Welcome Rotary Exchange Student, Anne Sophie Cristensen
Posted by Bill Johnston
on Oct 01, 2014
Our featured speaker for today (Sept. 25) was Anne Sophie Cristensen, (she likes to be called Fie) our Rotary Exchange Student from Denmark, was introduced to the club by John Evans. This young lady is a high school senior. She was vivacious and spoke remarkably fluent English. Fluent to the point where she could comprehend a convoluted, Three-part, run on Rotarian question.
Fie gave us a quick introduction to the country of Denmark. A country that has 443 islands the largest of which is Greenland. Denmark is known for being the home of Legos, Maersk shipping, the little mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen and of course the Vikings. It is a constitutional monarchy and we were blessed with an opportunity to see a photo of the same.
Fie gave us a quick introduction to the country of Denmark. A country that has 443 islands the largest of which is Greenland. Denmark is known for being the home of Legos, Maersk shipping, the little mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen and of course the Vikings. It is a constitutional monarchy and we were blessed with an opportunity to see a photo of the same.
According to government test, Danes are the happiest people in the world. That is, the happiest people until they receive their tax bills which are typically about 45% of gross income. For that 45% they receive free healthcare, free education and even a stipend for students who are over 18 as an encouragement to continue education. Denmark is known for the ubiquitous red hot dogs, which according to Anne, do not taste good. On a related note, there are about twice as many pigs as there are people in Denmark. Fie comes to us from the small town of Aars which is located in the center of the country and which is about the same size as Half Moon Bay. Aars has far fewer restaurants then we do, but it does have six separate schools including three different high schools, one of which focuses on science, one on business and the third is a general high school.
Fie attended the business high school. Her family consists of herself, her parents and her 14-year-old brother. Her father is a financial planner and her mother an accountant and both are employed by the same bank. We saw pictures of Aars and concluded that it is indeed a beautiful, yeah even bucolic, place to reside.
In Denmark, Fie's sport of choice is team handball which is similar to water polo played on land. She showed us a video that depicted fast and furious action taking place over a very brief period of time. At Half Moon Bay high school she will be participating on the volleyball team. She did try to Teach us a little Danish. She taught us the word HYGGE which could be loosely translated as warm and fuzzy. For further information about the adventures of Fie in California you can go to her blog at www.fieicalifornien.dk.
You're intrepid program notes reporter on the fourth Thursday of every month: Bill Johnston
Fie attended the business high school. Her family consists of herself, her parents and her 14-year-old brother. Her father is a financial planner and her mother an accountant and both are employed by the same bank. We saw pictures of Aars and concluded that it is indeed a beautiful, yeah even bucolic, place to reside.
In Denmark, Fie's sport of choice is team handball which is similar to water polo played on land. She showed us a video that depicted fast and furious action taking place over a very brief period of time. At Half Moon Bay high school she will be participating on the volleyball team. She did try to Teach us a little Danish. She taught us the word HYGGE which could be loosely translated as warm and fuzzy. For further information about the adventures of Fie in California you can go to her blog at www.fieicalifornien.dk.
You're intrepid program notes reporter on the fourth Thursday of every month: Bill Johnston