This year Jacksonville High School is the home to three new exchange students: Sofie Molgaard from Denmark is one of them. Sofie, 16, is a senior at JHS, who is staying with Andi and Brandon McCombs and their family this year. Sofie began this journey through Rotary and is pleased to have gotten the opportunity to come to the United States.
Sofie’s interest in America came from her mother who was part of an exchange program to California when she was 16. She explains that “hearing her [mother] tell about it made [her] want to go.”
Since she has been here, Sofie has seen several differences from her home in Kolding, Denmark and the United States. Americans she has seen are “very patriotic.” Other than the changes in food and language, she has noted some major dissimilarities in people in general. There is more diversity even in small JHS whereas in Denmark, “there’s not that big of a difference between students.”
The way that Americans act is unlike the way people act in Denmark. She has observed that differences in mannerisms and customs occur with little things like opening doors for people and addressing teachers with their titles (Mr., Mrs., etc.).
Aside from these differences that she has to get accustomed to, Sofie has greatly enjoyed her stay so far. Her favorite thing about her journey has been the pleasant weather and the kind people she has met.
While here, Sofie plans to continue to enjoy her adventure here in the United States. To make her trip even more worthwhile, she plans on joining the swim team as well as the track team in the spring possibly. Outside of that, Sofie has become a part of youth group at First Presbyterian with her host family. The opportunity for her to meet new friends excites her and she looks forward to a great year at JHS.