A Slideshow From the CES Christmas Party

Here is a slideshow made by one of the CES Senior missionaries of pictures from the Christmas party.

Long Time No Write (My Bad...)

So it has been a long time. An unacceptably long time. I apologize...

First and foremost: I have been receiving complaints from certain persons who have been unable to view my photos from the slideshows (you know who you are), so instead, I provided the links (top left) for my photo albums on facebook. You don't have to have facebook to see them, just click the links, then click the thumbnails to see larger pictures. Once you are looking at a larger picture you can just keep clicking the picture to move through the album that way. There are over a hundred total that I just put up...

SO! Life is going great. Which is why I haven't had the time/inclination to write about it. Sorry about that. But everything has been absotively, posolutely, fantabulous! Especially since I have made new friends...



Ok, so...update! Where to start. Well, the weather has been kinda crazy. It isn't really all that cold as far as the temperature, but there is a lot of moisture in the air and also a lot of wind, so it feels colder than it is. But the main thing that is weird for me is the fact that there is not much sunlight...only from about 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM. Most days it is completely overcast and raining even when the sun has supposedly come out. By law you always have to drive with your lights on here, even during the day. So...there's not a lot of sunlight. It's a weird feeling. At first I nicknamed Copenhagen Emerald City because of all the green rooftops, but now it reminds me more of the Twilight Zone. Constant twilight...that's what it feels like sometimes. I have been a little sickly too because of it all...it seems the climate in South America suited me just fine, but not so much in Denmark.

Thanksgiving was pretty uneventful...the original plan was to go to the taco shop for Thanksgiving dinner since mexican food is apparently "sort of american," haha...but I was sick that day so instead Morten brought me pumpkin bread (there is no pumpkin pie to be found around here) and we watched a Harry Potter movie. Not exactly a typical American Thanksgiving, but still a good one.

Christmas in Denmark seems to be an even bigger deal than in the States! It's fun to learn about all the traditions they have here connected with Christmas. For instance, the children get individual little presents for each day of December up until Christmas, which they receive at breakfast time each morning. Advent calendars are very popular (where you open a little door for each day until christmas, with chocolate or a little picture behind it); also advent candles (the days are numbered down the candle and you burn the candle that much each day). People make their own christmas sweets here with big rolls of marzipan, chocolate, and nougat that you can buy at any grocery store. MMMMMM marzipan.....there are also christmas lights and decorations up in the streets pretty much everywhere, making bus rides lots of fun.

So the weather hasn't exactly been conducive to a lot of sightseeing or traveling. Not too much to tell on that subject I'm afraid. But a few weeks ago I did get a chance to have a day of sightseeing around town, with a native Dane for my own personal tour guide! We went to the Round Tower which was built a long time ago for stargazing and offers great views of the city at the top. Also the little mermaid statue, the Queen's palace, and NyHavn which is the picturesque spot you see a million pictures of if you goodle Copenhagen (see the first picture of this post, above).

I miss you guys a lot! I miss the sunlight at home. But life here has been really good! More later...