Claude Galette

2010-11 Outbound to Denmark

Hometown: Eagle Lake, Florida

School: All Saints' Academy

Sponsor: College Park Rotary Club, District 6980, Florida

Host: Skovshoved Rotary Club, District 1470, Denmark

Bio

Claude's Bio

My name is Claude Denise Galette. I am 15 and I currently attend All Saints’ Academy, as a sophomore. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts. I have a Haitian background. I lived in New York when I was 5. I then moved to Florida when I turned 6. I live with my mom and little sister, Andie. Andie is 9, and strange. She is lots fun to be around when she is not bugging me.

I hardly ever go out with my friends. I stay home most of the time. At home I listen to music, write stories, take pictures, and hang with my family. At school, I have fun with my friends, before, during, and after school. I am also active in various clubs. I am part of Operation Smile, Cultural Diversity Club, the Recycle Club, the Book Club, National Honor Society, National French Honor Society, Photography Club, and Youth and Government. I put as much of my time as I can into all of the clubs that I am in. I also do volunteer work at my local animal shelter, when I am off from school.

After school, everyday, I practice tennis at school. I enjoy playing tennis a lot. I have tried playing other sports, but they don’t draw me in as much as tennis does. I also enjoy playing soccer, as a recreational activity with my friends. I also swim during the summer, everyday. I don’t like to play tennis during the summer, because it gets so hot. I was on the swim team this year, but I’m not very fast. I hope to be on the tennis team by the end of January.

I also play piano. I used to play the guitar, but didn’t love it as much as I do the piano. My mother is very music oriented. She has various CD’s from every part of the world. We have to play one instrument. My sister also plays, and so do some of my friends. My friends and I play at school, during our free time, when we find a piano. There are various ones at school, so sometimes we will go into the music room and play. I really enjoy hanging with my friends.

I have lived out of the country twice before, but I only remember the recent one. The summer of ’09, I spent July in Haiti. I went with my little sister, to spent time with my family. It was fun, but, as the youngest in the family, Andie and I didn’t have much to do. We spent some time at the beach, but most of it in my uncle’s office, eating mangos.

I can’t wait to go to Denmark. I must admit, my first choice was Japan, but I don’t mind. I don’t really know much about Denmark, and that’s why I chose it. I am so ready to be out of this humid Florida weather. As a Haitian, I speak French, naturally. English is my second language. The French language is soft and flows, so I am having a difficult time learning Danish. The language is so rough and I instinctively want to make the letters flow together, but then I would be saying it wrong. It so complicated, I feel like I’m going against my nature. Ohh well. My mom speaks a few languages. She speaks, French, Spanish, Creole, English, and a little Portuguese. Note that they are all romance languages. She wants to learn Danish with me; she’s having the same problems I have.

I can tell that, this year, and next year are going to be the best so far, and I can’t wait.

September 5

In the beginning…..this will be an epic tale if you didn’t realize……In the beginning there was a flight. A flight that did not feel like departing from Orlando, no matter how much the pilot wanted it to. So, in the late future after the beginning, there was another flight on the next day. This flight took me from Washington DC, to Copenhagen.  I arrived in Denmark. Stayed with a random family for 2 days, and then went with my host family at their summer. It was awkward. I didn’t talk to them unless they asked me something. I tried to stay out of the way, but still be as helpful as I could.

You will adjust to your family, but it will take time. I didn’t say in my room, I was with my family, but I just didn’t talk. After about a week with them I was pretty comfy. I am really lucky because my host family is not that different from my actual family. I love my host siblings. They are the best, and we just sit in my host brother’s room and listen to music most nights.

Heads up, everyone smokes in Denmark. Even the people you wouldn’t expect to smoke. My school has, no joke, a smoking pavilion. It seems whenever there is the slightest opportunity to smoke, Danish teens will take it. Even through the rain. Danish kids drink too. Although the law says 16 is the drinking age, most Danish teens have been drinking since 14. On the first day of school, no joke, the entire school, that’s around 700 kids made a procession to a store, and bought out the beer isle. By this time it’s around 1pm. Then we headed to the beach to drink, and party. I left after about 5 minutes. It was just too much for the first day.

The next week was better. School was really boring. The only classes I honestly paid attention in were English, French, and Math. Danish class is like pulling teeth. Every couple of minutes I ask one of my friends what’s going on, they answer, and I go back to reading my book.

The majority of teens in Denmark won’t go out of their way to meet you. In America we flock around foreigners, and try our best to make them feel awesome. It’s not that they won’t talk to you, but as an exchange student, you have to put a lot of effort to get to know people. That includes going up to random people and introducing yourself as the exchange student that doesn’t speak Danish. Very awkward. When I tell kids I’m an exchange student, the 3^rd question they ask me is why I chose Denmark. The kids here know it’s a small country, and many of them want to move to America because it’s so big. Yes, they do think that all Americans eat hamburgers and fries every day that all Americans are fat, and everyone has a gun. No amount of debate will put those stereotypes to rest.

Oh, the most popular shows here are Friends, (yes that show from the 90’s), and the old Beverly Hills 90210. In Denmark they listen to American music, but they are about a month behind. That includes music, movies, and any type of American media. That’s my first moth. Haj Haj!

My host brother is the one in the middle. It was a very cold sun set, but they were dared.	Underground lounge at Gammel Hellerhup Gymnaium. (aka School)	Arhus Museum (i saw some crazy things that day.….)

So, hi to all you exchange students reading this:

Danes, epically the youth, love to party. And party hard. They drink and smoke a lot. It’s part of their Viking blood. So bring comfortable shoes, and make sure there warm. Parties happen often, and you’ll go out with the exchange students also.  

Be careful when you go shopping in Denmark. Things are extremely expensive. 100 kroner is the equivalent of 20 dollars. 100kr is a sale in Denmark.  That’s about as cheap as clothes get. So don’t buy a hat for 300kr. That’s way overly priced, no matter how pretty the hat is.

In school, your classes won’t really have any order. Let me give you my school for example. I go to Gammel Hellerup Gymnasum in Hellerup. It’s a big old school that has been around since the beginning of the last century. The first graduating class was in 1904. My classes vary all the time. Today, I have 2 classes. I was going to have 3 but one of them was canceled. Classes are canceled on a weekly basis. And when there canceled you just don’t go. Like right now I’m in the underground lounge in my school waiting for my last class, I’ve already had one class. Tomorrow I don’t have school until 10, and it ends at 1:30. That’s 2 classes. But sometimes school starts at 8 and ends at 3:30. Those long days make me long for my bed.

When you start school, make sure you have an English class. Make your life easier, and just make sure you have one. This is important. When you get to school focus on English for the first 2 months. Slack off or whatever in your other class but makes sure you pay attention in English. Do all the English homework, and participate in class. As your Danish gets better, add one more class. Like if you have another foreign language that you understand well, French for me, focus on that, and English. Don’t try to take it all on at once. That’s a bad idea. You’ll be overwhelmed and end up doing nothing. As the months go by and more classes. Then by the end you’ll be doing work in most of your classes.

I also can’t guarantee that your teachers will be helpful. In most schools teachers don’t have their own class rooms. They move around like students do. I still don’t know where to find my teachers outside of class.

If you have the chance to be in the Second year, GO TO SECOND YEAR!!!! First year isn’t bad, but second year is much better, and easier. Trust me. I was given the choice and I was talked into going into first year, and I regret it a lot. I love my class, but still.

As far as school supplies goes, don’t bring paper, or folders. There paper is different, and so the folders are different. Bring a few pens and pencils if you want.

What have I been doing lately?

I switched families last week. I’m farther away from the station, so it takes me longer to get to school, which is a pain. I have a 3 year old host brother. My host dad travels a lot for his work, but he’s home every few days. We have a “nanny” to take care of Johannes, my host brother, her name is Jessa. She’s fun to be around.

I went to a party on Friday. It was a Christmas party at my school. It was crazy. But I have found a new hate for techno music. Danes don’t really dance, they jump. I don’t have the stamina for that, and I just don’t like techno.

It’s been snowing for the past 3 weeks. I need to buy new boots. When you get here, and you’re living in Copenhagen, the shopping street is next to Nørreport Station. The capital city station doesn’t have a lot of shopping areas around it.

I feel like I’m becoming more Danish by the day. I’m able to have full conversations in Danish. I can handle myself when I’m forced to speak Danish.

Close exchange student friends, at Thanksgiving Rotary meeting, we went to go play in the snow (November 23)	Friends after school, walking to the station (November 30)	Host sister rock in Ordup Næs (October)