Meet our 2019-20 Youth Exchange Student – Celina
Submitted by Carin Jansen van Vuuren
Dear Members
It gives me great pleasure to announce we’ve heard from the District that our 2019-20 Youth Exchange would be Celina Adelheid Schøn Jensen from Denmark. As you know we are in partnership with the Rotary Club of Edmonton South in this exiting endeavor. Lynne Fisher, past president of Edmonton South, is the Inbound Counselor and contact person during Celina’s stay. The Youth Exchange Committee have secured various host families and their role, with the support of members from both clubs, are essential to make this a meaningful, exiting and life changing experience for both Celina and we as members.
Celina is from Denmark. She lives in a small town called Værløse, which is situated 20 minutes north of Copenhagen with a population of about 14.000 people. Celine will arrive in Canada the end of August 2019. We will keep you all updated on her arrival.
I’ll have HER tell you more about herself:
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“I live with my parents (Allan Jensen & Katja Adelheid Schøn), my little sister, my sweet dog and my bird in a modern and cozy house, where I have my own room. My little sister is 12 years old and is swimming at a very high level and also loves dancing. My mother is working in a big Danish pharmaceutical company called Novo Nordisk, where she is working as Data Manager within clinical trials. My father is also working in a Danish pharmaceutical company called ALK Abello, where he is working as a Vice-president within procurement. Both my mother and father are very active in sport, they are swimming, cycling and running.
I am a student at Bagsværd Kostskole, which is a private school. I am one year younger than my classmates as I came to school one year earlier than normal. However, this has never been a problem for me. I started at Bagsværd Kostskole for 4 years ago where I came from a public school. The reason for changing school was due to the fact that I wanted more focus on teaching, which has been very motivating for me. My school is situated approximately 5 km from my home. I am bicycling to school and home from school almost every day. If the weather is really bad my mother drives me.
My school is a typical Danish school. There are no activities after school, and I am having the same schedule all the year. It means that from Monday to Friday I have different subjects, which will be repeated the week after and all the year around. A typical day in school starts with an English lesson, then a lesson in Danish, a lesson in history, a short break at 10 minutes where I eat a little snack prepared by myself for next lessons. After the break, I will have 2 lessons in physics, a 45-minute lunch break (also prepared by myself) and finally 2 lessons math. My favourite subjects are sport, English, French and math. When I was younger, I was a part of the student council, which was very interesting, as you are attending in meetings and are taking part in discussions and decisions on behalf of the students at school. I like to make a difference for people who need help. Therefore, I use some of my spare time by being a volunteer and help people in need. For example, I have helped in collecting money for people who really need additional help.
When I am not in school, I am playing badminton on a high-level 3-4 times a week. Sometimes I also play matches at the weekend. I have played badminton since I was 8 years old, and I am playing in the second highest row, where the competition is hard. I love playing badminton, where I have a lot of friends. It might sound like I do not have time to see friends, but I have. A lot of my friends do also play badminton, so I see them there. When I am not playing badminton, I spend a lot of time with my family and other friends. I also spent a lot of time in nature, as I love to be outside and make different things there. For example, I walk a lot with my dog and run in the forest and on the streets. In September I ran my second half marathon together with my father, so I also spend some time with my father exercising my run. In May I expect to run my first marathon in Copenhagen. Running is also an important part of my life.
At home, I do not have many chores. It is not because I do not want to, but my parents think it is more important to focus on my homework and being prepared for the school. However, I am ready to do chores if I am asked to, as I think that it is important to help as part of being a family.
I am interested in art with colours, I am not good at painting or making arts, I just think it is interesting. Since I was very little and was visiting my grandparents, my grandfather has always loved the arts. He is painting a lot with many different colours. He has taught me to love and appreciate colours and art. I think that painting is very fascinating, and I love to visit places where there are colourful art and beautiful paintings. It makes me wish that I also could paint.
My parents have been very good at taking me and my sister around the world when having a vacation. I have therefore been on a lot of trips around the world. My family and I love to travel and experience. We have been around in Europe, the USA and in Asia, where I have seen many towns in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. In Asia, I have been to Thailand, China, Bali and Singapore. I love travelling because then I experience something new and see new cultures. One of the best holidays I have had was my trip to China. It was a little scary. I did not understand anything of their languages, and everything was new for me. It was a totally other culture than Denmark. But I realized that my everyday life in little Denmark is different from others everyday life in the world and that there were so many things I did not know existed. My trip to China was a really learning full trip. When I travel it is almost only about 2-3 weeks. I have travelled with other than my family. Last year I went to Krakow with my class. In the summer holiday, I went to France on the Rotary family to family exchange for 2 weeks. This school year I am going on exchange to Finland with my school. I am so excited, and really looking forward to this.
What I dislike most, is insects, spiders and too strong food. I would characterise myself as being sensitive, but I am also strong. If I get a defeat, I always come up again. I am not letting me be confused by people who do not like me or treat me bad.
My strong qualities are that I am openminded about new people and things and that I am curious. I am also hard-working which means I often reach my goals. I am conscientious and take every responsibility seriously, which I think is important as an exchange student. I do also have some weak qualities. When I want to execute an idea that needs help from other people, I cannot wait to have it done and want it done immediately. This may be stressful for other people and my surroundings.
I do not have many plans for my future right now, because I only am 15 years old and everything can change. But I have ambitions for being a doctor or a psychologist because I love to help people and do a difference. In Denmark, it is really hard to become a doctor or a psychology. You need really high characters for being this, but I will try my best and see how it goes. So, my aim is to keep improving so I can have the possibility to study as a doctor or psychologist.
Becoming an exchange student will give me educational, personal and long-term benefits. The most important reason for being an exchange student is the opportunity to learn a foreign language much more than I could ever learn if not being an exchange student. It will give me the opportunity to become familiar with the language and hopefully also help me with my future career possibilities and education, which will also develop me as a person. Furthermore, it will broaden my network around the world, which hopefully will be a benefit for the rest of my life, as it will give me a better understanding of people of all sorts. An exchange will give me the opportunity to experience a new culture living closely with the host family in the specific country and being part of a “new family” and their ways of doing things, which will be an experience for life. Becoming an exchange student is the biggest wish for me, which I have been talking about the last 3 years. I therefore hope that you find my introduction interesting.
I am looking forward to meeting you all.
With Kind Regards,
Celina Adelheid Schøn Jensen”