Danish invasion, take 2, makes big splash at BHS

By Jennifer Eisenbart
EDITOR
The t-shirts for the event read simply, “An Unforgettable Experience, Roskilde-Burlington, 2016.”
“2.0.”
The second visit of students from Roskilde to Burlington took place last week, with students arriving Oct. 5 and leaving Sunday morning.
In between, students stayed with host families, attended classes at Burlington High School, got a chance to make presentations at various Burlington schools and check out the area.
At Sunday’s good-bye breakfast at BHS, Mayor Jeannie Hefty officially announced that she would be pursuing a sister-city partnership with Roskilde in the future, and local AFS coordinator Nancy Satola is hopeful students from Burlington will be making a reciprocal trip next year.
In the meantime, the Danish students got their eyes opened to America. According to Darnell Howard Bodie – whose parents are American – students were well-prepared in terms of language and didn’t need much help from him.
He said his classmates were surprised at how outgoing American students were – and also for the American dislike of roundabouts.
“Another student came over and said, ‘Do they just hate roundabouts here?’” Howard Bodie said. “We tried going down a roundabout. It’s like some people don’t really know how they work.”
Several students expressed interest in attending the First Congressional District Republican Fall Fest Saturday on their day off, hoping to see Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump.
While none actually made the trip – and Trump was later uninvited following the release of a tape where he disparaged women – many of the students were keeping a close eye on the United States Presidential race as a focus of study.
Mathias Sorensen said he “would have loved to see” what motivated Trump supporters.
“He is so away from everything we know about politics in Denmark, and what we perceive what politics is,” he said. “We have this sober tone in politics.
“Hillary’s not too bad,” he added. “We like Hillary.”
Students were also going to watch Sunday night’s debate, according to Danish teacher Tony Kabongo-Bentzen.
Kabongo-Bentzen, who traveled with the group last year, was excited about the prospect of students coming from BHS to Denmark for a visit – and also about developing a long-term relationship with the city.
“So we can do the same for them as we have experienced right here,” he said. He was also excited for the possibility of a sister-city exchange.
“This is what we hoped for. Strong ties and more long-term structure,” Kabongo-Bentzen added. “It’s really difficult, actually, for Danish schools to establish these kind of sister-school relationships.”