Perhaps the reason for Denmark’s high graduation rate is that students are paid to attend school in Denmark after they turn 18.
That fact was one of the craziest things I learned about the country as I hosted a Danish exchange student, Gro Borges, March 17 to 21.
Gro visited Whitman with her class of 26 theater students from Nørre Gymnasium in Copenhagen, a Whitman sister school since 2010. A “gymnasium” in Denmark is a secondary school students attend for three years before university.
Over the weekend, my friends and I introduced Gro and the other Danish students to frozen yogurt and American politics, hanging out in Georgetown and Bethesda. Gro attended a family party and an event at my church, and she quickly became a member of the family. She bonded with my younger brother over their shared interests in baking and playing flute, and she even grew to love our neurotic dog. For a brief introduction to Denmark, she told me about the Danish social democratic system, her school, her family and her language (the sounds in Danish are so different that I can’t even properly pronounce her first name).
The students shadowed their hosts Monday at school. Our typical day is different than their “modular” schedule, which can change at a moment’s notice, so Gro said she found our schedule boring. Gymnasium in Denmark is optional, and students select to take a certain group of classes based on their interests and aspirations. Gro was also shocked that we didn’t use laptops during class. “I don’t understand how you live without them,” she told me later.
In Denmark, citizens pay high taxes (Gro said her father pays over 70 percent) to fund many state benefits, such as free health care, unemployment support and the student stipend, which Gro receives because she is 18 years old. Since my family is interested in politics, we spent a lot of time at dinner talking about the differences between our two governments. Gro couldn’t understand the purpose of our delegate system or why George W. Bush beat Al Gore in 2000 despite losing the popular vote. She and her classmates really enjoyed visiting AP NSL classes Monday to field questions about their country and discuss American government, which they learned about prior to the trip. And when the Nørre students spent Wednesday at the Capitol talking to staffers, she left with questions unanswered, unsatisfied by the staffers’ “politically correct” nonresponses.
Gro also pointed out some other differences between our cultures that really surprised me. Apparently, Americans are really polite and constantly apologizing for everything. Also, Gro said the foods we buy, like breads and pastas, taste sweeter than those in Europe. Still, she said, American high school is just like the movies – except that students are a lot younger.
In addition, cigarette smoking, piercings and tattoos are more widely accepted in Denmark. Almost every girl had a nose ring, and many of them also smoked, though they worried about what their host families would think. Also, Denmark has no drinking age, although one must be at least 16 years old to buy alcohol from a liquor store.
All the girls were especially anxious to get in as much shopping as possible: not only did they visit tons of stores in New York City before coming here, but they also shopped in Georgetown, Montgomery Mall and downtown D.C. Danish teenagers covet American brands, which cost at least twice as much there as they do here. Each girl filled her suitcase with apparel and shoes from Abercrombie, Vans and Forever 21 after saving up for months before the trip. By the end of their stay, I think Gro and her friends were wearing new clothes almost exclusively.
At the farewell party Wednesday night, I tried to make the most of my last few minutes with Gro. We exchanged emails, and I agreed to email photos, as well as a recipe for chocolate-chip pumpkin bread, her new favorite “dessert.” I hope I can go on the Whitman trip in November to Copenhagen to visit her and learn as much there as I have by hosting an exchange student here.
Junior Marit Bjornlund is an online news writer for the Black & White.
