By David Fleet

Editor

In about a month Georg Larsson, 16, will return to his native land of Copenhagen, Denmark.

“I love my country,” said Larrson, who arrived in the United States on Aug. 18. “But after almost a year here, I’d consider a return trip to America.”

Larsson attends Goodrich High School and lives with host family Debra and Harry Flotemersch as part of the American Scandinavian Student Exchange (ASSE). The exchange, founded in 1976 by the Swedish government to organize student exchange programs between Sweden and the United States, has grown now to include 35 countries.

Larsson attends Johannesskolen High School and will have three years remaining before graduation when he returns to school this fall. His mother, Charlotte, works in communications while father Thomas is a former diplomat for the United Nations. Larsson also has a brother Walter, 13.

He speaks Danish, German and English fluently.

“English was hard to learn at first, but I had to speak it everyday here so it got better,” he said. “People are very nice here in America. You all seem to have a lot of cars and drive everywhere you go—it’s a little more rural than home. People say hi and chat with each other. However, Americans have very different eating habits than we do back home—fast food and processed food are a big part of the diet here. I miss fish and our black hard bread. We eat a lot from the sea.”

Soccer was Larsson’s game.

“It’s our football back home,” he said. “I played on the Goodrich team this year. There are some very good players here.”

After high school he plans to study business and become a dietician.

“It’s far more liberal in Denmark and parents are more liberal at home, too,” he said. “You can buy alcohol at 18-years-old and beer and wine at 16 (years old). Some abuse that, but not all. The positive side is you get a relationship with alcohol at an early age and will learn how to handle it when you’re older.”

“I’m a Christian, part of the Protestant Church,” he said. “I also feel there is a very strong Christian belief here in America.”