Meeting My Visiting Host Family

Living in the Public Health LCC, it can sometimes be hard to interact with non-Americans. For this reason, I am grateful that I signed up for the Visiting Host Program, which is offered by DIS for all students who don’t live in a Homestay. For those unfamiliar with DIS, an LLC is a Living Learning Community, a chance to live with other DIS students and to have weekly meetings and activities centered around a theme, while a Homestay means staying in the home of a Danish family for the semester.

My visiting hosts, Elsebeth and Anders, live in Nivå, a small town about 22 miles outside of Copenhagen. Both are in their mid-60s and have three kids and four grandchildren. To get to their house, I took the train along with another DIS student, Allison, who they are also hosting. It was my first time taking a longer route, and although we somehow accidentally purchased 3 adult tickets instead of 2, everything worked out.

Elsebeth met us at the train station and gave us a driving tour of the town before we headed to her house. The most popular spot this time of year (and with such hot weather) is the beach, where there is a view of the coast of Sweden.

When we got to her house we were immediately greeted by Bilma, her daughter Louise’s dog and Lousie’s two daughters, Vega and Caylee. On the wall of Elsebeth’s garage I was completely surprised to spot a UT Longhorns sign, the football team of Austin, Texas. In a funny coincidence, one of the students that Elsebeth had hosted several years ago was also from Austin. Even though I’ve never been a UT Longhorns fan, it was a nice reminder of home from far away.

Elsebeth and Louise cooked us traditional Danish food for dinner, which we (sort of) helped prepare: frikadeller (Danish meatballs), a chopped cabbage salad, and potato salad.

It was an absolutely delicious dinner, but the most fun part of the evening was discussing Danish and American cultural differences, American politics, and traveling. Elsebeth of course wanted to hear our opinions on Trump’s interest in buying Greenland (a hot topic in Denmark right now), the upcoming presidential election, and what we thought about Danish people.

Sitting at the dinner table, listening to chatter in both English and Danish, eating traditional Danish food, I was struck with a sense of gratitude for being able to explore a country and culture that is so very different from mine. As hard as it is to leave my bubble of familiarity and live somewhere new, it is so, so worth it.

Elsebeth and Alison and I made plans to meet throughout the semester, including a Thanksgiving meal at their house (since her granddaughters are half American) and a traditional Christmas meal before we leave in December. We’re also hoping to go on outings in Copenhagen or close to Nivå, such as the Louisiana Museum of Modern of Art. I’m looking forward to getting to know Elsebeth and her family better this semester and I’m very grateful for her hospitality.