12/12-14: VACATION OH-OH-OH-OOH

Alyssa's mom, Alyssa, her twin brother, her dad and her older brother

Me, Alyssa and Savannah

Efter blot tre dage med eksamen, var det hele overstået før det næsten kom i gang (sammenlignet med det vanvittig ræs derhjemme), og så følte jeg godt nok også at en god ferie var på sin plads!

Og kunne jeg sætte Alphabeat ind som temasang til dette indlæg, havde jeg naturligvis gjort det ;-)

Min sidste eksamen var selvfølgelig først skemalagt til fredag aften, og min fransklærer havde gjort sig umage for at bruge så meget som muligt af de to timer der var til rådighed, hvilket betød at jeg først var færdig kl. 18.45 fredag aften. 

Da jeg endelig blev færdig var jeg inviteret ud at spise med Alyssas familie som var på besøg hele weekenden til hendes graduation. 

Jeg havde hørt så meget om dem, så det var rigtig hyggeligt endelig at møde dem. Alyssas bedste veninde og roomate, Savannah, var også inviteret med :-) 

Eftersom jeg skulle rejse mod Orlando tidligt dagen efter, kunne jeg desværre ikke deltage i selve graduation ceremonien, men til gengæld var det altså en hel uge i Orlando hvor vi skulle besøge Disney (og butikker).. 

Graduation er jo kæmpe stort herovre, og fuldstændig ligesom man ser det på film. Når man sammenligner med at jeg officielt fik mit eksamensbevis med posten ca. 1 måned efter jeg var kommet til Georgia, så  kunne det da have været lidt sjovt at være med til en her, men der kommer jo endnu en til foråret.

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After just three days with exams, it is all over before it even started (compared to the 1.5 month exam period we have at home), and after that I really felt ready for a vacation!

If I could I would attach a song to this blog post called "Vacation" by the Danish band Alphabeat (you can listen to it here if you're curious) ;-)

My last exam was of course saved for Friday afternoon and my French teacher had done everything in her power to use the full two hours she had at her disposal, which meant I didn't finish until 6.45PM Friday. 

When I was finally done I was invited to dinner with Alyssa and her family who were in town because of her graduation. 

I had heard a lot about them so it was nice to finally meet them. Alyssa's best friend and roomate, Savannah, also came to dinner :-)

Since I'll had to be leaving for Orlando Saturday morning I had to miss out on the actual graduation ceremony, but I was going to Orlando for an entire week to visit Disney (and some shops)... 

Graduation is huge over here and totally like what you see in the movies. Compared to my graduation back home where I got my diploma with the mail about a month after I had arrived in Georgia, it would have been cool to see graduation here, but I'll have another chance next semester.

7/12-14: 2. Sunday in Advent and time for some Christmas spirit!

 

Jeg starter med det der lykkedes: Brændte mandler!

Derefter må jeg hellere forklare hvad der skete med mit næste projekt.. 

Det skulle være endt som pebernødder, og ifølge opskriften skulle de ikke flyde særlig meget ud. Men opskriften tog altså ikke højde for fugtigheden her i det sydlige Georgia, og min første plade pebernødder endte som én stor flad kage. Jeg forsøgte at redde et par stykker af dem, men det lykkedes ikke helt. 

Den næste plade endte med fine runde, men meget flade pebernødder, som min værtsmor pænt forklarede med at det altså var svært at få noget til at hæve i fugtigheden. 

Jeg troede i starten at hun bare prøvede at være sød, men da jeg fik samme forklaring flere steder fra, er det nu blevet en officiel grund til min kæmpe fiasko med pebernødder! (det skal dog sige at smagen næsten var i orden!)

Til sidst endnu et vellykket projekt: Brunkager! De både smagte og lignede præcis det de skulle (og der er stadig et par stykker tilbage). 

Henover julen har jeg lavet små pakker med alle tre "kager", som jeg har givet til familie og venner sammen med flettede julestjerner og kravlenisser :-)

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I am going to start with the thing that turned out right: my burnt/caramelized almonds!

After that I should probably explain what happened to my next project...

It was supposed to be Danish "pepper nuts" ( see picture), and according to the recipe they weren't supposed to slide out a whole lot, but I supposed the recipe didn't know that I was going to make them in South Georgia and as you can see my first try ended out as one big plate of pepper nuts.. 

I tried to save a few, but without any luck.

The next try resulted in very nice, but very flat pepper nuts, which my host mum explained was due to the humidity here. At first I thought she was just trying to make me feel better, but after I heard the same explanation from others, it is now considered an official excuse at to my complete failure with this project. (However I must add that the flavor was almost just right!)

And finally another successful project: Brown cookies! They both tasted and looked exactly like they were supposed to - and there are even a few left still today!

During Christmas I made small bags of all three kinds of cookies that I gave to family and friends over here along with some home made Danish Christmas stars and climbing elves (pictures inserted for your understanding) :-) 

The home made stars

The climbing elves that you put on your picture frames, etc.