Højer, a small town in the south of Denmark, is located directly by the Wadden Sea National Park and is known for its picturesque marshland, historic buildings and its special location behind the dykes. With around 1,100 inhabitants, Højer not only offers impressive nature, but also sights such as the Højer Molle, which is one of the tallest windmills in Northern Europe. The town is characterized by old houses, an eventful history and a close connection to nature, which makes it a special place for a student exchange.
Efterskole are a special feature of the Danish school system. These boarding schools offer young people the opportunity to spend a year intensively exploring their interests, developing their personality and living in a community. The focus is not only on learning, but also on personal development and making friends.
Our adventure began with the visit of our Danish exchange students to Germany. For a week, they immersed themselves in our everyday life, got to know our families and our school. We showed them our city, went on excursions and tried to give them an insight into our culture.
But after this intensive week of getting to know each other and experiencing things together, the tables turned. Now it was time for us to pack our bags and set off for Denmark. Excited about what awaited us, we set off on our journey, ready to immerse ourselves in everyday life in Denmark and experience new adventures.
After arriving by train on Monday, we started Tuesday with a morning walk and then a series of workshops. We were introduced to different aspects of Denmark in different groups. The workshops were not only informative but also held in English, which encouraged us to use and improve our language skills. This was followed by an exploratory tour of the city. In small, mixed groups of German and Danish students, we set off to discover the sights of Højer. Our Danish exchange partners acted as tour guides, explaining the history and significance of the individual places with great commitment and knowledge. We found a welcome refreshment in between at the local ice cream parlor. In the afternoon, everything revolved around our individual interests. We were able to immerse ourselves in different areas in the focus lessons: gastronomy, martial arts, Japanese or e-sports were available to choose from. Those who chose gastronomy conjured up delicious brownies, which we all enjoyed later. The day ended with an exciting volleyball tournament between Germany and Denmark. The Danish team came out on top with a 2:1 victory. The atmosphere was great and everyone cheered their teams on loudly.
Wednesday was all about nature: equipped with wellies and buckets, we set off on a mudflat hike to look for oysters. The muddy ground in the mudflats made for a lot of fun and a few involuntary mud baths. Despite our wet feet and muddy clothes, we didn't let it spoil our mood and diligently collected oysters. And we actually found a considerable number of oysters. So the oyster collection was a complete success. After the oysters had been collected, gymnastics was on the agenda. Beforehand, we strengthened our team spirit by playing games together. We were particularly impressed by the somersaults and other acrobatic feats of our Danish exchange partners. Afterwards, there was again the opportunity to get creative, play music or do sports in the main lessons. In the afternoon, the oysters we had collected were prepared and everyone was allowed to try them, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise for some. We ended the evening with a game of dodgeball.
On Thursday, the focus was on Danish culture and sporting competition. After breakfast, we prepared packed lunches for the day to fortify us for the activities ahead. We then met up with Martin, a Danish teacher, for a storytelling session in which he gave us an informative and entertaining introduction to the history of Denmark and the special features of the Efterskole. At around 11 a.m., we set off with our Danish friends to Kolding, the tenth largest city in Denmark. Once there, we dropped the Danish students off as they had to prepare for a dance competition. We, the German students, used the time to visit the Koldinghus, an impressive museum that presents the history of the region in a lively way. Our guide led us through the exhibitions and gave us lots of interesting facts about Danish culture and traditions. It was a great experience when some students and our accompanying teachers tried on historical dresses and posed for photos. In the courtyard of the museum, we fortified ourselves with our homemade bowls and packed lunches before setting off to explore the city of Kolding. After a short sightseeing tour, we made our way to the performance of our Danish friends, which of course we didn't want to miss. Equipped with good seats, we had a great view of the dance floor. A total of nine schools took part in the competition. However, the focus was not on winning, but on having fun dancing and the opportunity to present their own choreographies. A special highlight was the leapfrog competition, in which the teams had to jump over a leapfrog as many times as possible within one minute. Everyone gave their best in the boys' and girls' categories, even if it wasn't enough for us to win in the end. Exhausted, but full of new and great impressions, we started our journey home at around 9:30 pm and fell into bed tired.
Friday started with our focus lessons. On this day, we had the choice between gastronomy, soccer and creative design. After lunch, we had to clean the boarding school. Every Friday, we work together to spruce up the entire boarding school. Thanks to everyone's help, the work went quickly. The last joint activity of the week was singing together. Whether girls, boys or teachers, everyone joined in and created a very special atmosphere. From 2:15 pm it was time for the weekend and free time. Some students were picked up by their parents and spent the weekend at home, while others stayed at the boarding school and enjoyed the time with their friends. Even without a fixed program, there was never a dull moment at the boarding school. Whether it was the gym, sports hall, kitchen, cozy chill-out area with TV, table tennis table, billiard room, creative room or piano - there were opportunities everywhere to get active, try things out or simply relax together. Some of us spent the last evening packing and relaxing, while others worked out with the Danish students in the fitness room, listened to music and simply had fun.
Saturday, our day of departure, began with a final breakfast together and packing our packed lunches. Then it was time to say goodbye to our Danish friends - not without hugs and promises to stay in touch.
Our student exchange to the Danish Efterskole was an unforgettable experience that has left a lasting impression on us. Not only did we improve our language skills and learn a lot about Danish culture, but we also made valuable friendships and broadened our horizons. This trip showed us how important it is to be open to new things and to think outside the box. It is particularly worth mentioning that some of us firmly intend to maintain the new friendships we have made even after the exchange - fortunately, social media makes this easy today. We were impressed by the openness and warmth with which we were received by the Danish students and teachers, as well as the way the young people treated and respected each other.
We are grateful for the many wonderful moments and experiences we were able to gather in Denmark and will never forget this time. A big thank you to SIS Reinsdorf, the Efterskole in Højer and especially the teachers who made this experience possible for us.
Source:
Madelaine Foltyn - Student 11IGR
