#4 2 weeks with wonderful experiences

The last 2 weeks have been, something special for me. My birthday, which I celebrated with Ebru, was one of the special even which was held. It was very amazing, because the whole class and my host brothers were invited. It was my 18 years old birthday, and therefore it had been a very special day for me. First of all we went to the Red Robin for dinner, where I get all my presents from everybody. I really loved the presents. I got a Men’s health magazine and a toy, and a birthday card, which was filled up, with sweet words. I really thank everybody for those useful presents. Anyway, after eating the boys and me went for bowling. Bowling was actually very funny and I found it very great. As I already had told, this day was very special. What I am waiting for is just the car license and a lot of presents from the family when come home, and may be I will make birthday party when I come home.

One of the other events, which were outstanding, was the Thanksgiving Day. It was very nice to meet up with your host mom’s family and eat a lot of food. The food was very good. We actually celebrate our Thanksgiving Day at my Host mom’s sister house. A very big house, they had a Piano and guitar, and at the moment my host brother’s and me saw the piano we just start playing. So one of Stevanus (host brother) rocked on the guitar and while he was playing I played something on the piano the other host brother Yosef just start singing. Actually, we use to call Yosef Asian Bieber, because he really loved Justin Bieber. My third host brother Louis could play a lot of songs on the piano. He was outstanding. There were one time where he played a classical Japanese song, I was listening and my mouth was just open for a while. It was so good. He really has talent.

Anyway, I also play a Tamil song composed by A.R.Rahman who properly is one the most talent composer in India. The main reason for why I love him is because he doesn’t start copying other western songs. Usually many Tamil composers do that, which very sad to hear about actually. I played the song named New York Nagaram, which me New York city, and the songs is sung by himself and it’s about a person who miss his wife while he is in New York. I love the chords, which is used in this song. As I know many pop songs have that kind of chord progression. For instant do “written in the stars” and “man in the mirror” have the same chord progression as New York Nagaram.

After playing, we were everybody gathered at the dinner table, for the most important thing of the day. Food! As I already had told the food was very tasty and there were different kind of meals. After eating, I played a game call anomia with Bob, who is my host mom’s sister’s wife, Bob’s brother, Bob’s brother’s mother-in-law and Louis. It was actually a very funny game, and I was almost the winner of the game. The game was based on that you have to picked up a card with a symbol for instant a circle and on the card there had been written a word like, newspaper, so if one of the other guys take a card with your symbol and the card says robot. Then you have to name a robot and the other guy has to name a newspaper, you have to be very quick. So the quickest one will get the opponents card. It was pretty hard for me, because there were some words, which I didn’t know what meant, and there were also some words, which only Americans know.

#3 Any American boy can be a basketball star if he grows up, up, up

Wednesday, Nevethan and Me just asked some of the guys whether they wanted to play basketball with us outside on Thursday. Every Thursday, we get early free from school, and the weather was too good for a Basketball game outside. Usually, I love to play basketball, and had played with Nevethan and some other guys in Denmark for many years. It all began when; I thought soccer was a little bit boring, while I had played since I was 5 years old. At that time I was pretty sure, that I need a change in sports, so therefore I wanted to learn other sports so that I could play a variety of sports. I remember I always after school, learned many drills and tricks and even how to shoot. In this case I have to thank Youtube a lot. I really love Michael Jordan, he was a fantastic basketball player and will always be respected as one of the best basketball player who ever had played. As we started to play Basketball I could feel that I wasn’t in a good condition, and sometimes I could not run so fast because of my ankle. At first I was in team with Mogens, Erik, Kure and we played against Morten, Nevethan and Halling, and by the way we had our own photographer Mr. Oliver. We played to the scored turn 20, after that we took a little break and made new teams up. This time I was in team with Erik and Nevethan and we played against Mogens, Halling, Morten and Kure. It was pretty hard to play for me. I always tried to shoot from the 3-point line, which was very difficult in some ways.

Trying from 3 point line.

Me in action

Anyway at the moment we played Basketball I was feeling like an American, to play basketball in the country which originally create the sport is something special, and I hope we will play basketball for sometimes while we are here. On the other hand we only have some couple of weeks, the times is really flying from us. So, It is like we have to get to know and experience many things now, before we don’t have the chance. It’s like now or never! I think everything in life is actually like that. I know one Tamil proverb, which my dad usually tells me.

”Make hay while the sun shines.”

 At any rate, every second here in America is just beginning to be more inspirational. I really have achieved a lot by just being here for almost 2 months. This is really something I am so happy about, and even proud of. 

I am not teaching you anything. I just help you to explore yourself.

For two days ago we just have Halloween night, and it was a wonderful and unforgettable night, where every single one was dressed and asked “trick and Treat”. At that night I was staying at Oliver’s house, and we experienced a very nice and delightful Halloween at that night. 

At 7 Pm, we were ready to do our homework, but at the same time we were also ready to open the door and handle every time those creative clothed people came and knocked and asked for knock and treat. Oliver and me were glad to give these candies out to the kids, and we sometimes trick them.  One of those trick was when there were 4 people standing outside and as usual I asked what they were, and 2 of the 4 people just said that they were a nerd, and then I just said that they wouldn’t get any candy if they didn’t answered for a question, which I just want to asked them. At the moment, they were very sad, but also almost very nervous about the question, but I just asked what the square root of 4 was, and one of the nerd raised her arm up to the sky and said the right answered which were 2. Suddenly, began everyone to laugh and requested for a question more. So I just asked a girl who was dressed like a witch, how many candies she had in her bag, and she were showing me the bag, and said, “ well I don’t actually now”, and then I just answered “ ooh…what shame, then you will not be able to get a candy from me”,  at that moment  she was very upset and said” no no no… I want candy!” and I replied “ okay, since you don’t know how many candies you have would you mind if I could take your bag and count and may be give to you after a couple of minutes?” at that second I was finished with my replication she was, screaming and said “ NO way! I know what you are trying to do!”. Actually, she was very intelligent. For every time they asked for candy a funny incident was held. And some of them were dressed like something we didn’t actually knew about, for instant some of them made combination like that they were a “pirate-princess”. Okay hold on! What is a pirate-princess?

After handling all these kids, we were almost very tired, but still we had a little energy to watch a movie, a movie that will only be able to see on Halloween. “ The nightmare before Christmas” a movie about each holidays, and about they was the celebrate them. After watching this movie I always sing the songs from the movie. 

“Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange? ”

” Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween ”

I really loved the chorus of this song, which goes like:

” This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Halloween! Halloween! ”

The next day was for me a day were I was starting to take my first step of my own aim. As a bet you, I went to the Hip-hop club at Edmonds Community.

College. I was there with Ebru, Janu, Meliha and Emilie.  My first attempt on this was, “WOW!” those people who were dancing with me were just very good at dancing, and I was not even to their standard, but what I realise, was that if I practised hard, I will may be come to their standard, and from their it will be more easier for me.

The next attempt was when I saw, the dance master whose name was Albee. He was actually a very nice human being and a very talented dancer, and that he was teaching me to dance, was really something I should be proud of.

I was not only focusing on what dance steps he taught me, but also on what he said, I remember one thing he said, which almost taught me how a dance master must teach his students:

“ I am not teaching you anything. I just help you to explore yourself “

Anyways, after the dance was finished I just done some math for fun, and after for relaxing, I start dancing the steps we just learned. Some of the dance steps were not so easy to remember.

 Today, I am ready to do some Bruce Lee workouts with Oliver at the gym. Genuinely, it is very hard, but we don’t want to give up so easily. One thing there will be happened when you start give up, is that you will miss a little bit self-confidence, and on the other hand we are very glad or motivated to do these kind of workouts.

 
 

 

2# As spirits roam the neighbourhoods at night, Let loose upon the Earth till it be light.

That's right! Halloween goodies have, from an early age, become inextricably melded in my mind as one experience for all time. The main difference is that it is going to be held in America, in a country where they are taking this kind of event very serious, so therefore are every single street in Lynnwood decorated with wonderful and scary decorations like, pumpkins, skeletons, scary sounds and etc. For instant have our neighbourhood set up a sensor which will play a scary noise or Michael Jackson’s Thriller song for every time you cross his house. It is absolutely very creative, and it is very interesting to see how creative these Americans are. 

My arm, which I just make up by myself.

 

Halloween night is almost upon us, and tomorrow we will likely see trick-or-treat night. Last Friday, we had a Halloween dance at Edmonds community college. That was an unforgettable night; I was actually very surprised and happy to enjoy a Halloween with my classmates and American fellows.  I was 

very exited about that night, and ready to scary other people even my own classmates. So what I did, was that I bought my Halloween clothes and bought some make ups, and made a kind of scar with tissue in water and fake blood, which was included in the make-up box. I just showed to my host mom and host dad, and even to one of my exchanging students, and they were in chock and said that it was very scary, and asked me, how I did it. 

 

 

My costume

But as soon as I was, at the Halloween dance, I suddenly find out how much fun and delightful it really was. Every body was dressed very well, and it was more than just creative. I really loved Andreas’, Jan’s, Frederik’s Christian’s costume. It was very funny and the way they act with those costumes was a little bit scary, like they dressed up like 4 old ladies. 

It is me, Christian and Oliver

the 4 old ladies

On the other way, the music, or probably the DJ really turned many good songs on, so therefore you really feel like to dance very much, and that was absolutely what I was doing. I was dancing and dancing, and even sometimes I danced with somebody who I really didn’t know who they were, and we really had a great night.

At that night I remember one sudden experience, which was when I was teaching Mette Lundorf a Dance step, which is this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU8pOjpZQW8

When I was doing this dance step, I could see a boy following or more like watching me very much, and I thought it will be very nice to know who he was, so I asked him whether he wants to dance with me. Suddenly, he really made different and most awesome moves, and at that moment I was feeling like, I really want to learn something from him. We were just starting a kind of dance battle, but I thanked no, because I really want to know him better and even learn something from him, and by the way I have a swollen ankle so therefor my dance would be more limited.

Anyway, I found out what his name was, and he showed me many moves, which was very crazy and even smart. Suddenly I also found out, that there is a lot of things to learn, and even if you say like I have reached my goal, it really isn’t like that, because there are actually so much to learn, so therefore the word learn is not possible to define.

I really have to say that this Halloween night was not just a scary night for me, but a night which made me think what I could do while I am here in America. What kind of things will I learn? What will make me more different?

I come up with ideas like I want to be more acrobatic, I want to dance hip-hop and even learn break dance and Pakour. So actually know I am start adding some new abilities to my self.  So for now, I have just watched some videos in youtube, and tried them out, especially the dance moves, and I have even mixed some moves with the Tamil way of dancing, and may be one day I will be very glad to show up what a kind of difference one incident in America done for me.

 

1# Living like no limitation as limitation

I had already been here for 2 weeks now, but for me it was like I had been trough a whole life, because I had experienced and learned a lot. The first day of being an American was according to me a very nice experience. I had really achieved a lot just by being here. The first thing I really was in awe with, was the way American behave, like they were very open-minded about anything, this was something very unfamiliar and strange for me. Well, how can you be so much open-minded? Don’t you need any kind of privacy?

On the other hand, I soon found out that, by expressing yourself honestly to others you will really get ride off any trouble you had been trough your whole life. According to me or through my naked eyes I feel that all Americans live like no limitation as limitation and I think it is a nice way to express who you really are, because if you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. What I have learned is that, there are no limits. There are only plateaus, and we must not, stay there, we must go beyond them.  This is just a little appetizer on what I really have learned the first day of being an American. 

 

I have to say, that I am very glad to be here in America, because you really learn a lot, and especially I am glad to have nice host family, who actually are like my real family. In fact the first day, I get to know every thing about the family and I begin to study what kind of human beings they are. Besides them, I also have 3 exchange students, two of them are from Indonesia and one of they is from Hong Kong. I really enjoy talk with them about different cultures, and share our experiences and opinions and even sometimes we also play soccer. 

Stephanus and Louis

Yosef

Me and Lousi

The first Sunday of my journey, I go to the church where I suddenly find out that churches here in America are totally different and you really feel comfortable and it is great. Even if churches are public churches they don’t have ancient building structures, they are more like a private church in DK, which have very wonderful and new building structures. What I really love with this church is that, if you are a new one or a visitor they welcome you friendly and like to hang out with you. So, we just go to a candy shop, and I really have to say this, it was scrumptious. Mmmm….. You can just eat so much candy or ice cream you like.  This is really something we must do twice a week back in DK. 

The hall of the Church.. This is so big man!!

The music was also very different !

Youth organisation in the Church

God message to us!: I'll take you to the candy shop!!

Scrumptious

Luscious !!

Stretching out, after a delicious treat !

Anyway; I also went to see my role model’s grave. The one and only Bruce Lee, I remember, when I was younger I had a kind of desire, that one day I will like to visit Bruce Lee’s grave in Seattle, and finally I did it!! 

at the cemetry

Me, Oliver and Jonathan at Bruce Lee's grave.

 

 

I really love his way of acting and fighting, and I honestly also love his philosophical quotes like, this one:

“ Knowing is not enough we must apply.

Willing is not enough we must do.”

 

The same day I also went to the public market called the pike place market in Seattle with Oliver, Jonathan and Oliver’s host mom. The public market is nearby the Elliot Bay in Seattle. To be there in the pike place market, was really a different experience. For me it is like to be around the world, because this public market has anything you want and need. It is not only a market where you can buy any American products, foods and vegetables but it is a place where you can buy Asian products or European products or African products. 

Different Chillis and vegetables

  

In this market there is a specific area where they sell fish, craps, hummers and any other kind of seafood. Right there , they practise a kind of tradition, where the salesmen ask the customers, whether the want the fish to be thrown, and if the customer say “Yes!”, then they will do that, and while they are throwing they sing a kind of song.

Me in Pike place market !

 

Anyway, even if I really love America and I feel like this journey is going to be one of the most momentous one, I honestly also miss Denmark a lot, and it is just because of rye bread and chocolate-coasted marshmallow treats and etc. I just wrote a poem for how much I miss DK:

In the moment when Lynnwood city went to sleep, loneliness caught me..      

And snow spread all over..

Even the breeze got down from the ship and started walking on shores!

Inside the four glass walls, me and a candlelight

How lonely... how trecherous..

My pen wrote your name 100 times in my daily planner

Just as I wrote, ants came from all over, did your name turn into honey?

Even, you are not here to clear the confusions of my heart

I'm here & you are there, In this loneliness, minutes have become years!

Even in this chill weather why is this winter season like hot summer to me?

Oh beloved DK, I want to come to you.. if I am there even a burning charcoal will become a snowball !

What I really want is that the Danes try to admit some of the way Americans behave over for each other, like they must be a kind of open-minded and polite, and so by that we can get ride off Jante law. 

 

Expectation for the trip !!

Hi buddies !!

The expectations about the Seattle trip is really pulling me out at the moment.  We are still counting the days, and sharing our expectations with others. I am very excited to experience a upcoming journey with 2.y and of course my host family. I have got a very nice and cute host family and I am very excited to see them and the other international students who have to lived with me.

I have already make many ideas about what to do, and where to go. Imagine, there is only 8 days. 8 days to fulfill a lot of expectations. And about 8 days I am going to be in another country where the culture is different, and where the traditions are different. I am sure, that the trip will be like a good book, which is opened with expectation and closed with profit.