23/08/2026
I skoleåret 2025-2026 havde vi den store fornøjelse at have Laurin fra Italien som udvekslingsstudent på Nordfyns Gymnasium.
Laurin skriver følgende om sit udvekslingsophold:
A new life across the continent
My experience as an exchange student in Denmark
Landing in Copenhagen for the first time felt surreal. I was still processing everything. The new friends I’d made before even stepping on that plane, the thousands of unopened possibilities and questions I had about what it would be like, then immediately meeting my ASSE coordinators when I stepped out into the main area of the airport, and then meeting all the other exchange students from all around the world. The first four days I spent at the welcome camp were like a fever dream. I’d gone from a quiet life in a small town in the middle of the Alps to suddenly being dropped into Denmark’s capital. And even though I knew it wouldn’t be easy, I was thrilled for everything I would experience in the coming ten months.
Learning Danish
I had started learning the language half a year prior, with Duolingo, of course. I didn’t have a hard time learning the vocabulary or the grammar rules, given that my first language is German and many words are similar or even completely the same, such as Kartoffel = Kartoffel, brød = Brot. But when I got to my host family and had to hear people actually speak the language, I felt like a puppy dropped freshly into its new home. I didn’t understand anything! Turns out, reading Danish is much, much easier than listening to it when you’re just starting out. The first time I went to a grocery store, I had the embarrassing experience of having to say „Eh, sorry, I don’t speak Danish.“ But over the months, as I kept listening to the language, hearing it everywhere I went and being taught some words and phrases by my host family, I started understanding more and more, until eventually I could follow conversations in full Danish and not get completely lost in the unintelligible mess. Just a few weeks ago, at the grocery store again, my host mom realized I understood the cashier when she asked „Vil du bonen med?“, and I’d never seen her that proud before. That was one of many small moments of triumph for me in acquiring an entire new language. I’m still learning, obviously, but it’s getting easier, and it’s a lot of fun, too!
Danish traditions & culture
I‘ve had countless culture shocks in the time I’ve been here. There is one I want to include that is not exactly cultural, but still struck me hard on the first day of waking up in Denmark and looking out of the window. Where are the mountains? Where have they gone? Having lived my entire life in a tiny town tucked away in the tyrolean Alps, this was something intense to experience. Obviously I knew beforehand that Denmark was flat, but I had always taken the views for granted, so the flatness I’d only ever seen in movies was a big surprise to me. An actual culture shock to me was the friendliness. People here are so kind, it’s something I had to adjust to, but I’m certainly not complaining. Of course, there will always be a select few grumpy folks, but the number of kind people outnumbers that by far. Another tradition I adore is fredagsslik. Candy every Friday? Sign me up! It’s so rewarding to get home from school on the last day of the week and go fill up a nice bag of sweetness. When I do say no to it at times, my host family jokes about someone having replaced me, because that’s just impossible. I fell in love with the hygge culture as well. I love to relax with people close to me, just sitting back and sipping a hot chocolate, talking and watching TV. It’s such a mundane thing, but it’s so fulfilling and beautiful. And during Christmas, when we danced around the tree, it felt as if I was back in elementary school, being pulled along in P.E., but instead of the squeak of plastic against linoleum floor, there was joyful singing and the smell of gingerbread lingering everywhere. There are many more things that have taken me by surprise, but getting into everything would have me write a novel.
Conclusion
When people say you won’t be the same person you were when you return to your home country, they are absolutely right. I have changed immensely. I was thrown into the deep end and I had to find the edge myself, had to figure out how to survive and ended up thriving more than ever before. Denmark, to me, is not just a country anymore. It’s an entire life I’ve built all by myself, like a parallel universe that I chose to make my home for ten months. There are endless things that I will miss once I return, and I know that saying goodbye is going to be hard. When I said farewell to my parents at the airport, I knew I’d return. When I have to do it here, things will never be the same again, even if I do come back. And it’s hard to think about. I’m tearing up writing this, and even though it hurts me, it was so, so worth it. All the people I’ve met, all the personal challenges I’ve overcome, all the experiences I’ve had make up for the pain. I’m not who I was when I came here. And maybe… that’s a good thing.