Just Around the Corner

As I sit here at the computer there is a gentle rain pattering against the windows.  It is late, and the bed is calling.  Is there anything as sweet as falling asleep to the sound of softly-falling rain?

Our Danish class today was a review of household words, colors, prepositions and descriptive words. I could be brilliant at speaking this language if I could just remember what I have studied.  But it is a process.  The teacher pairs us off with other class members and has us practice conversing with each other.  One assignment today was to describe what is in our apartment.  I worked with a young woman from South Korea.

Mun Yung has the most delightful laugh.  She is diligent and always prepared for class.  We conversed with each other for about 15 minutes in Danish.  Later, I was assigned to work with Andruis (pronounced Andrews) who is from Latvia and Ruby from Ghana.  Hearing and understanding a Dane speak Danish is difficult enough for me....but when other accents are thrown into the mix....it becomes quite an exercise in listening intently....for them as well as for me.

I am speaking Danish with an American accent....and who knows how difficult that may be to understand.  The teacher is spending quite a bit of time listening to all of us attempt to speak the language, and she also uses time having us formulate questions about the day's topic.  At some point, this should be sinking in!  By the way....we have not yet passed SK's level of speaking and understanding.

We walked home and took several detours.  The trees are still bare and the streets are bathed in the gray tones of winter. But it is so fun to stroll down an inviting little side street or step into an intriguing shop.

We felt almost a little giddy because we didn't have to be anywhere this evening.  Tomorrow begins a week where we will leave our apartment in the morning and not get home until late at night.  That is just the nature of our mission and we enjoy it immensely, but it is lovely to have an evening at home....even if it is spent cleaning and ironing!

The days are lengthening out....it is light now at 6:45 (actually it starts getting light much earlier than that) and the sun doesn't go down until 6 p.m. The longest day of the year (in June) will last seventeen hours and 45 minutes.  It appears as though it is changing quickly.  It is still a little early, but we are eagerly awaiting Spring with color and fragrance and rebirth....and it seems there are hints everywhere that it is about to happen.

On one of our detours today, we turned on to a street that is said to be one of the most beautiful in Europe....the magnificent old trees were without leaves but they are stately and large.  I can only imagine what it will be like to walk around the corner and see them wrapped in green.

It won't be long now.