The Beginning of the End? (4)

Leaving. It's starting to become real, although, I still don't think it will really start to hit me until I'm all packed up, until I have to say goodbye to the Grejsens, until I am on the airplane, and finally, until I've been in the United States for a few weeks. The semester has gone by so quickly, and then, all of a sudden, it's just over one day. It doesn't seem right that one day it's just normal life in Denmark, and then the next, it's time to say bye and get back to the US. Tuesday morning I'll be taking an exam. Wednesday morning I'll be checking in for my flight. I still can't really wrap my head around it.

table set, so hyggeligt :)

But today was a good day. A very good day. Filled with lots of wonderful, crazy extended host family, delicious food, and good company all around- very hyggeligt. We headed to my host mom's parent's house (so, technically, my host-mormor and host-morfar) in Ballerup around 2:30- (nearly) the whole Pless family (Søs's maiden name) was getting together to celebrate Jørgen, Søs's brother's birthday, and homecoming. He just got to Denmark to visit for about a month and a half; he actually lives in Las Vegas. I was warned by people that he would be "crazy", and I think he fit the bill, but in the best possible interpretation of the word.

Søs and her brothers

Søs and her sisters

Anyways, it was a full house, with almost all of the Pless family and company in attendance. Søs is one of five children, so you can imagine that there were a lot of us. Going generationally, first there were Søs's parents. Then there was Søs and Henrik, her brother David and his wife Vibeka, her sister Lulle and her husband Åge, her brother Jørgen, and her sister Karin. Then, all of the cousins- Thomas, David, and Rebekka with Karin; Andreas and Jonas with David/Vibeka; Gideon and his wonderful fiance, Mette, and Daniel with Lulle/Å; and Pernille and Mads with Søs/Henrik. And of course there was me, as well as the dogs- Milo, Bella, and Mela/Mila/something. Haha. I want to remember everyone; I hope I did. Sorry to bore you with a paragraph of names.

rød grød med fløde!

laughter is the best medicine :)

checkers

It was a fantastic day. I love that I can be even a little part of such a big, wonderful family. The day was full of lagkage (layer cake), other cakes, presents, beer, wine, walks, dogs, rain, sun, singing grace, tacos, sitting, talking, ice cream, crepes, RØD GRØD MED FLØDE (say that five times fast!), laughter, checkers, pictures, burning hair (that would be mine. oops! psa: be aware of any candles on the ledge behind you, and do not sit too close to said candle), Danish, English, hugs, and goodbyes. It lasted for many, many hours- we ended up leaving a little after 10pm, but of course, the sun stays out so long, it didn't feel that late. When we got home, I looked at old pictures with Søs from her and Henrik's wedding and honeymoon, with the European singing contest in the background (which the Danes rocked, but didn't win). A great end to a great day :)

i'll miss this :(

with Bella, Kristina's "lille hund"

Not to be a downer, but, it was sad saying "farvel" to everyone, even though I've known everyone for 4 months or less (in Jørgen's case, a day), and I've only seen them sporadically, at church or family gatherings/dinners of some sort. I feel so lucky to have been able to be part of such a big, crazy, loving Danish family, and to have experienced that side of life. I felt so welcomed into all of the family gatherings, and those memories will be some of my fondest from the semester, even years down the road. So it was strange to say goodbye, not knowing when/if I will ever see them again. Of course, Skype, Facebook, and the internet provide easy ways to keep in touch, and I will (of course) look at pictures from Gideon and Mette's wedding, and other family events. But I'll definitely miss the craziness and excitement that is inevitable when their family comes together. Saying these goodbyes was like a tiny preview of what is to come- it's only the beginning of saying goodbye and leaving.

I'm not looking forward to packing. I'm not looking forward to seeing my room the way it looked when I first got here- empty. I'm not looking forward to the weather these next few days, which doesn't look promising as of now. I'm not looking forward to my last time on the bus and train. I'm really, really, really not looking forward to saying goodbye to my host family. I know it will be good to be home, and I can't wait to see my friends. But right now, knowing that I will soon be leaving a country and a family that have begun to feel like home, without knowing when I will come back, dominates my thinking. It will be sad to leave. I will be sad to leave. Sorry to be so depressing.