Horseback Riding! ( #s 3-7 )

Horseback Riding #3: Today I rode Prince. At first he was acting a bit weird like he was irritated by the mouth piece, but besides that, he was a very good horse. Today was the day that I was let off of the leash and told to ride by my self... Stoked!
We have just been practicing walking, trotting, and galloping (the movements) and going from a to c to m (link for more info on that). We also practice jumping by putting a pole on the ground and riding over it while standing...

Horseback Riding #4: Anne was my horse today. She is an old competition horse, while we were in gallop I nearly fell off! It was so much fun! Bente always tries hard to keep us on the horses but if we fall off we have to bring a fluffy sweet treat called "flødebollers", so my mom made a joke that we should just bring them anyway to encourage Bente to try even harder to keep us on the horse. We called them the "non-fell off flødebollers"...
At the end of each of the classes, we go on a walk with the horses outside, which helps us connect even more. I love riding out in nature with the horses. I feel peaceful when I do so.

Horseback Riding #5: "No Name"... Bente unfortunately can't remember his name, but Bente does know that he is a "real" horse. He is a purebred palomino so he is a beautiful chestnut color (palomino link here). He is super tall and I needed help getting on, though my aunt said that I didn't look small on him.
Bente told us to go into trot and I think by now I've got the hang of it. Up, down and up, down. My muscles are definitely stronger!
After the riding we went on a walk. "No Name" is a new horse, so he was very curious about the surroundings. When we got back, there was a family wanting to buy a horse so Bente took "No Name" with her. I was pretty sad that I didn't get to brush him down. He is my favorite horse so far.

Biking: My mom and I biked out to the horses a few Thursdays ago. It was loads of fun to just see (and feed) the horses. I felt more than happy to see "No Name" again. He definitely deserved more than 1 small apple. I am not sure, but I really hope that he is still there next weekend!

Horseback Riding #6:
I went to Bente's stable to find out that she wasn't there. I was already geared up and I didn't want to leave. It turns out that Bente went to a horseback riding competition with her daughter in Jutland. There was an elder man there who we've seen before. He has always wanted to ride and he always loved horses, but unfortunately he has never gotten the chance. Later in his life, his grandchildren began riding so he thought that maybe he should start also. Now he had the time and the money to do it. Anyways he helped us take "No Name" out. We got him saddled up and then I took him into the riding house. I didn't really like being without Bente because I didn't know what I should do.  Should I walk or trot or should I go from A to C? I still thought that it was fun and I got a lot out of it- now that I had a competition the next day and I haven't been out there for 2 weeks.

Horseback Riding #7:
Today, I went to my seventh horseback riding lesson. I picked out "No name" and we saddled him up and took him into the riding house. We were told to tighten the "gjoren" in the riding house and not in the stables. So that's what we did and then we waited for Bente. The horse was getting anxious and so it kept nodding its head. I started yelling no to him and then he just go frustrated and scared. It went up on its hind legs and stood up. I was terrified. My mom had to let go of the head gear and we both backed up.
My mom got hold of the horse and started walking him around to calm him down. As he started to settled down my mom asked me to go and get Bente. Everyone came rushing in because they heard me scream. Bente explained that once we get all of the gear on the horse and get into the riding house we have to get up on the horse and start riding. I'm glad she explained that and we learned something new. I got up on "No Name" and after that everything went fine. I actually thought that that lesson was the most fun so far (well, besides the first part - which was a good life lesson)! We mostly trotted and also galloped (I preferred to be on a leash and not on my own even though Bente offered). In trot, we went up and down and stayed in the seat. At the end we went outside on a nice walk through the forest. I had such a great time and I was sad for it to be over...

 

More pictures at Picasa web. 

Skype with MSped and Grade 5...

Skype Video

Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to put the Skype video onto my blog, so you can just see it through the link above.

I just wanted to say thank you to Mr. Spedding and grade 5 for taking their time to talk to us all the way across the globe, 9 time zones away...

I really miss you all and I think that it would be great to find a time to talk together. My email is imabunhead@icloud.com I would be super happy if we could Skype together. Please send your Skype address and we could work out all the time stuff later...

Ear Piercing...

See the title- if it sounds boring, please skip...but it was a big day for me!
I went to Allerød with my mom and sister to meet my Mormor's Cousin, Annette. She was the one who years ago mentioned that she thought that I should have my ear pierced - sorry, you already know... So we met Annette at the station and then we headed over to the shop. I was SO excited. We went in and asked the lady if she could help. She said yes and then she had me pick out a pair of earrings. I already knew which ones I wanted to have. She had me sit down and then "ouch!". Bam, tada!
"You can say ouch if you need to," the lady said to me.
"Owww..."

I feel so much prettier now...

After that slightly painful sequence, we went into a bakery where we celebrated with some heavenly rumkugler (Danish for rum balls). Then, we all drove home to Mormor and had a very good old Danish meal and ice cream. I had a GREAT day!

Pictures at Picasa web.

Lynge Byfest x2

Friday- Day 1:
I went to the fair in Lynge with my Aunt, but she left right away so I hung out with a few of my new girlfriends. Before my Aunt left, she bought me a ticket for one ride. My friends all wanted to go on a twirly ride but I disagreed knowing that if I went on it, I would puke! Instead, I chose to go on a bumper car ride. It was loads of fun! We bumped and crashed and turned our car, driving so fast it was basically impossible to stop. Us girls kicked butt! After that ride, a few still wanted to try the twirly ride so that's what they did.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring any money, so I was unable to buy anything... I did get a few tasters and later I learned that in Denmark you do not get a few tasters, but just one. Oops! : D

My aunt came to pick me up about an hour later. At that time, my friend Julie (pronounced you-li-uh) was playing one of the games. As I mentioned before, I didn't have any money with me so one of my friends kindly let me ride with her for free! FYI she is a dangerous driver!!!

I went home about ten minutes later on my bike...

Sunday- Day 2:
On Sunday, I wanted to take my little sister and treat her to candy, a ticket and a day to remember. She agreed and that's what we did. We got our bikes out to ride to the fair but right as we were about to leave, our cousin and uncle pulled up in the driveway.
Mom: We are going to the fair. Do you want to come?
Uncle Anders: Sure, we'll see you up there in a bit...
(don't you just love that!)

Anyways, we biked up there and met up all together again. Stella and I ran ahead, we were both excited for the candy and rides! I bought Stella a ticket and we ran over to the bumper cars. We went around crashing into others and having the time of our lives. When the ride was over, I took Stella in the hand and pulled her over to the candy booth. She got a huge lollypop for under a dollar (5 kroners)!

We walked around, looked in the booths, said hi to familiar faces (I learned that you would be considered weird if you said hi to a stranger. The Danes don't smile at anyone they don't know but are so friendly and open when you get to know them...) and checked out the things that we haven't done yet.

I had a fun day and I was glad that my sister accepted my invitation!

 

 

More pictures at Picasa web.

Thinking of you...

Hi everyone! I've been thinking of all of you, my friends and family.

I feel proud of my blog because it's my way to share my life in Denmark with all of you and someday, I will be able to look back at it and remember the year of change and life building experiences that I experienced. I would like to thank you in person right now, for all of your support, but unfortunately that will have to wait...

There will be quite a few of upcoming posts coming up soon. I promise! :-)

Feelings...

I got a profile picture! Here it is (cover up the bottom half):
Hope you like it...

 

Good inspiration! So let me tell you a little bit about my life and feeling so far...

Yea for me! I read the above like this "Lifei snow here". Good enough... ;-)

 

I am feeling quite a bit homesick at nights and sometimes throughout the day, but my mom or my self will always tell me- we're only here for a year with less than 10 whole months left so lets keep treasure every moment! Now that I'm in school, time can change from very fast to very slow from time to time.

Clarification: My teacher's name is spelled Bitten but it is pronounced like beaten/ bidden (Bee- din).

 

Also, I can understand both languages very well, but when someone tells me something I sometimes can't remember if it was in English or Danish... Oh well! I also find that I'm starting to think more in Danish and even talk to my mom more in Danish....;-)

Viking Market

I went to the National Museum with my family to see the Viking exhibit! It was loads of fun. We went through the market, went inside, got warrior training (yea, that's right. You should be afraid 'cause when I come back, you're going down Viking style... ;-) ), made a Viking necklace with the sign of Odin's hammer, watched a Viking play, went on 2 Viking ships (see more information on one of the ships "Havhingsten / Sea Stallion" below) and then went home.

On the way over to the museum, through the Viking market, we saw many cool and interesting things that you probably wouldn't see in America. There were handmade Viking pins and clasps, hand carved chairs and benches (made with Viking tools), and many different kinds of furs. They had a Viking tattoo parlor (don't worry, I was gross out and completely not interested), and Viking hotdogs (that was something I was interested in...), and owls and falcons that you could hold. The Viking ships were a ways away, but we did go to them and got to take some pictures. It started to rain, so we went back inside where we then began Warrior training.

Warrior Training:
Two words... Oh yea!
Difficult, but fun we went through the long and harsh years on the battle field waiting for our own moment of bravery and heroicness to come... Not! Lucky me, I got the biggest, safest, most heaviest shield they had. AND at the final battle, a little boy stuck me in the incorrect spot, but I was still considered "dead". Gurrr! Other than that, I had a great time. Beat my sister twice, and saw my evil opponent (the kid who "killed" me) "die" in battle. Good times!

Later that day we went into the main hall to see a "Viking" play. the play part of it was that they faked dying, otherwise it was a bunch of tough looking grownups fighting.

I enjoyed the last part of the day the best! We went into the Viking exhibit in the National Museum. They had thing that were so old that they looked so delicate that a single touch could destroy them. There were swords and helmets and jewelry and even some of the tools they used. While we went through the exhibit, Stella and I played a game on their computers if we were a Viking or not. Surprise! We are Vikings!
Right in the middle of the exhibit, their was a huge Viking ship over 65 of my paises long!

We left after a great day!
Link to Picasa web.

Information on "Havhingsten / Sea Stallion":

Havhingsten fra Glendalough (Sea Stallion from Glendalough) is a Danish reconstruction of Skuldelev 2. The original ship was build around 1042 near Dublin. The original ship was build with oak from Glendalough, Ireland, therefor the ship's name. The reconstruction was built at the Viking Museum in Denmark from 2000 to 2004. It is a reconstruction of the second longest Viking ship that currently is found. It is used for research.
A return journey to Dublin took place over the Summer of 2007. The ship left Roskilde Harbor, Denmark, on July 1 and arrived in Dublin on August 14.

THE SEA STALLION FROM GLENDALOUGH   1. The crew of 65 men and women slept on the open deck, as the Vikings did, and took turn keeping watch 2. Satellite navigation equipment made sure the ship stayed on course. Vikings had to rely on the position of the sun and stars, the color and movement of the sea and wind direction 3. Oak planks were cut radially for maximum strength, overlapped and nailed together. Axes and other tools used to make the planks were replicas of those used by the Vikings 4. The sail, mast, rigging and rudder on the original were missing so these have been copied from other finds 5. Shields, vital in battle, were tied over the oar ports when the ship was in port