A Great Dane

I’ve recently been to Seattle for the second time. I chose to stay in a hostel in contrast to hotels for the first time to gain the experience that I never gained. I think my most memorable and significant part of my entire trip was a roommate from Denmark.

I found it from the beginning ironic when I asked him his name and where he was from and when he told me I replied with “part of my name, Jensen” and his reply, “well, ah yea.” [Jensen is Danish and my family is from there] From the beginning it was a learning experience that for just three days it’ll stay with me.

Only 20 years old, he spoke with a knowledge base and passion that I’ve only witnessed with another. The other though is someone that’s been a signicant part of my life. I respond and interact with those that really challenge me, my thoughts and my views of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I think he forgot my name quickly and that made it even more interesting — we all open-up and interact with people sometimes that are complete strangers. This was true of our talks.

Vancouver, then Toronto, Berlin, Stockholm, New York, Amsterdam, the Canary Islands and the list goes on. This guy in a few years had lived a dream of mine and done more than most will ever do in their entire life. Backpacking his way through our tiny blue planet, I asked him if he ever read or saw the movie “Into the Wild.” And of course I already knew the answer. He’s almost a blend between that other person in my life and myself. It has provided me a fascinating introspect.

He’s extremely out-going, loves a dizzing array of sports and one of those brilliant mathematical guys that has difficulty interacting with people unless it’s on the intellectual side. I quickly learned this when we both just meandered our way to the art museum. I told him that one of my two dream jobs would be an astrophysist, which is far more than a job but an experience that could change the world. Surprisingly that’s what he’s studying and will go on to probably prove some Einstein-thing. He has the mathematical base that I just don’t possess.

His overall knowledge-base, the sports, higher-educated ideas spoke mounds of the quality of life in Denmark. The land of my ancestors has pretty much the highest tax rate in the world and while those, especially in the US, have the view that taxes contaminant our individual world, the Danes along with several other nations have the opposite view. I’ve known this but have been conflicted about my views of where I stand on the subject. It wasn’t honestly until that one I wrote about earlier enlightened my views on the overall subject and its tributaries. No one complains about how awful it is, “the lack of competition,” or how some just work harder and certainly deserve more. It’s the opposite just as it is with all Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.

Yes, healthcare is completely free and actually quick in its delivery but public education is also free; even all university work is free. This is where my most fervent and almost silent, yelling opinions are targeted at many others in my country. Complete education should be dollar free to what ever level they wish to seek as long as the person doesn’t abuse it. For him and most Danes, they are required to attend two years of boarding school at our “middle school” equivalent. He said it’s in no way like the awful, Catholic or archaic intense ones we’ve all heard of or attended. They actually enjoy them and the experience. The boarding school though is not quite free but you can get help from the government.

They immediately awake to run and get the blood flowing and the brain thinking. The classes are harder than our AP, advanced placement, ones and far more signicant. They then have more and a vast range of different sports from their football all the way to gymnastics. This astonished me honestly. My crooked school system made a schedule that we had to start classes at 07:15, before the sunrise nonetheless to wake-up. This for teenagers is ridiculous. We were all half-asleep until 08:30. Plus, we didn’t do an athletic exercise like they do, which obviously would help that situation. On sports alone, if I was offered their vast range, I would’ve been involved in sports and enjoyed it. Some of them they teach are more independent, which is what I prefer and ones that the American system ignores in school.

He told me that by their Sophomore year, they had to declare essentially their university major and concentration well before graduating. This alone speaks volumes to the scale of difficulty of the pre-university coursework and how far ahead they are to us and others in the world, even before entering university. They must attain certain grades within that concentration or major to even get into university and that the required grades can change from year to year. Currently, even though he graduated Valedictorian, he was taking a sebaticle, volunteering and traveling before entering university. The Danish system highly encourages this and actually increases your overall grade to enter university.

Imagine if the American system did even half of what the Danish system does when it comes to education. It’s designed to grow the child, teenager and learned person into a more well-rounded one, better suited for life. It clearly encourages them early-on to consistently grow to be a better self. The sebaticle idea of volunteering and traveling alone shows their overall goals and merges with Hillary Clinton’s “It takes a village…”

He was kind of a loaner in one sense and yet social — perhaps an extroverted, social loaner. I only say that because I’d probably describe myself in that sense and it was like looking in the mirror and talking to myself in so many ways. We spoke for hours about world politics, history, education, his travels and the lack of mine, and other random things we all chat together about. But, I certainly listened to him far more than I spoke, but I actually do that at times, especially with people that challenge me; but those close to me probably would say “all evidence to the contrary.”

Packing my things into my duffle bag to leave, which I have never traveled with before, I just looked at his huge hiking bag and one pair of shoes with a smirked face and a raised eyebrow. No ones ever seen me pack less than two pair of shoes and pretty much a little of every thing including an actual suitcase, even for a 3-day trip. The Jensen vs. 1.0 would never have done what he does even though I always wanted to but I’ve found myself actually doing that and many other things that are more well-rounded as Jensen vs. 2.0.

My overall point with this entry is that this Dane has a Great view and knowledge of the world already at age 20, when most of us, American especially, don’t. And, that by branching out with open minds to learn about the rest of the world, their views and how they do things, we could actually enrich our society for the better. I know that for some of my fellow citizens this is a communistic, socialistic and probably some plot to take-over the world, but I know and argue that it would do our country more than one can even imagine in a positive, constructive light. We continually disdain China and other closed, non-free speech countries for not allowing the free flow of knowledge and yet I think we as Americans are in some form doing exactly the same by thinking “our way” is the best and only way things should be done.

As I have many hopes in regards for our America and our world, one is definitely completely free education with no limitations and a government that learns of others’ ways before engraving laws, especially ones with a social impact, just as many developing countries do when they come to ours to learn “how we did it.”

We never exchanged contact info. Ironically I find that in itself a good end to a 3-day story.