Sherry’s
exchange student life Sherry Lee
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Sherry’s exchanging student life… 2
An Amazing Year! Sherry was sixteen, a young and happy girl who loves traveling very much. Therefore, on 15 February, 2004, her parents secretly assigned a program for her—a chance to be an exchange student for a whole year. She only knew the program would offer her a chance to visit Europe‌
To Sherry
A girl who wants to explore the world 3
And who is still exploring it
May this book give you the idea
Of challenging yourself like she did
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Contents
Chapter 1 Packing up……………….6
Chapter 2. Everything is NEW……13
Chapter 3. Hard times……………..22
Chapter 4. Special memories…….30
Chapter 5. Ready to go home……36
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Chapter 1 Packing up Making decisions Sherry was sixteen, a young and happy girl who loves traveling very much. Therefore, on 15 February, 2004, her parents secretly assigned a program for her—a chance to be an exchange student for a whole year. She only knew the program would offer her a chance to visit Europe. She was so excited about this arrangement and prepared
really
hard
for
the
interview.
“Fortunately�, she passed the interview and got the chance to visit Denmark, a lovely country in the northern Europe, the origin of LEGO and the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. She felt
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all was so wonderful and perfect, until her dad finally told her the truth… “Going for a year as an exchange student? This is a joke, right? What am I going to do in this COLD country for a year? I can not speak their language, so what can I learn there? The school system is different, and I have to live with a family which I don’t know at all?” shouted Sherry to her parents. But hold on a moment! An exchange student! What an amazing chance! “You could learn so many new things and experiences from that! Why don’t you give it a try?” most of the people asked. “Well,” she always answered, “I am doing well in my school
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and making friends now, why should I go to a new place to meet challenges? I could not see the point! And I could not stay with my class when I am back, so I will have to start all over again! I can see what I am going to loose, but can’t see what I would get!” Since this decision was made by Sherry’s parents, she could not fight back due to her reasons were too childish and unreasonable. Her parents only thought this was a very good chance. Also, in their opinion, youngsters are supposed to have an exciting life. That was why no matter how hard she tried to persuade her parents; she still had to start packing.
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The day before her leaving, her class arranged a secret farewell party for her and gave her a meaningful memoir. She hugged her friends and was hard to believe she is going to leave this place, because she did not want to believe this was true. Taking off She could not remember why she let that cold machine took her away from her homeland. She knew she wasn’t well-prepared yet, and she was not even sure what she was doing. After feeling confused for a couple hours, she said hello unwillingly to the brand new place where she would stay for the next year—Denmark.
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The landscapes of Denmark were like the pictures on the postcard. A wide-open field with yellow wheat all over her sight; the warm and mild sunshine shone over her face saying hello to her. The co-worker from the organization told her that she had to take a train by herself to the camp. “Great! I don’t even know how to take the train in Taiwan! This is hard…I have to do everything by my own now!!” said Sherry while carrying her clumsy sacks sadly onto the train. Watching the views on the train, she thought about how this year is going to be. What kind of troubles would she meet? How can she solve them? All are so unpredictable! Thousands of thoughts were tangled up, and then she felt asleep.
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She arrived to the destination safely and a ticket inspector came to kindly wake her up in Danish. She would never forget him for he was the first person who spoke this cute language to her. The exchange students of the camp came from all over the world. However, there were only three Asians except her. Others were mostly from Latin America. Therefore, she had to use English all the time, and kept smiling at people who she could not communicate with. They spent ten days adjusting their appetites to the Danish one, “enjoying� the cold, windy weather, and learning some basic Danish. Eventually, they got to know each other better and had more ideas about this country.
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Chapter 2. Everything was NEW Her host family Sherry’s first encounter with her host family was nervous and exciting. She tried hard to talk in her poor Danish while wiping her sweaty hands on the pants. Although they’ve seen each other’s picture and wrote e-mails before, they still felt unfamiliar with each other. Gradually, they began to understand each other better. Sherry’s host father was Jakob. A very traditional Danish name. He loved fishing, making annoying jokes, and drinking beer. His favorite quote was, “Keep smiling” which inspired Sherry when she was depressed. The
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best of all was he was the funniest and the most responsible person who Sherry has ever met. Her host mother, Lone, was a very patient woman who liked painting, cooking, and teaching the naughtiest children to behave. She was the person who Sherry felt very comfortable to stay with. And last, her host sister, Signe, a girl who was very creative, and liked to eat a lot of candies. She had the most enthusiastic laughter which Sherry could never forget. She knew their language, habits, and preferences might not be the same, but she believed that living with them would be an unforgettable experience.
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Lone, Signe and Sherry in the camp
New school Sherry’s Danish school has been accepted exchange students for fifty years. One of the rules for the exchange students was that they must
give
a
three-minute
Danish
self-introduction in front of all their schoolmates. She was totally frightened since she was even 14
afraid to do that in Chinese! However, a rule is a rule, so she had to get on the stage. She prepared and practiced it for three days in front of her host family. When the big day came, it turned out to be quite amazing. It was surprising that they loved her Danish tongue twister in the end! Her classmates all seemed nice to her, and they all spoke perfect English. However, they did not talk to her much, and she was quite disappointed by feeling isolated. Her host family told her that Danish people are very shy in a way, so they do not usually talk to people who they first meet. And also, Sherry was only a one-year exchange student, so they would not really spend
15
time making friends with her. She was sad to hear about all this, but she knew no one in the school. She needed friends to help her adjust to the environment and get over her homesickness! Fortunately, there was not only her who was an exchange student there, but also eight more from the other countries. One of the biggest benefits for her to be an exchange student is that she got to know many people from other countries. They shared traditional snacks and different opinions together, which broaden Sherry’s international views. They spent all their special moments together, no matter sad or happy. She was really glad to know them in this year!
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Sherry and her exchange friends from the camp
Danish orchestra This was her favorite social place where people could easily understand each other just by playing music. They played all kinds of songs and had concert at many places. By performing with them, she got the chance to know more Danish folksongs, traditional stories, and took a 17
place in all kinds of celebrating feasts! The most exciting and special performance they did together was in Italy. In Italy, they could do whatever they liked as long as they wish. Everyday after the performance, the orchestra would go to the beach and enjoy the nature. Everyone was enjoying the sunshine except her, and she was so afraid to get suntan and she stayed in the shadows all the time! They just thought she was a “different� girl with another cultures background, but could still naturally drink beer and sing their national anthem with them. She thought it was just the easiest way to join them at last!
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The Danish orchestra in Italy
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Chapter 3. Hard times Conflicts with the host family After living with the host family for six months, she thought that they would be very close. However, she felt like they still wanted to keep the distance with her could not see her as a part of the family. She could not understand why they were acting like that. Little did she know that people from the northern Europe are more serious about making a close friend? Therefore when she was intending to “be� their daughter, they made her know that this was impossible, which upset her a lot. One day Sherry secretly told Signe about her
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feelings. She thought Signe would keep this secret, but she just told her host parents right away. This thought her a lesson, which was Danish speak the problems more bluntly than Chinese people. They thought they could solve the problem together easier by this way. Without informing her that they have already known the information, they popped out the question at the dinner table. Lone asked her if she did not want to live with them anymore. She did not have the courage to explain and ran into her room to cry. She was so afraid that her host family did not want her anymore. So she wrote a letter instead and put it in the mail box before going to school
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the next day. She was so nervous to predict what would happen the whole day. When she finally went home, Lone still refused to talk with her and made Sherry really disappointed. Jakob came to ask her why she did not say it directly, and told her the letter has been burned. After a week, the situation has not changed. Although she was hurt, she decided to face this trouble. On a Sunday afternoon, she sat down again and talked about why she said those words to Signe. It surprised Lone and Jakob very much. They wanted Sherry to be happy, but it was impossible to treat her like their own daughters. She found out how childish she was and
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promised she would not be so ridiculous again. Unbelievably, they forgave her immediately. Actually, they’ve become closer after that.
Signe, Sherry, and their cousins
Different cultures—drunken parties Sherry’s school said that they were going to have a big cowboy party. She was so excited to know this and went to borrow all the costumes—a big straw hat, leather jacket, shiny 23
belt, pistol‌etc. She even asked Signe to set her hair. It was just like preparing for her first date! Sherry went school at 9 o’clock. Before she opened the school’s front gate, she imagined that people would be sitting around the table and having chips, candies, or watching a movie together like a cozy little family. However, she was totally wrong. When she opened the gate, the music was so loud that she could barely hear anything. She saw all the people dancing crazily, splashing their beer on the ground and their body. They were all shouting her name and came to hug and kiss her.
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She was so frightened since they were so wet and smelt horrible. This poor little girl felt so disgusted and dizzy, and didn’t know what to do at all but ran away. They couldn’t understand and thought she was just shy!! However, that was not shocking enough, the next day was worse. Those people who came to hug or kiss her the day before just seemed as if they had never known her. They even ignored her when she greeted them. She was confused and didn’t know how to react. “This is ridiculous, what’s happening in the world??” she thought. Anyway, that was just the beginning. After
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many times’ partying, she found out it was normal for them to have this behavior. Danish people are usually too shy to talk to strangers unless they become drunk because it is more relaxed. She tried to accept their culture but she still kept her own style. This is not easy but it is important. It is not about right or wrong, their unique lifestyle is just different.
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Chapter 4. Special memories Special occasions—Christmas Christmas in Denmark does not start celebrating on the 24th December but the 1st. The presents and the atmosphere were awesome—the Christmas calendar, Christmas candle, going to chapel. She visited all her Danish relatives and ate until she gained two kilos! The Danish Christmas was very traditional. The trees were decorated by candles, the food were made by the most natural ingredients like the old days. They passed all the days slowly and enjoyably, and it is an important timing for family members to get together. People gathered around the fireplace
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and watch Christmas special shows, wrapping off gifts and appreciates each other with a sweet hug, which made Sherry begin to miss her own family. Sherry’s birthday Sherry
never
thought
someone
would
remember her special day. She woke up at 6:30, took the bus in the snowy weather which looked like the whole world was covered by sugar, and walked with her heavy clothes to the school. When she was still day dreaming on her way, her friends suddenly covered her sight with a cloth and took her to the classroom. When they took the cloth off, she saw a cake with seventeen candles, a friend played guitar and her classmates
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sang happy birthday songs to her, she burst into tears. That was her best birthday ever! Pram School’s graduation party has always been the most pompous event. Sherry and her friends spent five hours for dressing-up. They had their hair premed, put on the most graceful dress and as much make-up as they could. They were so excited because they have never joined a pram! They were so amazed to see the limousines, the barouches, and elegant dresses. We could not imagine how much money and time they had spent on all these costumes! This party was very special for it would be the last time for them to
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get together and get drunk! Sherry could not really understand their feeling but thought it was fun anyway! The Danish prince got married There was one day which all the women in Denmark would cry—the wedding of their gentle Danish prince. Sherry loved the royal family, so she was there at Copenhagen waving the Australian and Danish flag. She was amazed by the palace, the adventurous wedding in which Hans Christians Andersen’s fairy tale described. She walked along the street the whole day just to get the glance of the beautiful royal bride
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although she was freezing. They cared so much about the royal family because it was their dream to be in the royal family. She has never seen these before—the passion of the people, flags waving everywhere and rejoicing. She was very proud with no special reasons to participate this historical event.
Jakob sitting on the ice
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Chapter 5. Ready to go home Time flies. Sherry was surprised a year went so fast. She felt sick to pack up just like when she had to leave Taiwan. She has always hated to leave a place after falling in love with it. Although she has always known she would go back to Taiwan, she became angry to her parents again since she had no idea when she could come back there. The days passed by so quickly, and she wanted to destroy all the calendars in the world and forget the date. Her dad planned to visit her before her return, but instead of feeling excited, she was afraid. Her sweet Signe wrote her a letter which
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mentioned about all the things they have done together. She couldn’t control her tears since there were so many things to cherish, so many things to remember in this year. Visiting from Daddy After a week, her dad arrived. Sherry just felt weird to see him there talking to Lone and Jakob. They talked so much about how unimaginable this year has been. They also talked about how independent Sherry has become comparing to one year before. She could decide her own schedule and stuff now. She has also got the ability to speak another new language, to take care of herself in a foreign country. She learned
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to see things in a different way, and adjust to another kind of family and culture style. It was wonderful they could enjoy their lives together and discover the growth of Sherry. Goodbye at the airport However, she was not happy about having her dad there. She knew this was selfish, but she did not want to leave. She was forced to come there, and now she is forced to go back again. How torturing and struggling! It was hard for her to say goodbye. She has had so many wonderful memories there. Lone was the person who took care of her the most during this year. Signe and she have shared all
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their daily details together. And Jakob could not be as humorous as usual when they entered the airport. She felt like vomiting again, it was like saying good bye to her second home. She watched Denmark becoming smaller and smaller while the plane flew higher and higher. She thought about her whole year, a year which she remembered carefully. It was just like a year ago which all the unanswerable questions floated out. But this time she knew, after crying, there would always be something for her to learn, something happy and unforgettable just like what she
has
discovered
country—Denmark.
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in
this
special
Have a nice dream with Hans Christians Andersen
Sherry’s exchanging student life‌
An Amazing Year! Sherry was sixteen, a young and happy girl who loves traveling very much. Therefore, on 15 February, 2004, her parents secretly 36
assigned a program for her—a chance to be an exchange student for a whole year. She only knew the program would offer her a chance to visit Europe‌
37