Hej, Kender du mig?

RATA SURITHPINYO I SJC100-101 I AFS56 🇩🇰

In this blog, It is about stories of my exchange year in Denmark during 2017-2018. I hope you guys'll enjoy reading it!

First of all, I wanna tell you a bit about how much cozy and wonderful Denmark is. “Kingdom of Denmark” is a Scandinavian country which is placed above Germany and linked to nearby Sweden via the Öresund bridge. 

           Copenhagen, its capital, is home to royal palaces and colourful Nyhavn harbour, plus the Tivoli amusement park and the iconic “Little Mermaid” statue. Odense is writer Hans Christian Andersen’s hometown, with a medieval core of cobbled streets and half-timbered houses. The population of this country is only around 5-6 million people and the language we mainly use is Danish. However, I think most of the people are able to speak English so it is easy to travel and communicate with Danes. I would say Denmark is not that popular for foreigner compared with other countries in Europe but it is such a peaceful country and Denmark has been the world's happiest country the world!

In addition to, the school that I was studying for 1 year is “Ranum Efterskole College” or known as “Boarding school”. It is placed in the north of Denmark in the small town called “Ranum. Ranum Efterskole is an international school, we have both Danish and Cambridge system that learners are able to choose before the school year starts (Indeed, if you are joining the school by an AFS then you will have to study in Cambridge systemーevery subjects are taken in English). However, this school is also a “dormitory” which means we have to stay in school from Monday to Friday and we can go back home to visit host family during weekend or holidays. I was so close to my friends, roommates, teachers, and school as the reason that it is a dormitory school. 

In terms of Academic, we are free to choose which subjects we are interested in but some of them are mandatory. The subjects I had were Biology, Marine Science, Global Perspective, Math, English, and Danish. 

Marine Science, we are only 9 people in this class. Being that, small group, there are so many benefits we got. The teacher is so kind and he always help us. We learned about Marine ecosystems, Energetics of Marine ecosystems, Nutrients cycles, Coral reefs and Lagoons, The ocean floor and the coasts, also Oceanography. We went to the aquarium and beaches for a few times during the year. Additionally, there is a project in Marine Science to start our own “tiny aquarium” means everyone the class has our own fish tank and it is a responsibility to take care of it. It was so much fun and by the end of the year, I was very proud because I would not have a chance to try this fascinating subject if I did not join this year.

Biology, it is pretty much the same what we have learned from Thailand but it is kinda easy. In this class, we have done many works and presentation. I totally love it. 

In Marine Science and Biology, we got the same teacher. He made me truly impressed the way he teaches and how he encourages his students. Once, the last class before the final test comes, he said “Thank you for joining this subject, the test is actually important to you guys but please remember whatever your result isーit doesn’t matter to your life. The most important thing is you have been enjoying this class for one year and I wish it helps you to know what you wanna be in the future.”. 

I won’t ever forget that.

There are a lot of different activities I have done with my host family and school. With my host family, I usually do cooking with them and we go outside home sometimes. At the beginning of the year, my host family and I watched Harry Potter (We called it “A Harry Potter Marathon”) for a whole night and It was really cozy. We also went to the swimming pool and amusement park together. Besides that, I have tried much more things with school subjects. For an example, I did Surfing, Golfing, Sailing, Winter Bathing, Mountain Hiking and Busking for the first time.  I would say it is hard to start something new but they all gave me an inspirational experience. 

There are a lot more things about my exchange year that I didn’t say in here. But, all of the memories, experiences, and inspirations made me stronger and happier. I wouldn’t a better person if I did not join this amazing year. Thanks, everyone who has been a part of my year and of course, thank you Denmark. ♡