I originally planned to take all of Monday off from work, as I watched Vincent off to Denmark and waited to take my own flight to Tallahassee. And Stephanie was to join us, at the airport, after her final day of the school year (this one without kids) faculty potluck lunch and meeting. My only experiernce with this came when I took our first of two Danish exchange students, Simon, to the airport 1 1/2 years ago, and then waited for hours for the Danes to leave.
But work picked up, and Vincent did final preparations mainly without me. I arrived at home around 11:45 a.m. to pick him and his stuff up (me having helped pack most of his stuff earlier - including the Danish-English dictionary that exchange student #2 Jon had left for Vincent and two boxes that we had tried to mail to Jon of stuff that hadn't fit in his luggage, but that his bad handwriting had helped get sent back to the United States) and finishing pack my own.
Vincent and I arrived at the airport about half an hour late and Vincenet quickly got in lien to check in with his two pieces of luggage. Trip leader extrodinaire Carrie suggested we find someone who was only checking one bat to add Jon's boxed Louisville Slugger bat as a second bag, and Vincent quickly succeeded in doing ths. I recognized a 10th grade acquaintance of Vincent, whose family we'd gotten to know this past fall - when the Danes we each hosted, Jon and Andreas, turned out to be good friends (from back in Denmark). I also recognized one of Vincent's 10-Minute plays colleagues. Ordinarily, the people going on the trip would be students from Vincent's school who had just completed 10th grade (although Vincent has just completed 11th). But Vincent introduced me to someone going who Vincent had watched graduate (as a senior) a week ago.
Then, Carried led a quick, informational meeting. We had only seen a flurry of last-minute e-mail messages/blog entries that she'd sent out, urging people to drink water and sleep on theflight from Atlanta to Copenhagen and urging them to be careful in Copenhagen, where they'll arrive at the equivalent of 3 a.m. (6 hours haead of us) and likely be giddy and unfamiliar anyway. Carrie was with her adoptive daughter, Molly. And, without any 2-hour, Simon-like wait, we were suddenly off to the security checkpoint for good-bytes. The faculty potluck/meeting had apparently run over, and so Vincent wasn't even able to talk with Stephanie on the phone. He alternated between wanting assistance with me for preparations and ecnouraging me to leave so he could get on with spending the month without his parents (I had gathered medical information on him and filled that information out on a form and signed a medical release even though - as a stepparent - this really has no legal standing). Vincent is slated to take the SAT on Saturday at Copenhagen International School and teh final exam for his on-line 2nd-semester Algebra 1 final early during his stay. Some of my last-minute suggestions to Vincent revolved around how he might accompish/excel at both of these. Also, we got to se him waiting in line for a few extra minutes because security scrutinized the new money belt that Nathan - Andreas' host from this fall, in front of Vincent in line - wore. (Few of Vincent's best friends are on the trip - Patrick being an exception) - but no doubt Vincent will make new friends - Danish and American - on the trip, and hopefully Vincent will learn some more non-swear word Danish words also (Vincent insists that 90% of Danes speak English, which I wonder about, but maybe he'll also get to practice not only his Danish but also his French).
Vincent was one of a few kids at the Western Kentucky University open hosue for high school juniors study-abroad workshop who raised his hands back this winter as having already been abroad - in his case, to Guatemala. But, shortly - he will have traveled to two different countries, one "Third World" and one "First World." Make it to your tests, be nice to your hosts, don't fall down this first week, and good luck on your first full day in Denmark on 1-6 hours sleep. Bon voyage!
But work picked up, and Vincent did final preparations mainly without me. I arrived at home around 11:45 a.m. to pick him and his stuff up (me having helped pack most of his stuff earlier - including the Danish-English dictionary that exchange student #2 Jon had left for Vincent and two boxes that we had tried to mail to Jon of stuff that hadn't fit in his luggage, but that his bad handwriting had helped get sent back to the United States) and finishing pack my own.
Vincent and I arrived at the airport about half an hour late and Vincenet quickly got in lien to check in with his two pieces of luggage. Trip leader extrodinaire Carrie suggested we find someone who was only checking one bat to add Jon's boxed Louisville Slugger bat as a second bag, and Vincent quickly succeeded in doing ths. I recognized a 10th grade acquaintance of Vincent, whose family we'd gotten to know this past fall - when the Danes we each hosted, Jon and Andreas, turned out to be good friends (from back in Denmark). I also recognized one of Vincent's 10-Minute plays colleagues. Ordinarily, the people going on the trip would be students from Vincent's school who had just completed 10th grade (although Vincent has just completed 11th). But Vincent introduced me to someone going who Vincent had watched graduate (as a senior) a week ago.
Then, Carried led a quick, informational meeting. We had only seen a flurry of last-minute e-mail messages/blog entries that she'd sent out, urging people to drink water and sleep on theflight from Atlanta to Copenhagen and urging them to be careful in Copenhagen, where they'll arrive at the equivalent of 3 a.m. (6 hours haead of us) and likely be giddy and unfamiliar anyway. Carrie was with her adoptive daughter, Molly. And, without any 2-hour, Simon-like wait, we were suddenly off to the security checkpoint for good-bytes. The faculty potluck/meeting had apparently run over, and so Vincent wasn't even able to talk with Stephanie on the phone. He alternated between wanting assistance with me for preparations and ecnouraging me to leave so he could get on with spending the month without his parents (I had gathered medical information on him and filled that information out on a form and signed a medical release even though - as a stepparent - this really has no legal standing). Vincent is slated to take the SAT on Saturday at Copenhagen International School and teh final exam for his on-line 2nd-semester Algebra 1 final early during his stay. Some of my last-minute suggestions to Vincent revolved around how he might accompish/excel at both of these. Also, we got to se him waiting in line for a few extra minutes because security scrutinized the new money belt that Nathan - Andreas' host from this fall, in front of Vincent in line - wore. (Few of Vincent's best friends are on the trip - Patrick being an exception) - but no doubt Vincent will make new friends - Danish and American - on the trip, and hopefully Vincent will learn some more non-swear word Danish words also (Vincent insists that 90% of Danes speak English, which I wonder about, but maybe he'll also get to practice not only his Danish but also his French).
Vincent was one of a few kids at the Western Kentucky University open hosue for high school juniors study-abroad workshop who raised his hands back this winter as having already been abroad - in his case, to Guatemala. But, shortly - he will have traveled to two different countries, one "Third World" and one "First World." Make it to your tests, be nice to your hosts, don't fall down this first week, and good luck on your first full day in Denmark on 1-6 hours sleep. Bon voyage!
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