Hey everybody! So I have survived my first week here in Denmark! I just have to say, Denmark is absolutely gorgeous!! I spent the first couple days with the mission president and his family along with the APs in Copenhagen. We didn't have like anytime to see any sites or anything but just walking around town was awesome. Its a very beautiful city.
So I am currently serving in a city called Viborg (Vee-bor) which is kind of in the middle of Jutland. This city is cool because it has like two lakes right in the middle of it and they are just beautiful. I still think all the old buildings and churches here are just so cool too. So our distrikt consists of the Skive Elders and then 4 missionaries in Randers. Its pretty cool because we get to travel to Randers for distrikt meeting and then travel to skive for church so we get so see a lot of places.
Speaking of church, our branch is just the sweetest thing ever. We have 13 active members and I'm pretty sure the youngest one is like 60. Also we had a visit from Denmark's area 70 come this week. He is from Sweden and so he spoke flat out Swedish, the members speak old people Jusk accent so ya, i literally didn't understand a word that was said. Super nice people though.
Again, Denmark is beautiful! Outside of a few big cities it is basically all farmland which I actually really like and think its really cool. Copenhagen is a beautiful city but one horrible thing about it is all the graffiti. The crap is everywhere! I'm not even talking about the good kind of graffiti that actually looks cool, this graffiti is SUX. It is soo ugly. I just dont get it either, if your gonna take the time to graffiti the side of a building, at LEAST make it look artsy! Most people here are actually pretty nice too. The thing I love also here is that everybody is pretty athletic. Everybody rides bikes and in fact, Copehagen is the second biggest bike city in the world behind Amsterdam. But ya, everybody is always out jogging and/or biking and even little old ladies have no problem riding a bike across town which is awesome. The saddest thing though is that everybody and their mothers brother smokes here. It is so sad. Like you'll be surprised at how many people I've seen already WHO are working out and smoking at the same time. Ironic, I know.
So my trainer is called Ældste Pitcher and he is from West Jordan. He has been out for like 11 months and is pretty cool. We have gotten along well so far so thats cool. The biggest surprise though is that none of the missionaries speak Danish with each other! Everybody just speaks English all the time and it shows because their Danish sucks. I mean, there are missionaries WHO have been out with for around a year and most of their Danish is awful but the ones WHO actually practiced SYL, man, night and day difference! Those WHO speak pretty good Danish you could tell they actually speak Danish with their companions and stuff. So my trainer actually has very bad Danish, so we made it a goal to SYL all the time with each other and we have actually done a really good job of that this week so hopefully I can start seeing the results of our work here pretty soon. While I'm ranting about the language, I'll just give an update on how its been for me. So I can usually speak and say what I want to say as long as its super basic but I can't understand a word of what people say which has been really frustrating but I know it will come with time so I'm just being patient and doing my best and hoping that it will work out.
And I almost forgot, THE PASTRIES. Oh my goodness they are DIVINE. Nothing in America even compares, I'm sorry. I mean they are just the most unhealthy, most beautiful things you can feast your eyes on. My mouth is watering just thinking about em haha.
Anyway, I am so happy to hear that everything is still going well. I love you Guys and miss you tons!
Meget kærlighed,
Ældste Jeremy Pike
My District - Æ Call, Æ Howland, Æ Hafen, Æ Holbrook, Søs Hicks, Me, Æ Pitcher, and Æ Hicks.
They are all awesome!! |
A cemetery right next to my apartment |