Godaften,

In 2 days time I am leaving for Denmark, and goodness me I can not wait! The adrenaline is high and nerves have not yet kicked in, which provides for the perfect excitement leading up to my exchange.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I can be unorganised. The most recent question I have been asked is, have you packed yet? No I have not and I understand I have only a short time until I leave. I have one suitcase and I know it will not be packed until the day before. At least it shouldn’t be over the weight limit!

This last week before I leave has been very busy with last minute preparations. Monday afternoon was full of cooking and baking, with Josh (who is going to Finland) and I practicing Australian recipes to cook on exchange. With the help of Josh’s lovely mother Jen, who had been a previous exchange student in Denmark, we made 5 Australian dishes; chicken parmigiana, Ned Kelly pie, meat pie, lamingtons and damper. Thank you to Jen for helping us on along the way, we won’t have been able to make the delicious meal without her.

I have also Skyped my first host family in order for us to recognise each other at the airport and to ‘meet’ each other before I arrive. My host father Jan, host mother Lene, host sister Louise and host boyfriend Daniel are very welcoming towards me and I look forward to living with them while I learn about Denmark and get through my first 4 months of exchange. They have organised for me to meet with the other two host families I will be staying with and my counsellor on the afternoon of the day I arrive, and I am very grateful for this.

My room is messy, my Danish is forfærdelig and my luggage pile is growing, but none that matters because I am ready for the life that is to come (or at least I think I am).

Venlig helson,

Mikaela