation tænker man altid på alle de ting som man helst skal fremhæve så positivt som muligt, når man nu rent faktisk repræsenterer dem i et offentligt medie: Rotary, GRSP, Danmark osv.. 

Så hold øjne og øre åbne de næste par dage - jeg gør selvfølgelig alt hvad jeg kan for at kunne dele den endelige artikel med jer her og på Facebook.

www.valdostadailytimes.com

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There is something that I haven't shared with you yet... But that I am actually quite excited about...

A couple of weeks ago I had lunch with two girls at one of the local places downtown. They both work for the Valdosta Daily Times, and the purpose of the lunch was to interview me!

The interview was informal and very "cozy", and the article should be in the paper tomorrow :-)

We touched upon several topics during the interview, and I am excited to see what they have decided to focus on. In this kind of situation you are always concerned about all the things you want to promote as positively as possible since you are representing them in a public medium: Rotary, GRSP, Denmark etc. 

So keep you eyes and ears open the next couple of days - I will of course do what I can to share the story with you here and on Facebook.

www.valdostadailytimes.com

Unwinding with Rotary on a Tuesday night

Udover min præsentation ved Valdosta North Rotary i tirsdags, var der endnu et rotary arrangement på programmet om aftenen: Rotary Unwind med den anden Valdosta klub. 

Sponsoreret af Angie Crawford fra StateFarm (forsikringsselskab), var vi inviteret til Friends Grille+Bar til lidt socialt samvær (også kaldet hygge) :-) 

Hyggeligt var det uden tvivl - og i øvrigt en virkelig god mulighed for at lære nogle af rotarianerne bedre at kende. 

Theresa stødte til lidt senere på aftenen og vi nød et lækkert måltid på restaurentens terrasse. Det er dejligt at vejret endelig er ved at nå en temperatur hvor man kan holde ud at sidde udenfor.

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Besides my presentation at Valdosta North Rotary this Tuesday, there was another Rotary event in the calendar for the evening: Rotary Unwind with the other Valdosta Club.

Sponsoered by Angie Crawford from StateFarm (an insurance company), we were invited to Friends Grille+Bar for a social mixer (in Danish terms: hygge-coziness) :-)

And it was definitely "cozy", and also a great opportunity to get to know some of the rotarians better. 

Theresa joined us later in the evening and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the restaurant's terrace. It is so nice that the weather is finally getting to a temperature where you can actually sit outside.

Today's speaker: Randi Eyde!

I tirsdags havde jeg æren af at få lov til at holde min første præsentation i Valdosta North Rotary Club. Som GRSP studerende skal du holde to præsentationer for hver af dine sponsorerende Rotary klubber - én i begyndelsen af opholdet, og en inden man tager hjem. 

Selvom mange nok vil tro at man helst bare skal have den slags overstået - public speaking og alt det der - så havde jeg faktisk set rigtig meget frem til at fortælle medlemmerne lidt mere om mig og om Danmark, så det måske vil motivere dem til at dele lidt om dem selv :-) 

Valdosta North er en travl klub, hvor man godt kan mærke at medlemmerne skal tilbage på job inden frokost-timen er gået, så jeg var mest af alt nervøs for at overholde tidsrammen på 20 minutter. Tro mig, 20 minutter er ikke meget når man gerne vil dele alle de dejlige ting om Danmark. Jeg var nervøs fordi jeg morgenen inden mødet havde forsøgt at gennemgå min præsentation på værelset - og det tog mig 40 minutter! 

Heldigvis har man en fantastisk evne til at tale lidt hurtigere når man står foran 4 fulde rundborde, og jeg sluttede med kl. 12.59 ;-)

Emnerne som jeg bragte op var blandt andre historie, politik, samfund, livsstil, hygge, jantelov, og naturligvis steder at besøge, samt ting at spise når man er i Danmark. 

Jeg har fået massere af positiv feedback på præsentationen, og jeg har også fået et par ideer som jeg vil tilføje til min næste præsentation på onsdag næste uge.

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Tuesday I had the honor of doing my first presentation at Valdosta North Rotary Club. As a GRSP student you are required to do two presentations for each of your sponsoring clubs - one in the beginning of your year, and one before you go back home.

Even though many of you might think that this is one of this things you just need to get over with - public speaking and all that kind of stuff - I had actually been looking forward to talking to the members about who I am, why I am here and where I come from, so hopefully they would feel motivated to share something about themselves :-)

Valdosta North is a bit of a busy club, since most of the members really have to get back to work before the end of their one hour lunch break, so I was mostly nervous about not going into overtime and staying within my 20 minute time frame. Trust me, 20 minutes is not a lot when you really want to share all the wonderful things about Denmark. I was nervous because the morning before the presentation I had been going though everything in my room - and it took me 40 minutes! 

Luckily you always have an ability to talk slightly faster when speaking in front of 4 full round tables, and I finished with one minute to go at 12.59 ;-)

Amongst the topics that I brought up were history, politics, society, lifestyle, Danish "hygge" (coziness), the law of jante, and of course all the wonderful places to see and things to eat while in Denmark. 

I got a lot of positive feedback on my presentation, and I also got a few ideas for things to include in my next presentation on Wednesday next week. 

Beach trip in October

Er rimeligt meget fan af at kunne tage på stranden i oktober. Det er altså ikke helt dårligt!

Lørdag morgen startede med en tur på museum for det amerikanske luftvåben under 2. verdenskrig. Vi fik en lang tour på museet og så forskellige film omkring hvordan det var at være en del af luftvåbnet den gang. 

Efterfølgende tog vi til Tybee Beach hvor vi først var oppe i deres fyrtårn, og derefter tilbragte resten af dagen på stranden i høj solskin :-) 

Efter aftensmaden - en traditionel low country broil som består af rejer, pølse og kartofler, var der ikke vildt meget på programmet for resten af aftenen, så vi gik alle ned på stranden hvor vi fandt et sted med live musik, og fyrværkeri. 

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I must admit that I am a big fan of being able to go to the beach in October. Honestly, I love it!

Saturday morning we started at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, which is about how the American Air Force fought during WWII. We got a tour of the museum and we got to see a couple of movies to give us an impression of what it was like to be in the Air Force back then. 

Afterwards we went to Tybee Island where we climbed the light house, and then spent the rest of the day on the beach in the lovely, sunny weather. 

After dinner - a traditional low country broil which consists of shrimp, sausages and potatoes, there wasn't a whole lot planned for us, so we all went down to the beach where we found a place with live music and fireworks. 

Ghost busters!

Vores spøgelsesjæger! Our Ghost Buster

Fredag formiddag satte vi kursen mod Savannah. Savannah som ligger ude ved kysten er én af de ældste byer i Georgia, og så er den kendt for at være en af de eneste byer i Georgia hvor det er tilladt at drikke øl på gaden. 

Inden aftensmaden gik vi en tur ned til floden, og lidt rundt i Savannahs hyggelige bymidte. Det var tydeligt at der skete lidt mere her end i Valdosta, og vi så adskillige brylluper rundt i byen. 

Fredag aften brugte vi på at jagte spøgelser i de gamle bygninger! Vi havde ikke heldet med os desværre, men der var naturligvis sat et lille show op for os ved et af stoppene så alle kunne få sig et lille gys :-) 

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Friday morning we headed out towards Savannah. Savannah, which is on the Eastern coast, is one of the oldest cities in Georgia, and it is also known for being on the only cities where you are allowed to drink beer on the streets. 

Before dinner we all went for a walk down to the river front, and around the really cute downtown Savannah. It was clear that there were a bit more going on here than in Valdosta, and we saw several weddings around town. 

Friday night we went ghost busting/hunting in some of the old buildings. We didn't catch or see any, but of course they had put up a bit of a show for us at one of the stops along the trip. That way everybody got a scary experience out of it :-)

Happy birthday Marie!

I går var vi ude for at fejre Maries fødselsdag. Vi var omkring 25-30 stk. som tog på Japansk steakhouse for at fejre hende, og derefter var der en lille fest i hendes lejlighed inden vi tog i byen. 

Maden var rigtig god - jeg fik sushi, så jeg var glad! Tilbage i lejligheden var der sørget for kage, og vi sang fødselsdagssang. 

Eftersom der ikke rigtigt findes offentlig transport her i byen, og det er helt utænkeligt at man går ned til barene, er der nogen som har fundet på et alternativ transportmiddel. 

Normalvis plejer der at være et par stykker som holder sig ædru indtil vi tager i byen, så man kan køre derned, men hvis det ikke er tilfældet kan man ringe efter "Tipsy Transit". 

Tipsy Transit er en lille minibus med sofa hele vejen rundt, som kører dig til og fra hvor du har brug for det. Man betaler 5$ for en enkelt-billet eller 7$ for tur/retur. De samler dig op hvor du er, og bringer der hen hvor du skal, og det samme når du skal hjem igen. 

Rimelig smart alternativ til en dyr taxa, ulempen er at man ind imellem skal vente på at de har tid til at hente dig, men når man er en stor gruppe betyder det ikke så meget. 

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Yesterday we went out to celebrate Marie's birthday. We were 25-30 people who all went to a Japanese steakouse to celebrate her, and after that there was a small party at her place before we went to the bars. 

The food was really good - I had sushi, so I was happy! Back at the apartment someone had taken care of the cake and we sang happy birthday. 

Since there is no public transport in town, and it is an absolute no-go to actually walk down to the bars, someone has come up with an alternative way of transportation. 

Usually there is one or two people who stay sober until we get to the bars so they can actually drive down there, but when that is not the case, you can call the "Tipsy Transit". 

Tipsy Transit is a minibus fully equipped with couches inside, and they will take you wherever you need to go. You pay 5$ for a one-way ticket and 7$ for a return trip. They will pick you up where you are, take you where you want to go, and get you back when you want to go home. 

It is a pretty clever alternative to the more expensive taxis, the only disadvantage is that sometimes you have to wait a while for them to have time to pick you up, but when you are a big group that doesn't really matter.