Hello!
My name
is Rachel, and I'm going to be living in Denmark next year! This blog will
chronicle my foreign experiences. I'm currently fifteen years old, a freshman
in high school, and I live in North Carolina, USA (though I'm still new here -
I've lived in Massachusetts my whole life). Just a couple of days ago I got an
email that I've been accepted by AFS-Denmark for their year program! I'll be
living in Denmark for an entire eleven months, starting in July. I'll be
keeping a blog while I'm there to keep everyone back in the U.S. updated on my
life. I also hope that my blog can be a resource for potential future exchange
students. So, here's my introductory post!
I'll
start off with the program I'll be travelling with: AFS. What, exactly, is AFS?
AFS (AFS Intercultural Programs, formerly the American Field Service) is a
nonprofit organization, run mainly by volunteers. It is, according to the
AFS-USA website, "a leader in intercultural learning [that] offers
international exchange programs in more than 40 countries around the world." The
organization is basically a new incarnation of the organization of field nurses
from battlefields in the world wars. AFS-USA works with partners worldwide to
send thousands of students around the world every year. It is probably one of
the most, if not the most reputable large foreign
exchange program, having been sending students around the world since 1947. I
think that the total number of countries forming AFS is somewhere in the
sixties.
So, with
all of these countries to choose from, why and how did I pick Denmark?
Everyone's been asking me that. Overall, I guess it just seemed right. I considered many different countries in the
beginning. I knew I wanted to go to Europe, and I didn't particularly care
which language I would end up learning. So I looked on the AFS website through
all the different European countries (and there are a lot, so it took me a
while). I kept a list with all of the possibilities and crossed out countries
as I went. I ended up having only a few not crossed out at the end, so I looked
more closely at those. I'm about 6 months too young to go on a number of the
programs, which ruled out a bunch of possibilities. But I didn't want to have
to wait to go my junior year, so I kept looking. When I stumbled across
Denmark, I decided that I really like the country in general. One thing that
the AFS website said that caught my eye is, "Citizens of a maritime
nation, the Danes have always turned their eyes and hearts to the sea, and no
part of the country is more than an hour's drive from the seashore." I
personally have never lived farther than about a mile from the ocean, and it's
important to me to have some proximity to the sea. I also like that the Danish
standards of education and living are high, because I don't think I could
handle being in a third-world country for a year (all my respect to those
who go for service and such, but I couldn't do it - education and hot showers are too important to me!). Furthermore, Denmark is
beautiful! I like that it isn't completely developed, like some countries I
considered. I don't like living in the city. Much of Denmark is made
up of small towns, in more rural areas, that are still easily accessible by train or
bus. Some other things that I used to decide if Denmark seemed right for me
were blogs of former exchange students. I ended up reading about nine different
blogs - all of the posts, from the very
beginning - which, admittedly, took a long time, but was worth it. That's one
reason why I'm going to write this blog, because those blogs were so helpful to
me, and there aren't that many blogs on Denmark. I really could go on and on
about all of Denmark's many merits (and I haven't even stepped foot in the
country yet - just think of what I'll be like when I come home!), but I'll stop
boring you, dear reader. My second choice ended up being the Netherlands, which
really looks like a great country. I think I would love it there, too, but
Denmark seems like a better fit for me overall, and I've been accepted by
Denmark, so Denmark it is.
I've
started looking through the visa information and application, and I've been
making all sorts of plans. The application for a student visa is long and
fairly complicated, so I wanted to get started on it as soon as possible. I
probably will have to go to the Danish Embassy in DC (or maybe New York, I'm not positive about
that) for the visa (and how exciting would
that be! - I've never been to an embassy), preferably sooner rather than later.
AFS helps out with the visa process some, but it's largely something the
exchangees must do on their own. There's also an AFS pre-departure orientation
coming up for me on May 18th, which I'm really looking forward to. It feels
like the first step to Denmark, and I can't wait!
I'M JUST
SO EXCITED. About everything. Seriously, I
can't express it in words. I've been researching Denmark and foreign exchange
in general for months, and, finally, there are around 90 days until I am living in Denmark!
I've already made a basic packing list - there's this great website that makes one for you, but is still customizable, and I've also been looking online at what other students have brought - and I
predict that I'll end up packing and unpacking a hundred times in the next few
months. I've started working on my Danish, which is nonexistent, and so far I
know basic phrases, the colors, basic numbers, the months and days, some clothing items,
and a few random words. It's hard to learn Danish pronunciations online,
without an actual Danish-speaking teacher, but I'm making at least some
progress. I don't want to be completely lost when I arrive! I'm normally good
at learning languages, so I hope I'll pick up Danish quickly once I arrive. AFS
also requires students to take language classes in Denmark, and I'm sure those
will be very helpful. I'll try to include some Danish phrases in my posts so my
readers can learn a bit. I think
I'll end up making all of my blog titles Danish, with the exception of this
one.
Okay,
wrapping up this very long blog post now...
I may
write a couple more times before I get to Denmark, but I won't guarantee it.
Once I'm in Denmark I'll try to write at least once a week, and I'll include
lots of pictures! So, vi ses, readers!
Much love,
Rachel
