Meet Rikke David

Getting used to using inches instead of centimeters is no easy task, says Rikke David, who is working for three months at Bonnier Corporation in Winter Park, Florida. "It is surprisingly different from our metric system," she says. "I think I'll buy a couple of rulers, bring them back home, and leave them laying on my colleagues desks, just for fun - they really won't be able to use them for anything."

David, 37, works for Bonnier Publications in Denmark as a graphic designer in the marketing department. At Bonnier Corporation, she's working as an advertising artist at design services. And inches versus centimeters aside, there are fewer differences than one might imagine, she says. "In many ways the jobs are very much alike," she says. "We use the same software, use Macs, etc. The biggest difference between the two jobs is that here at design services, we do the advertising for external clients, with different businesses. And of course they vary a lot depending on which title to advertise in. Back home I do advertising mostly to sell subscriptions - the client is the magazine."

The differences have given David some good ideas. "I've been inspired by some of the workflows here, I will definitely take this inspiration back to Copenhagen and share it," she says. "It's been a fantastic working experience meeting new people, everybody is so friendly and helpful that I feel very welcome."

Outside the job, David is also taking full advantage of one of the biggest differences: the weather. "My summer has become three months longer this year," she says. She's also been pleased with how friendly people are - and how many connections to Denmark she's made. "My first day at the office a guy asked me where I was from, and the next minute, he showed me some pictures on his phone of my neighborhood back home," she says. "Another girl told me she went on a cruise to Copenhagen last month, and the girl at the cash register at the local supermarket here has family living close to me back home. It is always funny, when you travel so far away, somehow you're already connected with the people you meet."

David advises everyone to take advantage of the possibility that GROW offers. "Being here feels like a once-in-a-life-time opportunity!"