26/4-15: Jekyll Island/District Conference/Last GRSP get2gether

Huge bbq by the beach the first evening with music, games and more

The part of the Danish gang who could make it for the weekend

I starten af året blev vi hele tiden fotalt om den fantastiske distriktskonference sidst på året, hvor GRSPerne fra alle tre distrikter blev inviteret, så vi kunne have en sidste weekend sammen. 

Og lige pludselig var den der! Den berygtede "sidste weekend"..

For dem af jer som måske ikke kender Rotary så godt, så er distriktskonferencen et årligt weekendarrangement som afholdes for samtlige klubber indenfor et distrikt. I løbet af weekenden præsenteres det næste års distriktsguvenør, man samler op på året der er gået m.m.

Weekenden på Jekyll var helt forrygende. 

Vi havde en masse tid til at hænge ud ved poolen, spille fodbold, gå på stranden osv., og rammerne på Jekyll Island var super flotte. 

Det var lidt vemodigt at skulle sige farvel til nogle af GRSPerne om søndagen, især fordi man vidste at mange måske ikke ville se hinanden igen. 

Selvom der var næsten to måneder til jeg var hjemme i Danmark, synes enden på mit GRSP-år pludselig at være meget tæt på.

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In the beginning of the year we were always told about the amazing district conference at the end of the year where all GRSPs from all three districts usually were invited so we could spend one last weekend together. 

And all of a sudden it was there! The infamous "last weekend"..

For those of you who might not know Rotary too well, the district conference is an annual weekend event, which is held for all clubs in each district. During the weekend next year's governor is presented, you look at the year that has passed etc. 

The weekend on Jekyll was amazing.

We had loads of time to hang out by the pool, play soccer, walk on the beach and more, and the settings for this event on Jekyll Island were just beautiful. 

It was a bit sad to have to say goodbye to some of the GRSPs before leaving Sunday, especially because you knew that some of them might not see each other again. 

Even though there was almost two months until I would be back in Denmark, the end of my GRSP year all of a sudden felt surprisingly close. 

23/4-15: Fairytales in first grade

The man to the left is rotarian Nathan Brown, who's granddaughter, Belle in the striped dress, is in the class

Allerede da jeg i efteråret gav min første præsentation om Danmark ved Rotary, blev jeg spurgt om ikke jeg ville komme og fortælle lidt i en 1. klasse - i april lykkedes det endelig at få en aftale på plads. 

Med fokus på H.C. Andersen og kongefamilien gik præsentationen rent ind ved børnene som til sidst kunne vinde en præmie ved at være den bedste til at sige "rødgrød med fløde". 

Efterfølgende fik jeg mulighed for at snakke lidt med børnene, hvor pigen på det sidste billede f.eks. spurgte om min mor var gode venner med dronningen, og om jeg da ikke kendte hende personligt? 

Der var mange andre nysgerrige spørgsmål som f.eks. hvordan jeg var kommet herover, hvor min mor var, og især det med hvordan man blev prinsesse. 

Jeg behøver vel ikke at sige at Frozen-sammenligningen gik rent ind ved pigerne..? :-)

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Already when I gave my first presentation to Rotary about Denmark during fall, I was asked if I would come speak to a 1st grade class - and in April we finally managed to make it happen. 

Focusing on Hans Christian Andersen and our royal family, the presentation was a huge success with the kids who at the end could win small prizes by being the best at saying "rødgrød med fløde" (which is the name of a Danish dessert). 

Afterwards I had the chance to talk a bit with the kids, and the girl on the last picture asked me if my mother was good friends with the queen, or if at least I knew her personally?

There were a lot of other curious questions like how I had gotten over here, where my mom was, and especially how you become a princess. 

Needless to say the Frozen comparison was a winner too.. :-)

9/4-15: The weekend I discovered a hidden talent

GRSPower

April er fløjet forbi hurtigere end jeg troede muligt. Formentligt fordi særligt weekender har været spækkede med fantastiske oplevelser som denne: en tur til smukke St. Marys og Cumberland Island. 

GRSP-weekenden i Camden County i den sydøstligste del af Georgia, var den sidste GRSP-weekend. 

Jeg fandt selv vejen derover i honda'en - nu med ny GRSP frontplade på, og god musik i højtalerne på turen igennem Ofeekanokee Swamp. 

Fredag kunne vi vælge imellem et tur på stranden ved Fernandina Beach, Florida, kajaktur langs kysten, eller at komme ud og skyde lerduer!

Jeg skulle naturligvis det sidste.. 

Efter et par forsøg med mindre held, begyndte jeg pludselig at få lidt tag på det, og inden vi sluttede af nåede jeg op på at ramme gennemsnitligt 3/4. 

Som dansker har man lidt et anerledes forhold til det med våben end her i Georgia, men jeg må indrømme at det altså var virkeligt sjovt at skyde lerduer! 

Eftermiddagen brugte vi på stranden inden vi alle mødtes til pizza, poolparty og lejrbål. 

Lørdag blev det til en tur tilbage på Cumberland Island hvor jeg tidligere var på backpacking tur (læs her og her). 

Denne gang lykkes det mig at komme fra øen uden et frygtelig solskolning - til gengæld fik vi set langt flere heste end sidst, og denne gang også føl :-) 

St. Marys er den hyggeligste lille by, og jeg boede ved Beverly og Tom Cyphers som var utroligt gæstfrie, og endda tilbød at mine forældre kunne komme forbi når de besøger Georgia. 

Camden weekenden var klart en af de bedste hele året, så det var en skam at blot 25 GRSPere var kommet. Men de af os som deltog havde en fantastisk weekend med nogle søde og meget dedikerede rotarianere. 

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April flew by faster than I thought possible. Probably because the weekends were all filled with amazing experiences like this one: A trip to beautiful St. Marys and Cumberland Island. 

The GRSP weekend in Camden County in the southeastern part of Georgia was the last GRSP weekend. 

I found my way over there in the Honda - with a new GRSP front plate, and good music as I took the scenic route through Ofeekanokee Swamp. 

Friday we had the choice between a beach day at Fernandina Beach, Fl., kayaking along the coast, or skeet shooting. 

I chose the latter, of course. 

After a few tries at first without hitting a single one, I all of sudden got a feel for it, and by the time we finished up I was making 3/4 almost every time. 

As a Dane you have a different relationship to guns and weapons than you do here in Georgia, but I must admit that it was a lot of fun shooting clay!

We spent the afternoon at the beach before we met up at night for pizza, pool party and bon fire.

Saturday was Cumberland Island-day where I have been backpacking earlier (read here and here). 

This time I managed to get back off the island without a terrible sunburn - instead we got to see a lot more horses, and also foal :-)

St. Marys is the cutest little town, and I stayed with Beverly and Tom Cyphers who showed great hospitality, and even invited my parents to stop by when they visit Georgia. 

The Camden weekend was definitely one of the best all year, so it was a shame that only 25 GRSPs had shown up. However those of us who came had so much fun with some sweet and dedicated rotarians. 

26/3-15: A weekend on the countryside

Gucci bag

Versace and Louis Vuitton wallets - perhaps a Cartier watch

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I kølvandet på min vilde rundrejsen omkring Orlando, Savannah, Boston og New York (m.fl.), var min Spring Break næsten ovre. 

Først havde jeg dog en GRSP student weekend i Pelham ca 1,5 time fra Valdosta. 

Der bor ca. 4-5.000 mennesker i Pelham, så det er jo næsten ligesom Ry derhjemme - og så alligevel ikke. 

I løbet af weekenden var vi på alligatorfarm hvor man opdrætter alligatorer til at sælge til firmaer som Louis Vuitton, Versace, Gucci m.fl. som bruger skindet til tasker, punge, bælter osv. 

Farmen er den største producent i verden, og har altså flere tusinde alligatorer af gangen. 

Vi var også forbi et statsfængsel hvor vi endda fik mulighed for at komme ind og se cellerne i forskellige afdelinger, og stå øje til øje med de indsatte - godt vi også fik lov at gå ud igen ;-) 

Så kan man da tale om skræmmekampagner!

Om aftenen var der barbecue, fried chicken, fried alligator, og naturligvis mac 'n cheese. 

Vi var også ude og spille et par huller golf. Jeg vil ikke prale og sige at det gik godt, men det var jo også min første gang :-)

Pelham (og Camilla) Rotary har en lang historie for at holde GRSP student weekends, og for hvert år bygger de på deres collage som går tilbage til 1965. 

Det er tydeligt at rotarianerne her gør et stort stykke arbejde ud af at få alle de studerende helt ned til South Georgia og ud i en lille landsby, hvert år. 

Lørdag aften underholdte vi alle sammen med forskellige sketches om livet i Georgia, og da vi nåede søndag morgen var alle enige om at det havde været den bedste student weekend hele året :-) 

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Following my crazy traveling around Orlando, Savannah, Boston and New York (and many more), my spring break was almost over. 

However I did have one weekend left to spend in Pelham for a GRSP student get2gether.

Pelham has around 4-5,000 inhabitants, so it's almost the size of my hometown Ry - and then again, not at all like my hometown!

During the weekend we visited an alligator farm where they raise alligators to sell to companies like Versace, Louis Vuitton, Gucci etc.who uses the hides for purses, wallets and belts.

The farm is the biggest producer of alligator hides in the world, and they have thousands of alligators at a time.

We also visited a state prison where we got the opportunity to go inside and see the cells, and stand eye to eye with some of the inmates - good thing they let us leave again ;-) 

Maybe a visit like that will keep us all on the straight and narrow.

In the evenings we had barbecue, fried chicken, fried gator and of course mac 'n cheese.

We also played a few holes of golf. I can't brag and say I was great, but it was my first time playing :-)

Pelham (and Camilla) Rotary have a long history of having GRSP student weekends, and every year they build onto their collage, which goes all the way back to 1965. 

It is clear that the rotarians here work hard to make sure that the students make a trip all the way to a small town in South Georgia every year.

Saturday night we entertained everybody with sketches of life in Georgia, and as we got to Sunday morning we all agreed that it had been the best student weekend all year :-)

Getting to an end

I går gav jeg min første af min sidste præsentation i Valdosta Rotary Club.

Jeg havde inviteret Flora, Nadine, Basak og Theresa til at komme og være med når jeg fortalte om mit år i Georgia. 

Hvad havde jeg forventet, hvad havde jeg oplevet, hvad havde jeg lært, og hvad vil jeg tage med mig hjem. 

Det har også været en af grundene til at bloggen gik lidt i stå - jeg skulle nemlig forberede min præsentation, samt deltage i Distriktskonference over weekenden. 

Enden begynder at komme nærmere, meget hurtigt!

Jeg har sagt farvel til enkelte GRSP'ere, et par medstuderende, jeg har haft min sidste undervisningstime, og jeg har nu kun to rotarymøder tilbage. 

Min præsentation bestod af en tale samt en lille film med billeder fra mit år, som jeg naturligvis deler med jer når jeg har holdt min sidste præsentation :-) 

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Yesterday I had the first of my last presentations in Valdosta Rotary Club. 

I had invited Flora, Nadine, Basak and Theresa to come and join me as I told everybody about my year in Georgia. 

What I had expected, what I had experienced, what I had learned, and what I wanted to take home with me. 

It has also been one of the reasons why the blog has been a bit quiet - I had to prepare my presentation and also participate in a Rotary District Conference over this past weekend. 

The end is getting closer, very quickly!

I had said my goodbyes to a few GRSPs, a couple of co-students, I have had my last class, and now remains just two rotary meetings. 

My presentation was a speech as well as a small movie with pictures from my year, which I will gladly share with you when I have had my last presentation :-)

L.E.A.D.

I torsdags havde jeg fået en fantastisk mulighed for at komme lidt nærmere på hvad der sker lokalt i Valdosta og Lowndes county (kommune). På grund af et afbud, blev det nemlig muligt for mig at deltage i den årlige L.E.A.D. dinner som er arrangeret af Valdosta Rotary klub. 

L.E.A.D. står for Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner, og hovedformålet er at samle penge ind til familier med direkte forbindelse til politiet her i området, som kan komme ud for at have et akut og ekstraordinært behov for finansiel hjælp. 

Billetprisen var 100$ pr. person, hvilket muligvis vil skræmme mange væk i første omgang, men det lod ikke til at have skræmt nogen væk - hele 500 personer deltog i arrangementet, hvilket må siges at være rimeligt imponerende.

Udover at samle penge ind, blev arrangementet også brugt til at hylde en politibetjent fra hver enkelt afdeling som indsamlingen går til: Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, Valdosta Police Department, og Georgia State Patrol.

Aftenen gav et virkelig godt indblik i hvad der ellers foregår her i Valdosta. Til tider kan det nemlig godt virke lidt som om campus er sin egen lille "by i byen".

Jeg ville gerne have kunnet vise et billede af de tre betjente som blev hyldet, men havde desværre ikke mulighed for selv at tage et billede, og det ser ikke ud til at være kommet på nettet fra de lokale medier endnu. 

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Thursday I had an amazing opportunity to get a little bit closer to what is happening locally in the Valdosta and Lowndes county community. Because of a last minute cancellation it became possible for me to attend the annual L.E.A.D. dinner put together by the Valdosta Rotary Club.

I'm not entirely sure how common the LEAD acronym is outside the Lowndes community, but it stands for Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner, and the main purpose of the event is to raise money for families with a direct relation to the local law enforcement, who at some point has an immediate and extraordinary need for financial aid. 

The ticket price was 100$ pr. person, which you might think could scare away some participants, but it didn't seem to have scared anyone away - more than 500 people participated in the event, which I must admit was very impressive!

Besides raising money, the event was also used to award a police officer from each department taking part in LEAD: Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, Valdosta Police Department, and Georgia State Patrol.

The night gave me great insight to what else is going on in the community. At times it can seem kind of isolated here at campus where it is almost as if it is a "town within the town". 

I really wanted to be able to share a picture of the three officers who were awarded on the evening, but I wasn't able to take a picture myself, and it doesn't look like the local media has put it online yet. 

Post no. 100 and I got WHEELS!

Hvor er det fantastisk at kunne markere mit blogindlæg nr. 100 med at dele denne nyhed med jer:

Jeg har en bil! Jeg har en bil!! Jeg har en bil!!!

(og jeg kunne blive ved).. 

Før man har opholdt sig lidt her i det sydlige Georgia, hvor den eneste bus der findes er en skolebus, og hvor toget udelukkende bruges til transport af gods (og helst midt om natten eller midt i myldretiden), så har man altså ikke noget begreb om hvor stor en udfording transport transport kan være. 

Man tror næsten det er løgn, men så snart du forlader skolens område, så ser du ikke længere folk som går eller cykler - og flere vil formentligt dytte af dig hvis du prøvede at cykle i vejsiden (hvis de da ikke har for travlt med at SMS'e og køre bil på samme tid..)

Mine værtsforældre har været så søde og hjælpsomme til at køre mig rundt flere gange om ugen, men når man ikke er vant til at være afhængig af andre, så synes jeg det er svært ikke at få lidt dårlig samvittighed over hele tiden at skulle tage tid ud af deres kalender for at de kan køre for mig. 

Derfor er jeg enormt taknemmelig for at Angie Crawford, som er medlem af Valdosta Rotary, har ladet mig låne en af deres biler RESTEN AF SEMESTERET! 

Til at starte med lånte hun mig bilen til vores tur til Lake Sinclair, og efter at have vendt det med sin mand, fortalte hun at jeg kunne beholde bilen - Jeg havde muligvis min egen lille fest inde i hovedet da jeg fik beskeden... :-) 

Og jeg skal være hurtigt til at indrømme at "American Freedom" føles fuldstændig anerledes når du pludselig virkelig har friheden til at køre hvorhen du vil, hvornår du vil. 

Indlæg nr. 100 i tal

Det er 184 dage siden jeg forlod Danmark

Der er 93 dage til mit semester er slut

Bloggen har haft 3.194 besøg

Og så er der 2 dage til det er fredag ;-)

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It is absolutely amazing to be able to mark my 100th blog post with the announcement of this: 

I have a car! I have a car!! I have a car!!!

(and I could go on)..

Before spending a good bit of time in the southern part of Georgia, where the only busses are school busses, and the only trains are used for transporting goods (preferably in the middle of the night or during rush hour), you just can't imagine how much of a challenge transportation can be. 

If you are not American or have travelled here before, you probably won't believe it, but as soon as you leave campus, you just don't see people walking or biking - and a lot of drivers would probably honk at you if you tried riding your bike on the side of the road (that is if they notice you between driving and texting..) 

My host parents have been so sweet and amazingly helpful with driving me around several times a week, but me not being used to have to depend on others, I somehow found it hard not to feel bad for having to take time our of their schedules to drive me around.

Which is why I am extremely grateful that Angie Crawford, who is a rotarian with Valdosta Rotary, has allowed me to borrow her car for THE REST OF THE SEMESTER! 

To start with she lent me the car for our trip to Lake Sinclair, but after having talked it over with her husband, she told me I could keep the car - I might have had my own little party inside my head when I got the message.. :-)

And I will be the first to admit that "American Freedom" has a very different feel to it when you actually have the freedom to go wherever you want, whenever you want.

Post no. 100 in numbers:

It's been 184 days since I left Denmark

I have 93 days left of this semester

The blog has had 3,194 visits

And there are two more days until Friday ;-)

25/1-15: Beautiful view and beautiful people @ Lake Sinclair

The view from our lake house

The boys sitting at the dock

Our three story weekend-home

Sunset over Lake Sinclair

Basak and Ozge made Turkish coffee and read our fortunes

My morning walk/run around the neighborhood

I sidste weekend var jeg på endnu en GRSP tur - denne gang havde vi selv planlagt det hele, og det eneste der var på programmet var hygge :-) 

Vi havde fundet et stort lake house ved Lake Sinclair som ligger mere eller mindre i midten af Georgia. På den måde var det en fair beliggenhed for alle at komme til, og det længste der skulle køres var 4 timer. 

Efter vores tur til Miami, havde jeg ikke de store forventninger til huset, og regnede lidt med at det sikkert både var alt for lille til os, og i øvrigt meget gammelt, men huset var super lækkert!

Der var massere af rum og massere af plads, massere af senge til os alle, og så var der jo en storslået udsigt ud over søen. 

Køreturen derop tog ca. 3,5 time, og foregik i øsende, silende regnvejr, men lørdag morgen var vejret heldigvis strålende!

Vi havde lavet fælles madplan for weekenden og der blev skiftet til at lave mad, rydde op, og så var der dem som var gode til at sørge for musikken ;-) 

Lørdag startede jeg dagen med at gå/løbe en lang tur rundt i området og nyde den friske luft og den flotte natur - det har vi altså ikke så meget af her i Valdosta! 

Resten af dagen blev brugt nede ved vandet på at lade som om vi kunne fange en fisk, og ellers bare snakke om lidt af hvert :-) 

Den største udfordring ved weekenden havde hidtil været at finde ud af at komme frem og tilbage, men det blev heldigvis løst da en meget venlig rotarianer tilbød at jeg kunne låne hendes bil - fedt! 

Derudover var det dejligt endelig at "være med" når der skete noget - de fleste af dem som bor tæt på Atlanta har mødtes en del gange i løbet af efteråret da de jo bor så tæt på hinanden, hvor vi ikke rigtigt har haft mulighed for at være med hernede fra Valdosta. 

Weekenden var en sådan success at vi allerede nu planlægger næste tur til slutningen af februar :-)

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Last weekend I went on another GRSP trip - this time we had planned everything ourselves, and the only thing on the schedule was to relax and have fun :-)

We had found a lake house by Lake Sinclair, which is situated more or less in the middle of Georgia, thereby reasonable driving distance for everybody - nobody had to drive for more than 4 hours. 

After our trip to Miami I was afraid to expect too much from the house, and I was afraid that the house was both way too small and probably also really old, but it turned out to be really nice!

There was plenty of rooms and plenty of room, plenty of beds for all of us, and an amazing view over the lake.

The drive was about 3.5 hours in constant rain, but fortunately it cleared up by Saturday morning and turned in to a beautiful weekend!

We had organized a meal plan for all of us, and everybody took turns either cooking or cleaning, and some were just really good at taking care of the music ;-)

Saturday I started with a walk/run in the neighborhood enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful nature - which we unfortunately don't have too much of here in Valdosta!

The rest of the day was spent down by the water front, pretending that we could actually catch a fish, and just talking about a bit of everything :-)

The biggest challenge of the weekend so far had been to find a way to get there and back, but luckily that was solved when a very nice rotarian offered me to borrow her car for the weekend - awesome! 

It was really nice to finally have a chance to "be part" of the action - most of the GRSPs who live close to Atlanta have met up several times last semester since they live close, but it has just not quite been possible for us down here in Valdosta to join them. 

The weekend was such a success that we are already planning our next weekend in the end of February :-)