Natl on Tour

  The comeback of a normal life March definitely was the month of business and starting up again. Suddenly, at the beginning of the month, everything got full of life again, which was nice, but sometimes also extremely overwhelming. I just wasn't used to being that busy anymore and the change was a bit hard, to be honest. Denmark slowly opens up again from Lockdown.  It all started with the re-opening of Genbrugskontakten. I got to spend the whole opening-week there, which was a special experience. On the first day, there were unbelievably many people coming by and we sold for a record amount. There was always something to do and it was SO great to see the shop full of customers again. As all the other stores opened up also, I had to run some errands and just look around in the second hand shops, of course.  I even had the chance to taste-test my co-workers baking skills Next to the shops, we also started again with scout meetings. It feels good to be back. The kids are a...

  Learning and growth - that's the motto I live by here in Denmark. One of my tasks lately was to create a Facebook-Update-video for Kontakt mellem Mennesker's Facebook page. That's exactly what I did! For some unknown reasons I unfortunately cannot upload the video here. But I will put the script for my video (which is a little different from the spoken one) here and try to add the link to the Facebookpost. link to the FB post :) in Danish Hej, my name is Natalie and I am 18 years old. I am from Austria, but I am now living in Ollerup with a host family and I am working voluntarily at Frivilligcenter Svendborg.  But you know that jazz already. I mean, I have been here since September. What a crazy and short time it has been, filled with new experiences. My mentor Gry asked me to make a video as my next update. So I found myself thinking about what I want to say and how on earth I should do that. And then I thought: why not just talk? A question people ask me really often i...

  Mountain high, valley low The month of February was short, but pretty intense. Not only in nice, lovely ways, but sometimes also in sad, scary ways. But hey, that's life and that's what we all go through. First and foremost - Denmark was in a Lockdown in February, still. Which means that no stores are opened, no school and such. So, I worked from home for the office, where I had some administrative tasks, like correcting things on one of our websites. I really got used to me being very flexible in when I do what, so I'm curious how it will be back at the office, where I have fixer working hours.  Nevertheless, I got to help at the second hand shop, now thursdays and fridays, as there was still a lot to do. I cleaned up, sorted out and put prices on stuff. Even though it was a little quiet and chill without the customers, I realised that it really does me well to be there and help there more physically.  part of my tasks - taking pictures and putting them on Facebook Act...

  Two words that don't work well together Of course I had to create a post dedicated to the little thing that controls all of our lives right now.  It's a sure thing that my volunteering year here in Denmark didn't exactly take the turn I expected and wanted - I can't go to events, can't meet other volunteers, see the country and can't even work is my usual working place right now. But hey, I always tell myself at least I'm still in Denmark and not stuck in Austria.  And yes, it can get lonely at times. There is not much to do except from working, walking, reading and seeing Kristyna from time to time. It can be hard at times, as it feels like time is running out and I cannot do all of the things I really want to do. It also can be sad at times, as there are so many people and places here in Denmark I want to visit before we part again in June/July. Sometimes it even feels like there is absolutely nothing positive about the situation we are in right now. But...

New year, new chances As written in my previous post, I have spent some time in Austria. In the end, I had some fun days, but was quite happy to return to Denmark. My mother and my grandmother dropped me off at the airport and I wanted to get on my flight to Amsterdam, in order to take another plane to Copenhagen. Guess what - they changed their restrictions and I wan't able to board without a negative PCR-test, which I didn't have. Great! I took a test for 120€ (in Denmark it's for free) and we drove to the airport again 2 days later. This time it worked and I finally was on my 12-hour-trip to Ollerup. my mother, my grandmother and me at our first trip to the airport Vincent, our dog, was extremely happy to see me, as Kristyna moved to another family and he missed his scratchies from us two. Vincent enjoying the foggy view Surprisingly it wasn't weird coming back to my 'host-house' at all. I was greeted warmly again and nothing seemed to change. It was like I n...

Christmas - do I have to say more? December was a wild month. There were Ups and Downs, which just made me learn more about myself and the way I handle different situations. But still, altogether I have had a very nice Chrismtastime and had it cosy. Christmastime in Svendborg The first thing I noticed in December was the fact that it got very dark. I drove to work or school in darkness and came home in darkness. There were days when I didn't even see the sun. Of course, it was tricky in the beginning, as I wasn't used to so much darkness, but in the end, I could live with it and knew exactly how to cheer me up. That feeling of being overwhelmed by the darkness stuck with me for some time. It also kind of initiated a feeling of homesickness, which was a little had to get over this time, but, as Axl Rose used to sing: Nothing lasts forever, even no November Rain. (this one should've came last month, huh) my mornings in Svendborg Even though we were a little restricted at work...

Mayday, it starts to get dark On the first day at school in November our teacher at school showed us a video of a man. He said that the year has actually 16 months, and that 4 of these are November, as it's getting dark and cold. But I have to admit, this month went by quite fast, even though some days seemed to last forever. It's actually going great with my Danish classes. I caught up very quickly and I can already understand a lot of things and have Smalltalk with people. My co-workers and my host family started to talk more to me in Danish and I'm perfectly fine with it. the language school in the middle of Svendborg - LaerDansk In addition to that, I started talking Danish to the kids at the scouts. It feels good to finally be able to communicate with them and they appreciate it, too. We made our own paper and Christmas cards, which was a lot of fun. the lovely Christmas cards we made As I have Danish classes until 2 and go to work afterwards, I am very tired at times....