The Final Countdown..

The Final Countdown..

After 12 weeks, the last week finally started.. It's really very strange ! I feel like at home here. It became so 'normal' to be here. I really like my room, our house is quite okay (except of some things that doesn't work like the cooking plate, the washing machine, the internet which didn't work always,...)

I really enjoyed my Erasmus adventure here in Haderslev. I had a nice time, met a lot of great people from all over Europe and I really hope we won't lose contact, so we could stay in touch and maybe meet eachother next year in Amsterdam? :-)

Honestly, I'll be very happy to be back in Belgium as well. To find my friends back, my boyfriend, to see my horse again,... But I know that I'll also be sad to leave here.. Because I'm quite sure that we'll never be all together at the same time. Even though I hope one day we can make this come true and have a big meeting with everyone !!

Thanks to everyone to make this 'dream' come true !!

I want to thank:

- My parents (because they gave me the possibility to come here :-) )
- My sisters for visiting me, taking care of my horse while I was here and for the presents they send me and the 'friendsbook' they made with pictures of my horse and friends !
- My friends for their encouragements and help and peptalks while I was here.
- All my friends and family who wrote me some letters or postcards !
- Margot for taking care of my horse !!
- Margot, Weske, Tante Leona, Nonkel Jan, Marieken, Bavo, Eva, Arne, Birgen, Liesl, Astrid, mama, papa, Veerle and Bart for visiting me here in Haderslev !
- Jette, who helped me a lot and made everything come true !
- Brian and Sebastian, my buddies for helping me to find my way in Haderslev !
- All the teacher who learned us a lot about Denmark and their school system.
- The Kindergarten en Realskole from my Practice !
- All the Erasmus people, of cours, you were GREAT !! I'm gonna miss you all !!
- And thanks to everyone who made this adventure come true..

I'm gonna miss Haderslev and everybody who was here ! But I promise, I will come back here !!

Last day of practice..

The last day we asked to go and have a look at the smaller children. A group from 3 and 4 year old children. It was a nice experience. We also participated to the activity. It was very funny.
The children were free to do what they want. If they wanted to do the activity, they could. But they didn’t had to.

In fact it was quite the same as we do in Belgium. The biggest difference was the number of adults. They were also 3 for 21 children. Which is not common at all in Belgium !

I really had a great time at the Kindergarten ! The people were very nice and helpful. They answered all our questions, showed us the whole building and told us everything about their Kindergarten and about how they work. I learned a lot and had a nice time there.

School visit !

The second day, we also went out of the Kindergarten. We were going to visit a primary school in Haderslev. So we went out with the oldest children, those who will go to Grade 0 next year ! We went there by walking, because it wasn’t that far away.

When we arrived there, the children could play a little in the classroom. They could discover the classroom and the materials. When the teacher arrived, she gave them a little bit information about Grade 0 and what they do there. It was very nice for them. So then they know what they may expect next year ! And some of them will go to that school, so then they know the school, class and teacher already !

I also had a talk with the teacher. She learned me a lot about Grade O. In Belgium, we have to prepare the children for going to primary school already in Kindergarten or preschool. But in Denmark they don’t really have to. Because Grade 0, is a preparation year for Grade 1. So they don’t really learn to read or they don’t have mathematics. They just learn the letters and how they sound and the numbers. But they don’t really learn how to calculate and to read words.
It’s quite funny, because in Belgium they go to Grade 1, one year earlier and they have to learn the letters, numbers, to read and to calculate all in one year, at the age of 6 ! The difference is really very big for them.
In Denmark, they still have a lot of free time or time to play in Grade 0. In Belgium they also have a lot of free or playtime in Grade 1, but I don’t think they have that much !

Something I was really surprised about, was that in Kindergarten here, they also have to prepare their activities written on a sheet. They have to send it to the government every year so they can check if you ‘worked’ enough for reaching certain ‘goals’. So that’s the same in Belgium. The only difference is, that in Belgium we do more activities in 1 day and we aren’t that much outside of the classroom. Because we simply don’t have enough money to go out. Even though we would love to !
A very surprising thing was, that here in Denmark, there are about 3 adults for a group of 21 children ! In Belgium we only have one for about 25 children !! (In some cases even 30 or 35 !!) I was really surprised about that ! It’s such a big difference. And I think it’s quite good. Because then you have more time to spend on each child. That could be better for them.

Kindergarten !

The second week I had practice in a Kindergarten with a Christian approach. So it’s half private and half public. So the parents have to pay.
When we arrived there, they were so friendly !

We went out for a walk in the animal park in Haderslev. We went there by bus. It was so surprising to find out that they had their own little bus ?! We don’t have that in Belgium !! (Even though we really would like, because that’s the main reason why we’re not going out of school that much, because of the bus is too expensive ! )
When we arrived there, the children could play. We were waiting for the grandparents, because they would join us for a walk ! After that, we had a lunch break all together. I really liked that !

The group we joined, was the oldest group. The children were about 5 and 6 years old. Our group was called ‘forest group’. So that means that they went to the forest very often. Something I found out immediately, was that children in Denmark are very often playing outside. Even though the weather is very cold, rainy or even if it’s snowing !!
The playgrounds outside are huge !! All the children have a ski suit or a rain suit so they can play outside even though the weather is very bad or if it’s wet outside ! That’s so great ! Because when they come back inside, they just take it off, and their clothes are still clean and (most important for them) dry ! So I think it’s really such a great idea !! (We must do that in Belgium as well, because I think it’s important for them to play outside, have some fresh air, run everywhere,… )

They also go a lot to the forest ! They prefer to let them play outside and to let them discover their own body and possibilities just by playing and having fun in the nature. With natural materials. I found out it really works. Children were playing, crossing the small self-made bridges over the river, they were climbing in trees, trying to make their own pond and they were trying to find solutions. So I’m really convinced it works ! And an important thing is that they’re all learning it by themselves. They found solutions for their problems and they learn to walk over a bridge, just because of they want to, they’re not pushed in any kind of way.

Practice Realskole 5th & 6th Grade

First I had practice at Realskole, in the 5th and 6th grade. So it was not really where I’m studying for. But it was a great experience and it was also very good, because than I knew where Lynn and Stefanie were talking about while we were writing our paper. And so I had something to compare as well ! The teacher was very nice.
I think that the way of teaching was quite similar to the Belgian one. But I’m not sure, because I didn’t study for teaching that age. But as far as I remember, it was quite the same when I had their age. We were also sitting in rows, we had a book and a map with some sheets we wrote or filled in by ourselves.
The lessons I joined, were English lessons. The teacher was speaking to them in English, at the age of 12 ! That’s not common in Belgium. We don’t speak to them in French at that age. Even later, when they start to learn English, we don’t talk in English to them immediately. It takes sometimes years before they do. And some of them, they simply don’t. Not even when they made some progresses. I think it’s really good to talk to them in that language and to help or translate sometimes, if necessary. That’s the best way of learning a language ! I also learned French in France, because I went there in holidays, and my French friends learned me a lot. I couldn’t help me in Dutch, because they didn’t understand a word. So I had to explain me in French. And I learned it very fast and good !
In Belgium, we spend a lot of time on learning some grammar stuff. But I don’t think it’s that necessary. Because we have to learn every rule and exception. But you don’t remember all of them. Just a few ! So I think it would be better if we do it more like in Denmark. Training more on speaking itself and learning a lot of vocabulary instead of that much of grammar. It’s better to learn to speak a language just by heart, than having to learn all the rules and exceptions. It’s better to use your language feeling, but it takes some time to develop that and you have to have a possibility tot learn of course.

Quite a big difference is also discipline. I didn’t saw it at all. In the 5th grade it was quite okay. Pupils were sitting down and were working quite well. But something I remind was, that if they don’t want do to an exercise, they not always have to. That’s not common in Belgium. If your teacher asks you to make an exercise, you just simply have to do that.
In the 6th grade, it was totally different ! The pupils had to work in little clans, so they had to work a lot in small groups on their own. I think it’s a good way, but she sent groups outside the classroom, and when she went to see the other groups, the groups which were without teacher, didn’t do anything ! They were just playing, they weren’t talking in English, they were just doing what they want.
Even though the teacher was there, they were walking around the classroom, laughing with each other and even with the teacher !! If you do that in Belgium, a teacher will react immediately. It’s something ‘not done’. We can’t accept that from a pupil. So there is a lot more discipline in Belgian schools I think. But it also depends from school to school and teacher to teacher of course. But mostly there is more discipline and structure.

For me it was a great experience to be in a primary school in Denmark for some lessons ! Because I was really wondering what it was like, and now I know ! :-)

International Week !

The International Week, I was really looking forward to it ! A student of the same education and school as I was in, in Belgium, also came to join us for one week. It was very nice. We learned a lot about the other nationalities and their lunchbox habits, their school system, stereotypes of their country and people.

So we learned that some of them are right, but much of them are just ‘thoughts’ of real ‘stereotypes’ of course.
We learned for example that:
Spanish people like their Spanish omelets, that the Portuguese likes football, the Austrian are very proud of their mountains,…

The workshops were also very nice. At the cooking workshop I learned a lot about the Danish and other countries in Europe their habits concerning their lunchboxes and lunch breaks. In Spain for example, they have a very long break, so they can sleep. In Denmark, they have only a very short one, and most of the people eat at school. In Belgium it’s also very common that children go home for having lunch. So there are a lot of differences between the European countries.

Than we learned about the Danish coffee table. With the different kind of biscuits in a certain order. We don’t have something similar like that in Belgium. So I was really surprised about this. I liked the explanation and the pictures which were presented at the same time. It made us get hungry !! ;-)

Our first real Danish lunch packet was fine ! It was so funny to see how the Danes are preparing their lunchbox. In Belgium, most of the children have just for example one sandwich with ham or cheese, but they also have one with choc pasta. And they don’t eat that much fruit or vegetables. In Belgium they mostly have white bread for their sandwiches and we don’t leave them ‘open’, like in Denmark. We always have two sides of bread, and we put some cheese or ham between. I also find out that the Danish people like to combine cheese or herring with eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, baked onion,…
It was also very funny to see that they get some milk at school. In Belgium they take their own drinks or they get some orange juice, water, chocolate milk,… at school. But just a few of them likes to drink milk. So it was quite surprising to see that here in Denmark, they don’t complain about eating and drinking more healthy.

Module 3: Citizenship and globalization

Some of these lessons were very interesting, but some were a little too difficult for us I think. The lessons about globalization were quite interesting, but we already had a lot of discussions and lessons about that subject, so it was more like a kind of ‘repetition’.
Some of the activities were maybe a little too difficult or maybe not really interesting for us. But it was sure that our teacher prepared our lessons very well ! They had a good structure and he also tried to have a lot of interaction with his students. Which is always more interesting and fun for us, the students of course.

Module 2: Aesthetic Learning Processes

Those lessons I really liked. The art lesson was very nice. Although we had to drawn many times our own face, but sometimes in a different way, it was still an exciting lesson. Maybe a little too long, but I think there was reason. Because we really needed quite a long time to be really in a good ‘artistic mood’. So I think it was important that we continued drawing for a while, so we could become better and better.

The music class was very nice. I really loved the songs that we were singing. The exercises we did were fine. It was a little bit the same as we did many times in Belgium already. But many other students never did some kind of activities. So maybe the music lessons in Belgium are as important as in Denmark, but it was very clear that not all of the countries did have that much and that kind of music lessons.

The cooking lesson was really GREAT !! I like cooking, and a good thing was, that we were together with Danish students ! I really loved that ! When I came back from the lesson, I felt so happy ! I think it was a wonderful experience. I learned some Danish words and I met some Danish students. We prepared a Danish and a Belgian starter together. It was a real pleasure to work with them. I had a nice time and they were so friendly. And I think our starters were very good ! Almost everyone enjoyed it as much as we did !
The dinner together was fantastic. We had such a nice time together. The atmosphere was great. We were laughing all the time and we eat a lot of very well cooked food. I didn’t have to eat at night. I eat so much ;-)

Module 1: Comparative Studies

The module about ‘Comparative Studies’ was for me one of the most interesting ones. We learned a lot about the different school systems all over Europe. It was very interesting to hear about other countries and in which way they are teaching.

First of all, there were the differences between the organizations of the school. In some of the countries, you don’t have a real difference between primary and secondary school like we have in Belgium. In Belgium you have: primary school from 6 to 12 years old and then they go to secondary school from 12 until 18 years old. In Secondary school, they have to choose a direction in which they want to ‘specialize’ in a certain way. Or they’ll study a ‘general’ direction, that one prepares you for most of the different studies in High School or University. But even then, you can choose between: languages, human studies, mathematics, science or Latin. There are also some directions which prepare you for a job. So after you finish Secondary school at the age of 18, you can immediately go to work.
In other countries, like for example in the Czech Republic and Spain, they have a school, a kind of ‘college’ from 6 to 16 years old. So there is only a ‘general’ direction which prepares you for a further education or a job.

I found it really very interesting to learn about it. And I think it’s great to have a lot of nationalities in our Erasmusgroup, so we can learn not only about the school and education system in Denmark, but also about how it works in other countries all over Europe !

I was really looking forward to the lessons about Danish literature and storytellers. But in fact I was a little disappointed concerning these lessons. I really expected some more information about them and their stories. Not just a movie about their life. Even though it was very interesting to watch ! But I would have prefer some more information about their stories and about the literature of Denmark and that we could see the movie about their life at home or later on the day, just as an option. I really would have stayed longer to watch the movies about their life. But it was quite okay. I just expected more of the lessons. But finally it was still quite good. Because I learned a lot about H.C. Anderson and his life ! I really did !

CPH: We are Red, we are White, we are Danish Dynamite !! ;-)

Our trip to Copenhagen !!

The third week started with 2 days off. On Wednesday morning, we had to leave at 10 a.m. to catch the bus with all the Erasmus students to go to Copenhagen for 3 days !! We were all there in time. We went to Vojens by bus, and then we went to Copenhagen by train ! We really had a nice trip, even though it was quite long.

The first day in Copenhagen, we went to the ‘Round Tower’ by Tourbus. I really liked the panorama view we had on the top of that tower. It was great ! Although the weather was quite cold, windy and sometimes even with some snowflakes falling from the sky, we had a great afternoon in the main city of Denmark !
After some information about some places in Copenhagen itself, we had some free time. We went shopping and we went to a bar to drink a hot chocolate.
For dinner, we went to the ‘Burger King’ in the center of the city. After that, we went to the bar at the youth hostel where we had a nice and cozy evening.

On the second day went to visit a lot of things: the castles, the little mermaid, Nyhavn, the Royal Opera, the Library,… Even though we had a lot of snow during the afternoon, so it was very, very cold, we had a wonderful time in Copenhagen. I really enjoyed that city !!

Friday we went to the National Museum, which we really enjoyed ! The children museum was wonderful ! I would like to have a lot of museum like this in Belgium to ! Even at our age, we had a lot of fun there and it was great that we could try everything by ourselves !
After that, we went to the Carlsberg brewery by bus ! I was very happy that I chose to go there. Because it was a nice place to visit.

Then we had to meet at the Youth Hostel to go back to the train station. After a 5 hour during travel, we were back home. We had a great time and I would like to go back to Copenhagen in springtime. Because I liked the city a lot and I’m very curious to see what it’s like without snow !

We like to party !

The second week started with some lessons about Danish storytellers and Danish film and literature. In fact we expected it more interesting.. We just saw the movie about H.C.Anderson his life. It was a very nice and interesting film. But we expected some more information.

I really liked the lesson about language and identity. It was very interesting and I was very surprised that all our portraits were so different!
My portrait looked like this and the explanation was the following:
Flemish in pink:
- In my head: because it’s the language I think in, I dream in,…
- My eyes: all I can see, I name it in Flemish in my head.
- My mouth: it’s my mother tongue.
- My heart: it’s the first language I knew by heart.
English in red:
- It’s quite a difficult language for me. I never was very good in English.
- My hands: I’m not very ‘handy’ with the English language.
French in yellow:
- It makes me think of the summer and a sunny weather.
- Around my heart: it has taken a big part of me, because I like that language a lot and I’ve got a lot of French friends I like a lot.
German in blue:
- It’s a ‘cold’ color because I don’t like German and I only had some German lessons for about one year, only 1 hour a week, so I’m really not good in German !
- My feet: I colored my feet, because it’s not in my head or mind anymore. It has become ‘passive’ knowledge for me now..
Danish in green:
- The color of hope, because I hope to learn the Danish language during my stay in Haderslev !
- My ears: I just discovered the the language by my ears. I still need to learn to understand, speak and to read this language.

An ‘Elfchen’ written by myself:
Yellow
The Sun
Feels Quite Hot
I Really Like Summertime
France

On Tuesday, we had a birthday party at the Norwegian residence ! It was Siv Hege’s 27th birthday, so we were all invited to have some birthday cake and some other Norwegian specialties ! We had a very nice time ! It was also very good to be all together so we could get to know each other a little more !
On Wednesday, we were invited at the Spanish-Hungarian-Turkish-Belgian residence. We had a half an hour walk to get there. But we had a wonderful night there.

On Friday, we prepared our stay in Copenhagen ! We were all looking forward to it ! I’ll hope we’ll have a great time there !!

Let the adventure begin !

The first week in Haderslev: The beginning of the real adventure !!

The first night was the worst. All alone in a big residence. But the next day when I woke up, I met 3 Spanish girl and Cédric ! The boy I met in the Students Café Friday afternoon. I was very happy to meet new people !
Then we went to the ‘city’. First we had our first ‘Danish meal’ in a Hamburger Restaurant in the center of Haderslev. Then we went shopping. The first weekend was quite long. Because we didn’t know what we could do.
Saterday night, two Czech people arrived at our residence. We were very happy to meet them ! We had some dinner all together and we tried some Danish beers.

The first day at school was very nice ! We met Jette and the University prepared some breakfast for us. We really enjoyed that ! Jette and Charlotte are so friendly ! They tried to make us feel as at home and they were always ready to answer our questions or to help us !

The first lesson was about creating our own weblogs. That was very difficult for me ! I had already a Belgian blog, but this blog was much more difficult to create and there was a problem with mine. Because the other students couldn’t see mine. I still don’t know why, because I created another blog, a few days later, and this one works.. So I don’t know what I did wrong, but the most important is, that this one works ! I’m very happy !

On Wednesday evening we were expected at the Students Café, where we had a great night ! But, we couldn’t stay very late, because the day after, we would go visiting a Danish ‘Kindergarden’!! I was really looking forward to the visit !!

And my expectations came true. We were very welcome there to have a look in their Kindergarden. It was very interesting ! The system is so different as we have, in Belgium !
- There are 2 parts, one for babies from 6 or 8 months until 3 years old. The second part is for young children from the age of 3 years old ‘til 6 years old. After that, they go to primary school.
- There are much more teachers as in Belgium. For about 40 children, there were about 4 ‘Pedagogies’ , 1 who prepared the lunch and about 3 pedagogic helpers !! So that means that there were about 7 or 8 adults for 40 children ! That’s amazing !
- All the ages are mixed up together. They have many different rooms, with each it’s own meaning or reason. So they’ve got a playroom, a gym class, a room for ‘art’, a room to relax,…
- They don’t have to do some activities prepared by the teachers.
- The teachers don’t have to prepare anything. They just have to play with the children or help them. But they don’t have to make any written preparations the days before.
- The teachers don’t have to prepare different activities for the children. The children can choose by themselves what they would like to do or play.
- They put the babies outside, even in wintertime to sleep.
And so on…
I was really very surprised ! I enjoyed the school visit a lot and I liked the people very much. They were so friendly and the tried to answer all of our questions. I was really satisfied after this school visit. I learned a lot about the Danish Kindergarden and their education system ! A was very happy, because I knew that it was very different from our own system, but I didn’t know in which way it should be different. But now I finally knew..

The walk in Haderslev was very interesting as well ! We learned a little about the history of this small city.

In the evening, we went to Jønnes Grill to have some dinner with some other Belgian girls. We had a great time and we liked the food a lot. And we were very surprised that it wasn’t that expensive !
After a good dinner, we went to the ‘Fredagscaféen’. There we met a lot of Danish students and also the other Erasmus students. We had a great time !

The first week was a very nice one ! We learned a lot about the Danish school system and about the Danes. We also learned our first words and questions in Danish ! One thing is for sure: the Danish language is very difficult, especially the pronunciation I think !! But we still have some time left to exercise and to make some progress, I hope ! :-)

The first meeting with Denmark and the Danes !!

Meet Denmark and the Danes !!

After weeks of preparation, finally I had to pack my bags for my 3 month during adventure in Harderslev! I was a little nervous, because I’d never been in Denmark before and it’s the first time that I’m leaving for such al long time!
It was very difficult to decide what I should take and what was a little less important. I was so afraid to forget something very important! I only could take 20kg with me on the plane. My suitcase weighs about 7kg ! So I could only take about 13kg with me !! But finally, I succeed!

That evening, I went to my horse to say goodbye. It was quite surprising, but it was like she felt that I was going to leave, because she was a little angry.. I hope she will be alright. But I’m quite sure, because my little sister and my best friend will take care of her. So I’m sure she’ll be alright!
After that, I went to a bar, where I could say goodbye to some of my friends. At that point, I realized that I would be leaving in the morning! It was quite difficult, but I was very happy that I could say goodbye to them!

At the morning, we left home very early because my plane was leaving at 7a.m. So we had to be at the airport at 5a.m.! I was very tired and nervous. I would meet 4 other Flemish girls at the airport. I was looking forward to meet them! Because I didn’t know them before. At the gates we met each other. They were very friendly and they ‘adopted’ me, so I wasn’t alone anymore.. I was a little more reassured.
After a very good flight, we arrived in Copenhagen! There we needed to catch the train to Vojens. But the system isn’t the same as in Belgium. So it’s not the departure time that’s written on the tickets, so we missed the train. But fortunately they changed our tickets. We had to run, but then we were finally on the train to Kolding. There we had to catch the bus to Haderslev.
Our buddies were already waiting for us at the bus station. They were very friendly. They brought us to our residence and to the supermarket. The adventure could start !!

My first impression of Denmark and the Danes? The Danes are quite friendly and Denmark is a very nice country, with a lot of nature and snow !!

Esther in Denmark !!

Welcome !

I'm Esther and I'm in Denmark for about 3 months. I had never been in Denmark before, but I like the country and the Danes ! I met a lot of people from all over Europe, they're really great !

In my blog, I'm going to tell you something more about my stay and my experiences here in Denmark.

I hope you'll enjoy !