Michael has begun teaching at DIS. He is teaching two courses this semester---one called Transportation in Urban Europe and then co-teaching another course called European Urban Life and Development. As is the custom in Denmark, students call their teachers by their first name. Being that Michael's middle name is Oluf (it comes from his Norwegian heritage on his dad's side) he decided to have his students address him as "Oluf" instead of going by Michael. Leah and Sophie are a bit mortified by this but why not embrace the Scandinavian name, especially when in Scandinavia?!
Today, Michael. . . I mean, Oluf, boarded a bus with his European Urban Life & Development class enroute to Hamburg, Germany, where they will do a study tour for three days learning about the city's history and development, etc. Looking forward to hearing all about the trip when he gets back Wednesday evening!
Meanwhile, Sophia has adjusted well to her new school----a big praise and answer to our prayers!! She has gotten to know several girls in her class and it has made a big difference. The girls often times spend the lunch hour walking to one of her friends' home close to school where they eat their lunch and talk. The girls had a movie night outing last week and Sophia found it funny that when the ticket is purchased you are given an assigned seat---no random seating here!
Tomorrow (Tuesday) all students in Sophia's school will be participating in the annual Catholic Games----evidently it is one of the main events of the year and they compete against other schools in the area. It is an all day affair at an outdoor stadium, complete with opening and closing ceremonies. They participate in ball games---football (soccer), hockey and towerball. I have no idea what towerball is but will let you know in the next post!
Sophia has been working diligently on her Danish and it's great to see her get excited about the fact that she can actually understand some written sentences now! She enjoys her classes and finds the teachers to be so helpful. The teachers rotate into the classrooms so that the students don't have to waste time moving from room to room---makes for more efficient teaching and Sophia likes just being able to stay with the same classmates all day. She comes home early Tuesdays and Thursdays, and goes in late Wednesdays and Fridays because the courses being taught during those times are courses she is not taking. She likes that little perk. :) She is being challenged in her studies but she is rising to the challenge and working hard! Go Sophie!
Leah has had some developments of late in that sh has decided to forego learning Danish at this point and instead wants to focus on learning German since she has had two years in high school and really wants to continue with that language in the future. She has begun an online German course and yesterday at church wouldn't you know she met a study abroad student here from Germany! Perhaps this new German friend can practice dialoguing with her in the future months. :) God provides in all sorts of little ways.
Leah also landed herself a child-sitting job one day a week to start, for a family who happens to live in the same suburb where Sophia attends school. Actually, the two kids she will be watching go to the same school as Sophia though they are in the Danish part of the elementary school. The family are Danes who recently had lived in the U.S. the past two years (for their jobs) and now have moved back home to Denmark. Their kids had begun to learn English when in the states and not wanting them to lose that skill, were looking for a baby-sitter that would only speak English to them. It is another answer to prayer for us and again, we see the Lord going before us in making provision for Leah with this job!
Leah also has been given the opportunity to sit in on a class or two of her choosing at DIS. We recently had dinner at the home of the DIS director and he gave her the go ahead to do that! It wouldn't be for college credit but she would get the feel for being in a college class and having the opportunity to learn as well as meet other college students. She is considering a course in cross-cultural communication for this semester and can choose other courses in the next semester as well!
The church we have been attending (FIBC--First International Baptist Church of Copenhagen) has been a blessing and we really enjoy worshiping with this congregation of people from all over the globe! Now that schools and colleges are back in session, there has been an influx of students at the church and this past weekend we were able to meet a few girls who are study abroad students and spent a bit of time talking with them after the service. One girl is from Belmont University in TN, another from Australia and then also the German student I mentioned earlier. Because of all of the new study abroad students, they have a very active college/young adult group at the church called CONNECT and Leah hopes to get involved in the weekly gatherings they provide.
The youth group will begin in a few weeks yet, and we hope that will provide Sophia with some good friendships, and more importantly a place for her to learn and grow in her faith walk as well.
Now that the girls are getting set up with their schedules, I am thinking I would like to see where I can get involved. There are opportunities at Sophia's school as well as the women's Bible Study from church that will begin in a few weeks' time. Cooking has been the most challenging thing for me thus far. I'm learning to make the measurement conversions, temperature conversions and getting a bit more familiar with Danish foods and little by little finding those somewhat obscure but essential ingredients (baking powder, baking soda for example). I have gotten a lot of help from a few American women at church in regard to them answering random household questions I come up with! They are so very helpful.
When we were in Sweden last weekend, we stopped in a grocery store to get a few food supplies for our stay in Lund and I couldn't believe my eyes when I found cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup---something I cannot find here in Denmark. I was sooo excited!! Finding that has allowed me to make a few family favorite dishes from my recipe box. I foresee a grocery run to Sweden again sometime soon! :) A funny concept, but certainly very do-able.
It is hard to believe it is September already. The weather is gradually changing, getting a bit cooler and the sun sets much earlier than when we first arrived. We are looking forward to experiencing fall and seeing the leaves on the trees change color. I can't say that we are looking forward to the dark days of winter that we are so very often warned about! We have been told the sun rises at 9 am and then gets dark by 3 pm. This starts sometime in November and lasts through February. That will take some getting used to!
Well, I'm hearing the church bells ringing---it is 11 bells (at night) and time to call it a day. I am thankful to be able to "connect" with family and friends through this blog and share some of the amazing things we are experiencing here! Certainly we have our ups and downs and frustrations from time to time and the adjustments can get tiring but much more than that, we are aiming to seize the opportunities we are given to learn what God has for us while we are here. Thank you for reading! Now for a few pictures. . .
(Above) A river we cross going to/from church (it gets breezy on that bridge)!
(left) The church we attend--FIBC. A 1 mile walk (or bike ride) to church.
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| LARGE glass market that we pass by coming to/from church. We have been known to stop there for a bite to eat after church! ;) It has everything from fruit/veggie markets, to Danish open faced sandwiches to sushi (Leah's fav.). .etc. |
Laundry! We have a very nice washer/dryer though
I've learned that the "dryer" part just means it is simply a
really strong spin cycle so that the clothes do feel 'drier'.
Hence, the clothes line!
Sophia working on her art project---carving out the details/lines
of her drawing.
Nice work, Sophia!
Another cute little pocket of shops that we discovered this past week.
Sorry, just had to post a random picture of two guys that we really, really miss! We send you our love!!
of her drawing.
Nice work, Sophia!
Another cute little pocket of shops that we discovered this past week.
Sorry, just had to post a random picture of two guys that we really, really miss! We send you our love!!
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