Week 10 ¦ Jumping around ¦ Professional and Personal Development

On Monday and Tuesday we met our new tutor, Nadia, who came to teach us more about the history of Danish Pedagogy and the key terms and concepts associated with Danish Pedagogy. We spent the first part of the morning getting to know Nadia, after she was then curious to find out more about us as class. Instead of asking us to introduce ourselves to her, Nadia wanted us to describe the person sitting next to us to really see how much we knew about each other. I was sitting next to Lara which was lucky as I have spent a lot of time with her during my time here in Denmark. This result of this activity was a testimony to the friendships we have made within the class and it was nice to see how well we have really got to know each other in such a short time.

Throughout the Pedagogy class Nadia showed us short film clips of routines within Early Years settings in England, Hungary and of course Denmark. It was interesting to see both the similarities and differences between the role of the adult within these settings and routines. In England, the pedagogues encourage holistic development of the children, for example the development of fine motor skills by encouraging the correct use of cutlery and also language development by having little conversations with the children and introducing new vocabulary. In Denmark, the pedagogues greatly encourage independence and the children are able to do a lot for themselves, for example, a child spilt his drink and immediately got up and cleaned it himself. I think encouraging independence is very beneficial for the children and something I would like to promote when I am on placement at home.

'The traveller who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep' - Margaret Mead 

On Friday, we were given a free day so me and the other girls from Ireland decided to visit the Spring Centre in Riis Skov. The Spring Centre had two main halls, each with built in trampolines, sponge pits and other gymnastic style equipment. In one room, which was for the younger children, there was such things like, climbing apparatus and ledges fixed to the wall were they could jump off and land on soft mattresses. For the first half an hour we were able to sit in with a group of young children, aged around two to six years old, it was interesting to see how the children were left to their own devices, left to roam wherever they wanted and they seemed happy enough to do so. It was also unusual for me to see that such young children were able to play in the same vicinity as the older ones whom I would have thought played roughly or more dangerously, but the older children always took great care around the younger ones which was lovely to see. After sitting in with the younger children we were able to go to the other hall which was free for just us to play about in, and that we did!

'You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.' - Richard Lingard

Later that evening, Ana in our class invited us to a party in her dorm that she was having with some of her flatmates. In the early hours of the morning, we headed back to Skjoldhøj and decided we weren’t ready for bed so continued the party yet again in the Skjoldhøj Bar, in which we have yet to have a disappointing night.   

After wakening quite late on Saturday, Kate and I thought it would be nice host a small gathering for the ones in our class. We always rave about our Irish Stew and how nothing can compare to it, so we decided to make some for them, so they could see for themselves. However cooking for nine people is a lot harder than it looks but we pulled it off and thankfully everyone seemed to enjoy it! We played a few games and then once again headed to the Skjoldhøj bar to end off a great night. 

References:

Margaret Mead - http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/the-next-50-most-inspiring-travel-quotes-of-all-time/

Richard Lingard - http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/play 

Week 9 ¦ Back to School ¦ Professional, Cultural and Personal Development

After a heavy weekend of partying Monday came around again all too soon! We headed for the bus at Ana's accommodation and prepared for class with Aase. In this class we learned about the Danish citizenship system and how it differs for both Danish individuals and immigrants coming from different countries. Throughout this class Aase reflected on how we can explore citizenship when we are out on our block placement, for example when I am which children aged around 10 years old I can ask their view on different aspects of citizenship in relation to equality, freedom and independence to name a few. By doing this I can further develop my own cultural knowledge of Denmark and develop professionally by expanding my knowledge on how to education children on the cultural diversity within different countries as well as back in Ireland.

On Wednesday we went to visit Åby Skole, which was exciting for me as I will be carrying out my block placement here with the fourth graders. When we arrived we were sent to the assembly hall were we were split into two groups, My group first went off to visit the seventh graders, one of which was Marie’s son, Gorm. Here we played some activities with the class, we each had to speak in our mother tongue, describing ourselves and what we study at home. We also had to perform a little and because Kate and I are from the same country, we decided to speak (somewhat badly) in Irish, just to make it that little bit more difficult for the pupils. To our surprise it didn’t take the class long to guess correctly that we are from Ireland and even Gorm guessed the North of Ireland so we were very impressed indeed! Once we had met the class and asked them some questions about democracy in their school life, we went to have our lunch.

After lunch Marie decided it would be best if I switched over groups and went to see the fourth graders too as that was who I would be spending my placement time with. Here we carried out the same activities with the children, however it took them a little longer to correctly guess Ireland, and we even got some countries like Australia and America! All the children were so lovely and such a pleasure to meet, so I’m looking forward to spending more time with them in April.

'One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world' - Malala Yousafzai

On Thursday morning we got the news that our tutor was feeling unwell and had cancelled both classes for Thursday and Friday, which wasn’t so good for him but good for us as that meant we had a four day weekend! In true student style we started organising when our first outing would be. Ana told us about a concert that music students from Aarhus University were organising and so we decided to go and see what is was about. To say the least it wasn’t so much typical music concert, more a free-for- all jamming session! It was a slightly strange set up but an experience to say the least.

After the concert the other international student class were holding a Greek themed party in the dorm next to Ana’s and so we decided to join to meet some more international students. 

'Wherever we travel to, the wonderful people we meet become our family.' - Lailah Gifty Akita

On Saturday night we decided to have a change of scenery and head into the city. We went to a bar opened by a famous ping pong champion, Shen Mao Nightclub. It was a club like I have never seen before, there was music and a dance floor like any other place, but as I walked on through there was a ping pong table with about 12 people playing whilst running around the table and a huge audience watching them. It was amazing to watch how something so simple can cause such chaos and an exciting atmosphere. I will definitely be returning here in the near future.

After yet another hectic weekend, I decided to take it easy on Sunday and prepare myself for a bright and early start on Monday morning.

References:

Malala Yousafzai - http://quotesgram.com/malala-quotes-about-education/

Lailah Gifty Akita - http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/meeting-people 

Week 8 ¦ A month gone... ¦ Personal and Professional Development

How I have been here a month already is completely beyond me, it has flown by so quickly! I’m surprised at how well I have adapted to this new found environment and culture. I’ve already established treasured friendships with my classmates and even though my mum and dad wouldn’t be so happy to hear it, I haven’t felt homesick once. Aarhus feels a lot more homely than it did this time last month!

On Monday we had class with our tutor Dorte on the Nature aspect of our course. We talked about how each of us would interpret our ideal natural environment. It was interesting to hear how different individuals from different countries had a wide range of ‘perfect’ nature surroundings. Mine for example would have a scenic view of the mountains, not too warm but also not too cold and it would have to be sunny, whereas my classmates from sunnier countries said the beach would be the number one aspect of a perfect landscape, with very warm weather. I guess it’s just what your used to as an individual and what you were brought up to know as typical natural surroundings. We discussed how it is important to talk to children about their views on nature and how exposing them to different people’s views on nature can develop their understanding and interests in nature and the natural environment.

After our classes were finished we were informed that we were off on Tuesday and so decided to host a surprise birthday party for Lara, whose birthday was on the Tuesday.  We all decided to meet at Álvaro’s dorm and tell Lara we were having a movie night. Lea made a yummy Swiss Pancake cake, made up of many stacks of pancakes, fruit and cream. Of course Lara was over an hour late ;), unaware that we were all waiting on her but when she arrived she was so shocked and delighted.

On Thursday, Ian informed the class that there was a handball match playing at the local arena, the Ceres Arena. As Ian is big into his handball, we thought we would all come along and see what the fuss was all about. I did not expect such an overwhelming atmosphere, there was music blaring, drums and roars from the crowd, it was amazing to see all these people come together to support a sport I didn’t previously acknowledge as very popular. Throughout the game Ian explained to us what was going on, as we were novices when it came to handball and as the game progressed I could feel myself becoming more and more involved and by the time it was over I was ready to watch another! Even though according to Ian it wasn’t a very professional match and quite predictable, I thoroughly enjoyed it and being part of the exhilarating atmosphere was enough to make me want to go back.

'A mind that is stretched by new experiences can never go back to it's old dimensions' - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

On Friday we went to Skjoldhøj bar, where we hung out with some of my flatmates and played some beer pong and foosball. The bar is no longer new to us as we were becoming some of the regulars and it’s a great place to go after a long week and better still it’s right around the corner from my dorm!

On Saturday, we went to my new favourite place that is Tir Na Nóg to watch the Ireland v England six nations match. Even though we watched Ireland get royally stuffed in the second half, we still left the pub with our heads held high in true Irish spirit

On Sunday Ana from our class decided to host an Oscar’s Party, at 1am! We all agreed we would sleep until that time then get up and head over to hers where we would stay up and watch the Oscars all night. It may not have been the most sensible idea but it was a great night and come morning time we all made breakfast together before heading off to class. It was interesting to see what different breakfast items everyone brought as previously us Irish had been shamed for having such a breakfast as an Ulster Fry. This breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, breads, jams, cheese and cold meats and also cookies!, which in my eyes is much weirder for breakfast than a good sausage! After breakfast we quickly raced for the bus, ready for a new week at university.

References:

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr - http://quotesgram.com/quotes-about-new-experiences/

Week 7 ¦ Getting my Bearings ¦ Personal and Cultural Development

With the good news that our classes were cancelled on Monday, Kate and I took the opportunity to try and discover more of Aarhus. We had heard about the Docks east of Aarhus and were advised to visit whenever we got a chance so that’s what we decided to do.  Right on the waterfront was a massive library, I’d never seen anything quite like it. There were areas around the library for children to play which seems to be very common here in Denmark. Nearly every establishment open to the public has a child friendly area, which I favour greatly as an Early Childhood Studies student. Another thing I found interesting was that the parents are very trusting of these particular areas, the children are free to run around and play without having the parents always standing over them, telling them to be careful, it’s a very rule-free environment. Which I think is great as it gives the children so much independence.

Later that day my NHD class had decided to meet in a traditional Irish pub -  Tir Na Nóg before going to the cinema. As soon as I walked into the pub I felt an overwhelming sense of home, just the little things like the smell of the pub reminded me of Ireland and it was such a comfort. We introduced our class to a classic Irish Coffee, which was received very well fortunately for us! After a reminder of home we made our way to the cinema where we went to see ‘Deadpool’.

'When overseas you learn more about your own country, than you do the place you’re visiting' – Clint Borgen

On a high from Monday, Kate and I were both happy, content and ready for a day at the Natural History Museum, however this quickly changed! After being in such a rush from nearly missing the bus we took to our seats and tried to figure out where we were supposed too be heading, unfortunately it had slipped our minds that we hadn’t gotten bus tickets and sure enough the next stop from our halls location the ticket wardens jumped on our bus and we were the first ones to be asked for our tickets. Since we didn’t have any, we were hit with a fine of 750kr (around £75), not something that was welcomed at half 8 on a Tuesday morning, and to make things worse, Kate and I sat in shock and managed to miss our stop and so spent around an hour trying to find the museum. Eventually we arrived and tried to forget the misfortune of the morning and enjoy the museum and despite our low moods we actually managed to. We even had the opportunity to watch an otter being dissected which was interesting but maybe not the best thing to watch right after eating lunch!

On Wednesday we visited the forest beside the Moesgaard museum, here we worked in teams to create rafts that had to be able to float and using one of our phones film it travelling on the raft along the river. After some attempts and altercations to our original model we managed to build a fully functional raft.

We gladly welcomed our day off on Friday and later that evening we went to our Belgian friends’ halls of residence where they hired out the common room and each member of our class brought a dish from their home country. We got to try Croatian meatballs, Belgian stew and carbonara made by a real Italian! But of course the Irish dish stood out by a mile, shepherd’s pie and scones with jam and cream  for dessert. Later that night we arrived back at our halls, Skjoldhøjkollegiet and continued the party at the Skjoldhøj bar, which turned out to be a great night and I’m sure many more are to come.

A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

References:

Clint Borgen - http://www.mintnotion.com/travel/travel-quotes-to-inspire-you/

Tim Cahill - https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/25126.Tim_Cahill

Week 6 ¦ Time to Explore ¦ Professional and Cultural development

It comes to me as a great shock that I am already finished my first and writing about my second week of the Erasmus Programme and although I cringe at the thought of saying this, there is no other saying that makes more sense than; time really does fly when you’re having fun!

We began the week with a democracy lesson with the one and only Aase, who decided to spend a great deal of time delving into the history behind her name. She enlightened us that her name originates from the God’s and can either represent those such as a peasant or a princess. Once she was educated us on herself she then began to teach us about the democracy in Denmark, she each asked us questions about our own countries and then compared this with the way of life in Denmark. One aspect of the lesson that I found particularly interesting were the views everyone had when they first came to Denmark. The biggest point raised was the fact that people rarely speak to each other, whether that be on public transport or within our accommodations and coming from a place where the saying ‘oh they could talk for Ireland’ is given to almost everybody, to a place where each and everybody keeps themselves to themselves is such a culture shock! So the fact that everyone else in the class had the same opinion was comforting.

'One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.' – Henry Miller

On Tuesday we had the opportunity to go to one of the most visited forests in Denmark; Riis Skov where we spent time, both with the class as a whole and in our study groups. One activity we had to carry out in our study groups was using items we could find in the forest, measure the height of a given tree. Luckily for us we had a maths student in our group, Lara!

We then took a walk round the forest and down to the beach where we learnt that years ago bones from animals like cows and horses were thrown in the water and in recent years the remains have begun washing up on the shore, so we looked out for them and even got to take some of the ‘treasures’ home with us again!  We then continued our venture through the forest were Dorte opened our eyes to the unique aspects of nature that we can incorporate into our lesson plans as we proceed along our career paths.

Also as Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday, Jessica, Leah, Poppy, Kate and I decided to introduce this concept to our class. Even though they were slightly baffled by the whole idea of pancake Tuesday our class really enjoyed the night, so much so that we have now made the NHD tradition of Pancake Tuesday, every Tuesday.

On Friday we had a short tour of the library and were given a few tips, but after that we were given study time or as Kate and I seen it; time to explore Aarhus. We went out to Marselisborg Havnevej, a small marina just outside the town itself and admired the yachts along with the beautiful stretch of a view across the water. We managed to spend hours there without even knowing it and then decided to treat ourselves to a harbour lunch.

As we approached the weekend, we did what we do best, went out and partied! On Friday I went into the town with a few of the other NHD students in my class and on Saturday the two Croatian girls, Lara and Ivona hosted a little party for our class which again resulted in more partying!

Come Sunday we were exhausted and decided to rest and get ready for another packed week on Monday.


References:

Henry Miller - http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/133768-one-s-destination-is-never-a-place-but-a-new-way