On Thursday, September 12, a group of over 25 students and chaperones from Denmark arrived at Neumann’s campus.
Attendants of a technical and business college named “Tradium,” the students reached the U.S. for the last leg of a travel-study program, spanning from Denmark to the U.K. to China before ending in the United States.
Through the program, students spend 3 weeks in England, then 2 weeks in China, and finally, 2-3 weeks in the United States.
Tradium students began their time in the United States by visiting New York City for a few days.
“The city was always moving! It was like Copenhagen, just a lot bigger,” said Mathias Smed, a student from the group. “People were helpful, though.”
In an arrangement that was formed with a faculty member who no longer works at Neumann, the Tradium group had agreed to spend their designated two weeks here in Aston, PA, on Neumann’s campus.
The travel study program is new to Tradium’s curriculum. “We’re in the early days of this program,” said chaperone and teacher Peter Tjallen.
The group spent their time on campus meeting Neumann professors, taking campus tours, and immersing themselves in the American college experience.
“We are traveling and learning a lot about other cultures, but we are also learning a lot about our own,” said Malou Borup, one of the Danish students.
During classroom sessions, Tradium students got to try esports, produce a podcast, and participate in service projects.
“I think it’s cool that you have the option to study it here,” said one student when asked her opinion on Neumann’s esport lab.
Outside of the classroom, students attended Neumann soccer, field hockey, and volleyball games, ate in the cafeteria, and watched movies in the dorms.
“Of all the sports we watched, volleyball was my favorite,” said Smed. “It was fast-paced and fun to watch.”
In a classroom session with communication-digital media professor, Dr. Janis Chakars, Danish students discussed cultural differences between the United States and Denmark.
Many of the Tradium students interpreted American people as friendly, bubbly, and outgoing- a contrast to the typical Danish culture of keeping to oneself.
“In the United States, you go to the grocery store and the cashier has a conversation with you, they ask about your day,” stated one student. “In Denmark, the cashier does not talk to you, they just go through the transaction.”
Tradium students also observed the general lack of global knowledge from Americans.
“School here is too easy!”
When asked what they were most looking forward to doing in the United States, several students mentioned wanting to try Crumbl, a chain dessert shop popular for their rotating menu of cookies.
“We have been with a lot of great teachers, so our experience here has been really good,” said Borup.
This is the first time Neumann has partnered with Tradium to host international visitors, and Tradium teachers voiced their interest in doing the opposite; welcoming Neumann students to Tradium for a similar-style experience.
