I woke up for the very first time in my new room at about 7 am. I got up and dressed up as fast as I could. In August it was still pretty warm weather in Denmark, but still freezing in the morning. My new family was awake and greeted me enthusiastically in the kitchen. I had a typical danish breakfast while talking to my family. My host mum explained me that she was going to follow me and show me the way to go to school that day. It was my first day at a danish school, where there was a ceremony of introduction for new students and a presentation of the teachers, principal and workers at the school. This presentation would start at 10 pm.
I prepared my bag to receive some books and went outside, where my host mum was waiting with 2 bikes. AFS Denmark had given me a bike, since they knew I would have to use it to get to school, every day. The day was beautiful, the sun was rising and an orange atmosphere filled up the air. It was cold and the air was so fresh and pure. I remember the very first weeks in Denmark I could feel a certain smell in the air, especially in the countryside, where I live. It was a pure smell, very pleasant. This smell I got used to, and now I can't feel it that often, but I can still remember its exotic fragrance.
I prepared my bag to receive some books and went outside, where my host mum was waiting with 2 bikes. AFS Denmark had given me a bike, since they knew I would have to use it to get to school, every day. The day was beautiful, the sun was rising and an orange atmosphere filled up the air. It was cold and the air was so fresh and pure. I remember the very first weeks in Denmark I could feel a certain smell in the air, especially in the countryside, where I live. It was a pure smell, very pleasant. This smell I got used to, and now I can't feel it that often, but I can still remember its exotic fragrance.
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| The view I have every morning before biking |
I got up in my bike and followed my host mum. We biked through the huge fields of wheat. I was wondered with the beauty of the countryside by the morning. There were no houses to be seen, even at a huge distance; if I tried to focus my eyes on the horizon, all I could see was the delicate blue aura of the sky touching the earth, while the subtle sun brightened the sky with a plain light orange. She told me it was the magic of the summer in Denmark, and when we got to the Spring, it would be even more amazing. I was looking forward (and still am).
The bike trip lasted about 20 minutes, as we biked roughly 4km. We arrived at a bus stop, where we dropped our bikes. My host mum told me that everyone has a bike in Denmark, and it's not common to steal another's bike or to steal anything in general. This is because, unlike other countries like Brazil or Portugal, there is no substantial and noticeable financial difference within the population. In other countries, it is very clear a contrast between the very rich and the very poor. In Denmark, that doesn't happen. The country's richness is very well balanced and distributed to everyone! This is one of the reasons why Denmark is the happiest country in the world. But more about that subject another time!
So, a bus arrived shortly after and we got in. It traveled for 30 minutes until we arrived at the Kolding Bus Station. There, we had to catch yet another bus, which only took 10 minutes to arrive to my beloved school: The Kolding Gymnasium!
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| Entrance to the school in a normal day |
First thing I noticed, everyone was dressed up in a very festive way. Still some meters from the school entrance, a boy from the 3rd year gave me a Hawaiian necklace, full of flowers and colors, with a pacifier on the tip! I wore it and proceeded to the path to enter the school. On the floor it was written “SUT”, which kinda means baby or newbie, but translated directly is pacifier.
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| The entrance to the school and the ones welcoming the new students |
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| The necklaces for the newbies |
As soon as the automatic doors with KG written on them opened, I heard a lot of noise, loud music, people screaming and partying. There was an obstacle course that I was forced to go through to enter the school. A crowd of older students were watching in the side, taking pictures, laughing and screaming.
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The beggining of the obstacle course
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| The party inside the school |
When I finished on the other side, I was greeted by the school's vice-principal. I went to his cabinet with my mum and he talked in English with me, welcoming me to Denmark and to the school. He said that I was very welcome as an exchange student and if I needed anything I could just go talk to him. He was very nice and I was already overwhelmed with the school!
It was very big, with 4 different sectors and 10 classrooms in each sector. There was a cantine, a lot of space to sit and talk. It was extremely different from the schools in Portugal, more advanced and sophisticated, very clean and slick. There was also an opened stage, directed to the chairs, where we were sitting and waiting. Then, the principal got up on the stage and started his talk. Everyone was listening with attention. Sadly, I couldn't understand anything because it was in Danish, but my mum explained me that this was the ritual of welcoming the new student to the Gymnasium.
The Gymnasium corresponds to the Secondary School before the University and it welcomes students from 15 to 19 years old. It has 3 years, in whch case I'm in the 1st. More about the Danish education system in another time.
It was very big, with 4 different sectors and 10 classrooms in each sector. There was a cantine, a lot of space to sit and talk. It was extremely different from the schools in Portugal, more advanced and sophisticated, very clean and slick. There was also an opened stage, directed to the chairs, where we were sitting and waiting. Then, the principal got up on the stage and started his talk. Everyone was listening with attention. Sadly, I couldn't understand anything because it was in Danish, but my mum explained me that this was the ritual of welcoming the new student to the Gymnasium.
The Gymnasium corresponds to the Secondary School before the University and it welcomes students from 15 to 19 years old. It has 3 years, in whch case I'm in the 1st. More about the Danish education system in another time.
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| Speech and students listening |
After the speech, the classes were designated and we all proceeded to our respective classrooms. Each class had about 23 students. I entered the classroom and met my new class. The teacher was very nice and started by introducing himself. He gave us a paper to write our names and put it on top of the table. After that he grouped us up in groups of three, being that each three persons had to met each other first and then present each other to the class. Everyone talked in Danish but I talked in English. I noticed I wasn't the only one scared, since everyone was new, but it was scarier for me knowing that I was an exchange student and it would be even harder to make new friends in the class, since I couldn't understand their conversations.
After the short presentations, we played a game to know each other better and shortly after, it was time to go home. I got out of the classroom, where my mum was waiting for me. I didn't talk to anyone else, because I felt so frightened that I couldn't understand anything! Everyone was going home anyways so I knew I would have more chances in the next days. We took the same way back, catching 2 buses and biking through the fields.
We arrived after 3 pm and the rest of the day was spent walking around and meeting more of the property of my host family. I also had time to rest for the first time in 5 days. We had dinner at 18:30 and after one or two hours I went directly to bed, of how exhausted I was. So this was my first day at school. I was impressed with all the new things I didn't knew and so many I still had to learn, but, on the other side, scared to be alone in a place where I don't understand the language and don't know anyone. It took a while, but I'm now happy with what I accomplished. After some hard weeks I was able to make good friends. It's a story that's worth telling... for another time.
After the short presentations, we played a game to know each other better and shortly after, it was time to go home. I got out of the classroom, where my mum was waiting for me. I didn't talk to anyone else, because I felt so frightened that I couldn't understand anything! Everyone was going home anyways so I knew I would have more chances in the next days. We took the same way back, catching 2 buses and biking through the fields.
We arrived after 3 pm and the rest of the day was spent walking around and meeting more of the property of my host family. I also had time to rest for the first time in 5 days. We had dinner at 18:30 and after one or two hours I went directly to bed, of how exhausted I was. So this was my first day at school. I was impressed with all the new things I didn't knew and so many I still had to learn, but, on the other side, scared to be alone in a place where I don't understand the language and don't know anyone. It took a while, but I'm now happy with what I accomplished. After some hard weeks I was able to make good friends. It's a story that's worth telling... for another time.
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