Tour de Europe, Family Values, and Newspaper Interview

Day 11 and 12 of skole,

The Danes are very amazed by our ability and desire to visit as many cities and countries as we could during our week off. Joergen kindly asked Anna and I to make a presentation of our travels to show the students where we went and talk about the history that happened there. We explained to the students that in America, it is pretty common for young adults to dream about backpacking Europe. Americans think that travel is easily accessible in Europe and everything is so close as compared to the states. We then had the opportunity to ask them that if they could travel anywhere in the world where would they go. The students had a mix of answers including Iceland, Spain, and Thailand. Of course America was the most popular! The students informed us that it is popular for them to think about the great American roadtrip and traveling across the U.S. Many of the older students had been to Germany and a lot of them go to Austria for skiing. It was so nice to be able to share our pictures and experiences with the students and teachers! 

Joergen also asked us to talk with the students about family values in America and what it is like to be in an American family. Anna and I shared more information about our own family and the rules and expectations set in our household. We also talked about our friends and how when we would go over to their houses we could notice some differences between our family and theirs. The students seemed very interested in traditional southern dinner ettiquet, like not putting your elbows on the table and asking to be excused from the table. We explained that our family values will be influenced by how our parents were raised and our religious and cultural background. After some discussion, the students started to notice some similarities and differences between our families and theirs. It was such a great opportunity to point out that we may all come from different places but we can still value similar things! 

Lastly, joergen set up a time for the local newspaper to come to Virklund Skole and interview Anna and me! It was very exciting, but of course it made me a little nervous. The journalist was very kind, he asked us questions mostly about where we are from, what we are doing in Denmark, and what we have learned from our time here. The interview went by quickly and then he came and watched Anna and me discuss family values with the students. Joergen calls the students pupils and that has certainly grown on me, I find myself correcting my writing to say students. But the article came out in the paper on Wednesday and we were on page 8! The principal seemed very proud and happy with what we said in the paper, but Anna and I are not sure exactly what the article says because it is in Danish. It was certainly easy to brag about Virklund Skole and the teachers and pupils that make it so great! Joergen even made sure that we each had a newspaper copy of the article to take home! 

  

Berlin, Germany

Prague, Czech Republic

Vienna, Austria

Budapest, Hungry

Budapest was amazing! The history and the architecture are so unique! We got an inside scoop on what it’s like to be a Hungarian because we had the opportunity to stay with a family from the US who has been living in Hungry for over 12 years! They were truly kind, generous, and hospitable! We are goulash and some awesome gelato! We saw all the major sights between castle hill and St. Stephen’s basilica! It was truly an unforgettable 2 days!  

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   
-Taylor

Copenhagen, Denmark

Early this morning we arrived in Copenhagen! There was SNOW! I finally got to see snow and it was gorgeous! We walked around for a bit in the cold and found a nice pastry shop for coffee and danishes before we took a boat tour around the harbor. The boat tour lasted an hour and it was so great to hear some of the Danish history and see its beauty at the same time. After that, we met Anna’s cousin for brunch/lunch. On our way there we stopped in an old church and the architecture was amazing! The statues and buildings all over Copenhagen are amazing! After lunch we dropped off our backpacks at our hotel and set out for the museums, the Royal Library, and the castle. Unfortunately, everywhere but the library was closed! We could not believe it! Either it closed early on Saturday or it was shut down until the spring! But that is okay, we got to walk around the city (a total of 10 miles to be exact) and we found a burger place for dinner! We will set out early tomorrow morning for Budapest! Joergen has asked Anna and I to teach the students about family values in America and we will continue to work on that and make a cahoot for next week!

A few things I learned today:

1. Always check what time places close or if they are open at all before you walk miles and miles to see them.
2. Look up the male and female translations in the rest of the countries so that you do not accidentally use the mens restroom in a church and scare an old man.
3. Always make sure your hotel door fully shuts behind you! Or you could end up returning 5 hours later to find your door slightly cracked and holding your breath until you see all of your belongings safely inside.

Vi ses i morgen!

See you tomorrow!

~Taylor

Over the Bridge and Through the Woods to Virklund Skole we Go

Day 10 of skole,

Today we went on an adventure into the woods! The 4th, 5th, and 6th graders were split up into 21 teams and they had some challenges to do while on the trail. All of the students brought some vegetables and after we completed the 7 mile trail, we all got to eat some soup that had been made with the food they brought. It was so great to see the students working together to complete the challenges and keeping each other motivated to finish such a long journey. Joergen also let us teach the 6th graders how to line dance! They were so great! Some of the girls were even practicing the dance once we made it to the campsite and the soup. It was certainly a great way to end the week and start the winter holiday break! Europe here we come!

Vi ses i morgen!

See you tomorrow!

~Taylor

Rumors, Adele, and VIA

Week 6 is a special week here at Virklund because the teachers integrate some important life lessons about social media into the lessons. They discuss with the students about bullying, spreading rumors, and better ways that they could use social media. After some deep discussion in 9th grade, the teacher had the students stand up and make a circle. The students were asked to come up with a rumor and share it with the class while they passed around a ball of yarn. They quickly caught on that spreading rumors is just like spinning a web of lies and they had a short but in-depth discussion on that can apply to their lives.

As we have seen so many English classes we have started to see a trend in the teaching choices. Each teacher goes about teaching the students how to speak, read, and write English in a different way, but they all seem to use a common theme. They ask themselves what the students are interested in, and what is relevant to them, what is going to motivate them to want to learn English. A few of the teachers have adopted this music theme and one class has been looking at the 27 club while another class has been interpreting lyrics and making their own music videos. These teachers have incorporated how to do research, how to write poems, figurative language, reading comprehension, social skills, and using technology. They have done all of this while also keeping them interested and motivated to learn English! It is truly amazing and even more amazing is to see just how proud the students are of their work.

Lastly, we Alice worked it out so that we could visit VIA in Silkeborg! It was so great to be able to see the teachers college and to get more information on the teacher education here in Denmark! We learned about a Danish educational philosopher and I look forward to reading more about him and some of his work.

~Taylor

Immigration, Sky Mountain, and Rock & Roll

Day 7 of skole,

Yesterday was an interesting day filled with great discussions! I have really enjoyed getting to know the 9th graders here at Virklund. Their English is so well developed that they are able to ask us questions that require us to think critically and reflect. The interest that they have in our political system has been a great challenge for us! Their interests and questions have certainly increased my interest in the presidential race. It has also been great to learn about the student’s views on immigration, especially here in Denmark at this time in the world. Coming from the USA, where we are mostly immigrants, it is so fascinating to hear another side and view on immigration. The students are incredibly clever and many pointed out that they and the country of Denmark could do a much better job of welcoming immigrants into their country. They are such a bright group of students and highly motivated, I look forward to being able to lead a lesson with them during our last week!

Joergen informed Anna and I that a local boarding skole was coming to perform and the concert would be held in the gym. In Denmark high school ends at 9th or 10th grade, after that the teenagers have many different paths that they can choose. one of these paths is going to boarding skole. At boarding skole, the students choose something specific to study like music, art, or sports. They will study there for a year and then move on to either university or take a few gap years. Anna and I both expected some kind of symphony, orchestra, or choir, but when we entered the gym there was a large stage and fog everywhere. The entire school came and the younger students were running around and climbing ladders on the walls to get a better view over the older and taller students. We stood by the sound board and the band walked on the stage and started playing some alternative rock music. Their were about 20 students that rotated on and off the stage and the concert was a little over an hour long! The students loved it and really got into the music! I was extremely impressed with the boarding skole student’s singing and instrumental ability!

After skole, Joergen took drove us to this place that translates into sky mountain of mountain of heaven. He informed us that it is really a joke because it is more of a hill than a mountain and it is not even the tallest point in Denmark. Now just so you know, Denmark is the flattest country in the entire world! They really do not have any mountain ranges, but their hills can be pretty challenging (especially when riding a bike). When we got there, we started at the top and the view was gorgeous! You could see the lake and all of these islands scattered around. There was also a tower at the top, but it is only unlocked in the summer. We walked down the hill and made it to the shore of the lake and it was just so calm and a view I won’t soon forget. A boat normally comes to that part of the lake and it takes people from sky mountain back into town or vice versa, but it does not run in the winter. The lake is so clear, I am hoping to be able to jump in before we leave!

Vi ses i morgen!

See you tomorrow!

~Taylor

 

Arhus in the Middle of Denmark

This weekend we travelled by train to Arhus, the second largest city in Denmark right behind Copenhagen. The city was beautiful, with the river running through it and the old Danish buildings mixed in with the new. We Went to the ARoS Museum and had the opportunity to see a giant sculpture of a boy, Danish art, and the rainbow walkway. There is a street in Arhus that contains houses that are extremely small and hundreds of years old, but they are worth a lot of money because of the history preserved they provide. The next day we went to the old city living museum and got to walk around the streets filled with a miniature city made up of buildings from the 1600s to the 1900s. After this museum we went to the botanical gardens which was in what looked like a balloon. The plants have to be placed in a climate controlled area because the weather in Denmark is not the best for tropical flowers and cacti. Overall, it was an amazing educational experience but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

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