First day of American high school!

Today, October 11, was our first day of school - John T. Hoggard high school! Our first class began at 8:30 and we were all very excited to see the school and how it all worked. This was indeed something we had been looking forward to all the week! At our first class, we got splitted into some different groups, where we were introduced to some students from the school council who was going to guide us around the school. The school was quite big, but it also has about 2,000 students which is a lot compared to our 600-700 students at Ikast Gymnasium. We saw all the long hallways, the football field, the gym and all the parking lots - a lot of students at this high school have their own car - very expensive cars. Going around the school the American students were very interested in us and they stared a lot at us, like our teacher Mr. Garner said, as we were zoo exhibits.

Later on, we got into some different groups which each had Danish and American students in it. Our assignment was to discuss the differences and similarities between America and Denmark. The American students were very friendly and nice to us and we talked and discussed many different topics. Political differences between America and Denmark and Danish history and culture as well as American history and culture were topics we spoke about. The drinking age was probably the most popular topic, since the American students were very surprised and excited about how we Danish students can walk into any grocery store and buy alcohol. Also the teachers at Hoggard high school have their own classrooms which Danish teachers don't have - something our teachers, Sune and Morten, were very jealous of!

All in all, our first day of school was a great experience. The American students were very nice and we both learned something about each others' cultures and differences in the way we live our lives. At 15:30 our hosts picked us up at Mr. Garner's classroom after a very exciting day!