My plane ride to France for my "proto-exchange" with Maxime, my family's exchange student. (2015)
My plane ride to Denmark. (2017. Can you tell which Callum is more excited?)
My first ever official shave, when I finally deemed my scraggle long enough to peel off. (2014ish)
My first ever OFFICIAL shave in Denmark! I already miss my beard, he'll grow back stronger apparently, though I'm still not entirely convinced, Mom! (Today.)
And with that I bid you hello, cherished readers.
A quartet of photos which highlight at the very least, the physical changes I've gone through as my journey has progressed.
So it's Christmas! Or very nearly Christmas, which is good enough to be Christmas in Denmark. What a month this December has been! I've been to Tivoli, the Eksperimentarium, I've visited Frederiksborg Castle (for the second time), we visited a Julemarked (Christmas Market), and I've baked more than I have in my whole LIFE!!! I baked Nanaimo Bars, and helped out with some Marzipan/Chocolate Balls of goodness. And no, I haven't baked very much at all, it's true.
There's also been practically all of November and some of October that I neglected to blog about but fear not, I'll try to highlight some of what happened then as well.
Let us begin. And I'm going to try a new strategy, of breaking this up into specific posts about specific things, and see if that fits better. To start with, I went for a trip with Lani's (my first host mom) friend Linea and her son Toke to Møns Klint (Møn's Cliff) which needless to say, was pretty amazing. This trip took place way back on October 15th! There may not be a ton of elevation in Denmark, but where there is... Well, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, with some colour commentary by me of course.
My first view of the cliff. Eye-poppingly huge in the land of fields & gently rolling hills.
A fuller view of the cliff from the south. We visited on a foggy day, which gave the cliff a totally special atmosphere.
The cliff consists of mostly chalk, and a few other minerals, but there's also a surprising amount of life clinging to the nooks and crannies at the base of the rock formation.
As stated above, while most of the cliff is chalk, there is a menagerie of little curiosities to explore. I hope I get the chance to visit again because there is a plethora of things to do and see at Møns Klint.
Somewhat infamously, a devastating form of erosion occurs at Møns Klint due to the nature of chalk's reaction to large amounts of moisture. Every so often, truly vast and hulking shelves of chalk will abruptly slough off into the sea. Like a glacier. There have been tragedies before due to unforeseen shelf collapses, so experts monitor the cliff regularly to track when it's most dangerous to be walking at the base of the cliff. The above photo was taken from within a large crevasse which I'm fairly certain was made by one such shelf collapse.
Candid selfie with Toke. I'd like to thank him and his mom Linea once again here on my blog for their generosity, kindness, and willingness to put up with a goof (especially shaggy as you can see here!) like me. They're both wonderful people!
A waterfall grotto flowing from a little stream down Møns Klint, whose significance is great. The moisture seeps into the chalk and BEGINS THE PROCESS OF EROOOOOOSION!!!
This is literally just a cool tree. :) Roots exposed and all.
Alright, that was the changes I've gone through since before my exchange started and now, and also my trip to Møns Klint. See you in the next post!
-Callum
