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…

Week 4

Personal Development

I have had another great week here in Denmark. We have been quite busy with university, but have made time for a lot of other adventures. I have been thinking over the past few days at how content I am here. Four weeks has been the longest time I have ever spent away from home, so to get this far is quite an achievement! Even though I am missing home comforts, I am in no way homesick and feel very comfortable here. The experience of living in a different country is certainly invaluable.

So, now I will get into some stories! On Saturday, Claire celebrated her 21st Birthday, so Nicole and I decided to bake a cake. When I say bake a cake, I mean adding water to a powdered mixture and placing it in a cake tin in the oven for 30 minutes. I realise Delia Smith may not approve, but the outcome was very tasty. Claire’s sister and brother-in-law were visiting for the weekend, so we went to The Hard Rock Café with them. After the meal, we went to the Copenhagen Ice Bar – what an experience! Everything was made of ice. I know this is perhaps a hard concept to comprehend - before I went I was unsure of how ‘icy’ the bar would be, but my imaginings did come true when everything was actually made from ice. The walls, tables, chairs, the bar, menus and even the glasses were made of ice! We had to wear quite unattractive looking coats whilst in the bar due to its minus 5 temperature, but definitely worth it.

This Tuesday was another exciting day: an adventure to IKEA. Being someone who personally loves everything about IKEA, from the mini pencils to the stylish showrooms and everything in between, I was very happy to visit one in a Scandinavian country. Once inside, I instantly felt at home, not just because everything in my room is from the store, but because the layout is exactly the same as the Belfast one. One of the highlights of the day was being able to locate the store, situated on the other side of the city, without any problems. We are finally getting the train system here which is helping me feel more like a resident than a tourist!

Cultural Development

On Saturday afternoon, Nicole and I went on a walking tour of the city. Apart from the freezing cold, the trip was great way to get our bearings. We visited the free town – Christiania, a few old and beautiful churches, the Parliament buildings and the National Library, known as the Black Diamond. The Black Diamond is one of my favourite places I have visited. The new part of the building is architecturally amazing, and the old part for the library is very beautiful. I hope to go back soon, as the place is very peaceful amongst the ‘hustle and bustle’ of the city.

We were fortunate enough to accompany our Erasmus group to a famous café in Copenhagen – Kanal Café on Thursday afternoon. The café sells Smørrebrød – a traditional Danish open sandwich which consists of a buttered piece of Rugbrød (rye bread) and a cold meat or salad topping. Even though the dish was quite expensive, it was nice to spend time with our classmates and chat outside of class. Looking back on my blogs, I realise I have talked a lot about food in my cultural experience, but I think this is interesting rather than worrying. A lot of cultural traditions will be based on a meal or special kind of food - whether it is how they prepare the food or what they eat - food brings people together for common values and fellowship.

Professional Development

Classes for our module ‘The Multicultural Classroom’ started on Monday, and it was a great start to the week. We had been given the task of bringing in five items that were meaningful to us so that we could place them in a bag and explain our items to various members of the class. The task had many advantages, as it got all of us talking and sharing stories. Even though we have been together for four weeks now, we learnt a lot about each other’s home life and hobbies and realised that we are not that different from each other. The objectives behind this class were to acknowledge cultural identities in society and ways in which we adapt because of them, especially in the classroom. We could easily recreate the activity in our own lessons at home, and I think the benefits would be great, especially in the Revised Curriculum. This module is very useful for my personal development as well as the benefits of being able to take something different back home with me to the classroom.

Another example of this would be the WIKI page and podcast that we had to produce this week for Visual Culture. Our task was to comment on differences and similarities between Blaagaard/KDAS and place our findings on the created webpage. I really enjoyed working with four other girls from different countries, and found out a lot about various education degrees. It made me more aware of the education I have been brought up with, and why we practise, rather than just how we practise. Completing the task was fun and certainly a project I could try in schools. The task could be altered for any topic as well as benefitting cross-curricular activities.

Week 3

Personal Development

Writing in my journal last night, I could not believe that I was noting 'Day 21' at the top of the page. Judging by the amount that I have written in my journal the past 21 days, I have been busy and obviously excited to explain all the new things that I have experienced.

We have only had two classes in university this week due to the Winter Break, and so I have had time to become more familiar with the local area and the city. Doing shopping, hanging out with friends and exlporing has been really fun. I feel that I am now settled in my new surroundings and the apprehension of living somewhere different is no longer on my mind.

I have enjoyed doing more things on my own this week. On Tuesday, I went for a walk in Copenhagen and took in a lot of new sites around the canals and harbour. It was very beautiful. I then took some time out to write a few postcards to my family. Sitting in the coffee shop on my own, surrounded by people talking a different language was no longer out of the ordinary and when I went to leave to go home, I got out the door and thought to myself...'I am in Copenhagen.' It was a strange feeling because that was a moment where the awareness of being here had completely left me, and reminding myself was a very strange feeling.

Wednesday evening was also spent in the city. I visited Rundetaarn (The Round Tower) which was built at the time of King Christian IV to serve as a student's church, library and observatory. Finished in 1642, it is one of the most famous structures in Denmark and stands around 34 metres above the street. The height of the tower may not be impressive, but the views of the city once you reach the top are amazing. Going at night, and seeing all the buildings lit up was really impressive. The other advantage of going at night was having a chance to visit the tower's observatory (the oldest functioning observatory in Europe).

A Science teacher's dream, the refracting telescope has a 80-450 magnification - amazing! I will definately be going back on a clear evening.

Cultural Development

This week celebrates Lent and the 6 weeks before Easter. In Denmark, they have a similar festival called Fastelavn - a carnival held the weekend before Ash Wednesday. The holiday does not seem to have much of a religious signifigance anymore, and is sometimes described as the Nordic Halloween, as children enjoy dressing up and gathering treats for the festival. On the Sunday afternoon, the children are involved in an event called 'slå katten af tønden' translated as 'beat the cat out of the barrel.' To me, this sounds very drastic, but Kirsten assures me that it is just the traditional name as a cat used to be placed in a barrel MANY years ago. Nowadays, the barrel is filled with sweets, and the children take it in turns to hit the barrel until all the sweets spill out. We went to such an event near Ballerup with Kirsten and her grandchildren. Seeing all the children dressed up was really fun. (My favourite costume being the child dressed as a whoopie cushion - if only that was available in my dressing up days.)

We attended a Danish food event this week with our Erasmus group. The event was held by a lecturer and Home Economics teacher. For a couple of hours we learnt about the Danish food culture. It made me realise how health conscious Denmark is. It is not uncommon for a Danish family to have to fill out forms and surveys about what they eat. I thought it was great that they also restrict a lot of food coming into the conutry if it has been too processed or contains too many additives. We then had a turn at cooking a traditional Danish meal. We were split into groups, and each group provided part of the meal. Starting with Franksbrød (French bread), we then had Frikadeller (meatballs) with red cabbage salad, white cabbage salad and potato salad. I was very proud of my input into the red cabbage salad, and a little disappointed it wasn't one of the favourite dishes. I quickly got over it when we were given Danish Apple cake (a type of crumble) and Danish Roulade for dessert - it was very tasty and I am still recovering after the amount I ate!

Professional Development

We started our Comparative Education classes at the end of last week. Our lecturer split us into groups so that we had to sit with people from our home university. This was the first time that we have been divided in such a way and was a little strange at the start. Each group had to design a poster with the title 'How to teach in such a way that every child learns.' After making the posters we all presented our ideas. It was really interesting getting a perspective of the differences and similarities within the countries and it really opened my eyes to various education systems. The similarities were a lot more signifigant than the differences - the main one being the issue of inclusion with mainstream schools. Every country was able to talk about how their education system is trying to deal with inclusion and their personal thoughts.

This week I have met with my Visual Culture Group. Our first task in Visual Culture is to compare Blaagaard/KDAS to our home instutuations and to find one thing that we would like to discuss. My group consists of a 'representative' from Spain, Belgium, Germany and Austria. Even though the task of getting everyone's experience together is challenging, I am very fortunate to be given the opportunity of hearing about other universities and educational courses. I realise that most universities our quite similar in their courses with education, but it is more the physical appearance of the institution that differs - from student rooms, to canteens and bars.

Week 2

Personal Development

The past week has gone very quickly. There has been lots to do and see, and many great times to remember already!

At the weekend we went on a residential trip to Ishøj - a town just South of Copenhagen. The trip was planned by our tutors for Erasmus students and part of our course. At first I was a little anxious about going as we only had a few classes together, but it was a great way to get to know everyone and find out about different countries and cultures. Having a large class of 37 pupils can feel intimidating at the beginning, but I really appreciated having the time to talk to people and relax with them. Even though it has not snowed in a week, it is still very cold and the snow is not disappearing! One thing I will definately remember from the weekend was seeing a frozen sea! The sand was covered in snow, and the sea looked beautiful.

Going to classes most days has made me feel more relaxed about being here. I am still trying to get into a daily and weekly routine, but going to a familiar place everyday has helped me cope with being away from home. Everytime I venture to the shop or get the train it becomes easier and easier and I am starting to get my sense of direction back - it has only taken 14 days! However, Copenhagen is a big place, and I keep finding a new street or shopping area - I think I will be able to spend four months here without getting bored!

Living with three other students is really helpful when it comes to financial situations - most importantly budgeting. We have found four supermarkets within Ballerup and have started to compare prices for everything - from washing up liquid to milk - I hope everyone is proud!

Cultural Development

We did not have class on Monday after the residential, so Greg and I accompanied Kirsten to 'BabyMusik.' Similar to a parent and toddler group at home, the programme aims to bring parents and children together for educational and social development before the child starts school. What was very different about this programme was the age group of the children - some were as young as 5 months, and no older than 12 months! Kirsten goes to help her neighbour (Monica) who has 5 month old twins - Frederick and Andreas. When we arrived, we were not quite sure what we had let ourselves in for, but Kirsten, the lady who runs the class was really welcoming. We had the job of taking pictures for the parents to take home. Observing the class was very interesting. It was focused around singing and promoting interaction between the mothers and their babies. I found it so interesting to see how even the youngest babies were able to concentrate and interact with the songs - I only heard one baby cry in the whole 90 minutes! Afterwards, Greg and I got to play with the babies, and chat over tea and coffee. We explained to the lady who takes the class that this kind of activity for babies so young is very uncommon at home, and she explained how it was becoming more and more popular in Denmark because of all the benefits - allowing parents to socialise and learn new skills as well as giving them a rest.

Last night we met up with some of the other Erasmus students in the city. We went to a very small bar just off the main shopping street in Copenhagen - Strøget. The bar had a very relaxing atmosphere, and was very cosy - we even got blankets to put over our knees! It was a great way to finish a busy day at university and chat over a drink. The table beside us were playing a traditional game you will find in Danish bars called Kranen. The game looks very odd, but despite the confusing rules, I think we will be trying it out sometime soon!

Professional Development


As I have already mentioned, this weekend we stayed in a youth hostel with our class. The residential, organised by two of our tutors, was the introduction to two modules we will be studying during our time here. The first module, 'Multicultural Education,' was introduced on the Saturday. The tutor was very keen to split us into groups where we didn't know anyone that well. We did a lot of activities surrounding who we are and where we come from. We presented eachother by drawing an outline of ourselves and putting information inside it. I really enjoyed thinking about my background and characteristics as it is not the kind of thing that comes up in converstaion at home! I also thought it would be a great activity to do in an Learning for Life and Work lesson. We then did some rolepaly on multicultural scenarios and it was really interesting to see how people interpret different situations.


The second part of the weekend focussed on another module - 'Compartive Education.' We were split into groups that we will be working in for teaching practise, and asked to explain the education system from our country. Again, this was very refreshing as it made me think reflectively about our education system in Northern Ireland. Sometimes it got frustrating, however, as explaining concepts is quite exhausting. As English is our mother tongue, and other students are still learning parts of it, I often found myself talking too fast and being misunderstood.





This week, in Globalisation and Professional change, we discussed 'Culture Shock.' Realising that I was not the only one going through ups and downs of living in a different country was so reassuring, and very interesting - especially at this stage when the excitement of leaving home is starting to fade, and the realisation that I am living here is setting in.


Danish is still causing a little bit of stress, but I no longer look blankly at a shop assisstant. Hopefully by next week I will have remembered a few more phrases so I can feel more independent here.

Week 1

Personal Experience


Leaving the house at 3.30am is never easy, especially having very little sleep the night before. The morning of the 28th January seemed like a blur and in a way I was glad to be up so early as leaving home for four months did not hit me until I arrived at Dublin City Airport. Waiting in departures seemed like forever! I had really no idea what living in Denmark was going to be like, and the thoughts about accommodation, shopping, transport, money and university started to swamp my mind. Fortunately I was travelling with five other Stranmillis students - three of which (Greg, Nicole and Claire) were going to be living and studying in the same place I was. Chatting to them put me at ease, and before I knew it we had landed in Copenhagen. Mie, a student at UCC (the university we are studying at) met us at the airport and took us to our accommodation in Ballerup - a town on the outskirts of the city. A plane journey, metro journey, train journey and 20 minute walk with very heavy suitcases later we arrived at our house for the next four months. Before I forget to mention, the snow here is crazy at the minute! Even the Danes are complaining of the cold temperatures and the amount of snow. Apparently this is the worst they have seen in nearly 20 years - great time to arrive I think as making a proper snowman is definately one of my highlights so far!


Kirsten, our landlady lives in the upper part of the house, and is renting out her basement to us. Complete with its own kitchen, bathroom and living room, the basement is very spacious. Greg and Claire have their own rooms, and as you can see below, Nicole and I share a double bed - which takes a bit of getting used to!


My first day in Copenhagen was quite surreal. I had lots to keep me busy like unpacking, exploring and shopping. Shopping here is quite expensive so Lidls has become our favourite place. Kirsten invited us upstairs to run through some details and she seems very nice and invited us to her church on Sunday. The accommodation is comfortable and I definately feel at home here already. My first impressions of Denmark have been very good. On Saturday we ventured into Copenhagen, and despite the cold we had a great time - there is lots to do and see and I am looking forward to what adventures we will be getting up to! Everything is very accessible where we live and I rarely feel isolated, however getting the trains and metros doea take a bit of getting used to - we spent around 5 hours at the train station over a period of just a few days due to the confusing zones and systems. Hopefully the time spent in such an exciting place will decrease as we get more acclimatised.

Cultural Development

I have already experienced a few Danish traditions and customs. The first being on our arrival at Kirsten's home. She showed us into her living room where we had Hygge. Hygge, translated to English, simply means cosy. It would be similar to afternoon tea at home, but with dimmed lights and candles on the table. For about an hour we shared stories and information over tea, bread and cheese and muffins - it was very much appreciated after being up so early!

Kirsten made us feel very welcome, and I think it is a reflection of the whole country - everyone seems very friendly and kind. At the same time however, Danes seem quite private people and the way in which Hygge is presented would emphasise this private and quiet personality. We also witnessed such characteristics when Greg and I visited Kirsten's church on Sunday morning. The country is mostly Protestant, and the service we witnessed would have been similar to that of an Anglican service. Even though it was in Danish, the priest was easy to follow and listening to the choir sing in Danish was really amazing and peaceful. Afterwards we were invited for tea and coffee with the congregation. After speaking to the priest, she informed us that Danish people are very private with their faith and that is why the church services are quite quiet compared to some denominations we would be used to at home. We also met the priest's secretary - Paula - who is from London and told us a lot about what happens in the two churches in the Parish.

That Sunday evening Kirsten invited us for dinner as our cooker made the electricity go off. You will be glad to hear we have since got a new cooker! She made Frikadeller (Danish meatballs) with potatoes and vegetables. The meal was really tasty and and it was lovely to hear about Kirsten's life and her children. Spending time with Kirsten made me very aware that even little things can be so different in another country - even the coffee pot looks strange!


We have also got time to visit the 97 year old Little Mermaid (Den lille havfrue in Danish) - a statue in Copenhagen to honor the children's author Hans Christian Andersen who created the fairytale 'The Little Mermaid' and made into a popular film by Disney. Despite being small in size, the statue is a major tourist attraction and a must see if visiting Denmark due to its history - including violent instances where it has been attacked with paint and even beheaded!

Professional Development

We attended our first class on Monday. The University - Blaagaard/KDAS UCC is the biggest teaching college in Denmark and is situated 20 minutes away from the city centre and is just newly built due to the amalgamation of two colleges. The building itself is very impressive and modern - equipped with a swimming pool and gym which I will definately be frequenting! There are 37 Erasmus students from all over Europe studying on the course and it is really interesting being in a classroom where French, Spanish, Flemish, German, Austrian and Swiss languages are all being spoken. One thing that frustrates me is the fact that we can only speak English. It makes me feel a little bad that I have no second language, as some of my classmates have learnt three or four languages!

We have had one Danish class which was only two hours long and very beneficial as my Danish is very poor! Even though everyone speaks English here, I feel quite ignorant when I cannot understand simple words and phrases!

One major difference from studying at Stranmillis is the length of time some of our classes are. We have already had one evening class (Globalisation and Professional Change) - which started at 4.30pm and ended at 9.30pm! Definately a shock to the system, but an interesting way of functioning as it gives those students who may have a job during the day or are mature students choosing a different profession the chance to study and earn a living. The aims of this class are to make us aware of cultural differences between countries and the affect this has on us as professionals in an ever changing world. It seems interesting and we have already been aware of our own personal backgrounds. This weekend we will be going on a retreat with the class so I hope that I will get to learn about education systems from various countries.

We have new classes starting weekly as our timetable changes each week - something else which is new to me, so I hope I don't get confused!