Week 9

Personal Development

Well, here we are at week 9. I remember thinking when I wrote week 1’s blog entry how beneficial it was to write everything that I had done down; but being worried about getting to week 9 or 10 and running out of things to say…that is definitely not the case! Every week brings more discoveries, more pictures and more experiences. However, nine weeks later, when I discover somewhere new, I can identify the place in relation to other land marks in the city and it feels like the giant fragmented jigsaw in my mind, with small pieces scattered all over, is starting to come together to make a comprehendible picture in my mind!

We are now on our Easter break, and it is so good to get a rest! We had our final class on Friday evening which was a lovely way to end before the holidays. After finishing up our work, one of the teachers, Marcus, made us a big meal to celebrate. I couldn’t believe that he was able to prepare lamb, potatoes and a salad for 45 people without any help whatsoever. Marcus used to be a chef, so the meal was delicious. My favourite part has got to be the Danish Apple Cake we had for dessert. It was way better than the one we had prepared in our Danish Food Event – and that one was good! Seeing this was one of the last classes where our whole Erasmus group would be together, our teacher, Lillian, suggested we sit in the groups we used at our residential weekend. It was great spending time reminiscing over the past 2 months. We all agreed that on one level, it felt like a very long time had passed due to the amount of things we have done; yet on another level, it felt like just last week that we were sitting together at the hostel. After the meal, Lillian put on a ‘play’ for us about a prince and a princess. The cast were some classmates who had volunteered to help out and their script was random phrases that everyone had participated in writing up. The ‘play’ was very impromptu, and hilarious to watch! The occasion was such a nice way to end the first part of our trip here; and to begin our Easter holidays.

Now that I have been going to Kirsten’s church for nine weeks, it is nice to feel part of that community. The members of the church have always been very welcoming and accommodating, but I have always felt like a bit of a spectacle – coming to a Danish church, in the middle of a housing estate, all the way from Northern Ireland. There is coffee and tea after the service every Sunday, and I usually try to smile politely, and say hello as everyone around me talks really fast Danish. Sometimes Kirsten will interpret what is going on if something is funny or strange; however on Sunday, for the first time, I actually felt part of the conversation. Everyone was still talking in Danish, but they were explaining what had happened in the service, and I was able to be included in the conversation and keep up with what they were saying. I may have used too many facial expressions and hand gestures, but I felt so relieved to actually get it.

Cultural Development

On Friday morning, I woke up early to go and see a free concert that the Concert House was putting on. The concert was from 9-11am (very very early…) so you can guess what happened. I woke up around half past 8, a little tired. Seeing it takes 1 hour to get to the Concert House, I made a sensible decision to take my time and get ready and be at the concert for the last hour or so. When I got off the Metro I assumed the worst when I saw the queue of people trying to get back into the city. Yes. The concert was from 9-10am, not 11. Not to be disheartened, I entered the building, and the nice lady who just wanted to get home told me I had 3 minutes to look around. It was a short visit, but seeing I had only been on the bottom level of the building, it was nice to get a glimpse of the rest of it.

Once outside the Concert House, I bumped into a few friends from university who had got up in time to see the concert. They told me it was lovely… We decided to investigate some of the new buildings around the area as Islands Brygge is very newly developed. My favourite building was definitely the student accommodation, Teitgenkollegiet for Business students. Tietgenkollegiet was inspired by the Tulou style (ancient housing style from the Yongding County in Fujian Province, China). Designed by Lundgaard and Tranberg Architects, it is a huge round building with a communal garden in the centre. Each part of the building is coming out at different levels, and there are very little walls – all windows. I was very envious of the students coming and going to their homes, especially due to all the amenities they had, including a music room and sewing room. The building was incomparable to university accommodation at home, and so I took lots of pictures!

Seeing a small concert on Sunday afternoon made up for not seeing Friday morning’s one. The concert, held at a local church, was a collection of English, Danish, German and Swedish songs sung by a Swedish lady, Ulla-Mir Renöfält. Her voice was amazing, and she put so much effort into the stories of each of the songs. I was also amazed at Ulla’s talent in her accents to each of the songs. It was very clear that this amazing singer was very humble; reflected in the fact that there was no introduction to her – she just started singing, and she did not wait for applause after each song. I really liked the relaxed atmosphere of the concert, and I am very glad I got the opportunity to go.

Professional Development

As Globalisation and Professional Change was our last class before our Easter break, the teachers put a lot of effort into drawing some conclusions to what we had learnt from our sessions. The challenge for the evening was ‘How to deal with National citizenship, European citizenship and World citizenship.’ The class was split into three parts. The first was to reflect on the first challenge. Lillian, our tutor, gave us the task of making questions for a class member in ten years time. We then had to interview each other, pretending that we were ten years older and settled in a job. I found the exercise strange to begin with, as I really had to use my imagination as to what I would be doing in ten years time. After the activity, we discussed how we answered the questions. Even though we had made the majority of answers up on the spot, reflecting back, we all realised we would like to be doing that particular job. We had all mentioned that we would also like to be working with partnerships in other countries, which is very exciting and I hope that does happen!

The next part of the class was taken by two Belgian Education Lecturers who were over to visit some of their students in our class. They gave a very interactive session about making us aware of the challenges and opportunities we have in accordance to globalisation. We did some great activities such as story telling using pictures. We were split into groups and asked to narrate our version of the story using different languages. It’s amazing what you can pick up from just guessing voice emphasis and pictures! Afterwards we discussed how we could change the activities to make them suitable for the age groups we are teaching – this was really useful and I will definitely be using them in schools.

Finally, we watched a video called ‘I Am Because We Are.’ It connected countries and groups from all over the world with the aim of showing that we all have an influence on each other and are all part of a bigger picture. I have really benefitted from the challenges we have discussed on this module and am very glad I got the opportunity to become more aware of my citizenship in a globalised world and my responsibility as a teacher – wherever I end up teaching.

Week 8

Personal Development


The week has been another fast, busy week with lots to do! I have reached Day 56 and I have approximately 56 more days left in Denmark! You would think that I would be excited by this thought, and don’t get me wrong, I am very excited about going home, but at the minute, I keep thinking of the great time I am having here, and wondering how I will pack what I want to do into the next 2 months.

This week is the last week of class before Easter holidays and teaching practise. We will only have a few classes during our teaching practise before we graduate from this part of the course. The course ends on the 30th April, but we are staying on to complete an individual assignment. As this applies to only a few people, most of our class are leaving at the end of April. Talking to a few classmates this week, it was sad realising that we will not have much time together during the next few weeks due to placements. They were telling me how annoyed they are at having to go home in just a few weeks as there is a lot they still want to do. I will appreciate the extra time we have here to explore more of Denmark, and visit other towns and cities outside of Copenhagen as I have not had the chance to do so yet.

Due to our busy schedule at university the past few weeks, I have really enjoyed the days where I have been able to just relax. At this point of my stay in Denmark, I have discovered places that I really like to go to, and places that make me feel relaxed. On Saturday, after finishing my work for Monday, I went to watch the rugby in the city centre. We met up with two of our French classmates – Karim and Claire to watch the end of the Six Nations. Even though Ireland lost, I was able to support France with the same passion and was glad they won. It was feeling I had not wasted 4 hours of my life watching men fight over a muddy ball.

I have also visited Frederiksberg twice this week due to its laid-back, relaxed atmosphere. The weather on both Sunday and today was amazing and so it was really nice walking along the streets and going to the park – I even bought an ice lolly today! It was really nice not being cold as we sat on the bench taking ‘Spring pictures’ and people watching. When I got home, I realised I had maybe gone a little too far with all the pictures I had taken, so I am only enclosing my favourite one. Frederiksberg reminds me of a typical European city. It is very unique and continental. I know this may sound very obvious, as I am in a European city, but it is only when I go to Frederiksberg that I really appreciate it due to the ‘holiday’ atmosphere it creates.

Cultural Development

This week, Kirsten invited us to a play at a small theatre in Østerbro (East of the city). The theatre was putting on an English play about the life of Tony Hancock. I was very interested about going, as I was looking forward to hearing some English accents and some English humour. The theatre, Krudttønden, was a small place. It had a very cosy café as you walked in the door; and we were able to make use of it as we arrived 45 minutes early! The theatre itself was very small – with only room for about 80-100 people. The experience was just like going to a theatre at home, but a little more relaxed. Not many people had dressed up for the event, not that I had made a huge effort to dress up, but most people were just wearing jeans and comfortable looking clothes. From observing people from all walks of life here – from business men and woman, to lectures at my university and students at my university, it is uncommon to find anyone in a suit or extravagant clothing. I like the fact that everyone dresses for practicality and ease rather than looking awkward in discomfort as they manage their daily tasks. Definitely part of the Danish culture I will be bringing home!

Today I managed to find my way to the building where I apply for my Danish residence. I am not quite sure of the technical term for this type of building, but the directions I was given were clear and the building was easy to find so I didn’t think about logistics. I am sure you will be glad to hear that I got ‘accepted’ as a resident in Denmark and my form is being processed. I will be receiving something in the post. I am not quite sure what is in the post, but the efficient lady said it would be with me in 2-3 weeks – I hope it is a certificate. The process was very quick and easy, and as I mentioned the lady was so efficient. Even though there were many people waiting to get ‘accepted’ and only 3 ladies working in the office, I did not feel like leaving after 40 minutes in a queue like what normally happens at home. This was down to two reasons – firstly, I was only in the queue for ten minutes, so I had no reason to give up, and secondly the building was clean and welcoming unlike some of these buildings I have experienced at home - waiting was not a punishment.

Professional Development

I had my final Multicultural Classroom lesson this week. We were presenting our group presentations for the model school for multicultural teaching. We put a lot of effort into our PowerPoint and visual aids for the presentation, and our efforts paid off as our school won! Even though getting a bar of chocolate was really good, I really enjoyed getting to hear the creativity of some of the other groups. Some of the groups put a lot of effort into how their school and classes would look, and other groups focussed on how their classes would function. I loved getting ideas of how I could use activities in my own class like having a project area for producing information on different cultures, and interactive tools. The experiences and examples I have been shown over the past 2 months will be invaluable for my classroom practise in Northern Ireland. I feel that being in a different country; I am more open to new ideas and will not be afraid to try them at home.

In Visual Culture this week, we also had a group presentation on our findings and conclusions through doing the two tasks we had been given. Everyone had the same task for task one – we were looking at similarities and differences in our universities; and every group was given a different task in Copenhagen for the second part. Due to the fact that every group had produced a Wiki page and a podcast for both, the presentations were carried out in smaller groups, were everyone had the chance of presenting their projects, and also visiting other groups to hear their thoughts and findings. The class was very interactive and we were able to listen to everyone’s podcasts and ask questions. We also took part on an online discussion to conclude the lesson. I found this way of presenting very beneficial and I was able to play an active role within the class. We were also able to ask individual questions, making the topic more relevant and interesting. I really enjoyed this class, and got a lot from it – both professionally and culturally.

Week 7

Personal Development

This week has gone very quickly for me. Due to my busy schedule, I feel I have only just completed week 6’s blog, nonetheless we have got to my seventh Thursday and it is again time to take a deep breath and reflect back on what I have been up to.

I’m not going to lie – this week has been my favourite. I had a very special delivery on Thursday morning, which meant getting up early, getting all my work completed, and travelling all the way across the city to Copenhagen Airport. The arrival of my first visitor from home (my boyfriend, Ashley) was definitely worth the early start and what felt like the longest metro journey ever! He spent four days here and I loved showing him around the city, favourite places that I have talked about endlessly, and where I live. Usually when we go on a trip, Ashley is the one who is in charge of the map, and consequently in charge of making sure we don’t get lost, so it was such a great feeling to be responsible and not need a map… well we only needed a map once. Of course four days goes very quickly when you’re enjoying the company of someone you haven’t seen in six weeks. Before I knew it, I was back in Copenhagen Airport. It was sad to have to say goodbye, and strange not leaving the airport on an aeroplane. Instead I was going ‘home’ in Denmark. Before leaving the airport, I got my first Starbucks in a month and a half. To make me feel less guilty about the ridiculous price I had just paid for a small coffee (£5), I thought about how I have been able to make it six weeks away from home and I have been enjoying my time here so much. With Spring in the air, there is a lot more to do, and I am excited about explorations in the next part of my time here.

Our classes at university end before the Easter holidays, so we have been very busy with assignments and projects this week. I am not sure if it was planned with Ireland in mind, but our class on Wednesday (St Patrick’s Day) was cancelled, so we organised to go into Copenhagen with our Erasmus class. Some of us painted our faces, of course, and made sure we were dressed appropriately in green. The weather has been great this week, and so we were able to have a picnic in the park, before going to the St Patrick’s Day Event at the City Hall which consisted of Irish Dancing and Music. There was then a parade through the city before more music and dancing. I was really shocked to discover that the event is in its sixth year and very popular – there were so many people from all over the world celebrating the day. I thought being out of Northern Ireland for the 17th March was going to be strange, but Copenhagen made me feel very at home!

Cultural Development

As I have mentioned, this week we have had a lot of university work to get organised. For our Visual Culture class, our group was given the task of going to Gefionspringvandet (The Gefion Fountain) and Kunstindustrimuseet (The Danish Art and Design Museum). On our trip, we were asked to note our feelings towards both places, and the importance of them with Danish Culture. I had visited the fountain before, on the way to The Little Mermaid, and remembered how fascinated I was with the size of the fountain (the largest monument in Copenhagen). The story behind it is also interesting – the Goddess, Gefion was told by the Swedish King, Gylfe, that she could have as much land as she could plough in one evening. Gefion transformed her four sons into strong oxen and ploughed through the land. The oxen were so powerful they pulled the land out of the water and made the island of Zealand, where Copenhagen is situated today. The magical story is very apt for such a picturesque setting, and I am looking forward to returning to the fountain in the summer time when the water is not frozen and I can make a wish!

When I was first told about visiting the Kunstindustrimuseet, I was a little disappointed, to be honest. It is not the kind of place I would choose to go to, and I was unsure of what the museum would hold. To my surprise, the exhibition that we were investigating – Utopias and Reality was actually very good! It reminded me of going to IKEA, with all the furniture and fashionable design! The types of collections on display were very similar to my taste in art and design so I really enjoyed taking pictures of all the colours and patterns. From walking through the exhibition, I felt that I was getting a good indication of the Danish design and architecture that I have seen in houses, university and cafés. The main thing that stuck out for me, apart from the creativity, was the practicality of the furniture. Everything seems efficient, well thought out, and a true reflection of the great design and architecture around the city. We were instantly drawn to the Poul Henningsen room. A key figure in Danish design, Poul hennignsen (1894 - 1967), was an enthusiastic supporter of functionalism. His design was focused on new technological progress, social awareness, cheap everyday objects, light and enlightenment...

"We do not regard it as sufficient that an object fits the times; it must perforce comprise an ideal shining that goes beyond time, one attempt at cultural advancement."

- Poul Henningsen

I feel quite culturally awakened this week, as on Thursday I went to the Concert House, ‘Koncert Huset ‘ - a newly built building with a huge main hall and four smaller halls. The building, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, is so striking, both inside and outside. It was not hard to miss it when we came off the metro and saw this huge blue cube! We went to the classical concert ‘Great Dance’ which featured a Youth Ensemble and a Cuban act. I have only been to a few classical concerts in my lifetime, so the experience was still quite new to me - I had a really enjoyable evening taking in the beautiful hall and the great music.

Professional Development

Our pre-reading for Multicultural Education this week was a webpage on the ‘Storyline Method.’ We have worked a little with such a method in Stranmillis, so it was really interesting discussing the experiences of the Erasmus class. It was really good to talk about a familiar topic that everyone had an opinion on. We broke up into our practise groups for the second half of the class and were given our tasks for the presentation on Monday. Our task is to prepare a model school for multicultural teaching using modern principles. The presentation is to include a school ethos, core teaching principles, plans for the classroom and activities, a job advertisement, and any other relevant information. We have been meeting up during this week to produce our presentation, and it has been very interesting. I am in a group with Greg and two girls from Austria. We are all studying secondary education, and some of our subjects are similar. Apart from that, I was very aware that we all have very different experiences in schools. Saying this, I have been pleasantly surprised at how easy I find it working together on the project, and I am learning a lot about ideas for multicultural education as well as general classroom principles. We also had great fun preparing our classroom out of Duplo for the presentation!

We were again divided into our practise groups for Comparative Education. We are working towards a project question which we will be able to investigate once we are out on school placement next month. The overall theme of the project is ‘What makes a good school,’ which is a very broad topic. Within this, we have thought about ideas for our specific question – it was nice to realise that we all had similar ideas in mind, and finally came up with a question: ‘how we can teach more than just words.’ Even at this point of our planning, the question is very broad, and we all have ideas on how we could go about investigating this within a school. We have decided to concentrate on the more social side of education, to see how it compares to our home education systems. I think we will be very busy with the differences and similarities, as there is a lot to observe!

Week 6

Personal Development

Week 6 has been another busy week which has seemed to fly past. Between exploring the city, seeing friends and university work, I have not had time to really think about the fact that we are now into the second week of March! It’s crazy!

I had a great day last Friday. It reminded me a lot of an ordinary day at home, but seeing I was doing all the ‘ordinary’ things here in Denmark I felt a little more excitable… I began the day by waking up early and going into university to do some reading for Monday. The day was another beautiful blue-sky day, so I felt happy enough going in so early! Greg and I then took a train into the city.

Now that we are in our sixth week of being here, we like to explore different parts of the city – even if this just means getting off at the metro stop before or after the city centre. To be honest, Copenhagen is not that big. Actually it is not uncommon to be walking down the street and bump into someone you know. Yes – just like Northern Ireland. I only know approximately 50 people by name (if I really try), so this hopefully illustrates how compact the city centre is. This hasn’t happened once, by the way, but four times! Anyway, getting off at the metro stop before the centre seemed like a big deal at the time, but once we got up the escalator we realised that we were in fact just at the bottom of the main street. Exploring the side streets and new shops is very cool though, and I always like to imagine what I would bring home if I were even just £1000 richer. We came across a great street act on the way to H&M (reliably cheaper). The main singer, playing acoustic guitar, was amazing and sung really chilled out music. We chatted to the guy afterward, and he seemed very down to Earth – asking about living here and so on. When we got home, we stalkerishly googled him, as you do, and discovered that he was actually on the Danish X-Factor!

Meeting a famous person = done.

That evening, we went to a bar in the city centre. It was a great way to end a good day. The bar was quite chilled out, so it was nice just chatting with others from our International class. I am very fortunate to be in such a great class. At the start of our programme, I thought it was strange that we would all be in the same class for all our subjects, but it is great. I have also learned so much more about other countries, as well as Denmark, and even picked up a couple of words in Spanish – very fun!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and getting caught up on homework for the busy week that lay ahead. I managed to take breaks from working to go for walks, visit churches, and on Sunday evening I explored Frederiksberg again – it is a really beautiful part of the city and walking through the street as the sun set was really beautiful! I am very excited about longer days and warmer weather.

Since Monday, my week has been very university orientated. An extra class had been moved to Monday due to a cancellation late last week so I spent more time in university than I initially thought. It was strange figuring out my diary this week, as for once, I had to cancel some things to make time for others. This is the first time I have had to do this since arriving in Denmark. I really appreciated the extra time I have had since coming here, as it has made me realise how busy I am at home and how stressful it can be. However, I enjoyed feeling like I have commitments here – just another example of how the reality of living here is sinking in!

Cultural Development

This week, Kirsten, our landlady, invited us upstairs to watch a documentary on the Prince and Princess of Denmark. Sitting in the living room, as Kirsten excitedly explained what was going on (the Princess had just given birth to their first son. The programme was in Danish – but I got that bit), I realised how important the monarchy is to Danish people, and how loyal they are to their country. Even at birthday parties, or special events, the Danish flag will be placed on the cake. Gift or card shops have a lot of Danish decorations and cards for every event. In Northern Ireland, this could be seen as a negative and offensive act, but here, all parts of the community feel comfortable to do this. Another thing I observed from the programme is how laid back security is in the country. The Prince – the next King – was able to drive himself around, without the need for roads to be closed, security to be out and major disruptions caused. The same can be said for the Parliament building. You can walk right into the building, and if you are lucky, you will come across a politician. There is very little need for security here, which shows the honourable and trustworthy society the Danes live in.

I went to church again this week with Kirsten. Afterwards we were invited for lunch in the hall. Even though I was surrounded by older people, all talking Danish, I discovered how much I enjoyed being in their company – people are very friendly, and even though some of them could not speak a lot of English, they made me feel very welcome and comfortable. I have been told that Danes sometimes get a reputation for being quite introvert, keeping themselves to themselves, and not making conversation unless having to…kind of like Northern Irish people on a train or bus. Fortunately, I have only experienced kind, warm-hearted people who are willing to help out wherever possible. We had a soup-like lunch. To be honest, I am not a fan of soup with meatballs and dumplings in it. In fact describing the soup now is making me feel a little queasy. However, I was hungry and wanting to be polite, so I ate it all up. The Danish Dumpling Soup with meatballs is a traditional lunch in Danish homes, and I was proud of myself for trying yet another Danish cuisine.

Professional Development

We began this week with another class on the Multicultural Classroom. In the first part of the lesson, we discussed the levels of integration within a classroom. The levels allowed us, as teachers, to decide how much multicultural education we were going to input into put in the curriculum, depending on the age, topic and subject. The second half of the class was putting our knowledge into action. We prepared an observation chart for rating the levels of multicultural education within a school. We then watched a Multilingual School on a video, and discussed what level the school was working at. This was a really useful exercise, as it made me more aware of how to make any classroom multicultural within today’s globalised world.

Comparative Education focused again on the Folkskole (for age 6-16 years), and we were able to discuss similarities and differences between education systems. I am learning a lot about the practices here in Denmark, as well as the rest of Europe, and I am glad that I have the opportunity to broaden my knowledge through the International Module.

We had a very interesting class for Globalisation and Professional Change this week. The challenge for this week was ‘How to go global in schools and learning environments for children and youth today.’ Within the introduction, we recognised the importance of ‘going global’ and the effect it has on our lives. The key words; like communication, co-operation and collaboration, open-mindedness and information all stood out as important parts of going global, and it was interesting to discuss these. We then spent time looking at some classroom resources on the web that will be useful when out in schools. I found out so much information about cross-curricular projects and themes that you could use within the classroom, even if you are not teaching Local and Global Citizenship. The benefits of having such resources, means your knowledge expands, as well as your contacts from places throughout the world.

Week 5

Personal Development

Week five, and finally Spring is here! This past week has brought a lot of blue skies and melting snow; so thermals are no longer a necessity. The nicer weather makes it so much easier to do things and go places, without worrying about being warm enough which is great!

At the weekend I visited a Flea Market in Amagerbro (just east of the city centre). The place was packed with random second hand goods that I just loved searching through to find a bargain. I spent around two hours sifting through what some may call ‘rubbish,’ but it was very rewarding – I was able to make a few purchases! Spending Saturday afternoon exploring some of the smaller streets off Strøget was really fun, and made me realise how fortunate I was to be in such a beautiful city that is packed with never ending amounts of shops and cafés that are very unique and individual. That evening, we went to an Irish pub for the Ireland v England rugby match. It was great to do things I would consider a ‘normal activity’ if I were at home, as it just reassured me of the fact that I am living here, and no longer a tourist!

Even though I would no longer consider myself a tourist, I still like to get lost every so often – just to be spontaneous. With this in mind, we always like to leave ample time for journeys. Such a journey would have been Tuesday morning. Greg and I had been asked by our lecturer to speak on our experience of the Northern Irish education system at a different university - the University of Copenhagen. Situated in the city centre, we thought the journey would take us over an hour, especially seeing we had to be there for 9.15am – the busiest time to travel. So, we decided to leave at 7.30am, which meant getting up at 6.30am - not fun. To our ‘delight,’ we arrived for 8.20am. It was a bittersweet moment, but the day got a lot better. We were invited to go for lunch with the class we had just been with. Most of the students were Danish, so it was really nice talking to people our own age form Denmark, as our Erasmus classes are with International students.

The Danes took us to a really nice (and cheap) restaurant in a great area of town; and told us a lot about the city, and where to go – so our list of things to do is getting longer, rather than shorter! I am looking forward to more discoveries.

Cultural Development

We have just come back from a tour of some of the churches and museums in Copenhagen. The trip, arranged by our Religion teacher, was really interesting and I came away feeling very ‘cultured!’ We started off at the National Museum, which had some great exhibitions on Danish prehistory (The Bronze Age and Iron Age,) The Middle Ages and Renaissance, and finally The Prince’s Palace. I was surprised to see how much jewellery the museum had on display, and this was definitely my highlight!
We moved onto The Church of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirche). The huge church is very beautiful inside, so it was no surprise to me that the Danish Royal Family held all their important events here. After lunch, we visited another grand church – The Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke.) The building can be seen on the other side of Copenhagen due to its amazing corkscrew spire. Apparently the building is famous for being quite unsightly from the exterior, and is supposed to be viewed from a distance - I don’t believe this. The view from the top is supposed to be amazing; however it is closed until April, so I will be coming back! The interior is even more impressive – especially the organ and altarpiece.
We moved onto Dansk Jødisk Museum (The Jewish Museum) which is both architecturally and historically interesting. It exhibits parts of Jewish life in Denmark from 400 years ago to more recent activities. The fact that the majority of Danish Jews were saved from Nazi persecution by their Danish compatriots is reflected in the architecture – the lighting, open spaces and the fact that no walls are perpendicular. The emblem (shown below) represents Mitzvah – a Hebrew word that translates as ‘obligation,’ ‘deeply felt reaction’ and ‘good deed.’

Our trip ended at the Black Diamond – the amazing Library building. On this visit, we were fortunate enough to be taken to the very top of the building, to look over the bridge which runs along the roof. Standing on a glass bridge looking down to a mass of open space and very tiny people was frightening but worth it.
The trip allowed us to see some extraordinary reflections of Denmark’s great architects and heritage. Next week I am visiting the Danish Art and Design Museum, so more on architecture next week!

Professional Development

This week has been another busy week at university. Multicultural Classroom was our first class of the week. We reflected on the definition and models of cultural identity and exhibits of culture which allowed me to experience more activities that I could use in the classroom. We had an hour of discussion within the class, and the methods of discussion were very beneficial – I hope to use such methods in the future. The next part of the class looked at the importance of family. This promoted interesting discussion on a very personal topic.

In comparative education, we looked at the Danish equivalent of the GTCNI competences. The ‘Professionsideal for Danmarks Lærerforening’ was very interesting and I was able to compare both documents. It was interesting to see how much of the document had similar stances as the GTCNI’s competences. It made me realise the benefits of being on Erasmus and experiencing many different education systems.

In Danish this week, we drew upon all our knowledge of the language we have learnt in the past month. We had to create an interview for a Danish person, and then interview them, as well as present them to the rest of the class. I was surprised at how much Danish I had actually picked up on, and how much we had learnt already. It was encouraging, and hopefully next time I am spoken to by a Dane on the train, I will not look at them blankly as if they are asking me a really inquisitive and important question…