Learning another language

During my 2-year stay in Denmark as an Au pair, I spent 1 year and 5 months at Hellerup Sprogskole to learn the Danish language. Part of our contract states that Au pairs should go to school to learn the language and culture of the country. My hostfamily followed the rules, thus forcing me to go to school,hehehe.Plus the kis is complaining why I can't speak danish,so it's really necessary for me to learn atleast basic danish.There were 3 levels.Level 1 for students with elementary education from their countries,level 2 for those with high school and undergraduate education and level 3 for those with 4 year course or more. I was enrolled in level 3 with 5 modules.

I went to school starting January 2005 and luckily finished the entire module by June 2006.I received a certificate stating that I can already speak and understand danish, which I didn't show to my hostfamily since my grades were not that impressive,hehehe.I enrolled in the morning class and so I have to go to school 3 times a week,3 hours for every session.The evening class is just 2 times a week,2 hours per session.I volunteered on going to the evening class, but my hostfamily insisted for the morning class, for me to have more time outside the house because they don't want me to get bored.So I agreed coz it means that less work for me in the house,hehehe.

I was the youngest in the class and the only filipina til the 3rd module.Another filipina has joined the class on the 4th module til the 5th.I have classmates from different races (Columbian,French,Austrian,Thailander,Russian,Indian,Italian,Greek,Canadian,Pakistani,German,English,etc) and mostly were married to danish guys.I was able to establish friendship with most of my classmates and glad coz the friendship still exist up to these days.My columbian classmate Carolina is my bestfriend at school and I call her "Mor" (pronounced as Mowa,danish term for mother).

With my "Mor".Taken during my visit last Nov 2006,few days before my vacation to the Philippines.Carolina has given birth on Nov.5 to a cutie baby boy.

Learning another language is for sure difficult and I find it more difficult to learn danish since the written and the oral are completely different.There are a lot of silent words.If the rules are just like the filipino language where you just have to read what's written, then it might be easier for me. But unfortunately,danish language is a complicated one and an example is that D had to pronounce as a soft L most of the time,silent R most of the time,etc.And they have a lot of more vowels than the usual a,e,i,o,u and it's really confusing coz they sound the same to me,hehehe.Let me share to you some danish words:

Danish Word -- English translation -- Pronunciation

Tak -- Thank you -- Tak (it's an easy one)
Mor -- mother -- mo-wa
Far -- father -- fah
mad -- food -- mel (example the soft L "D")
tak for mad -- thanks for the food -- tak foh mel
jeg elsker dig -- i love you -- Ya elska die
jeg savner dig -- i miss you -- Ya sawna die
farvel -- bye2x -- favel
god morgen -- good morning -- go mown


With my classmates during our tour to different historic places in Denmark.

My English,Columbian and Thailander classmates with our teacher Pernille (2nd from right) during our Christmas 2005 gathering.

My classmates and friends (R-L): Samira (French), Arlene (Filipina),Ajanta (Indian).

Yours truly with my Russian (right) and German (middle) classmates.


Despite the difficulty,I managed to finish all modules.I learned the written part of the language pretty fast than the oral part.My hostfamily was very impressed coz I can already write.I used to give them cards during their birthdays using the danish language and my employers were so proud of me that they'll keep on bragging about my progress to their friends. And it makes me scared...scared everytime their friends will visit in thr house coz they talk to me in danish...huhuuhhu..I can understand them pretty well, but it's difficult for me to answer them fluently...My danish is just for kids,heeheh.And too bad coz as I progressed,my employer told me that she will only speak danish with me,huhhuuhhu....

I also learned a lot of the danish culture in the class.I learned more about Christian Andersen,the vikings,danish laws and many more.

I'm glad I took danish class in Denmark because danish and norwegian language are similar.But I find the norwegian language easier coz we just have to read what's written..I mean no more silent R and soft L.The rule is almost the same with the filipino language. So now I'm able to communicate with the kids of my employers here in Norway though I don't go to a norwegian class.

During my visit in DK last weekend, I found out that my danish is deteriorating...a bad news for my danish host family,huhuhuh.But I'll try to refresh my knowledge by reviewing my notes and my danish dictionary.Hope it will help.

Sunday : Dinner with my Hostfamily in DK

We agreed to wake up early on sunday to go to the "loppemarked", it's the name of the garage sale in DK and we all love it,hehehe. But unfortunately, we were not able to wake up early coz some had headache from lastnight's party,hehehe.

We went to 2 places for the loppemarked and we really had fun and as usual,we bought a lot of things and they got annoyed when I told them that I bought a yellow headband,hahaha.They're already irritated with my "yellow craziness".

After the loppemarked,I went home to my employer's place with Dymae and Analyn.We prepared dinner since my hostfamily will becoming after 6pm and we know that they're tired, so we decided to make some food. We prepared roasted chicken, pansit (their favorite) and some salad.

Before they arrived, we managed to take some pictures in their living room,hehehe.

With Dymae,my first maternal first cousin.

With Analyn,my paternal first cousin.

I was so happy to see my female employer and the kid was so excited that she immediately hugged me. We had a nice dinner and my female employer didn't talk that long since she was very tired from the trip.However,Veronica was very active and right after eating,she dragged me to her room and we played there.I was exhausted coz I kept on carrying her (that's what we always do before) and to my amazement, I can no longer lift her just like before..She's already a lot heavier, but she still insisted that I carry her..huhhuhu.We made a lot of "circus stunts",hehehe,that's her term for all stuffs that we do.
Here's some of my photos with Veronica:





She just loves the camera and she kept on saying "igen" (which means again)to take more pictures.She's really a sweet child,though she's moody at times.

She even asked her Mom if she can sleep with me in the airbed.Her mother agreed, but she ended up sleeping in her own room because her Dad scolded her coz she kept on going out from the room where we supposed to sleep.She even asked me to read a bedtime story for her in Danish..wahhhhh and I granted her request,hehehe.But I'm not sure though if she understood what I read,hehhehe.My danish is deteriorating..huhuhu.

Analyn slept early.But Dymae and I had a long chitchat while she ws doing some cross stitch.

I really had fun during my weekend and I once again made a bonding with my cousins.

Jersey City

One of my dreams when it comes to travelling is to visit America.And of course one of the highlights will be to visit the famous Statue of Liberty.As I'm surfing the net, I found a travel site where you can ask for assistance if you want to visit Jersey City,the county seat of Hudson County and New Jersey's second largest city.Some of the attractions in Jersey City include nearby Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, Liberty State Park and the Liberty Science Center.

So if you're already in America and planning to visit Jersey City, then try to visit www.destinationjerseycity.com .It is a travel site that can help you in planning your trip,arranging your accomodation, providing you with maps,etc if you want to explore Jersey City.Visit them now and let them arrange your trip.

Saturday Party

Hurrah!!I had a great weekend in Denmark.Though the vacation was just short, but I had a great time with my cousins and friends.

As I mentioned before, I went to DK (short for Denmark) with my bestfriend and cousin Bhing and we call each other "Best". We took the bus at 10 in the evening on friday.I went early to the city to buy a gift for my hostfamily's daughter, Veronica (we are close and she's very excited that I'm coming)and she's used to receive gifts from me everytime I go to other places. I bought her a pencil case with the word "norway" in it.It's not that special though, but I'm glad coz she liked it.

Best brought some rice and we bought whole chicken,so we really wanted to go inside the bus and start eating,hehehe.And it's really funny coz Best brought disposable gloves too,so we won't be washing our hands anymore,heheh..smart idea..Just before 10pm,the bus arrived and we immediately went inside and started unpacking our food.We were ashamed at first coz maybe the other passengers will think that what we're doing was gross, but we really don't care coz we're sooo hungry...so we started eating despite the curious looks from other passengers..hehheh...The food was soo yummy...Too bad I can't share our photo with the gloves coz it's in my best camera.I'll just share it next time.

The trip to DK was for 8 hours and we were suffering from backaches because we were just sitting for the entire trip..grrrrrrr...but it's ok coz we're already used to it.Analyn's employer picked us up at the bus terminal and drove us to the airport to pick Analyn up.Analyn is my first cousin in my father side who will also work as an Au pair in DK.Too bad, the plane she flew with hasn't landed yet when we arrived and we waited for more than an hour before she finally went out from the sliding door.
We drove to his employer's place and she was toured unto her future working place.Then drove to my hostfamily's place afterwards.We also took some photos at the airport but it's also in Best's camera,so I'll share it to you next time.

My first cousin Dymae (the one who replaced me in my hostfamily in DK)had already prepared some food dor us...goody coz we're really starving. My female employer was not in the house because she went to some meeting in the countryside.The child attended a pajama party,so it was only my male employer who was home, but he was taking a shower when we arrived. So we were chitchatting in my cousin's room and I talked to my male employer and introduced my cousins.He left to pick up his daughter and we started eating brunch...And they came back right after our brunch,so I gave my present to Veronica and glad coz she liked it.And I was surprised coz she also gave me a present.It's really sweet and my cousin helped her make it.Here's the photo:

gift from Veronica (a necklace and 2 sets of earrings)

My male employer and Veronica drove to Jutland(fter our conversation) to join my female employer in her political activity there and they'll be back on sunday evening.So we decided to spend the night in one of our friends' place.It's the place where we usually spend our weekend.And we had a small gathering as a welcome party for my cousin.Analyn's employer gave us champagne and one of my cousins brought another bottle of champagne, so we emptied 2 bottles,hehehe.It was a party of seven.My best,Analyn,Dymae, Lisa (my cousin in my mother side), Yan2x (cousin in my father side),Ninia (Best's sister-in-law) and yours truly. We just stayed in Ninia's room, but we really had fun.She has her separate toilet and kitchen and her hostfamily are very nice and we are always welcome to stay and make noise there,hehehe.Everytime we have a party in that room, we always have a motif on what to wear.So that night, we decided to go "mini",hehehe.So we all wore mini skirts for the night courtesy of Ninia (whom we call Britney, coz she's really into fashion and she has a lot of clothes).But Analyn didn't go with the flow and told us that she'll just observe and she's happy that we're making an effort to welcome her.We really went crazy that night.We danced and we also had karaoke and of course...the champagne made us groggy..made them groggy coz I didn't drink a lot..I'm not suppose to drink at all but Best forced me too..hehehe.That was my first drinking session in 3 months..I have to keep it a secret from my Mama coz I violated the rules,hehehe.

The crazy girls,hehehe.Taken by Analyn.Wahhhhhh ako ang pinaka itom,hehehe

My cousins in my father side,Analyn and Yanyan.

A close up of yours truly,hehehe.
And after the "mini" motif, they switched to "male" motif, which they always do during their weekends when I'm already in Norway.They all dress and act like males with all the beard for fun,heheheh.But I choosed to remain on my "mini",hehhehe.

The crazy boys and girls,hehehe.

With Dymae's "male" version,hehehe.But she doesn't look like a man at all,hehehe.
Ok, that's all for now coz they might get mad at me for posting our photos,hehehe.Our whereabouts on sunday will be featured in my next post.

I'm back!!

Yeheyyyyy, I'm back safely from Denmark,thanks GOD for the safe trip. And I'm so glad to be blogging again.I really miss my blogs and I'm so excited to make new entries.

Thanks a lot to my blogging friends who visited me here constantly,though there are no new entries to read. I'll try my best to cover up,.I was so tired yesterday, so I was not able to make a new entry.Though my mind was very excited to make a post alstnight,but my body was just so tired from the very long trip...huhuhu.the details will be in my next post.

Have a nice day everyone!

I'm leaving on a Bus!

Yessss,I'm leaving on a bus (not leaving on a jetplane,hehehe)tomorrow night (10pm) for Denmark.I'm gonna visit my hostfamily there as well as Daymae,my first cousin who already work for my hostfamily in Denmark now.

I'm travelling with my bestfriend and cousin Bhing tomorrow,hehehe,I have a lot of cousins and my employers are really confused about it,hehehe.It will be my first visit since I left last January and I'm really excited to see them all.They are also looking forward to see me, so I'm really happy.

My other first cousin Analyn (in my father side) will also arrive in Denmark on Saturday to also work as an Au pair. Her employer will pick us up at the bus terminal and then we will drive to the airport to pick my cousin up..Analyn (I call her inday delyn) and I went to the same school for 2 years (3rd and 4th yr) in high school and stayed in our home in the duration of the studies, so we're really close. And it's gonna be a reunion of some sort because Bhing is also excited to see Analyn since we we're also classmates before and they havn't seen each other for nearly 3 years now...

I'll just tell you about my trip when I come back on Monday. I don't have work on Monday coz it's a holiday here.So sorry guys, it means that I can't post here in my blog for 3 days.I wont be bringing my lappy, but I'll try to use the desktop of my employer in Denmark and try to post,but if not, then see you all again this coming Monday.

Have an awesome weekend everyone!

My habits

Here's "My Habits" portion from ny visual DNA :

It's absolutely true.

My kind of fun

Here's a detailed information about "My Fun" in my visual DNA :

Everything in this page is true,.

My Moods

Here's the detailed part of my visual DNA, my moods in particular.

I'm really romantic...a hopeless one,hehehe.And I love listening to music despite the fact that I'm out of tune..ahehhee.Wahhhhh, is my choice of treat a sign of laziness???...I think so...aheheheh,but I really love to sleep.And it's really true that I'm happy and comfortable when I'm rugged and when my eyes are shut...

A Helping Hand

Starting a company is a difficult task and you really need a helping hand to make it a success. Good thing and there's Venture Alliance Partners A/S, also known as Venpar. It's an establishment dedicated in helping enterpreneurs and investors build world-class companies.Once you decide to be their client, venpar will serve as an external financial strategist, headhunter, investment banker and corporate therapist to your company. If you need a helping hand in making your company a big success, then try venpar and visit them at their website, www.venpar.com.

My Visual DNA

I saw this first in one of my friends' blog and it interests me, so I also decided to take one for myself,. It's really fun.

 

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

I'll post the detailed information of each part in my next posts. You can also get your visual DNA at www.imagini.net 

New aid for Companies

Masterseek is a new aid for companies to be known globally. It is a global search engine that provides quick and free access to company profiles, contact information, and descriptions of products and services from more than 45 million companies in 75 countries. You can also search in your own country or worldwide and find business partners, sales opportunities and new avenues to expand your business and increase your company’s profitability. So if you have a company, then hurry and enter your company profile and showcase your products and services and let the global community know about it.

Tranekær Castle - Christmas 2005

Christmas 2005 was a fairytale experience for me because I was able to live in a castle for 3 days and it's not just an ordinary castle, it's one of the oldest castles in Denmark.And thanks again to my hostfamily in Denmark for making me a "princess" for 3 days,hehehe.

My male employer's father lives in Tranekær Slot (slot,danish word for castle)which is located in Langeland, a long and narrow island in Denmark . He lives there all by himself since his wife and his daughter live in their other house near Copenhagen. My employer says that it was his father's dream since childhood to live in a castle, so despite the expensive maintenance, he rented the castle to make his dream come true.My employers think that it's impractical to spend a lot of money in maintaning the castle, but they can do nothing because it's their father's business. Tranekær Slot is originally owned by a baron (according to my employers) and the baron can't handle the expensive maintaince anymore,so he decided to rent it out. Here's a short information of the castle from turist.langeland.dk :

Tranekær Castle is sited high on a hill surrounded by water and clear for all to see. Parts of Tranekær Castle were erected as a defensive fortress already in the 13th. century. The 3 m thick walls were added in the 14th century so that canon balls could not penetrate. Tranekær Castle has belonged to the Ahlefeldt-Laurvig family for about 350 years.There is no admittance to the castle itself, but you can go for a stroll in the Castle Park and visit the Castle Museum. In the Castle Museum opposite the castle, furniture from the castle is exhibited, and here the visitor can learn about the history of the castle and the family.

Tranekær Slot, photo grabbed from langelandsmuseum.dk)

photo grabbed from info-langeland.dk

Photo of Tranekær Slot from sommerferie.nu

It was a long drive from my employer's place to Tranekær Slot, but it was worth it since it was really a one-of-a-kind experience.I drove with my female employer's parents and I really enjoyed the trip. We were welcomed by my male employer's parents and his sister and I was not allowed to help in the household chores because I'm a visitor, but I really insisted to help in cleaning the dishes,etc.

The castle was very huge and there were a lot of animal's heads displayed on one of the walls from the baron's hunting and different guns (old style) hanged on the other part of the wall. Once again, I would like to apologize because I don't have a lot of scanned pictures of the castle. I don't have a digicam yet. I have several pictures though, but it's not in scanned and it's already in the Philippines. But the memories of the castle will always be painted in my mind.

We were toured inside the castle by my male employer's father and he told a lot of stories about it. And the lights were always switched on even if there's no one inside the room. There were a lot of rooms in the castle and I had my own room there, I felt to special. And I was flattered even more when my male employer's father said that the room I'll be staying was also the room occupied by Queen Ingrid (the mother of Queen Margareth, Queen of Denmark) in one of her visits in the Castle.
I was able to take oa picture of my room (not a nice shot though),huhuhuh.

My room in the Castle.

The father of my female employer also toured me around the surroundings of the castle. I was able to see the lake surrounding it and the forest nearby. It's really a nice place to live, especially for people who want peace (away from the noise of the big city).

We spent the Christmas happily and I received a lot of gifts. A pair of nike shoes from my employers, winter boots from my female employer's parents and clothes from my male employer's parents.


Photo taken by yours truly. Sorry coz it's not a nice shot.

Belly Dance in Kas,Turkey

Ohhhh I forgot something about my adventure in Turkey. There was a special night in the hotel where turkish belly dancers had a show to entertain the guests. So my employers and her parents made sure that we won't miss it. And true enough, we were there on time and seated in the front row.

The dancers started their show and it was really fantastic. They only allowed their belly to move, it's really amazing and their bodies are really great. They also performed soome cultural dances. The funny thing was when the turkish girl made her solo performance as a finale.She was wearing an elegant gown and performing a belly dance and after she finished her part she took people from the audience to imitate her. And guess what?? I was one of the choosen few as well as my male employer..grrrrrrrrrr what an experience!! How I wish, I wore a sexy dress that night,hehehhe. I was wearing pants and a blouse and i really looked like a child,ahehhe. and despite my shyness infront of the crowd, I tried to imitated the dancer as much as I could,hehhe.And what's worse was, we have to perform one by one with the dancer..grrrrrrrrrrr...My employer and her father managed to take photos, but unfortunately it's not scanned so I can't share it to you too.And they told me afterwards that I'm a good dancer,ahahah how i wish they were telling the truth,hehehe.

Kas,Turkey - Summer of 2005

I arrived in Denmark on November 2004 and my hostfamily took me to Kas,Turkey in the summer of 2005.And I was there for pure vacation,as in no work at all and all expenses paid by them and they even gave me a pockey money.They're really very kind and generous. I didn't look after the daughter of my employer. I was really a real tourist that time,hehehe.

My hostfamily were already in Kas for 1 week and then I flew on the 2nd week together with my female employer's parents (I'm very close to them,they're like my grandparents) to Kas. We flew from Copenhagen airport to Dalaman and took the long bus ride to Kas. I was really panting, as we arrived in Kas. I got difficulty breathing because of the heat (maybe because my system has already adopted the cold weather in Denmark), but good thing and I felt better the following day (my body had adjusted to the hot weather right away).

I had my own room with 2 beds and i tried to convince my employer's daughter to stay with me,but she didn't like it,hehehe. We had the same routine everyday. Free breakfast in the hotel's lobby up to 8 or 9am (not so sure anymore) and sometimes my employer's father has to phone me in my room because they're afraid that i'll miss breakfast because I always wake up late,hehehe. Then after brekfast, we stayed in the pool,sunbathing. But I don't really need to sunbath anymore, coz I'm already dark and I really hate the heat. It's turning me into a "roasted pig",hehehe. You know in the Philippines, we always use umbrella to protect us from the rays of the sun and we use whitening lotion in the hope of making our skins lighter. And there I was, exposing my skin under the heat of the blazing sun,huhuhuh.And I told my employers about it and they found it funny, because they wanted to have a darker skin like mine...very ironic,hehehe.And while in the pool, I read Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix (my male employer bought it for me coz he knew that I'm a HP fan). And after maybe an hour or less, I'll always excuse myself and went to my room and doze off,hehehe. They always made fun out of my love for sleeping.

Then during the evenings,we always dine in restaurants. I really love the food there (it's not a new thing coz I just love any kind of food),hehehe. Humus there was excellent and it was my first time to eat lamb meat,it was really delicious and it was during the birthday of my male employer (he celebrated his natal day there).

I think it was our 3rd night in Turkey (or 4th night,not sure), I got drunk,heheh.Yesss because my employer's father order a small bottle of white wine or ladies drink (can't remember already) and he kept on pouring my glass until the bottle was empty.And when we went back to the hotel,they observed that I was already groggy and had difficulty balancing,hehehe and my employer's mother was really very angry to her husband for getting me drunk. I woke up very late the following day and they made fun about me getting drunk,heheheh.

We also went sailing for one day ans it was really fantastic. And other funny episode happened. My female employer bought swimming wings for me (not sure if it's the right term though), but what I mean is the thing that the children put in their arms so they can float in the water. Yes I had those as well as my employer's daughter. And so we went swimming as the boat stopped in the nearby island. The water was really very clear.And I hopped into the water and the people in the other bought were laughing because I had the wings, when it's only intended for children,hahaha.I find it funny too, but what can I do??I don't know how to swim. And my employer told me that maybe it's better for me to take swimming lessons.Good idea!And then my employers and her father dived because it was also a diving spot.And suddenly my employer.s father shouted "shark", so they swam hurriedly back to the boat while I nervously swam back into the boat,but as if I'm not moving and then my employer's father announced that it was just a shark statue to entertain the divers.OHHH myyyy it almost gave me a heart attack!!grrrrrrrrrrr and we we're really having a good laugh about it.

Ohhh my this post is already very long but I'm just carried away to share the entire story,hehhee.Too bad and I can't share pictures here coz I don't have a digicam that time but I took pictures with my old camera and the photos are already in the Philippines. I'll ask my Mama to scan it one day for me. I have one pic scanned though(i asked my Columbian friend to scan it for me), so it's the only one I can share to you right now.

Taken in one of our dinners with my hostfamily and their parents.

On our way home to Denmark, we encountered a 10-minute turbulence and I was really scared because it was my first time to encounter such,huhuhuh.But thanks GOD and we landed safely in Copenhagen airport and here I am blogging about it,hehehe.Anyways, I really enjoyed my vacation in Turkey and I'm really grateful to my hostfamily in Denmark for treating me as part of their family up to these days.

Have a nice day everyone.

Extra bucks while travelling

I decided to submit this travel blog of mine for paid blogging, so I can earn some extra bucks as I go around d' world,hehehe.And by that means, it can also help in providing for my travels and vacations.

And so I submitted this blog of mine to Bloggerwave for approval. And in less than 24 hours, it was approved. Yeheyyyy good news for me!Bloggerwave is still looking for more bloggers to promote their clients' websites, products,services,etc. Join them now and earn some extra bucks as we journey in this blogosphere.

New Look

As you've noticed, I got a new look in my blog and a big thanks to my dear friend, Ate Gagiers for helping me out. Actually, she's the first one who used this template on her blog,but then she changed for a new one. So I asked her if she still has the code because I want to use it, if it's ok with her. And good thing coz she sent me the modified code. I looked at the code and was able to find the link of the template and so I downloaded it coz I'm planning to modify it myself. But to no avail, I failed. It only makes my head throbbing,hehehe. So I decided to use Ate Gags modified code and I just substituted it with my personal informations and this is it! I'm really glad about it.

Once again,

More Graphics At SeekCodes.com

My Disclosure Policy

Here's a disclosure policy I made myself and this will apply to all my blogs.

I am the sole author of this blog and all post are originally written and edited my yours truly.

This bog of mine accepts paid blogging as a way of generating extra income and it means that this blog will be doing reveiws for products and services.

However, the paid posts that will be created will not be labelled as paid posts since those will be integrated in the contents of this blog. The products and services will somehow influence the paid posts, but my honesty will remain in making reviews.

If you have questions, you can email me at julai1181@yahoo.com

Helsingborg, Sweden

I went to Helsingborg,Sweden last December 2006 with some of my friends. We took the ferry from Helsingør, Denmark and the travel was just about 30 minutes. It was really very close to Denmark and the fare is very affordable. No wonder that a lot of Danes are living in Sweden but working in Denmark because the cost of living in Sweden is a little bit cheaper compared to Denmark.

We went there, just for fun and just so we can say to ourselves that we have been to Sweden,hahaha. And we also bought some souvenirs.

Here's a short info about the city courtesy of www.greatestcities.com:
Helsingborg, formerly Hälsingborg, city and seaport in southern Sweden, on a strait called the Öresund, in Skåne County. Helsingborg is situated opposite Helsingør, Denmark, with which it is connected by railway ferry. The modern city was established in the early 15th century near the site of the old town, which was known as a trade center as early as the 9th century. A ruined fortress is all that remains of the old town. The city belonged to Denmark until 1658, when it was ceded to Sweden. The Danes recaptured it several times, however, and it did not come under permanent Swedish control until 1710. Helsingborg is an important port and one of the leading manufacturing centers in the country. It is located near the only coalfield in Sweden and near large clay deposits. Among the principal industrial establishments in Helsingborg are sugar and copper refineries, breweries, superphosphate works, potteries, and rubber factories. Population (1998 estimate) 116,337.

I'm going to post some photos, but I would like to apologize first since the photos are not that good. Since the camera that I used was a cheap one that I bought on sale and it's not really good one. But I don't have a choice because can't afford to buy an expensive one.

Another thing, I was not able to capture the beautiful scenes of the city because during that time, I only cared about taking pictures of myself,grrrrrrrrr. But I promise, the next pictures that I'm going to post in my next entries will be a lot better from this one, because I already bought a nice digital cam and my photography has already improved,hehehe.

The Little Mermaid

When I was still a child, I only heard about "The Little Mermaid". I neither know the real story, nor the author. It was already during my Au pair years in Denmark that I was able to know that the Statue of The Little Mermaid is in Copenhagen and that the author is Danish, Hans Christian Andersen. I'm sure some of you would laugh at me because I knew about the story and the informations that goes with it very late in life, but atleast I'm still able to know about it,hehehe.

(photo grabbed from www.about.com)

The Little Mermaid statue in the shore of Copenhagen,Denmark is the national symbol of the country. Just like Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Statue of Liberty in New York. And I'm very glad that I was able to visit it last September 2006 before I went home for vacation in the Philippines.

Here's a summary info about The Little Mermaid Statue courtesy of www.about.com :

The Little Mermaid statue is only a 10-minute walk from the cruise ship pier in Copenhagen. At less than five feet tall, the statue is much smaller than most people expect, and she sits on a rock near the shore, not in the middle of the harbor.
Hans Christian Andersen wrote "The Little Mermaid" fairy tale in 1837, and in 1909 the founder of Carlsberg Breweries, who was fascinated by the story, had the statue built.

The Little Mermaid statue has sat on her boulder since August 23, 1913, but has had a very turbulent life, with at least eight vandalism attacks. She has been dowsed in paint numerous times, had her right arm amputated, been decapitated three times, and even pushed from her rock in 2003. Fortunately, the sculptor made a mold, so the Little Mermaid's "parts" have been reattached from the original mold.

And here are some photos of The Little Mermaid Statue, courtesy of yours truly :


The photos really show that I'm not a professional photographer,hehehe plus we went there at noon, so the sun was shining which makes it more difficult for me to take better pictures.



Taken by my friend, Ate Evelyn.

Officials of Copenhagen want to move the 1.6 metre (5.5 ft) statue several meters offshore to make it more difficult for people to reach it, so as to secure the statue in a better way without ruining the whole concept of having her sitting on a rock in the water. It's just a natural way of protecting the statue from vandalism and other form of destruction.

New Noah's Ark

I was surfing the net a while a go to look for new info about travels and vacation and one of the results of my search is the travel section of CNN.com and I was really amazed to know that someone has built a replica of Noah's Ark. Have you heard about it already?Am I just the one who does not know about this news? Anyways, here's a summary:

A Dutch creationist Johan Huibers builds a replica of Noah's Ark based on biblical records as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible and it was officialy open for public viewing last April 28,2007 (Saturday). Click here for the video.

The design of the ark was made by Huibers' wife. Though his wife was against his idea of building the ark, but decided to make the design if her husband will really build it.

Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold of the ark.It is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide which two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house and the construction of the huge ark was started last May 2005. The ark is situated in Schagen, Netherlands.

Huibers said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, where churchgoing has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.

For the full story of this news,just click here.

Picture and video courtesy of cnn.com.

My Technorati Profile

I just finished claiming this blog as my own at technorati,yeheyyyy I have one more blog to run to..ahehehhe.

Just click here if you want to see my technorati profile.Thanks.

Back to blog!

After a month of being dormant in this blog, I finally decided to go back here to blog,yeheyyy!!Few days after creating this blog, I had doubts if I'll continue it or not, so I didn't tell my friends about this blog. But as the days go by, this blog of mine kept on popping unto my mind, so I decided to continue this one and open it for public viewing,hehehe.

I have a lot of ideas on what to post,but it seems that I don't much time. But I'll really try my best to post entries consistently as much as possible. And I do hope that you'll enjoy visiting this blog of mine.