Starting my new International school is only a few days away and I am both nervous and excited (although scientists say they're the same thing...) but although I am 100% sure that I have my close friends I've met before now, I am looking forward to meeting some new people, who I might stay with for the next 10 years of my life!
Let me explain. Seeing as the population of Denmark is JUST above half of the population of London (London: 8million, Denmark: 5million) it is almost guaranteed that I meet someone in the next four years of primary and secondary education who accompanies me to my next school and university. There are four main universities in Denmark: Copenhagen, (which I love the look of..) Aarhus, (literally round the corner) Aalborg, (in the north) and Ødense. This means that - generally (and this is where maths comes in handy) - the probability of attending the same university as my friends I meet in the next four years is 1/4. 1/4!
I am SUPER happy about that. Hopefully it means that the transition that happens for most in the UK consisting of moving from sixth form/college to uni where you have to make completely new friends, (as there are SO many universities in the UK there is a miniature chance you and your friend will attend the same one) is actually happening to me soon in a few days when I join my new school, which means that university should be not so much of a daunting thought and point if I have 3 of my good friends by my side the whole way. :) I will make the transition at the same time as my friends in England too!
Although I am only at this current international school for half a year, I should make some friends who might come to the next school with me. The first school (Viborg Realskole) runs from year '0' to year 9 like any Danish school, and seeing as danish education starts one year later than we do in England, I would be in year 9 right now which is a little bit inconvenient because it means I have only half a year before my next school. However, it means I can make some friends and connections, more than I would if I only attended one school, which is good! There are two international 'secondary' schools near to Viborg so there is a good chance I will go to the second school with my new friends from the first. (Denmark is so tiny - I love it!!!)
The second school I go to is where I will do something called Pre IB and as familiar to most, IB. Pre IB is a year which basically prepares you for doing IB, and no, I don't do GCSEs in that year! I will take Danish as a foreign language which means that through living with my danish family, living in Denmark itself, learning the language, and being surrounded by people at school speaking the language, I should be fluent by the time I go to Uni (I better be!) Here they do musicals, and prom - which is always nice. :)
Aaaaaaaarrhhhhhhhhh! (us)
Scary - but more exciting!
Chloe
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Moving to Denmark
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Moving house is never easy peasy, but who says it isn't fun either! A change of scene, a chance to throw out your old bits that you couldn't bear to throw away a few years ago, and also a chance to discover new treasures or boxes full of memories you never thought you'd see again.
However, the extent to which you're moving naturally determines the extent to which you will feel the change. Moving abroad, for example will be a lot more mentally strenuous than moving round the corner (and I've done both!) so I'm going to put thoughts to paper (or website) and write about my experience of moving overseas.
Denmark, actually. To home in a bit, I actually live in a tiny little village in Randers, Jutland. Before coming to Denmark I had never heard of this place in my life (it's not exactly Los Angeles) but everybody in this petite town knows eachother, which is lovely! New Year's eve for example, people came outside onto the green, lit fireworks on the streets, went round eachother's houses and the children played jokes on eachother, sticking crisps (yes, crisps!) to our postbox and wandering around with silly string! That's right, everyone knows where everyone lives, too. Worrying? Not really. Crime in Denmark is so rare that safety is hardly an issue - which helps in settling down and feeling secure here.
It was a tough decision deciding whether to drop GCSEs and begin a new life abroad once my mum received an impossibly ideal job because I was simply so torn! It was a classic case of not wanting to leave behind friends and family and all that you've ever known. Secondary school? University? It all kind of goes out the window, but when an opportunity like this comes around, the thought of dismissing it seems absurd without careful consideration. Moving country. Hmmm. It was very tempting to me and my family: it would mean getting rid of all the stress that schooling and work brings in England. The word 'stress' doesn't exist in the danish language, unless your cat's gone missing. That's stress, here! No more staying up until 12 at night having drank 5 cups of tea with my sixth boiling in the kettle, or revising on the bus on my way to school in the morning. Everything in Denmark seemed a lot more laid back; which is just what we needed. School ending at 2pm - 1:30 sometimes? Oooh, yes please!
Something that appealed to me mostly about moving was that I would have two new sisters which would give me a total of 3 sisters to baby! Poor Michael, he would be living with 5 girls including my mum - but we're all very sweet I assured him... Me, mum and my sister Sophia had all visited our potential home in Denmark before so it wasn't unfamiliar to us. I looked forward to the surrounding nature and bike rides, free university (no fees - get in!) and becoming bilingual, most definitely! It's something I have always wanted to be and mmhmm, Danish is a pickle of a language to learn, but they say you can only become fluent by living in that country, so what more would I need?
To cut to the chase, moving to Denmark was a risk - but one my family was willing to take as we conciously knew it would be better. Better in all aspects. But for me, I kept thinking what if? What if this happens? What if that? I was afraid of the unknown. But people often forget how it's as easy to be afraid of the unknown, as being intrigued, excited and stirred by it too. It's the question itself of wondering what will happen that makes our hearts skip - if there were always an answer and no wait, we may as well be living according to a pre written script. It all depends on how you look at the situation. I had to learn to question what I would possibly gain by moving, not what I might lose.
Honestly, it took me a long time to come to terms with the opportunity but once I learned to see the positive alongside the negative, I found it important to stay neutral - stay yourself and reason - consider the other people you care about in the same position as you, in tricky decision making times it needs to be a whole hearted decision agreed on by you all, what is best for them too? Talk to them, they understand and often all I needed was to let out all my worry! I also found it important to ask questions. If you're unsure, ask! (something which I wish I had done more of.) Make sure you know the facts because you don't want to be surprised for the bad when something happens that you didn't expect - another thing, moving also taught me to not expect highly! It's even better when something happens that you hadn't set your heart on. This way, you're moving with a complete fresh board and nothing to be dissapointed by (with room for good surprise too!)
One week in to my new life in Denmark and of course I am missing England more than I thought I would. I expected, and the outcome was different, which can unsettle you - as it did me! I craved what I was used to .. my wonderful friends being round the corner from me only a text away, the usual routine of school, even the food, normality. I really missed it. I surprised myself as I thought I would be the one to adjust the quickest but nope ... I needed stimulation and things that reminded me of home. That night when I skyped a few of my oldest friends I realised that was all I needed to feel happier again! Strange how a little action like talking to my closest changed my mood, and now that's my little cup of tea to make living in a further place feel right again!
If I was to give one piece of advice during moving abroad, it is to be patient. It's a little stolen, actually, as that's what my mum told me when I missed England. Things won't feel normal for a while - of course they won't! You're not living somewhere you have been all your life anymore, it's new and a bit surreal, but with time it will feel like home. I've only been here a week but I feel better than I did on day 3! In this transition period, all I can do is remember that I'm lucky to be given this rare opening, look forward (but not too far!) and say to myself, 'I can't wait!' After all, I know that when I'm older this will be something to tell the people I love and something that I can be proud of, saying 'been there, done that'. :)
Chloe
However, the extent to which you're moving naturally determines the extent to which you will feel the change. Moving abroad, for example will be a lot more mentally strenuous than moving round the corner (and I've done both!) so I'm going to put thoughts to paper (or website) and write about my experience of moving overseas.
Denmark, actually. To home in a bit, I actually live in a tiny little village in Randers, Jutland. Before coming to Denmark I had never heard of this place in my life (it's not exactly Los Angeles) but everybody in this petite town knows eachother, which is lovely! New Year's eve for example, people came outside onto the green, lit fireworks on the streets, went round eachother's houses and the children played jokes on eachother, sticking crisps (yes, crisps!) to our postbox and wandering around with silly string! That's right, everyone knows where everyone lives, too. Worrying? Not really. Crime in Denmark is so rare that safety is hardly an issue - which helps in settling down and feeling secure here.
It was a tough decision deciding whether to drop GCSEs and begin a new life abroad once my mum received an impossibly ideal job because I was simply so torn! It was a classic case of not wanting to leave behind friends and family and all that you've ever known. Secondary school? University? It all kind of goes out the window, but when an opportunity like this comes around, the thought of dismissing it seems absurd without careful consideration. Moving country. Hmmm. It was very tempting to me and my family: it would mean getting rid of all the stress that schooling and work brings in England. The word 'stress' doesn't exist in the danish language, unless your cat's gone missing. That's stress, here! No more staying up until 12 at night having drank 5 cups of tea with my sixth boiling in the kettle, or revising on the bus on my way to school in the morning. Everything in Denmark seemed a lot more laid back; which is just what we needed. School ending at 2pm - 1:30 sometimes? Oooh, yes please!
Something that appealed to me mostly about moving was that I would have two new sisters which would give me a total of 3 sisters to baby! Poor Michael, he would be living with 5 girls including my mum - but we're all very sweet I assured him... Me, mum and my sister Sophia had all visited our potential home in Denmark before so it wasn't unfamiliar to us. I looked forward to the surrounding nature and bike rides, free university (no fees - get in!) and becoming bilingual, most definitely! It's something I have always wanted to be and mmhmm, Danish is a pickle of a language to learn, but they say you can only become fluent by living in that country, so what more would I need?
To cut to the chase, moving to Denmark was a risk - but one my family was willing to take as we conciously knew it would be better. Better in all aspects. But for me, I kept thinking what if? What if this happens? What if that? I was afraid of the unknown. But people often forget how it's as easy to be afraid of the unknown, as being intrigued, excited and stirred by it too. It's the question itself of wondering what will happen that makes our hearts skip - if there were always an answer and no wait, we may as well be living according to a pre written script. It all depends on how you look at the situation. I had to learn to question what I would possibly gain by moving, not what I might lose.
Honestly, it took me a long time to come to terms with the opportunity but once I learned to see the positive alongside the negative, I found it important to stay neutral - stay yourself and reason - consider the other people you care about in the same position as you, in tricky decision making times it needs to be a whole hearted decision agreed on by you all, what is best for them too? Talk to them, they understand and often all I needed was to let out all my worry! I also found it important to ask questions. If you're unsure, ask! (something which I wish I had done more of.) Make sure you know the facts because you don't want to be surprised for the bad when something happens that you didn't expect - another thing, moving also taught me to not expect highly! It's even better when something happens that you hadn't set your heart on. This way, you're moving with a complete fresh board and nothing to be dissapointed by (with room for good surprise too!)
One week in to my new life in Denmark and of course I am missing England more than I thought I would. I expected, and the outcome was different, which can unsettle you - as it did me! I craved what I was used to .. my wonderful friends being round the corner from me only a text away, the usual routine of school, even the food, normality. I really missed it. I surprised myself as I thought I would be the one to adjust the quickest but nope ... I needed stimulation and things that reminded me of home. That night when I skyped a few of my oldest friends I realised that was all I needed to feel happier again! Strange how a little action like talking to my closest changed my mood, and now that's my little cup of tea to make living in a further place feel right again!
If I was to give one piece of advice during moving abroad, it is to be patient. It's a little stolen, actually, as that's what my mum told me when I missed England. Things won't feel normal for a while - of course they won't! You're not living somewhere you have been all your life anymore, it's new and a bit surreal, but with time it will feel like home. I've only been here a week but I feel better than I did on day 3! In this transition period, all I can do is remember that I'm lucky to be given this rare opening, look forward (but not too far!) and say to myself, 'I can't wait!' After all, I know that when I'm older this will be something to tell the people I love and something that I can be proud of, saying 'been there, done that'. :)
Chloe
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