Christmas and Snow

Hello everyone

Well its the end of my first week of school, and i am exhausted, its been a very full on week, filled with a lot of cooking while the rest of the school took their midterm exams.

YESTERDAY IT SNOWED!!!

we were inside cooking and suddenly a few people started jumping and shouting, and we were led outside where it had started snowing, well it was more like shredded ice which melted quickly, BUT IT WAS STILL SNOW, we were all so excited, and then its stopped. However luckily started again about 2 hours later. We were just so excited to finally see snow fall for the first time!!!

(My mini snowball)

Today was spent cooking and then decorating the school for christmas. The schools walls sung christmas carols as each group was given a room to decorate. 

At my Danish school the students are split up into groups that they eat and cook with, all the students in the group are of both grade 9 and 10. 

Our group was given one of the class rooms to decorate, and our theme was christmas trees, green, and metal, strange, i know. 

In the end we found some metal christmas trees, and used paper to cut out some more. 

The Danish christmas traditions are very different from that of the Australian christmas tradition of some prawns on the barbie. Every day leading up to christmas they open a christmas calendar to reveal some kind of Danish sweets, and every Sunday in December they receive a larger gift than that of every other weekday. Christmas is mainly celebrated on christmas eve when the family dances around the christmas tree and open their gifts, this time is often spent with family. 

After completing the decorating of the small classroom we went for a walk around the rest of the school, and then down to the local shops. 

The Christmas Tree in the foyer. 

I finally got a photo of my school, isn't it amazing. 

Across the road from the school. 

MORE SNOW on the roof of a car.

Holly.

Christmas decorations. 

The main road of the village the school is located in, we have to walk up it every morning at 6.30am, in the dark.

 The local village.

 The local village.

A house in the local village, they are very different form those in Australia. 

So thats been my week so far, tomorrow the school is hosting the students grandparents for a lunch and dinner, allowing the to look around the school, and next week we will be visiting high schools, or Gymnasium, as it is called in Denmark, on Monday and Tuesday, then on Wednesday and Thursday both Alice (Victorian SISEP Scout) and i are going to be taken around the island of Funen, on which the school is located.

It is also apparently going to reach -5 degrees over the weekend, and snow is expected, so fingers crossed. 

I shall try and write again as soon as possible. 

-Brooke 

Airline food and midterms

Hello all


The second leg of our journey was filled with a lot of sleep, movies, and pretty amazing airline food...

After flying from Singapore to london we said our goodbyes to the rest of the Australian Venturers who were disembarking in England, and finally departed for Denmark.

We arrived in Denmark yesterday at 1.15 in the afternoon (Danish time). Then followed by a two and a half hour drive to my new school korinth efterskole spejderskolen, in Faaborg, Denmark.

The school looked beautiful when i arrived, i couldn't believe it was a school.

As it is freezing, and has been dark outside for hours, I thought i would just add a photo i found on the internet.

After i had unpacked we sat down to a delicious dinner, and i went to bed, exhausted by the days travels.

This morning began at 6.30 when the whole school went for a walk in the freezing, dark morning. I have to say it was very refreshing...
We then had the first class of the day... English, which just happened to be in danish for the days lesson, as it was about the afternoons midterms, which both Alice (the other Australian SISEP scout staying at the school) and I found out were taking part in.
After English, we were set to work cleaning up all around the school.
And finally it was time for the midterm exam, which both Alice and i completed early, allowing us some much anticipated rest.

It was then mine and Nina's (my host sister) turn to cook dinner, which turned out pretty good (the recipe being in english certainly helped).  And thats about it for my day, once again im feeling pretty exhausted... still getting over the jet lag i guess.

well i shall try and post again tomorrow.
 -Brooke 

Lost in Singapore

So we have completed the first leg of our journey, leaving Brisbane early this afternoon we boarded a plane to Singapore and were unfortunately separated on this plane - with me being two rows behind the other Queenslanders. The flight took approximately 8 hours - and we already feel the affects of jet lag setting in...
Currently we're in Singapore airport - and have another 5ish hours ahead of us. Followed by a 14hr flight to London's Heathrow Airport.

Thanks to the free wifi at Singapore Airport :)
And I will blog again when I reach London.

-Brooke Shepherd and Zoë Beikoff-Bray

Just Thee Sleeps...

So it begins
With the first entry of my travel blog just a mere three sleeps until I depart the anticipation is building, and the preparations are completely underway. However my bag is still not quite packed.
Yesterday I received an amazing send off from my Buderim cubs, and a new article about my involvement in the community was put into the Buderim chronicle.
And I believe the excitement has finally hit me.

I will leave you here with this short entry as packing must get underway

-Brooke