You could say this week has passed like a blink of the eye… I cannot believe that another week has gone by and I am now into my second month in Copenhagen. There have been so many days full of activity that one day leads to another before you can even get a chance to fully rest! This weekend, I had a really enjoyable day exploring a little more of Copenhagen. On Saturday, I went to a flea market on the outskirts of the city. The market was filled to the rims with many items ranging from ‘retro’ clothing items to antiques and alternative art. It was very interesting to explore and made me feel slightly cultured. That afternoon, Katie and I went into town and there were flocks of people walking down the road with ice cream, we couldn’t understand why, as the temperature of the city was freezing- even colder than a winters’ day on Whiterocks beach in December! However, as we walked a little further we saw a new ice cream parlour, which made their own waffle cones and unbelievably good ice cream, so we could not resist and got one too-something for free in Copenhagen is an opportunity not to be passed by! It was very relaxing walking through the small streets and getting to see the smaller businesses in the town and little cafes and bars, all very quaint and cosmopolitan. Later, we met with the others and watched the Six Nations and had something to eat in the Dubliner-Ireland won which was a great way to end another good day in Copenhagen.
I have also felt a lot happier exploring the city myself, I feel really comfortable moving around the city and everyday you discover something new. On Sunday, I had a great afternoon to myself in Frederiksberg (my favourite place!). I couldn’t wait to go for a walk in the park but unfortunately because the snow is melting fast it wasn’t a pleasant experience, due to the copious amounts of slush. I went to the vineyard in the afternoon and was able to chat with some Danish people who made me feel very welcome. I have also been practicing my Danish in town, although I had a bit of an incident in one coffee shop, I asked for ‘en lille kop’, the waitress arrived with a small empty glass, and I was wondering where my coffee was! I should have asked for ‘ en lille kop kaffe’, then she spoke to me in English and I felt very embarrassed, ah well, at least I am trying!
On Tuesday, I went to a class at the main university Campus in Copenhagen as they were discussing the set up of the British Education System and The Education Reform Act 1988. We were asked to share a little about the situation in Northern Ireland. It went well, however I was slightly nervous about speaking in front of such a large group of people. The class however, invited us out for lunch after to an amazing Turkish- all you can eat buffet. The class was attended mostly by Danish students, it was great to get to know a few more local students. It was so kind of them to take the time to get to know us, this is a general representation of how friendly the Danish people are- everyone is so kind, welcoming and helpful.
On Friday, after being in the library, I had a great afternoon enjoying the atmosphere in the city centre. There was a very talented, live acoustic band playing at the fountain in the middle of the city and they were excellent! They sang covers including Jason Mraz, Bob Marley among other favourites. The weather was so nice and the sun was shining and the smell of the roasted almonds, from the street markets was blazing through the air- all very relaxing! I am definitely starting to feel at home here and I think that the experience of Erasmus has already helped me to become a lot more independent and mature. It is amazing how quickly you can adapt to another culture and I am loving living in the beautiful city. The experience of studying with other International students has helped me to gain insights into a wide range of cultures and I am learning so much from my peers within my class. I think you can tell from this I am most certainly having a great time here. It has been great to keep in contact with people at home as I am missing my friends and family a lot… please keep emailing and texting!
Cultural development.
On Thursday of this week, I had a very enjoyable tour of a number of cultural areas within Copenhagen with my Religion Class. The tour was designed to give us a flavour of the events and topics we had been discussing within our previous classes, especially in relation to Christianity within Denmark and two key figures, Grundtvig and Kierkegaard. We firstly met with our tutor at the National Museum where we looked at the Bronze Age exhibition and the Viking exhibition followed by the area which explained about Christianity in Denmark and the Reformation, it brought many of the things we had been learning in class alive. We also went to the Grundtvig and Kierkegaard research centre in the heart of the city. In the afternoon, we visited a number of Lutheran Churches which were unbelievably beautiful and peaceful places. It was so interesting to compare Danishes church buildings to those of the churches at home. We also spent some time at the Danish Jewish Museum. The afternoon was concluded by a trip to the Black Diamond. The Black Diamond is the city’s library where both old and new architecture are combined to make the most breathtakingly beautiful building. We were so privileged to get a tour of the library and were taken to the top of the building to take in the view. The tour of the city helped me to get my bearings of the central area of Copenhagen, and it is an amazing feeling to suddenly realize that a city that you thought was enormous when first arriving, is starting to feel slightly smaller! It is very hard to sum up the beauty of this place so I think that giving you a taster of my large photograph selection will give you an idea of the cultural places I visited this week.
A selection of the religious furniture from the National Museum
Statues of Grundtvig and Kierkegaard
Underwater statue of the mermen in central Copenhagen
Lutheran Churches in the city centre – note the huge organ in Vor Frelsers Kirke- the picture doesn’t give justice to its size.
Inside the Black Diamond
General Central Copenhagen
Professional Development.
This week was again another extremely busy week at university. On Monday, we continued with our Multicultural Classroom looking specifically at the idea of cultural identity and the importance of the family. We considered the Rights of the Child and what a successful family looks like. Tuesday, as I mentioned we spent some time discussing The Education Reform Act 1988 in the University of Copenhagen specifically discussing our experience of the Eleven Plus process in Northern Ireland. I couldn’t get over the quality of the facilities at the university – have a look at the amazing classroom environment these students get to study in, I actually couldn’t believe this was a classroom.
Wednesday was a very full day, but really enjoyable, it is good to be in the college for a whole day as you really get to chat with the others and spend time with them. We had Danish early in the afternoon and we got to practice some of our language skills during a conversation task with Danish students, thankfully they understood what I was saying which was definitely a bonus! In the evening class of Globalization and Professional Change we were considering the topic of ‘Learning from each other in Education’ and also ‘How to Deal with Differences in Culture’. One of the highlights of this lesson was definitely an active learning activity to show how difficult it can be for others to join cultures and the affect of those already in the culture. We had to gather in a circle and we were given three foam balls. We had to throw the balls and establish a routine without communicating. Once the routine was established (which took a very long time) someone from another circle entered and they had to try fit in with the routine- a very difficult task, however most people established the routine after while. We then had to reflect on how the task made us feel and the difficulty posed for others entering the routine of another culture. I am also working on my portfolio for this module as every week we have to write an answer to each of the challenges, I am finding this task very beneficial and interesting.
Hope that everyone is doing well and has had a great week also, please keep sending me the emails and texts and thanks to those who have sent me treats, I love getting parcels in the post!
Take care, G.
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