The Beginning of the End

  It's almost 1 in the morning as I sit in my bed listening to christmas music, and I know I should go to bed since I plan on getting up early, but I can't seem to sleep much this week. Maybe it's the dawning realization that this really is my last week- in less than 72 hours, I will be back home. And while I'm undoubtedly so excited to see my family, dogs, boyfriend and friends, Copenhagen (especially Birkerød with my fantastic host family) has become home as well. And it's always hard to leave home.
  With three finals to go in the next two days, last-minute packing wasn't really an option. My room, therefore, looks rather desolate now- mostly packed suitcases in one corner, a pile of trash I seemed to find more of with every sweep of the room, and two empty walls that less than 4 months ago I covered with pictures, postcards, and maps. But with all that, this has still managed to be an incredible past couple days, and I know the next two will be just as memorable. Sadly, pictures will not be appearing anymore until I get home, because my camera cord seems to be in the abyss of one of my bags.
  Monday was a very relaxing day, which was just what I needed to recover from the Shakira concert. It turns out my voice did too, as my friend Aaron dubbed me "Squeaky," saying I sounded like a slightly punctured squeak toy. Even my host family (far particularly) enjoyed making fun of my inability to make recognizably human sounds for most of the past 3 days. Aaron and I did some christmas shopping around Copenhagen, and then met up with our friend Taylor to go ice skating on an outdoor rink in Frederiksberg Have, what used to be the Danish King's summer palace and gardens. Aaron's been skating since he was 3 years old, so he really enjoyed showing off his moves to Taylor and I, who could barely move. I'll admit I was by far the worst of the bunch, to the point where 10 year old danish boys were using me as a traffic cone. I only fell twice (which my host dad was very impressed by)! When I got home I found that my host family had prepared yet another special treat- ris a la mande, a traditional christmas dish (yet another rice pudding, but with chopped almonds this time!). It's normally eaten the day before Christmas Eve, and one whole almond is mixed into the pudding. Whoever gets the almond wins a little prize- and I was the lucky one who got it! (more chocolate!)
  Tuesday was slightly more eventful, although it also began with shopping for christmas presents. Luckily, I'm done now (because I'm honestly not sure my bags can hold everything). Taylor & I went back to her house in the afternoon and studied for a little bit, before making pancakes (real american ones!) for her host family for dinner. Turns out they're delicious with cinnamon sugar... you really do learn something new every day! After dinner we went back into the city to meet our friend Vicki at the Royal Theater Old Stage, a beautiful building from around 1880 on Kongens Nytorv, one of the most iconic and central squares of Copenhagen. We'd never been in the theater before so it was amazing to see it! We were there to see the ballet Tornerose (Sleeping Beauty). As we were waiting for the ballet to start, everybody in the audience stood up. This caused great confusion among the 3 of us until we looked across the audience and saw Denmark's Queen Margrethe II and her husband Prince Henrik!!! The ballet was great but I have to admit I spent almost as much time watching the Queen- I can now say I saw her before leaving Denmark!
  After the ballet, we were pretty hungry and overdosed on sugar, so we went to a nearby pølse stand and got the ultimate danish hot dog- wrapped in bacon, topped with mustard, ketchup, remoulade, pickles, onions, and fried onions. Sounds like a heart attack? Maybe, but god is it worth it. Delicious. Especially when washed down with a Carlsberg- it's the perfect Danish fast food.
  Today I spent most of my morning studying, before going with Taylor and Ashley to the Carlsberg Brewery (which Ashley and I hadn't been to yet). It was really cool to walk around the brewery, which they've turned into a really cute museum (and we got to see the Carlsberg horses!). We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying our complementary beers in the spacious Jacobsen bar, before heading home. I met my host family at Lyngby and went with them to my mor's sister's house, where we had a birthday party for her granddaughter (also named Sarah!) who was turning one year old. We had a delicious dinner there and spent the evening talking and admiring all the presents Sarah got. We got home in time to have a hyggeligt hour or so with tea and candles before my host family headed to bed and I got to packing. A few hours later, I feel pretty proud of what I've accomplished. If only I knew everything would fit...