Danielle's May Sem Blog: Beach & Sand dunes! (Day 12)

Today was an amazing day! Mainly because it was so sunny outside and warm, and today was really the first time we had warm weather on the whole trip. Today we also got to sleep in which was also really nice. When we offically started our day, we met Ib and Tovain to head out to check out the coastside. When we were driving the one thing that was constantly said was that Denmark looked so much like home, like Minnesota. And it really did, everywhere there were fields, and farms, and trees and prairies. I felt as if I was driving up north in Minnesota. However, there was one big thing that distincted Minnesota from Denmark and that was the Windmill's that Denmark has everywhere. Not even kidding! Denmark is known for producing the most wind power through their windmills. On the way to the beach we also stopped at some historical places in Denmark that had historical windmill's that were up during WWII. When we finally reached the beach, I was instantly loving everything! Before we hiked down to the beach Ib had showed us what had been the original village that overlooked the sea. It was crazy, because there was only one house left, all of the other houses that were there had fallen down, because of the erosion. It was crazy because at the center of this old "village" there was a church and a graveyard. And on the cliff overlooking the sea there was a gravestone halfway over the edge and the other hald still in the ground. Because of the erosion, things are starting to fall down, even the road. We walked to the end of the road, and it was gone because it had eroded. It was crazy! But when we finally reached the beach I instantly took off my shoes and ran in the sand. My friend Kristin and I also ran and skipped and even did cartwheels!

After we enjoyed our time at the beach, Ib took us to the Sanddunes. Yes I said sanddunes, like Eygpt! It was crazy to think that Denmark had sanddunes. We hiked out to the dunes, and then climbed. It was so tiring, I felt like I was at track practice again doing stairs! The sand was so deep too! But when we reached the top we could see the sea in one direction and the farmlands in the other. At the top of the dunes, there was a lighthouse with reminicints of other buildings materials around it. Ib had described that over the las couple hundred years the wind has just blown all of this sand up onto the side creating a sanddune. And it was huge, and super high up. He had also mentioned that the other buildings that were up at the top had to be torn down because they were just getting ruined by the sand. He also said that the officals of Denmark tried to move the sand at some points, but that stopped because they realized there would be more and more after so long. Ib also gave us a geology lesson about some of the rocks at the top of the sanddune. He said that in Denmark it is very common to find Amber all over. He also mentioned that this one kind of sedimentary rock was from Oslo, Norway and the reason that it had come to Denmark was because of the Ice age. He mentioned that this certian rock is known to be from the Oslo coast region, and that all over Denmark you can find this rock.

After our time at the beach we went into this cute little village that had tons of shops and galleries. Ib told us it was were a lot of tourists go.
After that we met Jorgen a prinicple in Denmark who has given school visits to our group leader in previous may sems. However this time he was unable to, so we had dinner with him and his wife, along with Ib and his "extended family." (aka Jasper, Mia, Marlena, and Tovian) The dinner was also a traditional Danish meal, which consisted of potatoes, sauce and beef! It was so delcious! At dinner we asked lots of questions about education and teaching directed to Jorgen and Ib, who were previous teachers. I also told Ib and Jorgen about the Concordia Language Villages! (!!!Ib and Jorgen if you are reading this here is the website and you should look into it, CLV is always looking for counselors from the homeland of Denmark, and it is an amazing oppertunity! http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/newsite/ and here is the Danish site http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/newsite/Languages/danish1.php )

Overall today was amazing! and I am so thankful to my group leader (Karla) and her family connections. I told Ib that he was spoiling us in our first couple days in Denmark! I am so thankful for everything that Ib, Jasper, Mia, Marlena, and Tovian have done for us!
Snipp Snapp Snute!