Hello friends, family, and creepy strangers who happen upon
this obscure blog! Many people have asked me how I can keep them up to date on
what I’m doing over at Patrick Henry College. I always answered by saying that
I’m planning on starting a blog. Well, finally the day has come. The first
entry! As this blog will mostly be about all the crazy stuff that will happen
to me at college, I thought I’d start by talking about what happened leading up
to my first day at college.
As many of you may know, my grandparents invited my family
and my aunt’s family with them on a cruise to Norway and Denmark. It just so
happens that this cruise would end just as the PHC school year starts. So,
instead of packing for a cruise, I had to pack for both a cruise and college at
the same time! We got quite a few weird looks from people in the terminal when
we were trying to lug these massive duffle bags through the baggage check line.
It was quite a relief to get on the nonstop flight from LAX to Copenhagen,
Denmark and be able to simply relax. Once in Denmark, we all headed to the hotel.
For the first time, I realized that US laptops don’t plug into European wall
plugs. Oh, the agony! J
After unpacking, we all headed to the local Italian restaurant where I ordered
nachos. Now I can officially say that I have eaten Mexican nachos at an Italian
restaurant in Denmark!
The next day we toured Copenhagen, the most bicycle friendly
city I have ever seen. There were more bikes than cars! However, my favorite
thing about Copenhagen was the local board game café. Board games, oh the bliss
of this glorious thought! Imagine a coffee shop, but instead of paintings or
books lining the walls, endless shelves full of board games. Every style,
genre, and complexity one could imagine! And on top of all that, the entire
place was packed with happy gamers playing on every surface of the café.
But the sweetest thing of all was to see my favorite game, Xia: Legends of a Drift System, sitting on a shelf, with my name on the box. That was a weird feeling. The world suddenly gets really small when you visit Denmark only to see your own name on a board game in their café.
But enough of that.
But the sweetest thing of all was to see my favorite game, Xia: Legends of a Drift System, sitting on a shelf, with my name on the box. That was a weird feeling. The world suddenly gets really small when you visit Denmark only to see your own name on a board game in their café.
After touring Copenhagen, we boarded the ship and I went
exploring, only to discover that because I’m eighteen, I cannot be involved in
any of the teen club activities. This was a big letdown as I was looking
forward to doing fun things with my brother and sister in the teen lounge. Unfortunately,
nothing could be done. Nevertheless, I had a blast doing wild and crazy things
like going on a scavenger hunt teamed up with two Muslim girls from Saudia
Arabia and singing Take Me Home Country Roads with the piano entertainer down
at one of the lounges. Some of the destinations were cool as well. We visited a
few beautifully quaint towns with names I can’t pronounce and wandered around
trying to find free Wi-Fi. We even found a children’s book all about Elias: The
Little Rescue Boat!
Apparently there is a whole TV show about him! A friend of
mine even found the theme song online in English. Feel free to check it out. It’s
pretty adorable.
Though all the stops were fun, the most spectacular stop of
all was at the village Geiranger. This village, with a year round population
about 300, is a UN World Heritage Site because of its astonishingly beautiful fjords
and cliffs. As a family, we took a hike up to a little cottage restaurant nestled
on the mountain, where we could see the ocean and cliffs for miles. As if the
view wasn’t spectacular enough, a squadron of jet fighters flew straight
through the fjords, right past us, leaving their sonic boom to shake the whole
mountainside.
Nevertheless, it was the dancing on the ship that made the
cruise for me. The first at-sea night, there was a dance party at the lounge. The
music was clean, the beat was good, and it had been so long since I had danced
solo with “wild abandon” that I was literally the last one off the dance floor.
That was so much fun. Another night, they had a game show called “If You Know It,
Dance It!” I was so bound and determined to play, I came early to the sign ups.
Oddly enough, I was the only one with the guts to sign up without a partner.
So, I got to dance with one of the awesome dance instructors! We were one of four
couples who participated. The premise of the game was, the host would tell us
which dance we as the contestants would do, the DJ would turn on the music, and
then we, the couples, would dance. I had a blast dancing the waltz, salsa,
tango, and Irish jig with a professional instructor. We even got third place! Virtually
every night after, there was a decade themed dance party in the central
gathering area of the ship. One night it was 70’s disco, one night it was 60’s
rock and roll, one night it was 50’s big band music. The memories I made there
will last me a lifetime.
By the time the cruise was over, I had made international
friends, learned the salsa, played the fiddle for strangers, hiked the Norwegian
Fjords, found my name on a board game in Copenhagen, and made lasting memories
with my family. I may forget about the dance parties or the jet fighters, but
the relationships I cultivated with my family will never leave. That’s all for
now folks! Coming soon, Orientation Week at PHC…
Sincerely,
Elias
