Michael

Michael is my host dad and he is absolutely amazing. My friends hear me talk about him the most because he speaks English fluently, so we engage in a lot of deep conversations. We talk about Obama (he absolutely loves Obama; he has two t-shirts of him, one with his face plastered on it, the other one that says "I heart Obama" just like the I heart NY t-shirts). We also engage in conversations about Danish culture (comparing and contrasting it to America, specifically on the topic of food and dining out. Being a New Yorker, I'd rather go to a good restaurant for dinner than cook it myself, but in Denmark its the other way around). We also talk about Danish politics. I really think I got put with the perfect family. We both love to eat ( I must've wrote that in my letter), and Michael and Christina make great meals. Last Saturday, their close friends came over for dinner, and Kathrine and I helped Michael make the meal. And what did we make? We made Thai food. From scratch. And it it was absolutely delicious!! I'm telling you, it tasted like what you would order in a Thai restaurant. And then on Sunday, Michael made me bagels from scratch since he knows I love them because they are a huge part of my Saturday morning routine when I'm in the city. Then later in the afternoon Christina made homemade cinnamon rolls! I'm seriously going to gain a good 30 pounds from all the food! But Christina says that that won't happen because I'll just bike everywhere. Oh, and right now, Michael is making HOMEMADE ICE CREAM! Clearly they know the way to my heart is through food.

I titled this post Michael, because I've really formed a close relationship with him. Don't get me wrong, I love my host mom and host siblings, but since Michael iis fluent in English, I end up talking to him the most. He's great. He took me to school my first two days during orientation so that I could learn the train system and wouldn't get lost, and when he's working from home or leaves to go to work after I do for school, he'll drive me to the train station. Today he was working from home, and since I had to leave really early to go to my practicum in Albertslund, he drove me to the station. He also said that since it's far (its 45 mins from our house, but is kind of a pain to get to because I either take a train and a bus and then walk, or take two trains and a bus) he might be able to drive me to my practicum in the future. So he is extremely nice and so sweet! I love the in-depth conversations that we have and I really value his opinion and perspective. He offers so much insight into Danish society--politics, culture, racism and immigration issues--that I have learned so much in such a short amount of time. At home it's just me and my mom, which I absolutely love and wouldn't change that for the world, but it's really nice to have a "dad" for the next 4 months of my life. I really cherish the relationship that we are building, and I know its one that I will carry with me for a lifetime.