Meet Kenny:

Oh, Kenny. Kenny from Arizona, Kenny. When I first arrived at Holger, many people had already been there for a week. When I introduced myself to everyone they would, of course, ask me where I was coming from, and for that first week as soon as I stated that I am from the south of the U.S. they would ask me if I liked country music. Since I do, in fact, enjoy listening to country they would immediately exclaim, "YOU NEED TO MEET KENNY FROM ARIZONA, HE ALSO LIKES COUNTRY MUSIC." For a week I thought that Kenny was the ghost of an exchange student from Arizona that did not want to be seen by me until finally one day I walked into one of the kitchens and met him. After a week of hearing about Kenny from Arizona, but not seeing him, my first response was to yell directly at him, "OH MY GOODNESS, YOU ARE KENNY FROM ARIZONA! I HAVE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT YOU!" To this, he responded with a smirk and a nod.

And that was it...for about two weeks. I continuously saw Kenny at some social outings, though not many, but when I did see him we would bond over dad jokes and political commentary. Finally, the day of one of my exams, I returned to Holger defeated. It was the first of few sunny, warmish days in Copenhagen, but everyone was busy with exams and assignments. I knew Kenny had just finished a four-day exam, so I convinced him to go to the beach with me. I could not believe that he accepted, and I like to think that day was the very start of a sturdy friendship. We left Holger and headed to the beach with a six-pack and a bottle of wine, we played some Smashmouth, Blink182, and Bryan Adams and geeked out about space, the ocean, and good old TJ (Thomas Jefferson).

My favorite memory of Kenny, however, is a time we went to the bar with Macke and Eve (article coming soon) and Kenny showed us GIFs of Guy Feiri. I had never seen Kenny laugh so much and for so long. There were tears streaming down his face! I probably will never see him laugh that way again. Here is the GIF that broke him:

Anyway, I'm glad I found another history loving, animal fact knowing, documentary watching, dad-joke telling dork. Because you know what Kenny Ken, underneath your cool American exterior, you sir are an intellectual. I love you Kenster.