Danish students visit ACC

Students from Odense Tekniske Gymnasium give a presenation during their studies at ACC

Students from Odense Tekniske Gymnasium give a presentation during their studies at ACC.

A group of 20 students trekked more than 5,000 miles across the Atlantic to study at Austin Community College this fall, while getting a first-hand take on Texas.

Students from Denmark’s Odense Tekniske Gymnasium spent four weeks at ACC studying Texas literature and history, political science, and game development through ACC’s customized training.

This was the second time the school has taken students on the journey abroad to ACC. The trip to the United States is an element of their curriculum which aims to help in their mastery of English.

“We kind of expected a bit of the stereotypes about Texas, with cowboys and stuff,” laughs Simone Kildelund, the lone female student, who along with fellow classmates learned a great deal about Texas, Austin, and American culture in and out of the classroom. “It’s been fun experiencing the culture here.”

Throughout their stay, Kildelund maintained a blog detailing the group’s activities, including visits to landmark sites with photos and candid daily recaps.  Discoveries of the seemingly everyday such as vanilla-flavored Dr Pepper, Panda Express, and Target stores were particularly fascinating blog entries as they detailed the American experience from a different vantage point.

While here, students did some truly “Texas” activities including attending a high school football game, and spending a night out at the locally-famous Broken Spoke country music club and bar.

But some noted other events as the highlight of their experience in the U.S.

“The best for me was participating in the Diversity Conference,” says student Morten Olsen, who finds Austin to be similar to Denmark in many ways. “It was nice to have a chance to connect with the other students.”

The Diversity Outreach Conference is an annual event hosted by Student Life that gives students the opportunity to voice their opinions on various topics surrounding diversity, and Odense Tekniske Gymnasium students’ participation added a fresh international dimension to the discussions.

Unequivocally, the most memorable event for many of the students was being present to witness one of the biggest nights in U.S. and world history – the presidential election race. The group joined thousands downtown as Barack Obama was named the 44th President-elect.

“This election was very important even in Denmark,” says Kildelund. “The election night was very special to me.”

To read Kildelund’s blog, visit http://franz-irene.blogspot.com/.

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