In 1988 I was an exchange student from Australia to Denmark. Even 37 years later I think of it often, and usually during the night. I revisit with friends and fond memories.
I kept a handwritten journal most days and in 2008 finished typing it up. For a while it was on an older version of my website but as time and website technologies moved on, it fell by the wayside.
Last night I thought I should resurrect it here. I will want to add photos and I still have to consider digitising pamphlets I pasted into my diary (yes, remarkably for me I still have the original). It could do with linking between days as well.
I’ve told many stories over the years, and frequently the same ones about language, learnings and travel. However, I’ve never written them down. It will be worth doing with the reflections and experiences of time.
Before I forget, these are the topics I identified last night at 3 am.
- Days immediately before and after the trip
- Staying with 3 very different families
- The impact of learning Danish
- European travel
- Being alone on the other side of the world at 17, and the impact it has on how I treat death
- The people I remember
- The contrast when I returned in 2000