Personal Development
This week has been a very quiet and relaxing week, uni has finished for Easter break, however it has been typical that the weather has been awful- it rained for a substantial part of the week. I found it quite strange to be in Copenhagen over the Easter weekend as the town was almost empty- everything closed for a number of days and there were not many people about the city. It was great however to enjoy the time to relax and catch up on things after a busy term. I spent a lot of time going for walks (as the pool was closed also). It was nice to walk through the city without the usual crowds, however at times it seemed quite eerie having so few people in the city centre. I really enjoyed having the time this week to explore a couple of new places such as the Opera House and also to prepare myself for the next part of the semester.
Cultural Development
Over the Easter weekend, I went to a number of Easter services in the town. It was great to see how Danes celebrated over the Easter period. One thing that I have noticed is that there is not the same commercial hype towards Easter Eggs, children still receive eggs, however not on the same quantity as children (and adults!) at home. I went to a service on Easter Sunday at the Vineyard church in Fredericksberg, and then also to a service at the state church on the Easter Monday. In the service on Monday, the priest was talking about new life and what the cross represented ( or what I could tell from my limited Danish) and then the congregation were asked to put a daffodil ( again a symbol of new life) into a model of the cross. I have noticed that people in Denmark are very respectful of faith and religion – the state church plays a large part in the community, especially in the town where I am living.
As you can tell from the empty city centre a lot of people tend to go away for the Easter period. It is quite often the case that people in Copenhagen have moved here because of jobs or university, so many people head back to other parts of Denmark to be with their families over the Easter break. Danish families often have a family meal (similar to Northern Ireland) on the Easter Sunday and they often display the Danish flag, many of the churches had the flag on display over the Easter period. I really like the way the Danes have pride in their country and show this pride at special occasions, it is nice that the flag can be shown without being political.
Professional Development.
This week we clearly have had no classes as it is the Easter break. I have however, been looking forward to starting my teaching placement. I have also been trying to think about what area I would like to research and write about for my individual assignment that I have to complete during the month of May. As you can tell I have lots to think about over the next couple of weeks. I am really looking forward to seeing all of the theory in practice once I start my school placement, it will be great to see how the Danish school system works.
Hope that everyone is well and has had a lovely Easter break!
Take care. G.
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