Currently, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that almost 2 million high school seniors across the country are in the process of applying to college.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, in Denmark, most seniors are not. In fact, according to the Danish senior exchange student, Sille Thomsen, it is common for most Danish seniors to take a gap year before attending college.

During this gap year, Danes often attend a folk high School, a type of school common in many Nordic countries. Folk High Schools are specialized schools that allow students to learn principal skills like art, music or sports.

Thomsen also took a gap year, but unlike most of her peers, instead of attending a Folk High School, she chose to be an exchange student.

“[Previously] it was very normal to be an exchange student, but over the years, it has become very unnormal,” Thomsen said. “My brother did [an exchange student program] and he actually did it here, at Lafayette, and that’s where I got the idea.”

Sille and her family actually have a long history of being exchange students in America. Her aunt, Majbrit Krogsøe Eriksen, had been an exchange student during the 1992-93 school year in Battle Creek, Michigan where she met Lori Hueckel.

Eriksen and Hueckul quickly became best friends, and years later, when Sille’s brother Mangus Thomsen also became an exchange student, Lori and her husband Doug Hueckel, who had moved to Wildwood, became his host family during the 2019-20 school year.

Just like Sille, Mangus also attended Lafayette during his time as an exchange student. The Hueckel family now hosts Sille.

“Living with the same host family that hosted my brother has been amazing. It just feels like being part of a little family. Back home, I have two older brothers, but here I’m kind of like an only child because my host brothers have moved out and Sophia is in college,” Sille said.

Because of this, the two families are very close, with the Huekcel’s even visiting Sille this past summer in Denmark.

“The story is pretty amazing. It’s so special to live with them, and I was really lucky because they came to visit us in Denmark this summer for two weeks so it was great to see them again before I came here,” Sille said.

The connection between Mangus’s time at Lafayette and Sille’s runs even deeper as many Mangus’s friends now have siblings that go to Lafayette.

“I find it pretty funny that he was friends with their older siblings when he was here and now I am friends with their younger siblings,” Sille said.

Apart from her brother being an exchange student, Sille also wanted to be an exchange student to experience American culture.

“You always hear about American high schools and American culture,” Sille said. “This year, I just hope to have an amazing time, make a lot of new friends and experience as much of American culture as I can.”

The biggest difference Sille has seen in America is the size of everything.

“The hardest part about adjusting to life in America has probably been how everything is just so much bigger, the school, the roads, even the food portions. And also the school because it is so different. It’s really different from home, but I am enjoying it,” Sille said.

Unlike the U.S., in most foreign countries, like Denmark, high school students stay in one class, and teachers switch classrooms to teach different subjects.

“The size of schools is also very different, I know [Lafayette] is considered a big school but my school in Denmark is also considered a big school, but only has 300 people in 10 different grades, “ Sille said. “My graduating class was maybe 60 people.”

Another change for Sille has been sports. In Europe, Sille played handball, but since the sport is not popular in America, she took up a new sport.

“This fall, I played tennis, never done it before, but it was so much fun both the sport and all the sweet people there. And this spring, I’m going to play lacrosse which I think will be really fun. Some of the moves are kind of like handball, so I’m super excited about that,” Sille said.

Despite the many differences between America and Denmark, Sille finds connection with her host family and hopes to enjoy and experience as much of the American culture as possible.