Submitted by Robert Ley on the 2015 spring semester DIS (Denmark’s International Study Program) program in Copenhagen, Denmark…
The Danish education system is different from the American education system, I am accustomed to. Danes are required to go to folkeskole, similar to American primary school, from ages 6-16. Afterwards, many go to a secondary school called gymnasium. (Not to be confused with what Americans might play basketball, volleyball and other indoor sports in). Gymnasium entails three years of focused study to prepare for higher education. It is typical for many Danes to follow gymnasium with a year of traveling or working before applying to universities. Another option is studying and living in a højskole. A højskole (pronounced similarly to high school) is where a student will live for 3-6 months with 100 or so other students to study specific core courses. Vallekilde højskole was my home for a weekend as I was studying with Danish students who also have the same core course of video game development. Being a part of the Vallekilde community was really an enjoyable experience.
My day living in Vallekilde started with an 8 o’ clock breakfast prepared for the students in the cafeteria. The food was a traditional Danish breakfast consisting of rye bread, cheese, jam, oatmeal and fruit and was prepared by the few students whose turn it was to do so. Afterwards, I followed the students into the auditorium. Here we sang songs, in my case poorly sounding out Danish words out of tune, and listened to announcements (also in Danish, kind of just sat there staring at the back of someone’s head). Then, we did video game development work until lunch. If I were a Dane, I might decide to live at a højskole just because the food that is prepared is delicious. Lunch consisted of an array of different salads, freshly baked bread and various meat and vegetarian dishes. From lunch we worked until dinner (also delicious) and the evenings consisted of social events. Vallekilde has different sectioned halls and each hall takes turns planning an event. An 80’s aerobics themed team building event happened to be what was planned while I was visiting. The students were broken into groups and we rotated through numerous fun team building activities directed by students in 80’s aerobics attire. After the event, many of the Danish students stayed up and socialized. I read a book and fell asleep.
The next day had a similar schedule except we also celebrated the Danish holiday of Fastelavn. The main event of this holiday includes taking turns beating a hanging barrel full of candy and oranges until the barrel breaks and the fillings come out. The barrel is similar to a piñata except you wouldn’t find one these at a 10 year old’s birthday party. The stick used to wack the barrel was more like a club. The event was a loud spectacle of beating a defenseless barrel until its wooden members flew through the room. Similar to Halloween, you also dress up on this holiday. Since it was Friday and Fastelavn, the evening event consisted of a party.
Staying at Vallekilde was truly a unique experience. Being there only for a weekend, having meals made for me, events planned for me, living with like-minded students my age, it kind of felt like summer camp. I know that if I was a full-time resident at a højskole, contributing to the events, cleaning, cooking and helping the community, it wouldn’t feel that way. I imagine it would feel like a home and my classmates might feel like family.
