Week 17

Personal Development

4 months later, my Erasmus journey is rapidly coming to an end. 17 weeks ago, I had no idea that I would have experienced so much in one semester in Denmark! From the coldest winter in 20 years to the amazing changes of spring and now the warm(er) summer weather, I have so many memories. Looking back at my previous blog entries, I do not know how I found time to squeeze everything in. I have shared many memories throughout the weeks, but one thing (that I’m sure you are all aware of) I never seem to forget to say is something along the lines of; ‘This week has gone so quickly.’ I am bored of writing it as much as you are bored of reading it, so just to put a spin on the quote - the whole trip has gone so quickly! I am now on day 119 of my journal and with only a few days left to go, I am sad to say, this is my last weekly blog from Copenhagen...

The past week has been quite surreal in a way. After watching my Erasmus friends leave at the end of April, and gradually others leaving throughout May, it is now my turn to pack away all my belongings from the past four months. I am very sad at having to leave Copenhagen as I have had such a great time here, and met some of the nicest people. This week, I am making time to see my friends as well as having some final visits to some of my favourite places in the city. Spending time beside the bustling canals like Nyhavn; the beautiful parks like

Rosenborg Palace Garden and Frederiksberg Park (my favourite!); and the charming cobbled side streets filled with unique shops has been great and made me realise how fortunate I am.
Now that I have been here four months, I do not describe myself as a tourist in Copenhagen - to be honest, I get a little annoyed when people think I am on holidays here - directing me where to go, and what to do. Finding somewhere in the city is no longer a challenge, and I am even starting to remember street names. That is not to say that I would be able to direct someone who was lost, but I am proud to say that I now know my way around quite well. Furthermore, I would even be inclined to say that my Danish has improved - a little. It is unfortunate that I will not have longer to practise my linguistic skills - I guess it means I will just have to come back and visit Denmark another time!

I have had a wonderful time in Denmark, but I am also very much looking forward to coming back to Northern Ireland. This is the longest length of time I have spent away from my family and friends, so I cannot wait for a good old cup of tea and a proper (McVitie’s) digestive biscuit.

Cultural Development

At the weekend, we were fortunate enough to experience the Copenhagen Carnival. It is an annual event, which started in 1982, and takes place in the city centre every Pentecost weekend. The carnival runs for three days and attracts many tourists as well as Danes. There is a special children’s carnival that runs along with the event, so many families get involved. On Saturday we went to see the parade on Strøget with lots of Brazilian dancers and Reggae, World and Electro music. The weather was beautiful on Saturday, so lots of people had come to see what was going on.

Julia, Christina, Claire and I then went to Fælledparken in Østerbro where there were nine different music stages, lots of activities and different stalls. The park is so large that even though there were many people, there was a really relaxed atmosphere and we were able to relax and lie in the sun without feeling cramped.

On our way home from the carnival, Claire and I decided to visit Den Lille Havfrue (the Little Mermaid) one last time. Of course the actual statue is visiting China until the end of October for the World Expo 2010. This year’s theme for World Expo 2010 is Better City, Better Life, so the Little Mermaid has gone to be part of the Danish experience in Shanghai. The harbour was such a different setting compared to the snow blizzard and unbearable cold we endured on our first visit. The sun was still shining at 6pm, and we were able to take our time getting pictures beside the live images of the statue in China.


I have certainly experienced a wealth of Danish culture and way of life. From Danish home life, traditions and of course food, to national holidays and major tourist attractions (and everything in between), I feel that I know more about Denmark than I do about Northern Ireland. I feel very culturally enlightened, so I am looking forward to going back to Northern Ireland and visiting some cultural treats!

Professional Development

Seeing I have completed all my work for Blaagaard/KDAS, it was nice to have a week off. I still have to return to the university to get my individual assignment and papers back from tutors, so it will be good to see some of them before I leave.

My time studying in Denmark has been really eye opening. I feel studying abroad has been very worthwhile for me, and has given me a lot of perspective on education. I feel like I have really achieved something by studying in a different country and it is hard to sum up all the knowledge and skills that I have been introduced to. I really enjoyed studying theory at the university. Being in a class with 30 other people from all over Europe has allowed me to gain insight into other education systems and ways of practise, as well as the significance of multi-cultural education. My highlight of studying in Denmark was teaching placement at a Danish school. Schooling is very different here in Denmark and I am glad I got the opportunity to see that. Not only did I gain teaching experience, I also gained a lot of new ideas that I may not have been introduced to if I had not come on Erasmus. I look forward to returning to my studies in Northern Ireland; and I hope to apply all that I have learnt from being on Erasmus for my education and teaching in Northern Ireland.

Week 16

Personal Development

After last week’s distress about the bad weather, this week the sun has finally arrived! With temperatures reaching 20°C and blue sky (most of the time), I am very excited about the fact that I am able to enjoy the good weather for the last couple of weeks - it makes such a welcomed change. So, with only one more blog to write after this one, I am hoping to spend lots of time in the beautiful parks around the city, and not much time indoors!

This week has again gone really quickly, and the realisation of leaving Copenhagen and coming back home really hit me on Wednesday, when it was time for Nicole to go home. We decided to go out for a meal on Monday night to spend time with the last few remaining students. The meal was great, and it was nice to spend time together for one of the last times. By the time Nicole left on Wednesday afternoon, it was sad to think that our journey is coming to an end, but we have had a great time together and it is exciting to be going home soon! The house looks so much emptier now, and seeing it took Nicole a few days to gradually pack her suitcase, I am not looking forward to sorting out all my clothes and things that I have collected. Fitting everything into my case might be a task…

It was one of the Austrian girls’ birthday yesterday - Christina turned 21, so Julia had organised a really great day for her. We went out for some lunch before heading to the beach - Amager Strand. Amager Strand is very close to the city centre, on the metro line, but apart from the industrial estate in the far distance and an aeroplane landing every 5 minutes, it was surprisingly peaceful. The weather was really warm and sunny yesterday which was perfect for lying on the beach and sleeping off my lunch. We decided to go for a little paddle in the sea, which was FREEZING cold, however the Austrian girls, used to diving into rivers and lakes, decided to go for a swim - I’m not going to lie - I thought they were crazy. At least Christina won’t forget her birthday in a hurry. After allowing Julia and Christina ample time to dry off and warm up, we went round to their house for some cake. The landlady the girls are living with had left out some traditional Danish decorations, so Julia and I had fun decorating the table. I made some raisin and oat cookies (not very typically Northern Irish), and Julia had made a traditional Austrian birthday cake: Bananenschnitte. The cake was so good, and I was so glad that the cookies turned out well. And no, I did not burn them.

Cultural Development

On Wednesday, Julia, Christina and I took the opportunity to visit another Royal palace outside of the city - Frederiksborg Castle. It took a 50 minute train journey to get to Hillerød, a small town in the North of the island. I have wanted to visit this palace for a long time, because I had heard the gardens are really spectacular, but wanted to wait until the weather was better, and I’m glad I did! The palace was beautiful, situated on its own island in the middle of Castle Lake. Christian IV built the castle in the 1660s, but has since been reconstructed after a fire in 1859. We took a walk around some of the Landscape garden, which has free-growing woodland, and other lakes.

We then arrived back in the Baroque garden. The Baroque garden was designed by Johan Cornelius Krieger during Frederik IV’s reign in the 1720s and recreated between 1993 and 1996. It is split up into four terraces, and in many places the paths of the garden have been narrowed to give the optical illusion that the gardens are bigger than they really are! My camera does not do the surroundings justice, but I have added a few pictures as a sample of how beautiful the gardens were.

On Tuesday night, Kirsten bought down some Æbleskiver - a Danish dessert. The word translates to fritters, but they are also known in English as Danish Pancake Balls. Æbleskiver are a favourite Danish dessert, and also very popular in the US, with Danish-American citizens. Still warm, the pastries were really good with some sugar or jam. I did not like to think about the amount of fat content in them as they were so good, and I must have eaten about four!

Professional Development

I had my final meeting with my tutor for my individual assignment on Tuesday. We spent time going through what I had done so I could fix up any points before handing it in. It also gave my tutor the opportunity to draw on some scenarios in Northern Ireland that he wanted to ask me about. We got to discuss both the education systems and initial teacher education in Denmark and Northern Ireland. I was very interested to hear some of the differences and similarities in reference to the degrees in education. I was able to tell my tutor about some of the aspects of my degree course, and it was great reflecting on my own study, and how useful I find it, as I never really get the chance to do that. I gained some final valuable insights into the Danish education system, and how things are practised, which are really useful - not just for my assignment.

The prospect of being able to complete my assignment and hand it in was enough motivation to finalise my thoughts for my conclusion. After the meeting with my tutor, I felt very encouraged. He hopes that my paper will assist in some of my research for my dissertation, and I now feel, since I have completed my project, confident that it has been of benefit to me. Even the thought of completing a very independent piece of work is not as difficult as I first thought.

Week 15

Personal Development

Week 15 has come and gone so fast. Partly due to the fact that I had my boyfriend, Ashley, over to visit again and partly because I have less than three weeks left here - so everyday counts! The weather has been very disappointing the past few days – it has rained pretty much every day and it is very cold. I am very proud to have lasted a Danish winter (with the sub zero temperatures and snow storms) without getting the cold, but I fear the ‘spring’ may be my downfall. Hopefully we can get a few good days before going home because there is so many parks I would like to visit.

Ashley arrived on Friday afternoon. We had a great weekend catching up, and visiting a couple of attractions like Amalienborg Slotsplads (the palace) and the Gefionspringvandet (the fountain above). Because he has visited before, we have done a lot of tourist things so I did not feel like that much of a tour guide this time! On Saturday afternoon, we went to Copenhagen Zoo. I like any zoo, but this one is class…really. Even though we paid a ridiculous amount of money in, it had loads of animals, and they were all available for looking at. No animals were sick, hiding, too tired to be viewed, visiting another zoo, lost or dead. It was very much worthwhile. We took lots of great pictures, but I shall only bore you with two – the first is my favourite animal – the tiger; and the second is a scary yet cute brown bear.

After the weekend, I knew I would have to get stuck back into my project work, but getting motivated is difficult – especially when shopping is another option. On Tuesday, I met up with Julia and Christina to go to the huge department store in the centre of town. Magasin du nord is home to many exciting (and expensive) brands, and we spent hours sifting through lots of yummy summer clothes – I cannot wait for the holidays! We completed our enjoyable yet tiring afternoon with a well-earned smoothie. We chatted about all the things we would like to do over the next few weeks, as they are going home at the same time as me. Hopefully we can get everything crammed in!

Cultural Development

Whilst Ashley was visiting, we thought we would hire some bikes. The city runs an initiative during the spring and summer months, in which there are bike parks located around the city. You place 20 krones into the bike and it is released from the stand. You can take the bikes whenever and wherever you wish, as long as you stay within the inner city, then return them to any of the 110 bike racks, and you get your 20 krones back – bonus! The scheme is very popular with both tourists and Danes, so it took us a very long time to find some bikes, as most of the bike parks were empty! An incredible 55% of Copenhageners use their bikes to get around the ‘green’ city, so I was really glad to get the opportunity to cycle in the city – even if it was only for a short while.

Thursday was a public holiday in Copenhagen. Kristi Himmelfartsdag (Ascension Day) celebrates the day Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after Easter, and is a very important day for Danes. It is also a National Flag Day, so I saw many houses and churches with the Danish flag flying. Almost all shops and schools were off on Thursday, so Kirsten invited me to her church where a confirmation service was taking place. Also known as becoming a full member of the church, confirmations are commonly a ‘coming of age’ ceremony. I was surprised the service was not being held on a Sunday, but Kirsten explained it was because there were too many family and friends of the seven young people, so it would not be possible to have it with the Sunday service. I only realised the extent to which confirmation in Denmark is such a huge event whenever I arrived at church. There were so many people, taking photographs and dressed like they were going to a wedding. The service was lovely and obviously very special for all involved. The girls being confirmed had to be dressed in white, and the boys in black. Afterwards, the young people (around 13 or 14 years of age) got many gifts, and Kirsten told me that they would be going home for a big party. There is noticeable prominence and family celebration attached to confirmations in Denmark, so I was glad to be part of the service.

Professional Development

I have made time to go into university this week to work on my assignment. Getting into a routine is certainly difficult when you are trying to motivate yourself, but I am fortunate to have the opportunity to use the resources at university. With fewer distractions, and more literature and support, I got a lot of work done for my project. I feel my motivation to work independently is growing, which is a great relief!

My project is coming on quite well, and finding information from both countries is really worthwhile. The benefits of being able to compare two education systems are great. Not only am I discovering a lot of differences between Denmark and Northern Ireland, I am also discovering many similarities. It is helping me become more reflective in my own experiences and teaching methods, which I feel is an important part of being a teacher.

Most significantly, my knowledge in effective ways of practice is increasing. At the start of my project, I only had experiences from one education system, but now I am beginning to take scenarios from Denmark. I realise that this will not stop at Denmark, and I can continue to have an open mind about various methods in other countries in the future.

Week 14

Personal Development

Coming to the end of week 14, the past seven days have yet again confirmed how much I am enjoying being in Denmark, and with only a few weeks left; I want to continue benefitting from living in Copenhagen. This week has been a little slower than the last three months as we do not have timetabled class at school or university. Instead, our work is based on our individual assignments so I have been trying my best to, as my mum would say, ‘Get up and go!’ instead of staying in the house - it breaks the week up a little more!

This weekend, I spent time with a couple of girls, Sara and Anina, from my class before they returned home to Switzerland. We went for a meal and drinks together on Saturday, and it was so nice to get chatting. I felt like I was still only getting to know the girls a lot better just before they left to go home, and we all agreed that we regretted not spending time with each other at the start of our trip to Copenhagen. It gave us a good excuse, however, to plan trips to each other’s country. I am thoroughly looking forward to visiting Switzerland, and welcoming the girls to Northern Ireland. It’s great that we have the opportunities to travel now we have met people from all over Europe.

On Sunday I took advantage of the free train service which happens every first weekend of the month. I went along with four other girls who are remaining here for the rest of May to a small village called Køge. We spent the afternoon sitting in a cute coffee shop with coffee and cake, and then took a nice walk on the beach. Finding the beach was a little difficult due to the large industrial estate and port located right in the view of the beach. We spent quite a lot of time walking in those kinds of areas that have the ‘Warning – Do Not Enter!’ and ‘Restricted Area’ signs around. We were very safe though, and had a lot of fun laughing at all the strange looks we were getting from the workers, whilst trying to find where we were supposed to be. The beach was worth the wait. Even though the weather is improving, it is still not sunbathing time yet, but it was refreshing to get out of the city. I felt like a child, coming home on the train with really heavy eyes and yawning a lot, I knew I had had a good day. Cultural Development

Visiting another part of Denmark was definitely the highlight of my week, when I went to Køge on Sunday. Located south of Copenhagen, along the coast, it took us 45 minutes to get there on the train. Travelling from the built up city to the open spaces and green fields made me feel like I was back in Northern Ireland, with farms and detached houses spread across the countryside. Køge is a small town with lots of attractions for holiday makers. There are camping and caravanning sights, making it a popular spot for Danish families. It is also home to a large harbour where you can get the ferry to the island Bornholm. The harbour is natural and so one of the oldest in Denmark. Since 1288, it has been used for foreign trade. Apart from the normal ‘tourist’ things that the town offers, there is also a football team, HB Køge. Its stadium has a capacity for 10000 spectators and was founded in 1927. Without sounding too much of a football fan, the club had its biggest game to date in 1954 when they became the first team outside Copenhagen to win the Danish championship.

Yesterday, I visited school with Julia to give Gurli, one of our teachers, some flowers. She was sick on our last day, so it gave us a good excuse to go back to visit school and see some of the pupils. We were sitting in the staffroom chatting over coffee, when I heard the strangest noise. At first, I thought it was a fire alarm, but it seemed louder and more frightening than a school alarm. It sounded like a siren that you would here in a World War 2 film, and within a few seconds of it starting, I was looking around me with a puzzled look on my face. I was put a little to ease when I realised the only other person with a puzzled look on their face was the only other person not from Denmark – Julia. I looked at Gurli, and she had a little smile on her face. ‘Do not worry,’ she said, ‘that is the siren that goes off one Wednesday each year. To make sure it is working.’ Looking for a more comprehensive explanation, Julia and I glanced at each other, and then at Gurli again. I asked what the siren was for, and she explained it is for a disaster, or if a war starts, to let everyone know. I could not believe that I was actually hearing what sounded like a war siren, then to be told that is in fact what it is. Julia and I have never heard of such a thing, and we certainly do not get it Northern Ireland, so I was very amused to be able to say I have experienced such a thing. The siren lasted only a few minutes. After around 10 minutes, it went off again…perhaps it was broken somewhere and needed tweaking. I came home and ‘googled’ the siren for a bit more detail, and found out that the Air Raid Siren is tested every May to make sure it is working. The siren will be used to warn Danes of war, nuclear spills and other disasters. I was also able to find a video of someone recording the noise yesterday on YouTube, if anyone is interested?

Professional Development

We are now a week into our assignments. We have all chosen our own themes that are relevant to our own teacher education. I have learnt a lot from being in Denmark, so I wanted to incorporate this into my assignment. Although choosing a theme such as multiculturalism in school was very tempting as I have learnt a lot from studying this the past few months, and have discovered many great resources about the topic; I have decided to choose a theme that is concentrating on my main subjects – mathematics and science. I feel this will be most beneficial to my education degree, and I have already realised there is a lot to talk about in relation to teaching methods and resources, as well as the curriculum and general education systems in both Denmark and Northern Ireland. I am excited to get into my assignment, and will also be glad to get it completed!

My main concern about doing this project will be finding the correct literature for my chosen topic. Finding literature in a different country is hard enough without it being in Danish! Fortunately, we have been assigned a tutor to assist with our projects. My tutor, Lars, is a specialist in physics and chemistry and we have already met once. I ran over a plan of what I would like to cover in my assignment, and he was very helpful in pointing me in the right direction as far as literature and research is concerned.

I will meet with my tutor every week, which is a great incentive to do work! It is hard for me to find the motivation to start working each day, as sightseeing and being with friends in Copenhagen is very tempting! I find I am able to concentrate more at university, so I am trying to go in as often as I can to continue with my project.

Week 13

Personal Development

This was our last week of school and university classes, and so an end to the Erasmus experience for most of our friends. Looking back at previous blogs, it seems like no length of time has passed since the first weekend we spent as a group at Ishøj. I must be getting old, as I find myself saying, ‘time flies’ and ‘where has this week gone?’ a little too often!

Our last week in school has been my favourite! We got to know the pupils a lot better as they became more confident with practising their English and more familiar with us being in class. I even got invited onto the playground to skip (ten years since the last time I skipped, I was relieved I had not forgotten everything). For our last day, we had organised some food for the class which included cake and good old effortless Top Hats (definitely a lot more delicious and enticing outside of Northern Ireland - who knew 14 year olds could be so excited about eating Top Hats?!?) and the teacher gave them a little more time at break to say goodbye and chat to us. It was hard to say goodbye and I would have liked to spend more time in school as I really enjoyed the atmosphere and how welcoming the school felt.

Yesterday was our last day of classes at university. Even though we had a lot of evaluations to do, I really loved reminiscing about all the memories I have from the past 3 months. All 32 of us went out for dinner in the evening time to celebrate together and say our final goodbyes. Seeing the weather was so great yesterday (20°C!), we then went to Nyhavn after to sit beside the water for a while. The evening was the perfect way to spend time with the entire group for one last occassion. It didn’t hit me that I wasn’t going to see some people again until it was time to say goodbye. It was certainly sad, yet I am filled with a lot of relief that I have accomplished so much. It also has given me the motivation I need for the next stage of my trip here – individual assignments! Plus Facebook is a great invention.

Cultural Development

I have been reminded to appreciate living in such a beautiful place - something that I seem to have forgotten over the past few weeks due to daily life and routine. After our last day at school, Greg, Julia, Christina and I took a picnic to Frederiksberg Park. It was so nice to relax in the sun and stunning surroundings. I loved watching everybody else enjoy their afternoon in the park – lots of students were ‘studying’ together; people were walking their dogs; young families were playing on the lawns; and the ‘keep fit brigade’ were making me feel bad, making running look effortless. There are so many parks and lawns to enjoy in Copenhagen, also known as ‘Green Copenhagen,’ and it is obvious the Danes love making use of their well kept facilities to relax. This is something I admire and I really hope the good weather continues so that more time can be spent outside enjoying the city.

On Friday a few of our class went to Tivoli. Founded by Georg Carstensen in 1843, the park opens every summer as well as having special events at Halloween and Christmas. Being one of the world’s oldest amusement parks and the idea behind Walt Disney’s Disneyland, I could not wait to see what all the fuss was about once it opened for its summer season last weekend. So, after paying a ‘Copenhagenous’ (copious) amount of money to get in, we wandered around the park taking everything in. We spent around 4 hours going on the rides, shopping, having tea and coffee in one of the many cafés and restaurants, and of course taking lots of pictures. The design and detail put into the park is amazing and everything is so colourful – no wonder it attracts over 4 million people a year!

After dark, the park got even prettier, with all the lamps and lanterns. The hotel, Nimb which is attached to Tivoli looked like something out of a children’s story book. After dinner, we went to Fredagsrock (Friday Rock). Each week a band plays at the main stage in Tivoli, and this week it was the Danish rock band, The Blue Van. Even though it had started raining, the atmosphere was great and I hope to go back before we leave to come home.

Professional Development

During our last week in school, we participated in more lessons and got involved in more aspects of school life, since the project work had finished. It was great to be able to take part in classes, especially ones related to our subject. On Monday, I was in two different science lessons with grade 6. The class were lovely and made me feel very welcome. After a short introduction as to whom I was, we set about doing an experiment on fitness levels. The pupils loved the active class in which they jumped up and down a step for 5 minutes, and one they will definitely not forget! We also had more time in English lessons, and it was so good to see how greatly the pupils’ levels of English had improved over the past few weeks. I have learnt a lot about school life in Denmark and I will definitely be bringing this back to Northern Ireland; for example, due to the fact that a lot of classes weren’t in English, I have been able to observe the body language of both teachers and pupils, and how we, as teachers, can use our body language in a more positive and beneficial way. The experience has been really worthwhile and unforgettable.

On Monday, my placement group presented our comparisons between the education system in Denmark and our home countries. The presentation was a great way of summing up our findings from the Folkskole and we were able to categorise our own viewpoints in a more constructive way. Each group who presented got the opportunity to take and ask questions from the rest of the class, and I found this very helpful as it made the presentations more interactive and relevant.

We completed our lessons in university on Thursday through various methods of evaluation. As a teacher, I was able to think about all the activities, resources, literature and people that I have come into contact with and how advantageous they have been. We used post it notes with lots of things we had learned and stuck them onto the outlines of ourselves which we first prepared 12 weeks ago at the weekend away. I did not comprehend how much information I had actually learnt until we were told to write a letter to ourselves. The reason behind doing this was that our tutor is going to post our letter to us in one year’s time, to remind us of all the things that we have taken from our trip. There was a section on the letter about plans we would like to make in the future, and it was helpful to be able to think about what we have learnt in Denmark and how this will impact our teaching in the future. Making an action plan seems like the best way of making our new found experiences relevant and worthwhile.

Before and after...

Week 12

Personal Development

12 weeks down, less than 6 to go! I have no idea where the past 6 weeks have gone so I only assume the next 6 will fly by. I booked my flight home yesterday – so the countdown is on! Knowing that there is plenty to be doing over the next while is helping me not dwell on the thought of coming home too much…BUT…I just happened to end up in a shop the other day (surprise surprise), which was full of random second hand things. Even though I was thinking about the extortionate price for someone’s unwanted goods and wanting to save some money, I ended up purchasing a poster and a Copenhagen Diary. I justified my purchases by 1) bartering and getting discount; and 2) knowing that both will be a great way of remembering my time here in Copenhagen. It is strange to imagine that I now have to think about coming home!

Now, back to living in Copenhagen - this week has been great and eventful as usual. Between working for school and university, and seeing friends, I haven’t even got a chance to catch up on all the sleep deprivation from waking up so early for school. I will remind you again - I need to be up around 6 am.

At the weekend, I had a very important birthday to attend. Queen Margrethe of Denmark was 70 on Friday, so we took a trip to the palace to celebrate with what seemed like the rest of Denmark, but I will explain more in ‘Cultural Development.’ I went into town, hoping to meet up with a few girls from my class, but due to the massive amount of people, it was so hard to find them. I was worried I wouldn’t find them on time, but thankfully I did, and we had a great day! After the Queen left the palace, a few of us went down to Nyhavn, part of the canal area filled with the hustle and bustle of cafés and restaurants. The weather was great on Friday so we were able to sit beside the water, chat and eat ice-cream. It was such a great atmosphere, and I came to the decision that I much prefer Copenhagen in the sun than in the snow. On the topic of weather, I felt like I was back in Northern Ireland this week as the Spring has bought some very changeable weather! As well as sun, we have also seen a lot of rain the past few days. Belfast rain, as we like to describe it as that springs upon you suddenly when you are least prepared and then goes away as quickly as it arrives. We even had a ‘refreshing’ snow/hail storm that I embraced.

Greg and I did a little more shopping on Tuesday when we went to the shopping centre after school with Julia and Christina (the girls in the same placement group as us). We went for an amazing Italian buffet (very cheap) and ended up sitting in the restaurant for a couple of hours chatting over our meal. It was so nice to get to know the girls a bit better outside of the school setting. We had a great time talking about our countries and planning visits to Northern Ireland and Austria. One of the benefits of Erasmus trips are the contacts that you make - my summer holidays are sorted for a few years!

Cultural Development

Queen Margrethe’s birthday was a huge event here in Copenhagen. She celebrated her 70th birthday on the 16th April by greeting visitors at Amalienborg Palace and touring the city. She was driven round Copenhagen in a horse-drawn carriage and even travelled down Strøget (the city’s busiest and longest shopping street). I thought my best vantage point for seeing her would be at the Palace. I have never seen so many people on the streets, all waving Danish flags and enjoying the great atmosphere. As I approached the palace, I realised trying to see the Queen was not going to be easy. The whole road was filled with people, and there was no way I was going to be able to see her! After waving to the crowds, she went inside to get ready for her tour. The road started to clear a bit as people started to leave, so I waited around in the hope of finding my classmates! Thankfully I did find them, and if I am honest, was a little relieved that they had not seen the Queen either due to all the crowds! Our patience paid off, however, when half an hour later the Queen passed us and we were able to see her in clear view – success! I was so surprised at the lack of security around the city. Unlike Northern Ireland, there were very little army, Policemen and no Police riot vans. I also noticed how many foreigners there are in Copenhagen. Not only did we see Danish flags, but Australian, Spanish, Korean, French and many more. Denmark is very popular, for being such a small country!

I also had time to visit the Botanic Gardens at the weekend. Made in 1874, the 25 acres of landscaped garden attract many visitors to Copenhagen and is also a peaceful setting for students to get some reading in. It was a beautiful afternoon, so Greg and I decided to picnic beside the pond. I had a lot of fun people watching and taking in the beautiful surroundings. It is so hard to believe that the gardens are right at the heart of the city centre, yet once you are inside the traffic and commotion seems miles away.

Professional Development

In school this week, our seventh grade class were completing their project work. I observed how the pupils were able to work independently and with each other without the need to be told what to do. I was impressed with their attitude, and even though the teacher had to intervene a few times with one group, all groups were able to research, produce and present a project. The teacher, Vibeke, started every class by drawing up a plan for each group to come and chat to her about their progress. Before the groups were able to go to the library or computer room, the teacher went round every group and asked what their plan for the day was. That way, every group gained an insight into how hard the other groups were working and to see how far they had got to, or perhaps where they could go next. The group doing Conflict in Northern Ireland got most of our attention, as we described some of the important points in history, but we also got the chance to work with the other groups and chat to the teachers about the class. We were very interested to hear about the roles and responsibilities of the teacher and it gave us an opportunity to compare and reflect on our own teaching responsibilities.

This afternoon, we got to see the presentations. Even though they were in Danish, I really enjoyed watching the groups. I was really impressed with the maturity and respect everyone showed for the group that was presenting, asking questions afterwards and giving constructive feedback. I was also impressed by the creativity within the class. Not just a PowerPoint presentation, interactive activities included a walking debate, a quiz and discussion session. One group talked about ‘Ungdomshuset’ the free house used by many young people in Nørrebro, Copenhagen which was taken over and destroyed by the Copenhagen municipality in 2007. They made a huge gingerbread house which was of course appreciated by the class. This picture was taken before the house was brutally destroyed.

We attended one of the last lessons we will have with our Erasmus class on Wednesday. The subject was Comparative Education, and each practise group was describing their observations and comparisons of the Danish system. The assessment for this class is a group assignment. We have an essay to produce as well as a presentation on our findings. Each group chooses a theme they would like to discuss, and half of the class got to present their findings on Wednesday. Even though we are not presenting until next week, the class was very interactive and a lot of discussions were had on the themes, which consisted of how to avoid bullying; how to encourage multiculturalism in the class; and how to make integration possible.

Week 11

Personal Development

Week 11 has been full of things to do! Due to school starting at 8 am in the morning, I have to wake up just after 6 am to get there on time. Being up so early in the mornings is such a struggle for me (7.30 am is bad enough when on teaching placement at home). I always have the urge to have a nap when I come home from school, but as I always have something planned, I never get the chance. I am sure mum will be glad to hear that! I am enjoying my placement so much and it keeps me busy which means time is flying in!

Even though school is great, I really appreciate the time I have off to meet up with friends and relax. I really enjoy having things to do at the weekend and in the evenings; such adventures this week include a trip to IKEA (which I will not bore you with again - although it has been renovated since last time and now has a new café area – very nice); church on Sunday; shopping and meeting up with friends. On Monday night, Greg, Nicole and I went to see a Northern Irish band, Two Door Cinema Club, play in Copenhagen. We were really excited about going to see a band play in Denmark, never mind one from our country! Mostly everyone in the crowd was Danish so I felt very proud coming from Northern Ireland. The band was really good (especially when they spoke – so good to hear a familiar accent)!

We had our last and best Danish class on Tuesday evening. Instead of being bombarded with new vocabulary and sentences, we had to get into our practise groups and act out part of a Danish lesson we have observed. Rehearsing really bad Danish was hilarious, but it was also good to hear about people’s experiences in other schools to see how they compare to our experiences. Catching up with everyone was great seeing we only have a few more classes all together. Most of the Erasmus class leave at the end of April and so many were planning what they want to see over the next couple of weeks before they leave. It is hard to believe that most of our friends will be going home soon, and it makes me glad that I have an extra month here – I didn’t think I would ever be saying that!

Cultural Development

Last night I went to see a ballet performance at The Royal Danish Theatre, Det Kongelige Teater, with some of my class. We went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream, choreographed by John Neumeier. I had never been to see a ballet performance, so I was very excited to do so. Due to my great skills in organising myself, I did not purchase tickets until I arrived at the theatre. The ‘helpful’ lady told Greg and I that the only two seats together were the slightly dearer ones, which was a bit annoying, but seeing we were getting student discount and ‘lovely seats’ we decided to cut our losses and buy them.

Det Kongelige Teater was designed by architects Dahlerup and Pedersen and opened in 1784. Walking through the grand entrance was really amazing – the building is huge, and I was delighted that our seats were right at the top of the theatre. Climbing four flights of stairs, taking pictures as we went, finally paid off when we got a glimpse of where we were sitting. It made me feel a little dizzy. I got a little snap-happy before the show began so enjoy the pictures below!

The performance was amazing – not only was the story and dancing amazing, but I was just so impressed with the strength and flexibility of the dancers – they looked so elegant, and their costumes were beautiful. My first experience of a ballet performance was very good, apart from the fact that 10 minutes into the evening, I noticed the rest of our friends (who had paid half of the price we did for their tickets) sitting in the aisle next to ours. Thank you for ripping us off ‘helpful’ lady.

Professional Development

This week and next week in school the classes are working on a project. The project is a compulsory part of the curriculum for all grades, and is a key part of the pupils’ assessment. The project will be done in various ways, depending on the ability of the children. The smaller grades will do a whole class project – perhaps a drama or song; and the older grades will carry out the project in smaller groups or even individually. They will then present their project to the teacher after the second week. We are working with grade 7 this week, so the individual projects are carried out in groups of two or three. Firstly, the class teacher, Vibeke, allowed the pupils to get into groups, and then each group used a list of topics to come up with one they would like to do. Vibeke, explained that the class will need to choose one main topic, for example ‘The World’ or ‘History.’ Once the main heading is chosen (our class chose Revolt and Freedom), the pupils will then get to choose a topic within it. As the work is individual, the teacher has very little input into the class project. Vibeke can give advice, but she has to let the pupils be responsible for their own learning, this includes the pupils making their own group contract about how they will work together. One of the groups decided to choose Conflict in Northern Ireland for their topic so Greg and I spent Tuesday explaining a brief history of Northern Ireland as the boys did not know anything about the situation! We are very fortunate to be able to get involved in the project work as it is so new to us. We do not have anything similar in Northern Ireland, and I was really interested to see how it operates. The skills that the pupils are gaining through doing this project are huge, and I will definitely bring some of the concepts back for teaching in Northern Ireland as it would fit in well with the revised curriculum.

We have had many opportunities getting to know the pupils better this week. On Tuesday, we helped out with the class when it was their turn to prepare and deliver lunches to the whole school. Denmark has a company called EAT which operates in schools to promote healthy eating. The initiative is very modern, with pupils or parents/guardians having to order and pay for the meals online whilst the pupils get involved in preparing the lunches. There is one representative from the company, who helps heat up the meals and delegate tasks; and then the pupils sort out the orders, pack the food into takeaway containers, prepare sandwiches and deliver them to the classrooms. This was a great way of getting to know the class better and getting to talk to them in a more social background.

On Wednesday, we went with the class to the nearby park. In Spring of each year, the school will help the council in the area by litter picking. The pupils are surprisingly keen to get involved and think it is a good idea, because they get some money for doing it! This money, we are told, will go towards the school trip. The class was split into smaller groups, and I was helping one of the boys’ groups. Even though litter picking was ‘very fun,’ I really enjoyed getting to talk to the boys about school. They also had lots of questions about Northern Ireland, so it was a great way of introducing them to the education system I was brought up in. Chatting to the pupils has really benefitted my relationship with them all. I feel respected as a teacher in the school, and not just a visitor. Even though I have always been conscious to build up a good relationship with my pupils, it is sometimes hard when you are teaching a class due to other distractions. The practise I have gained from Denmark, however, should make this easier for me in the future.