Final Week! (Mon 21st May - Sun 27th May)

Personal blog

This is my last ever blog entry!  This week was spent packing our things and cleaning our room up before we left Vordingborg for good, as well as, saying goodbyes to our ERASMUS friends whom we lived with for 5 months.  We also had our friend Hannah visit from Northern Ireland, so this last week really flew in.  It was strange to pack for going home rather than for travelling elsewhere and it made me realise that I would probably never live in the same place again or with the same people, despite becoming so accustomed to the lifestyle and people.  It also made me ponder when I would get this opportunity to travel and meet new people again and when would I see the friends I made in Vordingborg again.

I am also glad that I went on ERASMUS before I approached my final year of teaching education as it was a refreshing way to spend the semester and learn new, as well as, reinforce some teaching practises that are implemented today.  I think our education systems differ in terms of how much accountability schools and teachers have to the government and inspectors, however modern methods such as learning as a process rather than a product are encouraged in both systems. Having learned that another country supports some of the same teaching and learning strategies, I feel even more confident in the Northern Irish education system. 

The best parts of the ERASMUS experience have definitely been meeting the other students from other countries and getting to know them and developing friendships with them, also travelling to Hamburg, Berlin and other parts of Sweden and Denmark has been brilliant.  I also think that engaging with the Danes and getting familiar with the culture has been good to experience as they seem to live a more relaxed, laid-back life and enjoy their own space and company as well as the company of others.  They have encouraged me to learn to relax and not get caught up in the daily stresses of life, but to take a step back and enjoy the simplicities of life.  I live a busy lifestyle at home and am always doing something or feeling like I ought to be productive, so living in a Danish culture has probably had a positive influence on me.

I have made so many memories and have experienced so many emotions throughout my Denmark experience that I will always reflect on and laugh at!  Travelling to and living in somewhere far from home and with unfamiliar surroundings and faces can be daunting and challenging but very exciting and life-changing even.  I feel the experience has gave me a lot more insight and awareness of the world; different countries and people with different backgrounds and nationalities, the courage to grasp new opportunities and step out of my comfort zone, the chance to communicate and learn more and the confidence to approach tasks and situations with more optimism. I really think going away to study and live has been one of the best decisions of my life!

The entire ERASMUS group!

Week 16 (Mon 14th May – Sun 20th May)

Cultural blog

This week we said Goodbye to Trisha as she left Vordingborg for Northern Ireland.  It was strange that we weren’t leaving with her as we all arrived in Denmark at the same time and shared the experience together. As Trisha packed for home, Fionnuala and I packed for our trip to Sweden with our two Austrian friends and set off the next day on a 4-hour bus journey to Gothenburg (Sweden’s 3^rd largest city).  We stayed in a hostel for one night, then did a little sight-seeing via a canal tour and enjoyed tea and cake; also called ‘Swedish Fika’, in Old Haga town; a beautiful and quaint area with lots of little antique shops, boutiques and cafes.

Old Haga town

The four of us were invited to stay with a Swedish lady and her family for the next few days; where we had our own bedrooms in a dream house that overlooked a stunning lake and forest.  We couldn’t believe our luck!  The Swedish lady made us feel so welcome in her home and prepared a variety of Swedish dinners and desserts for us throughout our stay.  We learned to play some traditional Swedish games including ‘Kubb’; a game involving the knocking down of blocks to win.  The Swedish lady provided us with a rich insight into Swedish culture, which we never would have had if we hadn’t stayed with her and her family.  I learned that the Swedish people are generally quite into the outdoors and embracing the nature around them when the weather permits and if you had seen where we were staying you would know why! The natural forest and lake surroundings were unbelievable; like something in a film!  We were lucky enough to have brilliant, sunny weather and we took a canoe trip down a lake near to where we were staying.  I really ought to appreciate Northern Ireland’s natural surroundings more often as we too have some beautiful scenery such as the Mournes and the Giant’s Causeway. I have learned that it sometimes takes you to be out of your homeland to develop a new appreciation for what you have there!

Where we stayed with the Swedish family!

Enjoying a Swedish dinner in the sun!

This trip to Mullsjo; staying with the Swedish family in their beautiful home, was a perfect end to our ERASMUS travelling experience. We were truly spoilt by the family and couldn’t believe how kind and inviting they were to us, considering we were strangers and each from different countries (Northern Ireland and Austria).  I will never forget their hospitality and open-mindedness!  I would like to think that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would also demonstrate this culture when guests from other countries visit their homes.  I don’t intend to generalise but I do assume that people these days are more wary of people they don’t know and are perhaps more guarded and reserved when it comes to opening up to people from other countries and foreign cultures. I do however like to see that people can easily enjoy the same things and share the same sense of humour even though they come from different countries, backgrounds and cultures. 

Week 15 (Mon 7th May – Sun 13th May)

Personal blog

This week we said our first goodbye to the first ERASMUS student to leave and go back to her home in Spain.  It made me realise how time has passed by so quickly and it’s important that you make the most of it and this gave us the incentive to make more plans with the other students.  We had a Spanish omelette party and pancake party for the Spanish girl and exchanged our contact details and personal messages for each of our journals and also enjoyed the delicious food!  We also promised to keep in contact and I hope to visit her in Spain this July.  I love the networks and friendships we have developed with the students here and appreciate that I had the opportunity to build these through ERASMUS. I think this has been the best part of my ERASMUS experience and would encourage people to go on ERASMUS because of this.

We also had our last class and handed in our term papers which really made us aware that the experience really is coming to an end.  To celebrate finishing the papers, we went to Tivoli in Copenhagen with the Dutch girls and we also wanted to make the most of our time with Trisha as she goes home next week!  At dinner in Tivoli we discussed some of our best experiences in Denmark to date and we quickly realised that we have had so many experiences but have forgotten a lot and lots of the experiences feel like they happened ages ago rather than a few months ago!  We all agreed that the Berlin trip as an ERASMUS group was definitely a highlight as it was where our friendships really began to develop as well as our cultural awareness within the group.  We did however agree that it has been disappointing that we didn’t get to know each other sooner as we all arrived at different times and lived in different accommodation.

The Dutch girls and us in Tivoli gardens

This week we also decided to visit Malmo in Sweden as it is only 30 minutes from Copenhagen by train.  It was a quaint place with nice, old-fashioned buildings and some cobbled streets and a canal which runs through the city. We also found that the culture and scenery there isn’t particularly different to what we have seen of Denmark’s.  Fionnuala and I however will be lucky enough next week to go to Gothenburg and Mullsjo with two Austrian girls and see more of Sweden; which will allow us to contrast and compare some different places in Sweden.  It feels great to be able to say that I have visited parts of Germany, Denmark and Sweden and seen a lot more of Europe than I ever expected at this stage of my life.  It has only inspired me to want to travel more and see more of Europe but also consider international travelling; for example America.  This also means I have a lot of saving to do when I get home!





Week 14 (Mon 30th April – Sun 6th May)

Professional Blog



This week Jayne Moore visited Vordingborg and our university.  It was nice to show Jayne where we have been living for the last 4 months and to tell her what we have been studying as well as how much our lifestyle has changed whilst living here.  It was a great opportunity for us to reflect on our learning here and how it compares to the Stranmillis education system; one of the main differences is the relaxed and laid-back learning environment promoted in the University of Zealand that encourages students to debate and openly discuss topics.

Jayne's visit

We also had the opportunity to tag along with Jayne to a Danish school and see a music lesson being taught as well as be interviewed by pupils in two English lessons.  Something that stood out was the staff’s clothing as they wore casual clothes e.g. jeans, trainers etc.  This was strange as we are used to seeing and wearing more formal and smart clothing when teaching; which I think helps people to recognise the professionals in a school and gives teachers the opportunity to take pride in their presentation and appearance.

Danish school

Another notable difference was the English teacher’s approach and style of teaching.  She was very relaxed and open with the children as she shared details about her personal life which we often feel is inappropriate sometimes.  I did however like that she created an atmosphere in the classroom of equality; where she wasn’t superior to the children but learning a lot from them too and being a facilitator rather than imparter of knowledge.  I also think the Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007) supports this idea of a teacher as a facilitator, although sometimes as teachers more traditional approaches to teaching still do exist.

We also got to see an after school club which was really impressive as they provided horse-riding, roller-skating, wooden playground equipment (swings etc.), fishing, wood-work, drama, help with homework and a range of other indoor activities such as cooking.  The parents of children don’t have to pay as much for this facility as they would back home and it appears that a lot more activities are offered to the children here.  The staff also trusted the children to have their own freedom and partake in activities unsupervised.  The manager insisted this is because he believes when children have this freedom; there is less opportunity for them to misbehave and rebel.  This was interesting as back home we would be more afraid and adamant to let children in our care roam around without our supervision.

I liked what I seen in the Danish school and club however I do like the structure we have in the schools in Northern Ireland as rules and responsibilities are established and everyone is made aware that they are in place to create a positive learning and care environment that promotes a feeling of security in the staff and the pupils.

Week 13 (Mon 23^rd April – Sun 29^th April)

Professional Blog

This week we had an English teacher from Finland that gave us a presentation in our education class about the Finnish education system.  Our education teacher Peter remarked that Finland had the highest scoring PISA testing results; which test literacy in three competence fields: reading, mathematics, science.  A Danish student in our class asked why this was and the Finnish teacher suggested that it could be because Finland is “educationally religious” and autonomous learning is highly promoted with the Parent’s and school’s support.  In addition to this she continued that teaching is considered a prestigious job and they are greatly respected and trusted by the people of Finland, which perhaps encourages more enthusiasm for learning and promotes positive and engaging learning environments.

I asked the Finnish teacher if they had a curriculum to follow that the government enforced and to my surprise she replied that each school was given the freedom to create their own curriculum with skills the staff in the school felt should be developed.  There is only a loose framework of guidance provided by the government.  It made me think that as teachers have more autonomy with their teaching styles and selection and organisation of their resources, they may reflect their enthusiasm about learning and this consequently encourages children to want to learn and partake in individual investigations and take ownership over their own learning.

The Northern Ireland Curriculum also promotes autonomous learners and the central aim is to empower young people so that they can be independent, furthermore, as in the Finnish education system, teachers in Northern Ireland are encouraged to act as facilitators of learning as opposed to imparters of knowledge, therefore our education systems seem quite similar in that respect.  This week we also learned that in Denmark there isn’t much competition to get into teaching education and once people begin to study teaching, 40% of students drop out of the course.  However, in Northern Ireland this is not the case as it is very competitive to enter teacher training education and places in the universities are quite limited.

I like that in Northern Ireland we have a structure to follow for teaching (NIC 2007) that lays out the skills for each area of learning, but allows for teachers to help children develop the skills in a variety of forms and using a variety of teaching styles and resources.  I do however feel that the Northern Ireland Curriculum demands an awful lot of teachers in terms of timetabling and giving adequate and quality time to each of the areas of learning.  Perhaps we could learn something from other countries and their education systems, for example, with less accountability to the government, schools and staff can form their own curriculums to meet the needs of the children in their care and can promote positive learning environments without such rigid frameworks and time constraints.

Week 12 ( Mon 16th April – Sun 22nd April)

Personal blog

My friends visited Copenhagen this week and we stayed in a hostel that was situated in a different area in Copenhagen that I’d never seen before so I was able to compare and see Copenhagen from a new perspective.  I also didn’t feel like a tourist this week as the girls depended on me to be their tour guide and I became more aware of the surroundings and was able to direct us through the city quite easily. 

My friends and I in Tivoli gardens.

The weather was sunny and allowed for us to take a canal tour and see Copenhagen from the water.  I also got to see new sights I’d never visited before with the girls, including; Tivoli gardens and theme park, Christiania and Copenhagen Ice Bar.  The girls really enjoyed it and said they would visit Copenhagen again.  Having the girls over to question Danish culture and traits such as laid back living, cycling bikes everywhere, drinking tea/coffee from a glass, sarcastic sense of humour and using Danish kroner, made me realise how much I have became accustomed to Danish culture and forget how different it can be to Northern Irish culture.  It will be interesting to see if I pursue such traits when I return to Northern Ireland.

The girls commented that they thought I’d really settled in Denmark and that I was coping with being away from home better than they expected.  This made me reflect on how long I’d been away from home and family (over 3 months) and realise that I exceeded my own expectations for staying in the one place for a whole semester.  I have been able to recognise that I am quite an easy-going person and tend to take each day as it comes, however I do like to have some plans each week to look forward to, for example, meeting up with other ERASMUS students.  Since we have moved to the ‘White house’ it has been much easier to casually meet up and socialise with other students as we cross paths everyday.  It will be strange leaving the other students when we all go home as these are people we have lived with for so long and have became so familiar with.  I would like to think that we will maintain our friendships and arrange visits to each other’s countries in the future. 

Week 11 ( Mon 26th March - Sun 1st April)

Cultural blog

This week, as we had no classes, Trisha, Fionnuala and I went with some Erasmus students; including a Turkish girl, a Spanish girl, a Colombian girl and 3 Dutch girls to Berlin.  We shared a hostel room with the Spanish girl and learned a lot about her and she asked us many questions about Northern Ireland. A week passed and she insisted that we visit Spain this summer! The Spanish girl also informed us that her dinner time was different to ours as the Spanish typically eat dinner at 10.00pm, to accommodate this we arranged to meet for dinner as a group around 7.00/8.00pm each night.  This week we were able to improve our cultural awareness as all of the girls shared their cultural interests, for example, the Dutch celebrate Queen’s Day; where everyone in Holland wears orange and white on 1^st May, the Colombian girl voiced her frustration about non-native people associating Columbia with drugs all the time and the Turkish girl told us she couldn’t eat pork as part of her culture.  These are only a few examples that we learned about over the week.

The whole group outside Brandenburg Gate

Berlin was a place I never had considered visiting as I didn’t realise its rich war history.  The girls briefly educated me about the Berlin Wall and how it divided the city as East and West Berlin. It wasn’t until we took a hop on - hop off bus tour that I really appreciated the significance and impact of war on this city.  I was humbled by some of the sights we seen, including; Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall and the Jews monuments. To educate myself further, once I arrived back in Denmark, I watched Berlin videos on ‘youtube’ and was shocked at how families were separated by the wall for so many years. 

Me signing the Berlin Wall

I wondered if war is still a raw topic for the German people and if the majority of people don’t like to talk about it, never mind be associated with it.  The Dutch girls told us that often some German people express their frustration and refuse to answer questions about the war.  I suppose on reflection we can be quite ignorant to small details like this and forget that people are still embittered about history.  I did however enjoy learning about the war and its impact on the city.  I think a lot of us can be ignorant and passive to topics such as the war and other countries suffering as well as cultural differences. The Berlin trip has encouraged me to open my mind to this.  I look forward to other trips to places that are rich in history and that tell a story.  I also look forward to planning trips with the other Erasmus students, now that we know each other a lot more and enjoyed each other’s company.  This trip acted as a type of bonding session between us all and I feel I have made some friends for life!

Week 10 ( Mon 19th March - Sun 25th March)

Professional blog

This week we had our first education class and all of the ERASMUS students, including three Danish students that we had never met before were in the class.  Our new teacher Peter was relaxed and promoted an open learning environment where we felt at ease to introduce ourselves and ask any questions.  It is now very apparent that the University of Zealand teachers all promote this informal, relaxed and open learning environment.  I assume that the schools here would also follow this ethos.  I like learning here as I feel totally at ease with the teachers and can easily express my opinions or ideas to the rest of my class, without the fear of saying something wrong or naïve.  The teachers take such an interest in what you have to say and like to ask you questions and take notes on what you have to share.  Furthermore, I don’t feel like there is a hierarchy between the teachers and the students, it is encouraged that we can learn a lot from each other.

The education semester plan was displayed as an overview in a Prezi presentation and the content is basically the same as education studies back in Stranmillis e.g. learning theories, teaching styles etc.  We also played ‘Jeopardy’ which involved two pairs competing in a questions and answers activity.  The aim of the game was to revise education studies terminology and content, for example, I had to describe Success Criteria to the opposing pair of students and they had to guess the answer as ‘success criteria’.  I discovered that as students described things to me I could relate them to things we had studied in education at Stranmillis, however they used different words for the same definition, for example, differentiation and inclusion had different names in the Danish education system.  I also found that were a lot of things I had never heard of, including terminology for research on society and gender and its implications for teaching.

I am really looking forward to finding out more about learning theories and teaching styles that the Danish consider important to underpin teaching.  I have already heard the familiar theorists; Vygotsky and Bruner mentioned as well as another theorist Krashen. 

Week 9 ( Mon 12th March - Sun 18th March )

Personal blog

We moved to a different place on campus this week called ‘Hvidebo’ which means the ‘white house’.  The majority of other students live here including the Spanish, Dutch, Austrian and Danish students that we know and have classes with.  I was apprehensive and stressed about this move as we had got used to living where we were, however I knew the room was far too small for the three of us and I outweighed the pros of moving with the cons of staying.  The main things I was concerned about were not having our own private bathroom and kitchen, however once we cleaned everything, including our new room, ‘Hvidebo’ started to feel a bit more like somewhere I could spend the rest of my time in.





Our new accomodation

The communal bathroom and kitchen situation isn’t as bad as I presumed it would be.  It’s actually quite nice to live on a floor with other people passing through and cooking as you feel less isolated and the environment is more homely.  This week however I have began to feel a touch of homesickness, although the girls have been empathetic to this and can relate to it as they miss their families and friends too.  On a positive note this led to our decision to plan a trip to Berlin for a few days and see a change of scenery.  We also posted this idea on an International student’s facebook page and we now have three Dutch girls, a Spanish girl, a Colombian girl and a Turkish girl joining us! We are all really looking forward to seeing Berlin together and getting to know each other more.  It will also be a great opportunity to learn more about each other’s interests and culture habits perhaps, as we will share a hostel together.

Our room

 



This Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day and we invited the other students to join us in Copenhagen for the celebrations.  The other students had never had experienced the St. Patrick’s Day parade before and so were eager to embrace a part of Irish culture.   We all drew the three leaf clover on our cheek and walked in the parade along with the crowds of people dressed in St. Patrick’s Day green merchandise and novelty hats.  Ironically, this was the first time I had ever been at a St. Patrick’s Day parade and the fact that it was in Copenhagen and with lots of other cultures joining in, made the experience more enjoyable and memorable.  Perhaps I ought to embrace Irish culture a bit more back home!

St. Patrick's Parade

Week 8 ( Mon 5th March - Sun 11th March)

Professional Blog

This week in Teaching English as a Foreign Language classes we engaged in a lot of group work and we had another teacher called Finn taking the classes.  He immediately put us at ease and was very friendly and interested to get to know us and hear about our education system.  He also directed a lot of questions to Fionnuala, Trisha and I as we are the only native English speakers in the class and he didn’t hesitate to ask us to define words and provide appropriate words to help him to describe things in English.

The lessons were based on discussions through group work; where we discussed approaches to teaching English and whether speaking, listening, reading and writing should be taught exclusively and how we were taught. The Turkish students said they are taught how to write in English, but their teachers don’t speak to them in English and so they are not fluent speakers of English.  In our groups we came to conclusions that there needs to be a balance of learning English through speaking, listening, reading and writing activities and they shouldn’t always be taught exclusively. 

Furthermore, we learned that the Danish have introduced a new skill for English language learners – communication, which encourages students to apply their English learning with a partner or in groups by having a conversation with each other or writing letters.  I think back home we do engage in this, although we have not identified ‘communication’ as one of the language and literacy skills.  Also I think after discussing about this in groups it has placed more of an emphasis on how important it is to allow children to apply there learning through real-life contexts e.g. ordering something in a restaurant or having a telephone conversation.  This is because members of the group highlighted that they often were given contrived dialogues to practise and they seemed far removed from natural language use.

In our second class this week we were split into groups and each group had to focus on an element of teaching e.g. classroom discipline.  My group focused on lesson planning and each of us shared our experiences and what we thought should be considered when lesson planning.  The Dutch girl showed me and the Turkish girl a lesson plan template she uses and I found it interesting that there was a space for the teacher’s personal skills; skills they will work on during a lesson e.g. classroom discipline and using your voice appropriately.  I also learned that the Dutch trainee teachers engage in teaching experience every week, at least once a week and have seven weeks teaching practice every 2nd semester.  I think this is really beneficial as they are regularly engaging in a classroom setting, seeing a qualified teacher and the strategies and resources he/she uses as well as learning more about how children behave and learn. I think I could also benefit from this amount of experience as it would develop my confidence in teaching and the hands-on experience would perhaps help me to retain more knowledge about teaching and learning.

After our group discussion on lesson planning we prepared a PowerPoint and presented it to the rest of our class and Finn was impressed with the included Stranmillis lesson plan template as it considered everything i.e. differentiation, assessment, thinking skills and personal capabilities etc.  He asked me to upload a copy onto Sjaelland University’s version of Queen’s Online so that all the students could access it.  I feel my confidence in presenting has increased since I have joined these classes as we are encouraged to give presentations quite a lot.  I like that they are not assessed because they don’t feel as daunting or stressful, but rather an opportunity to share ideas with people in your class in a non-threatening, positive way.  It’s also giving me plenty of practice for future oral presentations.

Week 7 (Mon 27th Feb - Sun 4th March)

Personal Blog

I cannot believe I have been living in Denmark for nearly two months now! The time truly flies here and has made me realise that my decision to do ERASMUS was a wise one.  I was slightly apprehensive at first as my Mum and some of my family were wary of me going and thought that 5-6 months away from home was too long, as well as risky, as I would be missing out on teaching practice in a Northern Ireland school, a year before I expect to graduate.  However I feel that I am coping quite well being away from home; surprisingly, as I have never been away from home and without family for more than a week. I also feel this experience will add more value to my professional and personal development as a teacher, as I am engaging in a different education system and will hopefully take away new ideas that will improve my teaching style and my confidence  in teaching children.  Furthermore, I hope to introduce new activities and teaching strategies I learn about when I go on placement again.

Austrian Dinner

The Austrian girls invited us and the Dutch girls for a kaiserschmarrn dinner; a meal they like to enjoy after they go skiing.  It was very nice and similar to pancakes, although could be described as broken pieces of pancake with optional toppings of sugar and jam.   The conversation was interesting and we enjoyed each others company and exchanging similarities and differences from our cultures.  I think our cultures are very similar in terms of our sense of humour and society norms, for example, table manners.  However, one of the Dutch girls did remark on how thankful we are when we receive things like dinner and said that we don’t seem to be content with saying “thank you” just once.  This surprised me and made me question whether it was because of my family background or Northern Irish culture.  She did say that it’s nice that we are so polite. 

Movie Night

Fionnuala’s boyfriend Ruaidhri arrived on Friday and the both of them stayed in Copenhagen for the weekend, so Trisha and I decided to invite the Austrian, Dutch and Norwegian girls over for a movie night.  We all seem to share the same interests and I feel like we are building friendships with them, which will hopefully grow throughout our time here. It’s refreshing to have different company every so often, as with little class time we don’t really see much of the other students unless we arrange to meet up and sometimes we can feel quite isolated in our room.  Trisha, Fionnuala and I all agree that our experience here is getting better with the arrival of the other students and as we socialise more.

Week 6 ( Mon 20th Feb - Sun 26th Feb )

Personal and Cultural blog

This has been an eventful week! We came back from Copenhagen after a weekend away; staying in a nice hotel with Fionnuala’s parents and brother, and as the expression goes ‘back to porridge’.  We had a brief taste of luxury-living once again i.e. watching English TV channels in the hotel room, sleeping in comfortable beds, having a big ensuite with a bath and being treated to dinner in restaurants.  It heightened my appreciation for my lifestyle back at home and made me realise just how apathetic I have become about material things and luxuries over here in Vordingborg. 

Trisha was surprised to find her Turkish roommate had arrived when she entered and was greeted by her and a crowd of other Turkish students.  There was an instant introduction to Turkish culture when we exchanged a hug and a kiss on each cheek with them.  Unfortunately we also discovered that Trisha’s personal belongings and furniture had been moved and someone had been smoking in the room; which led to Trisha’s move to our confined room.  Fortunately, we met with our tutor the next day and were given the option for the three of us to move to a bigger room; where the majority of ERASMUS students live.

Pancake Tuesday with the ERASMUS students.

This week we also hosted Pancake Day for all of the ERASMUS students and we also celebrated ‘Austrian Carnival Day’ by wearing brightly coloured clothes and vibrant eye make-up.  It was nice to get everybody together to mix and engage in conversation with each other as we didn’t have this opportunity in the previous semester, when all the other students had international dinners.  This taught me that if you want something to happen you need to take responsibility to organise it over here as so far, nothing social has been organised for the ERASMUS students.  The event was successful and everyone from all the different cultures and countries enjoyed the pancakes, so much so, that we got invited to Turkish tea and cake by two Turkish students two days later.

Turkish Tea

At the end of this week we also were invited to dinner by the three Dutch girls; three Austrian girls and a Norwegian girl also came. We instantly bonded with each other and shared the same sense of humour; a bonus when we all come from different backgrounds and cultures.  I also was impressed at how fluent all the girls were in speaking English and it made me question our education system back home and our apparent ignorance to learning foreign languages.  Obviously we are at an advantage with being native English speakers, however I’m beginning to think that if children in Northern Ireland were to engage in foreign language learning at a young age, communication barriers would be minimised and cultural awareness, increased.  I love that ERASMUS is giving me the opportunity to engage with a variety of cultures and communicate with people from different countries.  We certainly are learning a lot from each other and about our cultures!  I’m looking forward to organising more socialising opportunities with the ERASMUS students and widening my knowledge of their cultures as well as entertaining them with examples of typical Northern Irish culture!

Dutch girls' dinner

Week 5 (Mon 13th Feb - Sunday 19th Feb)

Cultural blog

This week we went to Hamburg as the university was on ‘winter break’ for the week.  We stayed in a Generator hostel for three nights.  This was a new experience for Fionnuala and I as we had never stayed in a hostel before and we had a variety of concerns about how clean the rooms and bed linen were and who else would be staying there.  To our pleasant surprise, the hostel challenged our preconceptions; our room was modern, immaculate and very comfortable and we seen a few families and young couples staying.  Furthermore, it only cost us £30 to stay for the three nights! This positive experience has encouraged me to consider booking hostels in my future travels.

The first sight we seen was the busiest and biggest train station I have ever seen (Hamburg Central Station).  This is no ordinary train station; the atmosphere is electric as crowds of people shift through platforms - we almost lost each other in the crowds!  The place is also surrounded with fast-food restaurants and shops, as well as a police station.  Unfortunately it was also surrounded by homeless people which was very humbling and shocking as they peered through every bin they came across, regardless of who was watching.  I have never seen this extent of homelessness back in Northern Ireland.

We took a bus tour around Hamburg and the top attractions and sights were pointed out to us, including; the river Elbe (the second largest port in Europe), the Town Hall (Rathaus), St. Michaelis Church and Miniatur Wunderland.  We visited all of these places and each was fascinating. The river Elbe had a 20cm ice-cap (the last ice-cap was 15 years ago) which gave us the opportunity to walk on water. However, we weren’t adventurous enough to run, ice-skate or sledge along it; like a majority of the German people! 

Minatur Wunderland (43 000 square feet) is a must-see for everyone! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the different mini-worlds; including the USA, Scandanavia, the Netherlands and Hamburg.  The detail of every piece was incredible, there was even mini people doing a variety of worldly things in the day and night e.g. jobs, swimming, driving, running in fields, sunbathing etc.  The trains that travelled through the worlds made the experience even more special. 

Mini Hamburg

Rathaus, Hamburg’s town hall was more like a palace and the inside tour allowed us to see how luxurious and valuable it was e.g. leather wallpaper, gold doors, renaissance paintings covering the ceilings and wall borders.  Astonishingly, it was one of the only buildings in Hamburg not destroyed by the Second World War.

Me standing alongside Rathaus

I feel that visiting Hamburg has been one of my biggest highlights to date and it has instilled in me a desire to travel and see more of Europe and experience more cultures.  I am particularly excited at the opportunity of us being able to travel to Berlin as I have just finished reading ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ by John Boyne and am keen to see the sights that are rich with World War history.   I have also learned how easy it is to travel around Europe by train and see no excuse not to, while I have free time during the ERASMUS experience.

Week 4 (Mon 6th Feb - Sun 12th Feb)

Professional blog

This week our ‘Teaching English as a Foreign Language’ classes started.  We had them on Tuesday and Friday and they started early at 8.15am and finished at 2.15pm. This may sound rather lengthy, compared to covering a range of subjects throughout the day, as Stranmillis classes usually last an hour at a time.  However, our teacher Anne Kristine allows for the perfect balance of lesson time and regular breaks.

The classes this week were highly engaging and involved a lot of group work and culture discussion.  I was placed in a group with a Turkish girl and an Austrian girl and we had to share the ‘dos and don’ts’ of our cultures.  I was fascinated with some of the differences in our cultures, for example, I learned that to refuse tea from someone in Turkey is almost unacceptable and considered very rude, also it is very inappropriate to cross your legs in front of your elders and it is vital that you greet people in Turkey by kissing their hand and placing it on your head.  Ideas including these were displayed for the whole class to see on an internet programme called ‘wallwisher.com’; a useful site that uploaded every group’s ideas on animated post-it notes in the same window.  I would definitely use this programme with children when they do group work and want to share ideas, as it allows you as a teacher to get a quick overview of the children’s learning and opinions and it also lets them see ideas that their peers thought of, through an easy-operating, more modern type of media.

Anne Kristine also introduced us to the internet programme ‘screenr.com’; a website that allows you to create a voice-over your own uploaded pictures or work.  She also highlighted that this is a useful programme to use for giving children constructive feedback on their work, as you can upload the children’s work and ‘zoom’ into areas of the work to make comments , so that children can see where they did well and where they can improve.  This is a refreshing approach to the familiar and perhaps dooming red pen marking exercise, which children and teachers often dread.  Anne Kristine also used a programme called ‘Prezi’ to display the lesson content each day.  The programme displayed the content of the lesson in a more attractive and appealing way than the familiar Microsoft PowerPoint programme that we use back home.  This is because you can see an overview of the day’s activities spread in a circle and the teacher can zoom in and out of different areas of the lesson in whatever order he/she desires at any time.  This presentation kept me more engaged throughout the lesson than what PowerPoint slides usually do. Therefore, I am eager to learn how to use ‘Prezi’, so that I can encourage the same enthusiasm and maintain the interest of children when I present organised information to them.

I thoroughly enjoyed these lessons as I was learning in a relaxed, informal atmosphere that encouraged me to speak up and share my ideas and opinions in a non-threatening way.  Anne Kristine put everyone at ease and encouraged us to engage in open-ended discussion and to not feel shy.  Perhaps working in groups and pairs also helped to promote a positive and open atmosphere in the classroom.  I am looking forward to having more meaningful and informative lessons in the coming weeks that add value to my personal, cultural and professional development.

Week 3 (Mon 30th Jan - Sun 5th Feb)

Personal Blog

This has been the coldest week to date! We have had mountains of snow and freezing wind chills (-15 degrees) in Vordingborg, so my Hunter wellies and earmuffs (Christmas presents) have been greatly appreciated!  Our classes for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and Education studies have not started yet, so we decided to take a bus trip to Naestved; a town  30 minutes away.  We engaged in a brief conversation with the bus driver and tried our luck by showing him our new University of Sjaelland student ID cards.  He examined the cards and then waved us onto the bus without charging us.  Perhaps with the language being a barrier, he decided he would minimise the hassle and effort of asking us what type of ticket we required.  As it was so cold, we ended up treating ourselves and settled for some Earl Grey tea and dessert pancakes in a nice café.  Hopefully the next time we visit we will become more familiar with the town and surroundings.

Check out how the danes are into their presentation of food!

We also explored Vordingborg town this week and visited the goose tower in the snow; which was striking and beautiful, as well as the frozen harbour where the goose tower overlooks.  There is a shop called ‘Rapunzel’ which appealed to us as the window display had handmade, quirky jewellery and as we entered we were greeted by the very friendly and eccentric Guru (a Danish lady).  She seemed eager to get to know us as we were from Ireland and she took our phone number to exchange with her Irish friends that live here. We may be able to meet up with these Irish friends of Guru’s at some stage of our trip.  Her English was very good and she was able to advise us on where the cheaper grocery stores ‘Netto’ and ‘Aldi’ where.  As we have started to notice the significant higher prices of food here, we were thankful to find these shops and buy the same foods for a much cheaper price.

The Goose Tower in the snow

I am really looking forward to starting TEFL classes to get an idea of what content we will be covering and to see how classes are delivered by the teacher.  I’m also keen to know what will be expected of us in terms of assessment in comparison with Stranmillis assessment.  I hope to see a variation in teaching styles, presentations and activities while I’m here, that will add value to my professional development.  I am also looking forward to engaging with the other international students more through these classes; as they give the perfect opportunity to do so in group work.  Furthermore, I want to learn more about the different cultures that exist within this group of international students; the similarities and differences and how people cope with these.

Vi ses!

Week 2 (Mon 23rd Jan - Sun 29th Jan)

This week we had Danish classes; which are not compulsory, but we have chosen to do them to help us to develop our awareness of Danish vocabulary and grammar and to equip us with some useful phrases.  I enjoy these classes and practising the language with the Danish people we meet on our travels. The accent and pronunciation can be easily misinterpreted, for example ‘jeg’ means ‘I’, but is pronounced ‘yigh’, which is completely different to the spelling of the word ‘jeg’.  Therefore we are quickly learning that we shouldn’t read Danish with our English interpretations!   Ironically, this week our electric went out and I ended up applying and attempting some of my Danish in a phone call to our maintenance man’s wife! This was quite the experience as his wife didn’t speak any English and his English isn’t great either.  However I managed to say “Hej, jeg hedder Kerri og jeg taler engelsk og jeg bor i Vordingborg Domea , Kuskevej. Vi har ingen elektrisk, kan du hjælpe?” ( Hello, I am Kerri and I speak english and I live in Vordingborg dorms Kuskevej.  We have no electric, can you help?)  and his wife was instructed to reply, “Try again in 5 minutes.” So perhaps I didn’t do too badly.  Although our electric still didn’t work,  so Fionnuala and I resorted to asking a builder on site if he could help and luckily he spoke English and he tripped the switch, which gave us instant electric once again!

This weekend we took the train to Copenhagen and Soren (our Danish friend) picked us up and brought us to his parent’s house; where we were invited to stay for the weekend.  They were such friendly and accommodating people and were eager to entertain and feed us!  That Friday night we had a delicious pork roast dinner with red cabbage, boiled potatoes, peppered sauce and crackling (something I had never tried before!). The food they made for us this weekend reflected Danish culture and was sometimes similar to the food at home.  Soren’s dad educated us on and introduced us to traditional Danish delicacies, including; minced pork, egg and breadcrumb burgers, lemon half cake, dream cake, bakery bread with cheese and jam combined, brown malt-type bread and remoulade and béarnaise sauces. Trisha and I shared our love of the Frankfurt sausages and hot dogs that we have been getting since we arrived and Soren’s parents have promised to take us to their favourite hot dog place the next time we visit! We also learned that the Danish people get up every morning very early in comparison to home.  They like to have their coffee by 8.30am at the latest and schools and classes start at 8.30am (our Danish classes start at this time and classes in the next few weeks will begin at this time too). We also learned that ‘handball’ is a popular televised sport in Denmark and Soren’s family as well as the Danish tutors we have met are very passionate about it and the Danish team. 

The Anderson Family!

Soren, his sister Maria and girlfriend Christina took us on a tour through Copenhagen while we were there and we seen the city hall, royal palace grounds and the changing of the guards, we also walked through Stroget street (the world’s longest shopping street).  However as we were all freezing walking around, we cut sight-seeing short.  Other sights to see will give us something to look forward to in the coming weeks; hopefully when the weather gets warmer!  We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend experiencing a typical Danish family culture and enjoyed the relaxed, laid-back atmosphere and way of life.  The family were very open with us and eager to engage in English with us as well as help us with our progressing Danish.  We look forward to seeing them again and learning more from them.  We were also so appreciative of the T.V. they gave us for our Vordingborg room! 

Us outside the royal palace gounds