Hey! Where Is Everyone?

Since we had no Danish class looming today, we decided to do some shopping for the dinner tonight.  That allowed us to do a little more comparison shopping yesterday.  We thought that rather than return to the stores with the best price, we would wait until this morning.

It was overcast and windy.  We drove out to our Costco wannabe to get the final items, plus 2 little evergreen trees for our front door.  As we drove, SK said, "Look at how deserted it looks!"  He was right.  There wasn't nearly as much traffic on the road as usual...not cars, not bicycles, not pedestrians.  

It couldn't be the weather that was keeping anyone home.  Even overcast and cool is a good day and people are always out.  The Costco wannabe looked a little unusual as we approached. There wasn't a car in the parking lot and there wasn't a soul around!  We drove up close.  It is closed today.....and tomorrow (Good Friday)....and Saturday....and Sunday....and Monday!  

We drove back to our apartment looking at stores all along the way.  Very few were open.  The flower shops and fruit/vegetable shops were open, but little else.  We parked the car at our apartment and set out on foot to see if we could find a grocery store to buy the last items needed for tonight.  The large grocery stores were all closed up tight.  We finally found a small shop that normally stays open longer than most places, and were able to get everything we needed.

Our first clue might have been that the auto mechanic who changes the tires on the car told us yesterday, that he would be on holiday for the next 5 days.  We just thought that since he owns his own business, that is a nice holiday!

The truth seems to be that this long weekend is a loooong weekend for a lot of people and businesses.  This is a good thing to make note of.  This is a time when families love to celebrate together.  I am told that it is the second largest family celebration time in Denmark, next to Christmas.

At Institute this evening, we waited and waited, wondering if anyone would show up.  Around 7 p.m. we had about 8 people there....by 7:05 it was up to a whopping 10.  I began cooking dinner for 15.  By 8, there were nearly 30 young adults there!  

We tried to plan a meal that would be flexible depending on the number who were there.  Coming into the holiday weekend, we decided on meatballs from IKEA, potatoes and gravy, peas, rod kohl, and chocolate mousse cake.

We had purchased the meatballs a couple of months ago for ourselves and decided that would be fast and easy.  Yesterday we bought some more to add to what we have.  So I started out cooking a relatively small amount, and as I saw people going by the kitchen door, I kept adding meatballs in the oven, and potatoes to the pot!

When class was done at 8:30, I had everything ready!  The meal seemed to be a success, and one of my sweet young friends who is a professional cake baker whispered that she liked the cake, so I was very happy with it.

Of course, as in every other meal, the best part was the young people who came into the kitchen to talk and to help.  Two of the young sister missionaries were there waiting for their investigator and we talked.  They are the cutest and dearest missionaries, and I wish so much that I could get someone for them to teach!  I am working on it.

One of our young men received his mission call yesterday....to South Africa!  He is so handsome that I think if he just smiled at someone, that would be enough to make them listen.  But he is so nice and has such faith, that he will win people with his testimony and example.

A young woman came into the kitchen after dinner and helped me wash all the pots and pans I had used in my last-half-hour frenzy.  What a lovely visit we had!  I had not ever had any kind of a conversation with her until tonight, and she just wanted to help.  So I washed and she dried and we talked.  She has been to America several times as well as other countries. She is strikingly beautiful and has a very steady and abiding faith and testimony.

We spoke with one of our co-chairmen who is looking at some major changes in her life sometime in the near future.  She too astounds me with her faith.  It is the kind of faith that moves mountains, and actually if it became necessary, I am sure she could do it.

At the end of the evening, when all others had left, one young man remained...an investigator who has had an interesting life.  He was born and raised in Denmark by parents who were from another country.  They want him to marry a girl from their old country, and he is checking out this young woman to see if that is a possibility.  He has had some interesting challenges, but he is upbeat and cheerful.  

Well, if I don't get into bed soone, I will be neither upbeat nor cheerful.

Good Night!

It Twas an Early Spring....The Bird Was On the Wing....

The trees are greener each day and the blossoms are beginning to fall.  The sidewalks outside of cafes are peopled with individuals enjoying the sun and a bite to eat.  They are usually small tables with two chairs both facing out to the street.  Men and women sit smiling in the bright light and the still-cool temperatures.  In the larger common areas, larger tables with little umbrellas (not opened) beckon people to come and sit a spell.

No pictures today, but there should be...if I were quick enough.  Perhaps the one I imported will make it.  On a walk close to the lake we saw a swan walking on water!  Sister Swena told us about it.  I need to do some research.  They spread their wings and kind of hold themselves aloft while their feet skim the surface of the water.  It was enchanting!  I heard somewhere that it is part of the mating ritual, but they already have two eggs in the nest, so that sounds kind of fishy.

We made a few trips to stores today in preparation for Thursday....that seems to be the drill on Wednesday, but the truly lovely thing is that we didn't have to leave our apartment until late morning....which gave me some time to catch up on some things.  I am doing some Spring cleaning.  I know that doesn't sound very fun, but it is actually kind of fun to get done.  Don't you love clean shiny windows and a welcoming front door?  Well, I am working on that, and getting it ready for Easter.

We are going to have a party on Saturday night!  We are just inviting our senior missionary neighbors and we are going to watch Ben Hur.  I LOVE that movie.  It is the perfect Easter/Springtime movie.  It is a long one, so we will watch half and then have dinner and then the other half.  There are a few films that I never tire of and that is one.

It is a powerful movie of what the Savior can do with our lives, told in a dramatic and beautiful way.  It is about rebirth......Please join us if you are in the neighborhood!

We have been at the center but it is very quiet.  We have been baking cakes for tomorrow night.  I enjoy Wednesday evenings here.  Sometimes we have missionaries here teaching language courses, but that didn't happen tonight.

We talked to some dear friends from Gilbert briefly on FaceTime as well as our daughters.  What a sweet blessing it is to be able to see and hear our loved ones!

Where ever you are....I hope you are having a lovely Spring.

Tomorrow is Another Day....Make That Friday Is Another Day!

Do you remember the pictures out of this window a few months ago?  The little hill was covered with snow and there children sliding down in little sleds.  See all the white spots on the lake?  Ducks.

We received a call from the elders this morning.  They needed Elder Madsen to go with them to teach a lesson to a single sister.  So we revised our plans for sightseeing today.

We needed to go renew our bus passes.  We get a 3-month pass that is good for all buses and trains in Copenhagen.  It costs about $100 and is a bargain if you take the bus often.  So it is definitely a good buy for us.  We walked to Copenhagen's answer to New York's Grand Central Station.  We stood in line, got our passes and then wandered around the station looking at shops etc.

We went to a grocery store to take advantage of a sale on Pistachio nuts....SK's idea of a treat.  Remember this is the man who likes white chocolate, so his taste about treats is suspect.  But
he says that they are good pistachios.  We found a cute white tablecloth with the Danish flag all over it.  It was also on sale, so we got it.  Don't you love the Danish flag?  It is pretty classy, and looks great right along side of the stars and stripes.

We bought some antiperspirant.....hold on to your hats....for $26.  You can buy deodorant around here for much less, maybe $8 or even a little less, but it is roll-on and it is making my skin go berserk.  We asked around to find one that is gentle.  For the money, I hope it works!

I am beginning to collect a list of items for visiting family to bring to us.  Deodorant from Costco will definitely be on the list.  Copenhagen is an expensive place to live, and watching for sales helps, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet.  Cosmetics and personal care products are very high.  Food is also....but we try to find food that is offered at a discount or sale.

Our best find is the genbrue stores....used stores.  They are everywhere and you can find all kinds of things in them.  We have been searching for an out-of-print book since we got here.  It is a beautiful little book about a boy during WWII, who escapes from a concentration camp and, following instructions given him, makes his way to Denmark.

We both loved the English edition, but it was originally written in Danish.  It is out of print, and we could not find it.  We were in a little genbrue store last week and there it was on a large shelf of used books.  SK is spending every spare minute  reading it, and is almost done.  I may wait a few more months to try to read it.  As it is, SK reads with the book in one hand and a dictionary in the other.  It is "I Am David" in English, and "David" in Danish.

We returned home, had lunch and then SK took two different buses to meet the elders and the sister for the less.  The appointment fizzled, so he retraced his steps home.  The round trip took 2 hours.  He was unruffled though.  I had used the time to iron and got quite a bit done.  Not as exciting as going to a museum or park, but it was a good thing to do.

At 4:45 we too a 45 minute bus ride to get to another bus stop where we met the temple president and matron and 4 temple missionaries.  We all caught a bus that took us to a train station within 10 minutes of our apartment!  (We had misunderstood the directions....we thought the bus ride would take us directly to the Knudsen's home, where we had dinner,)  After a train ride, we arrived at a little after 6 and had a feast with Brother and Sister Knudsen and their daughter, and 22 missionaries.

I sat next to our temple matron on the train and on the other side of her sat a young man with a neatly
trimmed red beard who was plugged into his computer.  Sister Williams is about 5 feet tall and a dynamo.  I was fascinated to watch her in action.  She asked him if he was going home from work or school.  He unplugged, and engaged in the conversation.  She told him she was here with the Church of Jesus Christ and then told him what the church is doing with computers and family history.  They had a wonderful conversation and then she gave him a pass along card.  She left me in awe.  She did that so well, so naturally and so kindly.  Who could resist her?
Their apartment is always so beautiful and welcoming and it is always a delight to see what they will serve.  He is an amazing cook.  Tonight we had lamb and potatoes with a lovely mixed vegetable side dish.  For dessert, it was lemon  fromage.....absolutely fabulous...light and not too sweet.  Ahhhh.

Before they left the young elders gave a spiritual thought about Easter.  If only their mothers could see them!!!!  They are such good young men.

They are giving us an assignment....the sisters are thinking very hard about it!

Did you know that the swan is the national bird?  Did you know that it mates for life?  This is a swan sitting on her nest.

I believe this is her mate.  He is off-duty now, but will go back and sit on the two eggs while she goes off-duty!

So.....Friday is the day to see Copenhagen!  I can hardly wait....I'll let you know all about it.

There is Hope Smiling Gently Before Us

This is the first day of our Easter break from Danish class.  I can't tell you how much I have been looking forward to this week.  I had BIG PLANS to see everything in the city that we possibly could get to.  I have a small list .... well, maybe a big list of things to see.  Mondays, we go to the center around 3, so that gives us a great deal of the day.

We were both soooo tired, that we just did laundry, cleaning and some reading....then came to the center.  Is that just sad?  So one whole day is gone, but we still have tomorrow up til 6 p.m. and possibly Friday.  Wednesday and Thursday are pretty busy, so there will never be any sightseeing those days.  If Thursday turns out to be a night where we are at the center until 2 p.m. then we end up sleeping late - we just have to or we can't function!  The day is usually well under way, before we get ourselves underway.  But that is OK....sightseeing is way down there on the list of priorities.

From 3:00 on today has been wonderful.  One of the young women came in early to work on the FHE activity.  I just love her.  She visited with us while she worked on putting everything together.  She comes from a strong and active family and she is full of faith.  I love how these young people express their commitment to the Gospel and to the future.  The activity was putting together fun (cut-out 3-dimensional papers) letters to the missionaries serving from our stake.  We have about 20....which is really good.  There were prizes for the best three.  They were to write a poem on one, cut one out with as creative a flair as possible and then to write one in your best handwriting.  We had 23 young people sitting around several tables put together.  They had so much fun with that...who needs CRUD?  Well, that came later.

I said the prayer in FHE...in Danish!  I have been able to pray for sometime, but let's face it, I am a coward.  I gave a simple short prayer, but it impressed a young American student here. She is studying Danish too along with other heavy subjects.  She feels the same way I do.  It is just so scary to speak in another language!  I am happy if it gives her courage.

Hey!  Maybe there is hope for me yet.

Speak a Little, Talk a Little

The day began much too early for me.  I had gotten into bed late because I was working on the dreaded sacrament meeting talk.  SK had gone through it several times with me...bless his heart.  By the time I got into bed, I was beginning to think I ought to throw the talk away and just go for it in English....which would have been entirely comfortable for me.

I slept soundly...just not enough.  After getting ready to go to church, SK went through the talk with me one more time.  At church, there were two speakers on the program, Elder Hansen and me.  The Hansens will be leaving for their home in St. George by month's end, and so this was his last talk in Amager Gren.

I sat through the opening announcements and the singing and the sacrament.  I prayed for help....I prayed that the Spirit would be there to fill in all of my mistakes and to give understanding to those who listened.  I looked out over the small congregation and realized with a warmth that stole over me...these were all my friends.  That calmed me immediately.

When my name was announced I stood, walked to the pulpit and read my talk....every word in Danish.  I think I did the best I know how to do as far as pronouncing (that isn't saying much).  I finished and sat down.  I am pretty sure that I didn't commit any egregious errors.  I knew it wasn't a masterpiece, and I knew my Danish wasn't flawless, but I felt OK about it.

After sacrament meeting, so many kind people complimented me....on my pronunciation and on the organization of the talk, and on the talk.  I guess I don't need to tell you how happy it made me.

My prayers had been answered.  It is a little like the food we fix for the YSAs.  I always pray that it will taste good to them, and so far those prayers have always been answered in the affirmative.  How kind the Lord is!

And you know who got the most out of the talk!  I learned some Danish...better than I would have for a class.....and I got to study a conference talk.  Win/Win

Elder Hansen spoke for the remainder of the meeting, and did a wonderful job.  We will miss them. He reads and studies for the sheer joy of it.  Conversations with him are always interesting because he knows so much about so many topics.  He is especially well-versed in history, and the history of Denmark.  Sister Hansen is a great partner to him...she is has a sparkling wit and is in lock-step with her husband in conversations.  They are great people.

After our block we took the bus across town to attend another ward.  We try to do that once a month, so that we can visit each ward/branch in the stake to see the YSAs in their home wards.  Most have a YSA Sunday School class.  It was a small class....only 3, and in Danish!  After my own experience with speaking Danish, I hoped I would understand more, but I didn't.  I got just enough to know what the lesson was about, but it was fun to be with the 3 YSAs.

Have I mentioned how much I love this mission?

 

It's the Day to Get Ready for Sunday!

The skies early in the morning were clear blue and it was crisp and cool.....perfect walking weather.

So we walked to the post office and some other places.  I love walking around here.  Next week, we plan on doing a lot more walking since we have a holiday from school.  I want to stroll through one of the larger more beautiful parks in Frederiksberg....and Spring should make it especially lovely.

This was a glorious Saturday when I didn't have to think about homework, but I DID have to think about Danish.  I decided to give Sunday's talk in Danish.  I have been toying with the idea all week, and when I went to bed last night, I lay there giving it to myself in Danish....and it seemed like I was able to say what I wanted!

It made it difficult to sleep.

This morning, I consulted the expert....Google Translate.....which really doesn't do a spectacular job, but it gets the idea down.  Later in the day I called one of the young men from the center who translates for me from time to time.  He helped me translate a paragraph written in 1985.

Finally, I cornered SK and asked him to listen to me.  He patiently listened, corrected, listened, corrected, listened, corrected...you get the idea.  It is 11:00 p.m. and the final edition of my talk is printed up, and I just need to read it aloud one or two more times to make sure that it will be somewhere in the discernible range for all who hear it.  I feel kind of frazzled.....and nervous.

By the time you wake up on Sunday morning, I will be relaxing at home, feeling either completely and utterly humiliated or just plain relieved.  I'll let you know whether or not to claim you know me if you ever come to Denmark.

We went to the center and worked there for awhile.  Since we will be there now until the middle of July, I want to do a few things that will make it nicer for everyone.  I posted pictures of nearly all of the missionaries serving from the Copenhagen Stake of Denmark, and I want to post pictures of past activities at the center......which I will do, as soon as I figure out how to get the pictures from the computer (taken on SK's phone, my phone and our camera) on to a flashdrive and into a photo developing store.

Melissa, I know you are smiling.....How many times have you tried to help me organize our photos into folders etc.?

Oh....a fun thing happened this afternoon.  Four of our YSAs came by.  They were on a picture scavenger hunt.  It was a YSA activity for their ward.  They came in and filled the quiet apartment with laughter and enthusiasm.  We got our pictures taken several times to meet requirements....A missionary with his badge on.  "Feeding a missionary"...SK being fed a carrot.  "Writing to a missionary"...someone handing me a letter addressed to me.  "Talking to a missionary"...shaking hands with a missionary.

All Over the World At The End of Day

After a late night yesterday it was difficult to get myself up and going.  But we had homework, plus I wanted to make an extra batch of cookies.  Today was the big day in class.  We each brought a dish from our homeland!!!

I have wondered for a few weeks what to take to our Danish course international party.  There are only a dozen of us or so, but SK and I are the only ones from the States, and with Doris, the only ones from the western hemisphere.  The problem with anything that I can think of as American is that it would have had to sit for 2 hours before being served, and hamburgers don't taste good under those circumstances.  I finally settled on cookies, but I decided to give it my best shot and take 3 varieties.

We took SK's favorite: white chocolate almond, and my favorite:  the humble little chocolate chip cookie, and one I have had great success with:  Erin's chocolate crinkles.

Normally we work for an hour and an half, have a half hour break and one hour more of class before getting out at 3.  Today we worked for an hour and 45 minutes and then began our little party...which took the rest of class time.  We were all kind of excited about it.

At the break, it was like relief society!  Some women just naturally take over when it comes to things like that, and Melba and Doris set to work laying out cups, plates, plastic utensils and napkins.  Doris made sure everyone had a little of everything, while Melba did the same...both very sweet.

We took a large bottle of Dr. Pepper...something we thought was uniquely American.  No one had ever tasted it.  One girl from India thought it was pretty bad...most others thought it tasted medicinal, and one of the teachers thought it tasted like prophy paste (the stuff Olga uses to clean your teeth!).  Basically, it was not well-received.

We had wonderful curry rice from India, an excellent cream chicken over a thin slice of potato topped with a boiled egg from Peru, a spicy hot chili with a very thin bread/tortilla from Liberia, an amazing pink cold soup from Latvia, baked garlic chicken from Philippines, an excellent vegetable noodle dish from South Korea, a banana meringue cake from Slovakia, a very interesting juice, some delicious fresh potatoes, Dr. Pepper and three kinds of cookies!

Have you ever seen pink soup?  It is a cold soup from Latvia, closely related to Borscht.

It was downright fun.  Everything was quite tasty and so interesting....flavors we hadn't had before. The cute young Korean said to me before class, "I'm nervous about the dish I made!"  She was genuinely worried about whether or not anyone would like it.  Our cute friend from India was also a little apprehensive, because she is just beginning to cook.  (She says her husband is kind about her attempts.)

After everything had been served up and we were all sitting at our desks trying the various dishes, Andruis leaned back in his chair and with a big smile stated, "This is fun!"  Everyone was openly complimentary to everyone else, and I think everyone came away from the little party feeling better about being there and about themselves.  Isn't that really great?

The cookies were devoured and I believe enjoyed.  SK felt vindicated that his cookies were the most well-liked, and he was gracious about it.  Then we all parted for a week.  It is Spring break next week so we will not meet again until the 22nd of April.  I am sooooooooooo looking forward to not having to go to school 4 days a week!

We walked home and then walked into Copenhagen and down by the waterway to a very large shopping center where we meandered around for a couple of hours.  We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look.  The shopping center is called Fiskatorvet or  "Fish Market."  I believe it must have once been a site for selling fish, but now there are hotels and large business buildings built right over the water, and this huge mall.

This giant sculpture is made up of hundreds of silver fish.

We walked home and played "Nines" with Elder and Sister Thorne for an hour or so.  It is an easy game to learn and fast moving.  You can visit while you play so it makes for a relaxing time.  They have been here 2 weeks now and are beginning to get the hang of everything.  They are doing great.
They have been doing a lot of walking today too.

Would you like to do something fun and exciting?  Enroll in a Danish class!...of course you'll have to come to Denmark first....but I am positive you would love it here.