Pictures



They dont have starbucks anywhere in Denmark EXCEPT the airport.
We are so so so Happy when we rarely get to have it.

This is our team outside of our home gym before a game. It was around Halloween. That is why one Charlotte is wearing a witch hat.

Outside the candy store in Sweden. Candy was so cheap there that we all went kinda crazy.

Hanging out at Lines school with her first graders

Danish Kroners

The cute little cafe in our town...Love it!

Baking

Jeannette Came over to teach me how to make homemade bread and cinnamon rolls! It was a lot of fun, and so much easier than we all think of it as being. I plan on making them for my family when they come here. We did get a little messy though with all the flour.

Paris=AMAZING!

I fell in love with Paris! I have been a little depressed since I came back and that is why I haven't wanted to write about the trip. The city had such a warm energy and life to it. I felt like it was magic. It really was something I cant explain but I loved it. I had such a blast there. Ingrid (my teammate) had a friend that lived in Paris so when we got off the plane he was waiting there to take us to our Hostel. We got dropped off and had 30 mins to get ready. Then we took the Metro downtown to meet the same friend and one of his guy friends for dinner. It felt so natural...like we always live in Paris and were just meeting some friends for a nice evening out. Dinner was wonderful. We drank wine and chatted and ate fantastic food. The company was good and we laughed a lot. Our waiter was from Poland but he had been to Boulder a few times because he dated a girl from there. He even had been to little Steamboat Springs (What a small world)! From dinner we went to and Australian bar and danced a lot.

The next day we walked around the city all day. We got Starbucks, which they don't have in Denmark, so that was really exciting.

We had perfect timing with everything that we saw. After seeing all the sites and gardens we were close enough to see the Eiffel Tower in the far distant just as the sun began to set. We walked closer and the sunset got better as we approached it. It really was like something out of a movie. I was hoping that I wouldn't be disappointed by the tower, but it was so beautiful! And a lot bigger than I imagined! As soon as we got to the bottom of it these white sparkling lights lit the tower up and made it look glittery. They only stayed on for a few minutes and I'm not sure why they went on. Someone said to celebrate their veterans day. It was very neat.

Our last full day Schnake and I got up and ready earlier than the other two girls so we walked to a cafe and had coffee. She had hot chocolate, but to make it they just gave her a cup of steaming milk and a block of chocolate on a stick. She had to stir her milk with the chocolate and it melted off the stick to make the most amazing hot chocolate ever. We then walked around more and saw everything else we wanted to see in Paris. There was lots of shopping, cafes, watching street dancing, looking up at big beautiful buildings and talking to people. We made lots of friends and walked what seemed like forever. I really liked the Champs-Elysees, which is like a classier Broadway. Lots of shopping and people. During the weekend some of the big things that we saw were the outside of the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Arc De Trioumphe.

Our Last night we were all really tired from the day, but decided to stop in a little pub for a beer and a walking break before heading back to our hostel. We ended up staying there and playing a card game for a long time. Everyone always looks at us weird because we are a group of tall girls who speak English. We ended up making friends with a group of boys there and playing cards with them. They were very nice and very nerdy and I don't think talk to girls often which was perfect. It was nice to make some guy friends and talk to them without feeling like they were constantly hitting on you. It was a very nice ending to the perfect trip. I want to go back!

Paris

Tomorrow I am getting on a plane and flying to Paris for the weekend. We dont have any volleyball and it really couldn't come at a better time. I need to get away. There are four of us Americans going. One girl cannont come because she can't afford it. We are staying in a cheap hostel and I really think it is going to be great. I am very excited. I just want to sit in cafes and drink coffee and listen to a beautiful language around me for once. Danish is about the most ugly language I have ever heard. Dont worry I will take lots of pictures and let you all know about it when I get back. Still missing everyone from home but enjoying things here more and more each day. Below is a picture of the trees outside my window this afternoon. The sun is setting at around 4:00 these days. It is crazy! Such short days. It doesnt rise until 8 or 9.

Sponser work for the store

This morning we got up early to go to one of the local grocery stores to help pass our free breakfast (Gratis Morgenmad...as we were trying to yell in Danish to passing people on bikes). It was the stores 50th year or something like that so today they are celebrating by passing out free stuff. It was really fun actually. We had to wake up at 5:30, I have never been a morning person as many of you know, and now it is even worse because I often sleep in with no responsibility to get out of bed early for. But once we were up and out it was great. Even with the language barrier doing something nice for people, like giving them free breakfast, makes you feel happy.

Then Ingrid and I went back in the afternoon and handed out free beers and goody bags. I really had to practice my Danish then because they wanted different kind of flavors and wanted to know what was in it, and if it was free, and why. Lots of questions to figure out and try to answer. We met a very interesting man who was dressed in big black boots and a fur jacket. He talked to us a long time and told us he was a designer for Versace but I doubt that. He said he wants to be our teams cheerleader. He was clearly gay, but really fun. I felt like I was talking to mogatu from zoolander.

Overall it was the kind of day that makes you smile. I am going to try to do a better job of just inserting a pic and letting you know what I am up to here more often. Then I wont have to feel like when I get on I have to do big updates. I miss everyone a lot and really cant wait for my family to come visit :) Below is a picture of our new "designer" friend. He insisted on talking to us while he put his groceries into the back of his car. I think he really just needed to talk to someone.

http://www.tv2east.dk/video/2011-09-25/vordingborg-vil-vinde-guld

This is the link for a Video that was on the news here about our team. Gives you an idea of the kind of volleyball that we are playing over here. It is good but not fantastic. Feel like a poser to call myself a "pro."

Hello Everyone. It has been a very long time since I have updated any of you. Oh wait...it HAS been a long time since I have. So sorry. I will try to sum things up and plan on writing more frequently now that I have this "wacky thing" set up as my dad would say.
Here is a recap of the past month or so:

The two Cali girls couldn't hack it so they quit our team and left within a few days. Jackie (the one who played at CSU) went to Finland to play for a better team. We actually got a lot closer after Branagan went home. There were a couple days where it was just Jackie here so that was nice to make another network, contact, and friend. I think it was for the best that they both left though. They were really unhappy here and it was starting to rub off on me. It became harder and harder to be positive about things here. They are both very happy with their decisions.

Schnake (one of my closest friends from my college team) came here to take one of their spots. It really seemed like fate. I called her to see if she was interested and she was sorta a mess. Things in her life were falling apart and she spoke to me about how she really needed a change. That is when I told her that we needed girls to come asap to play on our team. I have been so much happier since she got here. It is really nice to have a friend and someone to talk to. Also I really like having a partner to travel and explore with. The other girls are great and together the five of us really seem to fit together. Sage and Noelle (the other new girl) are really good friends. Ingrid  (our coaches girlfriend or is the 5th American on our team) and Noelle were teammates in college so we all have our little connections between eachother. It is perfect and I am happy with the group of us. It just seems right. Of course there are my irritations but it is considerably better than things were with Jackie and Branagan here.

Since Schnake got here we have gone on walks, runs, to the gym, to town to sit in the sun and read, to site see, out in Copenhagen, and enjoyed watching movies in our apartment. A big night here is when the five of us decide we all want to play cards. It is a simple kind of like that at times I must say I really hate, but I also think it is something that is good for me to experience.

I am almost done with the Hunger Games book series and have really enjoyed getting sucked into them. I would suggest them to everyone. I am working on cooking a lot and have loved exploring my hand in the kitchen. I have had some great successes and so really big flops but it has been fun either way. I find myself drinking a lot of coffee (sorry dad). It is our social thing at the house and just a little bit of home that makes me really happy. Lately I have been also experimenting with making my own specialty coffee drinks at home since they don't have any Starbucks here. SAD DAy! Ok. I think that is enough of an update for now. I will get back on soon and add some pics with descriptions but wanted to give you something in the mean time. Miss you all SO MUCH! Hope all is well in the States.