One Year Later

Lookit my magic growing hair!

Well hello there blog, which I have not looked at nor thought about for over a year now. How have you been? Oh, well that's none too exciting. How have I been? Well, That's a story!

The class

After irresponsibly starting this blog, I stayed my time in Denmark enjoying the company of my host family, Kristine, and my classmates. My stay ended on the exciting Studenterkorsel where newly graduated students drive around town visiting parents that supply them with food and drink for a whole day. My entire class (minus one of us that was organizing a music festival, which was also great fun) as shown on the left. I am holding the most delicious sandwich ever in this photo, although I cannot remember what was in it for the life of me. I only remember eating 4 of them during our 15 minute visit.

After returning back to the states I promptly moved out of my parents house and into a shared house with 3 friends from College. Shortly there after I got my current Job at Sears selling Jewelry. I just passed my year mark of employment this past August 1st. I moved out of the house before school started due to house politics and moved back into my parents house, taking over the empty laundry room. This was the best room I've ever had. It was just large enough for my twin bed and all of my things fit in the shelves that took over one wall. The other wall was full of photos and I painted the walls yellow to maximize light.

I went back to school for two semesters balancing school work with misguided love affairs and house parties at my old residence. A lot of things seemed to matter more than they really did, a few things mattered more than I understood. I cried a lot, and made friends. I struggled and excelled all at the same time.

School ended and summer started, I tried to find another job, but things happen all the time. I found myself to become much more social and more able to make things happen. I moved out again, for good this time (or so I say). My old room was once again transformed into a laundry room. Now I'm a resident of "Big White," a rather large white house close to Old Town with 7 other people. I have a closet and a big metal desk with way too many things on it all the time. I have two little companions, Brunhilde (Bruni) the mouse and Roosevelt (Roosi) the fish. I work more hours and am generally more successful with my job. I still can't really cook. I drink more Tea.

Diamond Lake's new postcard girl

I took a week long trip to Diamond and Crater lakes in Oregon with my extended family. Met my new adopted cousin that looks a shit ton like me when I was younger. We camped out at Diamond lake where the mosquitos were abundant and the lake was full of pumas neat! We also square danced and cycled around the lake. I spent most of my time sketching and melting from the heat. At Crater Lake we stayed in the Oh la la lodge where everything was expensive and everyone was dressed to climb mount everest. The lake was beautiful and blue. Blue has a whole new meaning for me now. The  highlight of my trip, hands down, was jumping into the lake from 15 feet. It was probably one of the best five seconds of my life. My grandmother didn't think I would jump and thought I was just posing for a photo.

Fuck yeah the ocean!

I know what's inside now!

As a Christmas in July surprise my dear friend Santa, whom I met while on exchange in Denmark, visited me in my own little town! A fun fact, she was also the first friend I made while on exchange. We visited the Rewoods and toured the coast during her short but very very sweet stay. She also enjoyed her first american pizza, potato chips, redwoods, gondole tour, costal

fog, and bus ride.

 School has started again and I am ready to take it head on. I'm already ahead for readings in week 1 thanks to classes being cancelled due to power outages wednesday. I only go to campus 2 days a week and work. I have three classes but I will probably add a fourth online class. Am I going to keep this up? Probably not, but hey, this is better than nothing right? I'll leave you with a quick list of things I like right now.

Elena blowing out!

Things: Trampolines, "Welcome to Nightvale"
Music: Company of Thieves, Maximo Park
Shows: Community, Downton Abbey, Attack on Titan, Free!
Food: Dinosaur nuggets, Peanut noodles, Arizona Tea
People: Malcolm, Kristine, Olivia

Eve is ready for Garden of Readin' Bingo!

Eve is ready for Garden of Readin' Bingo!: [object Object]
This is my volunteer work.
Look at my life, look at my life decisions.
I'm a charity GoGo dancer for the Eureka Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

I have a blog, because I can.

I HAVE A BLOG NOW
This is a picture of me being attractive

It is rainy and cold outside and I rode home from the library without a rain jacket so I could sit on the computer and drink Strawberry tea with sugar and milk. I am currently living in Silkeborg Denmark, a medium sized city in north eastern Jutland where I spent 11 months last year. I went to school, lived with a family, made friends, and had crazy adventures. I returned home to the U.S last June and spent the last year going to a junior college studying GE subjects because I don't know what to do with my life. I have been back in Silkeborg for about 4 weeks now, and will be travelling back to California the 4th of July (flight tickets are cheapest on Wednesdays, this is not symbolic).

Why did I decide to start a blog over halfway through my adventure? Because I can. Hahahaha. No really, because my friend Kristine (here to the right dressed as "Hard Banana" picture taken by the super lovely Emma) has been on my case all year to start a blog so she could keep up with adventures, but now that we actually get face to face time, her constant pleas make more of an impact, and more sense. I have friends all over, and as strange as it seems to me, what I do is of interest of them. 

Audience: SO ELENA, WATER YOU DOING?

Me: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

This is an overstatement. I tend to spent a lot of time at the library, reading way too many graphic novels (in Danish because I am so good at it) and some books, cycling around, seeing random performances, and party crashing because no one calls me when things happen. Right now, 99% of my friends are on their "study vacation" where they have an exam or two a week that they have to study for, and they take their studying seriously. The exams here make up most of their final grade and are extremely intense. This means that I self entertain 99% of the time.

A: WHY DID YOU GO IF YOU ALL YOU'RE FRIENDS ARE BUSY?

M: BECAUSE I AM WRITING A BOOK

This is actually true. I came with the hope of having a "second taste" of Denmark, giving me a more rounded, full idea of the country, of my town, and giving me a chance to write about cultural adjustment and shock. I felt that writing about my year of as an exchange student was difficult because of the charged feelings I had for the country. I wanted to come back,sort out my memories, fact check, and just let all the feelings stew and mature before I wrote them down. I stand by my decision to return, despite not doing a whole hell of a lot.

So as of today, the sixteenth day of June, of the year two thousand and twelve I announce this blog open. Expect life updates, pictures of varying quality, word vomit, bits and pieces from my book in progress, and whatever else, because I DO WHAT I WANT.