BROKEN Hill student Maggie Crittenden, who has recently returned from a year in Denmark on international exchange, said the experience had made her realise how different the world is outside of what she’d known.
“I lived in the middle of Copenhagen, so I was able to live an entirely different life than the one I have here in Broken Hill,” she said.
“I really enjoyed my time in Denmark, in Copenhagen you could just disappear into a crowd and I really like that.”
Ms Crittenden said that there were some obvious culture shocks.
“My favourite thing is the culture of independence,” she said.
“The shock that stands out the most is just how independent kids and teenagers are in Copenhagen.
“You’re expected to get yourself around and take care of yourself at a young age.”
She also noted a clear difference in schooling systems and how they run.
“They’re kind of like American high schools, as in, it’s just the last three years of school, and not your whole teenage years like it is in Australia,” she said.
“Your education is very much yours, and not your parents or the government.
“It allows for more independence and actually makes you feel like you’re being treated like an autonomous person, whereas in Australia there’s less freedom or independence at school.
“A big example of this is that in Australian schools you can’t leave the school grounds even if you don’t have a class and even if you’re in senior years and are 18, but in Danish gymnasiums, you can leave the school when you don’t have class.”
She said the best part of her exchange was the friends she made.
“I can talk a lot about the systemic and cultural differences, but the highlight of my exchange was definitely the friendships I made,” she said.
“During the summer break I travelled to Norway on my own to stay with another Australian exchange student, and that was a very nice trip. All of my memories with my friends are memorable.”
