Red carpet event, fieldtrip and host family

Sorrounded by palm trees and beautiful beaches, lack of snow and frost makes it difficult to find the Christmas spirit. The extreme Christmas decorations, the lights and the Christmas songs help though. Back home I’m used to be a part of the decorations and preparations, which now makes it unbelievable that it is already the 12^th of December. But that this year will be different is my own choice – and I don’t regret anything, but will enjoy it as much as possible.

Monday was a great day. The premiere of the new movie “New years eve” was held in Hollywood, and since it is filled with stars, the event was pretty big. Three hours before the actual premiere started we placed ourselves on the other side of the red carpet where the actors and actresses arrive in limoes. We saw a lot of celebrities that night, and some of them even up close: Josh Duhamel, Hilary Swank, Lea Michele, Abigal Breslin, Katherine Heigl, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ludachris, Robert Di Niro, Jake T. Austin and of course - Zac Efron and Ashton Kutcher. Ashton Kutcher was even patient enough to take a picture with me! It took a while to get down to earth after that…

Zac Efron - without zoom!

Ashton and I

Friday I went on a field trip with the media/arts team. We went to Technicolor, the company who invented color film, where we saw some of the studios and was introduced to their work. After that we visited the Hollywood Bowl, a modern amphitheatre, which hosts big concerts. Indyra and I snuck into the stage, because how many people can say they’ve been on the Hollywood Bowl stage?

Besides that I’ve been asked to tell about my host family. I have to say that I’m very lucky when it comes to my host family: I live 2 minutes from the school, 2 minutes from Biltmore where a lot of my friends live, they are very friendly and open-minded, and very importantly, they cook good and healthy food. I have to admit that I don’t use much time with my host family, but I still celebrated thanksgiving etc. with them. So they give me the opportunity to spend time with them, but also let me have my own life.

5 things I miss from Denmark:

 1)      Family/friends: Yeah, I know it is kind of easy, but what would the list be worth without them? Love you all.

2)      Leverpostej: Real, Danish sandwich spread – extremely delicious after a night out. The best ever..

3)      DSB (public transportation company) – believe it or not! I will never complain about DSB again after experiencing the public transportation her. You can never count on it and it’s full of types. They are either creepy, smelly or picking their noses – and I have started to wonder which group I belong to?

4)      Rulle: My lovely cat and best friend. I miss him!

5)      Tennis: Being used to playing it most days of the weeks, makes not playing it at all very weird. I constantly have the feeling that something is missing, and I know for sure that I will start right away when I get home. It is just a part of me.

I could go on and on and on. But even though i have things and people at home that i miss, I still don't look forward to coming home. I can't imagine leaving and saying goodbye to so many people here. I think it will take me some time to get used to being in Denmark again - it will take some time to feel home.

Bigger is an understatement - part 2

USA is not just bigger looking at it from a material point of view. The other day my friend Indyra (Belgium) told what she likes the most about USA: “That Americans think big.” And that made me realize how right she is. USA has big houses, big cars and big supermarkets – but they particularly have a population that think big. Nothing is impossible here and every dream is welcome. In Denmark, or maybe even the most of Europe, we are more rational and realistic; we think more safely and some would maybe call it more sensible. But aren’t we also more small-minded? Afraid of taking chances maybe? Yes, it is a generalization, but compared to Americans, we think smaller. Americans aren’t afraid of dreaming, which I admire them for.

Wednesday night we went to Nokia Theater where The Grammy Nominations Concert was held. We arrived in a limo and found our very good seats – but we also realized that we were 45 minutes late. But we just tried to keep our good mood and enjoy the rest of the show. We still saw a few Celebrities such as David Guetta, Kary Perry, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. But the highlight of my night was definitely when I met the Disney Channel star Roshon Fegan – he was really nice and polite and took his time to take a picture with us. The funniest was when Silvio (Mexico) exclaimed: “That’s Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter!”, pointed at a blond girl and ran over to her and asked if he could have a picture with her. When he got closer and the girls confused asked “with me?” he slowly realizes that she was just a girl who looked like Luna Lovegood. Embarrassing.

Saturday was Elise’s birthday, so Alyssa, Rebecca and I woke her up with birthday cake, breakfast and a balloon. We spend the day in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach – both places were very beautiful, but I kind of missed Ryan and Seth. In the night we ate dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, where I probably had my best meal since I got here.

So besides being sick, I am enjoying life to the fullest here in Cali!

In front of the limo

Inside the limo

The birthday cake

Laguna Beach

Newport Beach



Newport Beach

American Football

After a well-earned day of rest on top of the thanksgiving dinner, some other students and I went to USC (University of Southern California) where our very own Bo attended college some years back. USC Trojans were meeting the rivals UCLA Bruins. We arrived 5 hours before the actual football match, and walked down the street where all the fraternities and sororities* were. It was exactly like walking into an American Pie movie – I was just waiting for Steve Talley** to run naked down the street. The houses were amazing (most of them at least) and it was obvious that mom and dad had money here. We walked towards campus where the mood was crazy – the party before the game is called tailgating, and I can’t compare it with anything else. Go home Danish soccer. By a coincidence Tommy and I met a guy and a girl (brother and sister) where the guy had studied in Denmark. When I told him that I was from Ølstykke he yelled: “You’re from Beerpiece???” Because that is actually what Ølstykke means. It was such a surreal and odd experience, since Ølstykke is a very small town, and most Danes don’t even know where it is.

After some hours of partying we walked to the Stadium, bought pulled-pork sandwiches (not as good as my dad’s!) and found our seats in the gigantic stadium – College football is not for fun! I only knew the basic rules, but it was still easy enough to follow. It was, in addition, actually the atmosphere and the people around me that made it such a huge experience. After a victory to USC (of course) we turned our faces towards home. Oh and by the way – Trojans kicked Bruins asses 50-0…

*Fraternities and sororities (from the Latin words frater and soror, meaning "brother" and "sister" respectively) are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In modern usage, the term "Greek letter organization" is often synonymous, in North America, with the terms "fraternity" and "sorority" (wikipedia). I kender dem, Gamma beta kappa phi delta etc.

**Steve Talley is best known for his role as Dwight Stifler in American pie: the naked mile and American Pie: Beta house – and the Pepsi commercials of course.

I got one life, and I'm gonna live it right

A line from James Morrison’s song “One Life.” A line I’ll try to remember.

I’m in the middle of the thanksgiving holiday – A time where we remember what we are thankful for: I’m thankful for my family and friends at home, who support me in everything I do. I’m especially thankful for my parents, who gave me the opportunity to come to LA, and have the time of my life. I’m thankful for all the new people I’ve met here, thankful for what they give me every day. I’m thankful for The Coffee Bean, who always gives me the best Chai tea latte. I’m thankful for health, love and life.

Wednesday was well-spend on peeling potatoes for 170 people – what a sore arm i had the day after. But it was a good deed and we got some fantastic mashed potatoes out of it. After the dinner at the school a lot of the students (including myself) went to Sharkeez in Manhattan beach. Thursday was spend with my hostfamily at the actual day of thanksgiving. A lovely day with great food.

 “Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought.”

I justed finished the book “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett where the quote is from. It’s about the racial segregation in the 60s Mississippi. About the fear and terror the black people lived in, and about life as a housemaid at a white family. A truly fantastic and touching book, which I strongly recommend. And she is so right: “We are just two people. Not that much separates us.” It could be about all of us, and not just the difference between a black and a white woman in Jackson in 1964.