En Uge

One Weeeeek! One completely turbulent week. Denmark is very different; the food, the people, the homes, its all new to me. the homes are all perfect, and they look like they were cut out of a magazine. The weather is fantastic. I was told that it would be rainy and overcast everyday, but the week that i have been here has been nothing but sunny. The crap weather is starting to appear now, so im getting prepared. Today is my first day with my host family, until now i have been living with my host counsellor; i definitly prefer living with my host family. they are really fantastic (even though i just met them today). On Friday night I spent the night in downtown Kolding with other exchange students, and it was freakin awesome. There were about 12 other exchange students, and only 3 (including myself) were newbies. Everyone got really comfortable with eachother, so much so that we decided to strip down to our skivvies and take a dip in the Kolding lake... at 2 in the morning. It was definitly a night to remember. The food here is great stuff! Danes eat bread with everything, its with every meal and is eaten as a snack. Its a good thing that I like the bread so much. I would be worried about it all going to my hips, but there is a massive hill that i have to bike up to get to school, so hopefully that will keep the extra Rotary 15 off :)
Vi Ses og jeg elsker dig!

The Day Has Come

It is 12:50 A.M. on August 1st. That means that in about 11 hours I will have left for Denmark. This whole blog thus far has been nothing but a countdown, and now the countdown is over. Now I leave. Now I start writing in Danish, and posting photographs of my new friends that I will have hopefully made. I've written the 12 page essay, written the culture essay, and responded to all of the journal entries. I've given a speech in Danish, watched Dances With Wolves, and memorized my 10 phrases. I've successfully made my Rotary Club infatuated with me, received my Blazer, and perfected my Rotary smile! I have nothing left to do. My suitcases are packed, my goodbyes have been said, my room has been cleaned (albeit, not very thoroughly). The next thing I have to do is muster up the courage to walk down that terminal. Surprisingly, I believe that I am ready. No matter how tedious those assignments may have seemed, the stuff that Rotary made all of us Outbounds do, actually helped. I really feel ready. Goodbye Florida, Goodbye canary-yellow bedroom, goodbye friends, goodbye family (reminds me of the book Goodnight Moon). Farvel, have fun without me :]

33 days

Holy Mother of God, I have 33 days left in the United States. That is soooo soon. I am very very very very very very very very very excited! Well, last weekend all 73 of the RYE Florida kids got together for the last orientation weekend before we all ship out across the globe. It was a lot of fun, despite the 5 hour workshops and the 100% humidity of central Florida. I bonded a lot more with everyone else, and I have to say that it is very dificult to leave all of them. The strangest part about saying goodbye to them is knowing that the next time I see them, they will be completely different people. We will all be fluent in another language, with a year's worth of stories to tell. I dont know how big of a change we will actually experience, but I do know that I can't wait to find out.

my 1st host family!

I had contact with my host family!! Everyday I had been waiting for some notification from my host parents, and finally they e-mailed me! My host mom, to be exact. Also, she sent pictures!!!!! I have a 17 year old brother, a 16 year old brother (whom I won't meet because he will be in Brazil), and a 14 year old sister. I found the 17 year old brother and the 14 year old sister on facebook. Also, I have a dog named Zojka :)

the family:

the house:

MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

I TURNED 16 YESTERDAY!!!!! 1 month 29 days!!!!!

2 Months 2 Days

That's right people, 2 months and 2 days! I will be in Denmark in 2 months and 2 days! Try and wrap your head around that yall! Yes, I just said yall. Also, in exactly 2 days I will be turning 16. On June the 1st I will have completed another year of my life. Anywhoo, as I have not written in quite a while, I figured I should catch everyone up. Well.... I GOT AN EMAIL FROM MY HOST MOM!!!!! Her name is Bente and she sounds really, really nice. She has a 17 year old son, a 16 year old son, and a 14 year old daughter. I won't meet the 16 year old son because he will be on exchange in Brazil while i am their. But! I have siblings! also, I have a dog named Zojka, so that will be awesome. Anyways, not much else has happened. Agnete and I spent the night at jamie's, which was pretty amazing. We took about 45,068,506 pictures on her macbook. Im going to share them with you, too.

Kolding!

Forget about Faaborg. Just completely erase it from your memory.There is no Faaborg, there never was. The city I am going to be living in is Kolding!! Its on the peninnsula Jutland, and its about 55,000 people, and its B-E-A-UUUUUTIFUL! Its in the district 1460, and my school is Kolding Gymnasium! I also know my host father, but I cant remember how to spell his name. He has a son who is going to Brazil next year, but I don't know if he has other children (I hope he does).

In other news, Agnete moved in with me!!! She is an inbound from Denmark, and she's awesome. I can't wait to visit her in DK!

13 weeks and 2 days

Rotary Youth Exchange Kids are SWEEEEEET!

They are the peanut butter to my jelly, the film to my camera, the shake to my bake, the cocaine to my waffles. I've been spending a lot of time with them and they kick some serious ass. Parting from them is gonna be a dark day; but on the plus side, Jamie (going to Norway) is leaving the same day as me!!! And considering that we are both going to Scandinavia, we will probably be on the same plane!!!

Its been a long time since I wrote last, and I thought I would update the 1 devoted follower that I have. A few weeks ago everyone from the 6970 Rotary district went to Daytona for a 2-day conference. First, when we got their, we got the famous Rotary blazer! I was bombarding all the inbounds for pins (its my goal to have the most). Then, we had a parade of flags for all the Rotarians (they love to show us off). Afterwards all the inbounds and outbounds made their way to Relay For Life where we stayed the night. It started off a little slow (considering that everyone was tired and it was at least 90 degrees), but as it got later and cooler things started to get a lot more fun. Relay for Life was on the intercoastal, so a group of us went to the small dock that was their and set up camp (however, I ended up getting absolutly no sleep).

AAAAANNNDDDD TTTTHHHHEEEENNNN, last night, I went to World Of Nations in downtown Jax with everyone. Sadly, Denmark was not represented at the festival (in fact, they were void of all Scandinavian countries). However, there were a lot of awesome coutries and I was their with some awesome people, so it made up for it. BTW, Turkish food is incredible.

Tomorrow is Death

Please read the title of this post. I am not lying. Tomorrow is the first day back to school after spring break, and i am dreading it. Spring break has been awesome though; this has probably been one of the best spring breaks ive ever had. Mostly this break has been so fun because my friends can finally drive, and that freedom is fantastic. Today I hung out with Grant (off to Japan), Jamie (off to Norway), and Mackenzie (off to Lithuania), and it was epic. We spent about an hour messing around in World Market, which i must say is the best store I have ever been in. If i could buy a store, it would be World Market. Anyways, we bought Italian pasta and sauce and then went back to grant's house and cooked it. It was soooo delicious. But sadly, after the tasty pasta, we went to the beach and I lost my new sunglasses in the ocean. Damn you Poseidon! OH! and we sang karaoke in Yogaberry. Good times... good times.

A few momento's of the day:

all the people I will miss

So, apperently, the post that i sent about missing my exchange friends more than my other friends was not well recieved. I didnt mean to say that I won't miss my other friends. I will miss them like crazy, and it is very unnerving to be away from the people that you have known for so long. Its going to be so hard to leave my friends for a year, and my biggest fear is that i will lose touch them, and when I come back we won't even really be friends at all. I try and make it seem like I won't freak out that much over leaving, but honestly I am young and i'm scared and i'm nervous, and my friends are like a giant security blanket that Im not allowed to take with me. Hopefully, when I get their, I'll make a new security blanket, but their is always the fear of that never happening, which is why the friends i have are so special to me. Please feast your eyes upon the beauty that is my cirle of venner.

3 months and 21 days

Hej, Mit navn er Morgan Milhollin. Jeg er 15 år gammel, og jeg vil slå 16 den 1. juni. Jeg nyder dans, svømning, læsning, og hænge ud med mine venner. Jeg vil leve i Faaborg, Danmark næste år, og jeg kunne ikke være mere ophidset. Jeg vil savne mine venner og familie så meget, men jeg ved, at det er det værd.

which means...

Hello, My name is Morgan Milhollin. I am 15 years old, and I will turn 16 on June 1. I enjoy dancing, swimming, reading, and hanging out with my friends. I will be living in Faaborg, Denmark next year, and I couldn't be more excited. I will miss my friends and family so much, but I know that it is worth it.

I just felt like teaching you a little Danish today. I'm sure you really appreciated it and that it has prompted you to learn Danish for yourself. Also, I wanted to show you a few photos of everything I'll experience, mostly because i am really bored.

spring break

Yesterday I went to the beach with Jamie, Peter, and Grant, and it was so much fun. I honestly think that I just might miss my exchange friends more than my other friends. There is a reason why these people were chosen for the program, and its because they are really awesome people. I have bonded so much with everyone, its gonna be difficult to leave. The good thing, however, is that we're all leaving. I really doubt that I will lose touch with any of them, because they are probably going to be the only people who understand what I'm going through. I always feel like when i talk to my other friends about leaving they just get bored and/or annoyed with me. The other outbounds completely understand, and they want to talk about it too. I've realized that leaving is going to be harder than I expected, because I have found fun in the place I live. Before this year, I thought that my town was the epitome of boring suburbia, but now that I've ventured away from st. johns I have started to actually experience fun. Its shocking. But i know for a fact that Denmark is much more exciting than Florida (by a mile). I would post some pictures of this epic day I had but Peter is currently under anesthesia getting his wisdom teeth pulled, and has yet to give anyone the photos.

just thinking...

So, I'm pretty bored, and I was just thinking about all the things that may or may not give me a heart attack while I'm abroad. Their are so many questions and thoughts bouncing around in my head, and how the hell will i know what to do when i get there?!

• Does the fork go in the right hand or left? Do they eat slow or inhale their food; what if I'm in a family that expects you to eat helping after helping and when i return I'm 20 pounds heavier.


• Can i go in the fridge without asking; are coffee makers the same?


• Do they have coffee makers?


• Are they like the Italians in which coffee making is a slow, delicate process which will leave me waiting around for an hour for a cup of coffee.


• What happens if I'm in a family with no children; will i rip my hair out from boredom?


• What if i lose all my friends while I'm gone from lack of face-time and when i return I'm all alone.


• What if i grow apart from my friends and when i return i don't want to see them anymore?


• Will they think i am crazy for making lists like this one?

So many things bouncing around in my head. I'm really trying not to fret about them, because all those questions usually get silenced by my excitement to leave. Tomorrow I'm going to the beach with other future exchangers. Its gonna be me, Jamie(who is also my one Follower- holla Jamie!), Mackenzie, and a few other people i think. I'm thinking its gonna be an epic day, because every time i hang out with exchange kids we have a rollicking good time. seriously. rollicking.

pictures of a past excitment-filled evening with other exchange dorks like me

Faaborg!

This morning, as i was google-earthing my future host city, i got the huge urge to post about it, and let everyone feel my joy. Soooo, my city is Faaborg, and i am in love with it. Jeg elsker Faaborg! Seriously, if anyone has google earth, you should check it out. Its so pretty, and small and charming and wonderful. The population is only 7,222; soon, however, it will be 7,223 :D

So, the picture right next to this paragraph is of an alley in Faaborg that I am determined to walk down, and take a picture in. In 4 months, i will post a picture of me in this exact alley. I dont know why i love this street so much, but I do, and It is my mission in life at the moment to get a photo of me in that alley.

4 more months

Here it is, my first post of (hopefully, unless i get distracted) many more to come. I'm sure that it mistifies you as to why i choose to uproot myself from my surroundings and live in a foreign country for a year. I understand where you're coming from, considering i can't speak a word of Danish, i've never moved out of florida, and i've never left the United States. Living in another country for a year is crazy, and I honestly believe myself to be insane enough to do it. I've never been more excited for anything in my life, and i've also never worked so hard for anything in my life. Anyone who is considering applying for the Rotary exchange program, just know that you will have to work. Its not like you just sign up on a piece of paper and you're in; oh no! they make you work for it. You have to prove to them that you really want to leave, and that you'll do a fantastic job as an ambassador for this country. Ergo, lots of work. But it is worth it, and these are the longest 4 months of my life. It seems like the seconds are going slower that usual, and that the days won't end. On August 1st i'll be on a plane to Denmark, but until then, i am stuck in this boring, hell-hole of a town breathlessly awaiting my departure. I have come to love Denmark. Everything that i've read has been incredibly positive, and all of the current outbounds rave about Denmark and how much they don't want to leave. I've even come to love my future city. It's very small, roughly the size and population of Cody, Wyoming. However, I think that it is the perfect size; also, just in case i get bored in that tiny town, the 2nd biggest city on Fyn is 30 minutes away. My town has everything in my mind; its on the Baltic Sea, so plenty of water activites, its small enough to walk everywhere, and it is outrageously charming. I swear, it's even cuter then downtown St. Augustine. I am sometimes afraid that I am expecting too much from Denmark; that I am expecting it to be perfect. So in these blogs, i have decided to post at least one bad thing about Denmark, to try and help with my expectation level.
Danish schools give much more homework than American schools.
There. Now i feel better.
Today is the first day of spring break. The sweet, week-long release from the captivity of high school. For a week i no longer have to hear Mrs. Kindell yell at me about tardy's en francais, make a mad dash for the cafeteria in order to have time to eat, or listen to Mr. Hanson being, well, Mr. Hanson. Apperently in Denmark, students have very close relationships with thier teachers. That is going to be an adjustment. I feel like this post is very short, but when i post it it will probably be extremely long and i will feel like a douchebag for posting such a long blog. Tak for din tid!