Danglish

Things have been going well here in Denmark - I have found myself quite busy. Simon and I have been taking advantage of all the time we have to spend with one another because of the holidays. Imagine all the holidays in the U.S. actually being celebrated and all the places of business shut down until they are over. Well, that is the case here and it’s more than the 3 to 4 days at a time! We have been to church camps, art museums, the zoo, movies, great restaurants and we celebrated Jorg’s 60th birthday, not once but twice. Yesterday I was so exhausted from all the fun that I said, “That’s it! I need a day off!”

Simon and I realized that we had not been alone in two weeks. We, therefore, relished quality time, processing the main event that I have yet to tell you about: Tove, my friend Johanna, Simon and I (all teachers except me) went to Bornholm, an island off the coast of Denmark. We were not alone, however. There by our sides were all of the 6th and 7th graders of Billesborg Skolen. Now, you might question, “Wow, kids get to do things like that there?’ Yeah, and the best part is we road bikes the entire trip…a total of 70 miles in a 4 day time frame! At first, I thought to myself, “Now, this sounds adventurous.” I realized quickly that that was an understatement.

We got to our ferry at 9:30 in the evening and launched at midnight. Six hours without sleeping we arrived in Rønne, a quaint little town in Bornholm. Now I wasn’t the most aware person having not slept for over 24 hours in a cold ferry with three other classes not including our own, but I needed to pretend to be because the group was headed for a church breakfast. And breakfast we had until I snuck off and enjoyed a half hour nap in the corner. Next it was our first tour. We visited a museum that portrayed the typical house after being built back from the bombings in World War II. I was in charge of the pictures during any event and later would be informed the meaning of everything. One time I got yelled at for not paying attention. Too bad I had no idea I was getting yelled at!

And so the journey began. Soon after the museum, students began their pedaling fest towards Gudhjem (lit. God’s Home!), a 17 mile ride to the opposite coast where we would be residing for the next four days. The teachers and I yielded for a couple of hours in Rønne discussing plans for the week with the kids. Then, we too got on our bikes and pedaled. For the remainder of the week we went up big hills, glided all the way to the bottom, stopped to eat, took many pictures, and enjoyed the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in my life. Bornholm is consistently beautiful. There was not a meadow we passed that didn’t have something magical about it, or a ditch that didn’t have a cat in it. Not to mention, the weather was perfect too! It wasn’t too warm or too cold! It never rained once. I even had the joy of getting into a bathing suit and swimming in the sea.

Apart from the visuals, the kids were a delight. I mean, these people wanted to hike rather than going to Bornholms only amusement park. I was like: “Man, you kids got soul for 6th and 7th graders.” They ate the most ice cream I have ever seen individuals eat. One girl, Simone had three cones a day. I loved her. She won my heart by loving the sea…and letting me use her bathing suit. I couldn’t believe that I was witnessing children bonding this way. In a majority of middle schools it’s quite the norm to have cliques throughout. I found the circumstances with Billesborg children quite unusual because our 28 kids were unified! They all were interested in one another and actually gave a darn!

By the end of the trip mine and Simon’s hearts were sold. We were making retirement plans. The adventure that I was expecting turned out to be a treasure that I took home with me. Simon and I vowed to go back, but will take advantage of the ferry cabins in the future.

Here are the pictures. Blessings!