Youth
Kasper
Adolescence
The adolescence is a great time. It's very complicated and tough as well. When you finish the 9th grade in school, you have plenty of complicated and interesting choices. You can choose 10.000 different kinds of gymnasiums. Therefore it's hard to know if you made the right decision. I've chosen a regular gymnasium. I've found out that people can be so different concerning their spare time, and what they will do with it. Almost every person in my class works 1 or 2 times a week in a supermarket or as a cleaner. The average salary is about 65 DKK (1447 ISK) per hour.
Many teenagers in Denmark are doing some kind of sport. It can be motor sports or fighting sports or of course ball sports. In general, young people in Denmark are very active, from my point of view. Besides that, almost every male teenager in Denmark knows the games called: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, and Minecraft. That's very common in most countries, and in Denmark as well.
It's kind of limited how much spare time you got, when you are attending school from 8 to 15.30 Monday to Friday. Besides that, you have to do your homework and write assignments.
There are exceptional amounts of opportunities to have fun in the weekends. There is always some kind of party you can attend. There are a lot of private parties, and 5 – 6 parties at the gymnasium at a year. You have to be 16 years old to buy alcohol in Denmark as long the alcohol percent is below 16.5%. You have to be 18 to buy alcohol with more than 16.5%. There are many teenagers in Denmark who smoke, even though the age limit is 18. So this particular age limit isn’t being maintained.
The adolescence is a great time. It's very complicated and tough as well. When you finish the 9th grade in school, you have plenty of complicated and interesting choices. You can choose 10.000 different kinds of gymnasiums. Therefore it's hard to know if you made the right decision. I've chosen a regular gymnasium. I've found out that people can be so different concerning their spare time, and what they will do with it. Almost every person in my class works 1 or 2 times a week in a supermarket or as a cleaner. The average salary is about 65 DKK (1447 ISK) per hour.
Many teenagers in Denmark are doing some kind of sport. It can be motor sports or fighting sports or of course ball sports. In general, young people in Denmark are very active, from my point of view. Besides that, almost every male teenager in Denmark knows the games called: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, and Minecraft. That's very common in most countries, and in Denmark as well.
It's kind of limited how much spare time you got, when you are attending school from 8 to 15.30 Monday to Friday. Besides that, you have to do your homework and write assignments.
There are exceptional amounts of opportunities to have fun in the weekends. There is always some kind of party you can attend. There are a lot of private parties, and 5 – 6 parties at the gymnasium at a year. You have to be 16 years old to buy alcohol in Denmark as long the alcohol percent is below 16.5%. You have to be 18 to buy alcohol with more than 16.5%. There are many teenagers in Denmark who smoke, even though the age limit is 18. So this particular age limit isn’t being maintained.
William
The youth in Denmark has a lot of freedom. In general we are allowed much more, than in other countries. For example, we can drink alcohol at the age of 16. In other words, we get wasted… A LOT. Many young people start drinking, at the age of 13, because you aren’t allowed to buy alcohol, before you turn 16, but you are allowed to drink it. We are allowed to have sex from the age of 15, but even under the age of 15, you are allowed to have sex with a partner of equal age. At the age of 18 you are allowed to do, pretty much everything. You can buy spirits, get a driving license, you get SU (money for studying), you’ll have a minimum income of 110 DKK/hour of work you do and so on. At Rysensteen, we have a lot of parties every year. About 7 parties 10 evenings where you can buy beer and just chill with your friends and about once every month, the entire school stays at school a Friday afternoon and drinks beer. Our parties normally have a theme, like Hip-Hop, prom, Halloween and so on. This is why the Danish people are the happiest people on earth.
Andrea, Karla, Laura og Annabel
On Rysensteen Gymnasium there are a lot of social events.
Every month Rysensteen throws a party where the theme changes every time. We have had hip-hop theme, Halloween theme and eighties theme. The theme is not very important but it is exciting to dress up.
This Friday we have techno theme so we bought luminous body paint and glow sticks. It is going to be awesome!
Next week we have the annual prom. This party is going to be a bit more formal than usual. We are going to dance the lancers and show up in high heels and long dresses.
In addition to the parties we have “basement nights” and “Friday beer”. A “basement night” is in Rysensteen’s basement. This is very cosy, we drink some beers, listen to music, talk, meet new people, dance and play table football.
We do not only party and drink alcohol ;) We also have sport events such as football tournaments and zumba lessons.
Twice a year we have role-playing in a forest. It sounds weird, but is SO much FUN!!
We looooove our school here in Denmark! It is definitely going to be the best years of our lives!
Every month Rysensteen throws a party where the theme changes every time. We have had hip-hop theme, Halloween theme and eighties theme. The theme is not very important but it is exciting to dress up.
This Friday we have techno theme so we bought luminous body paint and glow sticks. It is going to be awesome!
Next week we have the annual prom. This party is going to be a bit more formal than usual. We are going to dance the lancers and show up in high heels and long dresses.
In addition to the parties we have “basement nights” and “Friday beer”. A “basement night” is in Rysensteen’s basement. This is very cosy, we drink some beers, listen to music, talk, meet new people, dance and play table football.
We do not only party and drink alcohol ;) We also have sport events such as football tournaments and zumba lessons.
Twice a year we have role-playing in a forest. It sounds weird, but is SO much FUN!!
We looooove our school here in Denmark! It is definitely going to be the best years of our lives!
Rune og Elisabeth
Spare time and activities
The Danish teenagers have various ways of using their spare time, but the different ways are all together the same. We spend time together with our families and friends, but that is what most people do. Except for that, the youth have a lot of different hobbies and things they spend their time on. Of course many of the things are the same, for instance sports, music, shopping etc.
At Rysensteen Gymnasium there are many social activities outside of the school-time, which we find is a good way of socializing and meeting new people.
Rune: I have been playing football since I was 6 years old, therefore it is a part of my personality and what I spend my spare time on. In Denmark it is very different whether the teenagers go to sports or not, some prioritize their time on music, some on sports and others on different things. I find that the teenagers overall spend their time on the same things: family, friends, socializing and realizing their dreams. I find that the things the Danish teenagers spend their time on are not very different from other teenagers in Scandinavia.
Elisabeth: I think that the youth in Denmark is very alike the youth in Iceland; mostly it’s the same subjects that interest us. For example I guess all young people think about what they want to do with their lives, and who they want to be. At least I think a lot about that myself, although I also spend my time doing other things than thinking. I spend a lot of time on music, both listening and playing it. I play the piano and also sing a bit; I think it’s a good way to express yourself.
The Danish teenagers have various ways of using their spare time, but the different ways are all together the same. We spend time together with our families and friends, but that is what most people do. Except for that, the youth have a lot of different hobbies and things they spend their time on. Of course many of the things are the same, for instance sports, music, shopping etc.
At Rysensteen Gymnasium there are many social activities outside of the school-time, which we find is a good way of socializing and meeting new people.
Rune: I have been playing football since I was 6 years old, therefore it is a part of my personality and what I spend my spare time on. In Denmark it is very different whether the teenagers go to sports or not, some prioritize their time on music, some on sports and others on different things. I find that the teenagers overall spend their time on the same things: family, friends, socializing and realizing their dreams. I find that the things the Danish teenagers spend their time on are not very different from other teenagers in Scandinavia.
Elisabeth: I think that the youth in Denmark is very alike the youth in Iceland; mostly it’s the same subjects that interest us. For example I guess all young people think about what they want to do with their lives, and who they want to be. At least I think a lot about that myself, although I also spend my time doing other things than thinking. I spend a lot of time on music, both listening and playing it. I play the piano and also sing a bit; I think it’s a good way to express yourself.
Conrad
Youth in Denmark is very varied. I don't think there's any easy way to describe all the different aspects of being a teenager in Denmark, or even in Copenhagen. One thing that goes for the majority of the youth in Denmark is, however, the drinking part of it. I don't know how it is in Iceland (yet), but in Copenhagen it's very easy to get alcohol - even for people underage; same goes for cigarettes and Danes even have a rather large consumption of Cannabis, which we can obtain in Christiania. One could argue that all this drinking and smoking of various substances forces the Danish youth into a kind of early maturity with relation to these sorts of things. It's just the way it is, it's common. But hey, this is just one aspect of danish youth. I think if I were to describe the danish youth in a couple of words right off the top of my head I'd say adventurous and social. Based on my own experience with other countries that I have travelled in, or people I knew while living in China some years ago - I'd definitely say that the danish youth is described rather well with those 2 words. Other people will have other opinions I'm sure, but this is mine. I've always felt that most people are fresh for trying out new things and going to see other people - even if they don't know them to start with.
Agnes og Kira
Events at our school
At our school, we have a lot of events after school finishes in the afternoon, where we can hang out with many other people our own age. In the beginning of each year at Rysensteen Gymnasium, we have a tradition for taking all new students to a forest named “Dyrehaven” where the older students draw with markers on the new students or so called “putter”. Afterwards there are many other activities for the students, so they feel welcome and to help them get to know each other, for example a “letter dinner” where you eat with the people from older classes of your study direction.
Throughout the year we have something called “fredags øl”, a Friday afternoon once a month where students meet and drink beer and listen to good music. It is a good way to end a long hard week. We also have “kælderaftener” which is something like “fredags øl” except it is on school nights and sometimes there are themes like Hawaii or something similar. Most things take place in our school’s basement in which there is a kitchen, a television, football tables and couches that you can sit and talk with your friends in.
About 8 times a year we have school parties most of them are themed. The “biggest” party is “Galla” which is like a school ball or prom; it is a bit more fancy than the rest of the parties. Here people dress in nicer clothes and we dance this funny old dance called lancier, after this the party is like a regular one it just last longer.
This is just a small part of the social life on our school.
Made by Agnes & Kira
At our school, we have a lot of events after school finishes in the afternoon, where we can hang out with many other people our own age. In the beginning of each year at Rysensteen Gymnasium, we have a tradition for taking all new students to a forest named “Dyrehaven” where the older students draw with markers on the new students or so called “putter”. Afterwards there are many other activities for the students, so they feel welcome and to help them get to know each other, for example a “letter dinner” where you eat with the people from older classes of your study direction.
Throughout the year we have something called “fredags øl”, a Friday afternoon once a month where students meet and drink beer and listen to good music. It is a good way to end a long hard week. We also have “kælderaftener” which is something like “fredags øl” except it is on school nights and sometimes there are themes like Hawaii or something similar. Most things take place in our school’s basement in which there is a kitchen, a television, football tables and couches that you can sit and talk with your friends in.
About 8 times a year we have school parties most of them are themed. The “biggest” party is “Galla” which is like a school ball or prom; it is a bit more fancy than the rest of the parties. Here people dress in nicer clothes and we dance this funny old dance called lancier, after this the party is like a regular one it just last longer.
This is just a small part of the social life on our school.
Made by Agnes & Kira