Pictured above is our new Rotary Exchange student from Denmark, Andrea Fredskild, accompanied by the Presidents of the Rotary Clubs of Laverton Point Cook and Werribee, Tim Fuller and Ross Conley.
Andrea made her first official presentation to members and partners of both clubs and she did it in very impressive fashion.
Some of the highlights of her presentation included:
- Her mum is a social/health care worker and is crazy about horses.
- Her dad was a sailor with the shipping company Maersk but, after many sea voyages, he is now working for the same company as a safety teacher.
- She also has a sister who is 7 years old.
- She loves reading and her favourite books are the Harry Potter series.
- She loves sport, in particular equestrian events.
- She also loves being with her friends.
- Her house is in the countryside and is 100 years old. She lives 2.5 kms from the sea.
- She rides her bike to school which is about 4 kms away.
- School is very different to her Australian school, Westbourne Grammar. It is a bit "hippy". The focus is more on the social aspects of life and there is a heavy emphasis on environmental sustainability.
- The teachers are fun and the students refer to them by their first name.
- Learning is usually done in groups. There is less emphasis on books and more on personal experiences. Students even go on short exchanges to schools in neighbouring countries.
- Denmark is the happiest country in the world according to a study. Factors influencing this include:
- Democracy. Everyone has a say in how the country should be running.
- High taxes. While this can be considered to be a burden, it allows for free education and hospital/medical services.
- Trust. Danish people are friendly, welcoming and supportive of each other. Andrea showed a photo of a number of prams outside a cafe. The babies are sleeping in the prams and the mothers are inside the cafe having a coffee or a meal. If any of the babies start to cry, a person passing by will enter the cafe to tell the mother.
- The weather in Denmark is generally very cold - lots of snow and rain.
- Denmark is the biking capital of the world. It is a cheap form of travel and is good for the environment.
- One of the favourite words in Danish is "hygge" pronounced "huga". It relates to being comfortable or having a good time. Similar to our "no worries mate".
- Australia was originally Andrea's 4th choice of country to do exchange. She had read that we have 8 of the world's 10 most deadly creatures. But, after some further investigation, she changed her mind.
- Andrea is grateful to Rotary for giving her the opportunity to travel to Australia. Even though she is a little homesick, she is excited about being here for the next 12 months.