Nice w-e...

My practice is finished now... ;-( It was really nice during these 3 weeks! I also learned a lot! This w-e will be busy: Craizy Daisy tonight?, dinner tomorrow in the evening with Jette, Carsten, Monica, Lasse (+ girlfriend?) and the 7 Erasmus students of course! Thora's birthday on Saturday evening and football match on Sunday afternoon!!! Nice w-e, isn't it? ;-)

Lunch in Kolding

Last Saturday we went to Kolding to eat together at Hanne's place. We went there by car with Tim' brother and Sylvie's boyfriend. So we ate with Hanne and her family (her husband and her daughter). It was the first time we ate in a typical Danish house. It was really nice! We also talked a lot about different topics such as school, Denmark, our countries, food, ... Then we went to the city for a small walk and a "sightseeing tour". We came back to Haderslev at about 5 o'clock. Thanks a lot Hanne for inviting and welcoming us!!! :-)

Practice

On Monday 31st March, Tim and I started our 3 weeks of practice in Over Jerstal. We go there by bus (but there aren't a lot of busses to go there so sometimes we have to wait a long time or we're at school quite early...) I'm happy to be there with Tim: we laugh a lot together! We also observed a lot of lessons and we teach 2 French hours every Wednesday. We introduced some vocabulary about "clothes", "colours" and "the way" in French to "our" 5 pupils. It was really nice! We also give P.E. on Monday and Thursday. That´s quite funny! Teachers are very friendly, too. Karin and Jenny are the 2 teachers I'm following during my practice. I'm sometimes their assistant. I learned a lot by observing them. The school accomodations are perfect: computers, rooms, space, materials, library, ... But I can say that the biggest problem in Denmark is the "obvious lack" of DISCIPLINE!!! Teachers can't use consequences to "punish" pupils... That's a pity I think. They don't have "power" or a lot of influence on their pupils. These are too free and I'm sure there will be more and more problems in the next years if nobody can improve the situation and find a solution for this problem. I really believe that every school needs some rules and a diary in which teachers can write some notes down. After 4 notes for instance, the pupil must stay at school during 2 hours when the lessons are finished to make some extra work. This will make pupils think about their behaviour. I'm sure they prefer being at home to staying at school when their friends are free... What do you think about discipline in Denmark? Do you have solutions to sort this problem out?

Visit of Sonderborg

Well, today we went to Sonderborg (a town near the sea in the south of Denmark)to visit a museum in a castle and then we went 20km further to a "scientific park" where we tested several experiences through games. It was really great! :-)Lasse also came with us! He was a nice guide for us in the castle!!! ;-)

School visit

Today I went on a school visit with Tim in Over Jerstal School. We made a visit of the school, drank a tea during the break and then we observed 2 English lessons and 2 French lessons. The four lessons were for pupils from the 9th grade. The aim of each lesson was to make them speak as much as possible. The lessons were "organised", which is not always the case in Denamrk if I can say it like that... ;-) Pupils were really good, spoke a lot, gave their advice, ... The teacher, Karin, was really nice and welcomed us very well! :-) I'm looking forward to doing my practice there! :D

My come back in Belgium!

During the Easter break I went back to Belgium to visit my family and some friends. It was great! :-) But the journey by train was difficult: I was tired because I didn't sleep a lot... :-( I visited my 2 new cousins... They're really cute! I went out some times with my friends. We dance, talked and ... drink Jupiler, too! ;-) We went to the "Cavalcade" in Herve on Easter Monday. Wonderful!I also played football with my team. We won 4-2 and I scored the 4th goal! My favourite football team (Standard de Liège) won a match and is first in the championship with 7 points more than the second team. We'll be champion this year!!! :D Well, my week was really exciting! Now, I'm back in Denmark and I'm looking forward to having teaching practice for 3 weeks. I hope I'll learn a lot and meet nice people! :p

The international week

This week was the international week. So we met students from other countries: João and José from Portugal, Marije from the Netherlands, Bianca and Yasmin from Austria and Sabrina, Sarah and Melanie from Germany but also girls from Denmark.

On Monday we learned to know each other first before having a course about body language and a Danish lesson. Then we ate together at school in the evening. We talked about many topics such as ourselves, our hobbies, the school system in our countries, ... Daniel, Tim and I also went to our football practice with João and José from 8.45 pm to 10 pm. It was really funny! ;-)

On Tuesday we had a lesson about a few stereotypes linked to the countries we're from. My group had to represent Portugal as you can see. It was really nice! Then we had a lesson about rhymes and songs. We sang and played together. In the afternoon we went to Ribe in order to visit a museum, see the sea and walk into town. It was cool except for the weather... :-(

On Wednesday I had to go on a school visit with Tim but the teacher's child was ill. So we stayed at school relaxing a bit. ;-) We ahd then a discussion with the other students about what we observed during the morning. It was rewarding! The hip hop lesson was also cancelled because the teacher was ill, too. So we finished earlier. In the evening I went to the football practice with Daniel and Tim. We had good time playing in the rain. :D

On Thursday we followed a lecture about "Vienna" and books and sounds landscapes. It was quite interesting. The afternoon was devoted to the "International Day". We (erasmus students and other students from Europe) showed to Danish students and teachers what we are doing here in denmark: portfolio, lessons, weblogs, visits, ... We also let people taste some typical food from our countries. Delicious! ;-) We also drank 2 strong alcohols (one was 54% and the other one about 40%).

In the evening, we went to the "Friday Café" to eat pizza's and sing for the Eurovision contest. Tim and I loved a lot the 2 Portuguese guys (João and José) and their rap! We made flags to support them. But the 3 girls from the Czech Republic had a good song with a nice choreography. Congratulations! Kate, you're the best one! ;-) Then we went to "Tribunen" and the "Craizy Daisy"... It was perfect! There were a lot of people, we danced and laughed (and drank?) a lot. :D

Today we are going to finish our portfolio, discuss about the whole week and have a lunch together. :-) Then, I'll leave tonight for a few days to Belgium... ;-( But as a conclusion, I can say that the week was really exciting: I made new friends, met people from other countries and cultures, had fun, learned a lot (differences between Belgium and other countries: school system, culture, way of life, ...), ... I hope we'll keep contact! If you want to come to Belgium, you're the most welcome!!! :-)