Week 15-18, its not goodbye, its see you later!

Personal & Culture Development

It is so difficult to believe that I have been in The Netherlands now for four months and its almost time for me to say my goodbyes and head back to the emerald isle. So much has happened in the last four months and when you think of a particular event, you be shocked when you are reminded it took place back in February o something. In ways this is good as I will get to see family and friends again but it’s also sad as I will say goodbye to the friends I have made here, knowing I will not have this experience again. Time has gone extremely fast, I just hope the summer doesn’t go as fast as it is then final year of Stranmillis for me! It is funny as many of us now say, ‘It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later!’

It has been about 3 weeks since I last had a blog entry, for the simple fact that life has become quieter here in The Netherlands as some of the group have already returned home, however those that were left behind have still been having fun and working hard on our research projects. This blog will fill you in on the happenings of the last few weeks.

2.5.10-8.5.10

It’s May and many have left for home, what to do now? It is not the same around Vossenveld, especially as we have some more free time on our hands. On Tuesday 4^th May a few of us decided to take the train to Amsterdam for the day. Many of the sights I have seen before however I just went as I wanted to spend time with members of the group. We arrived around lunch time, hungry as ever so we had a typically Dutch lunch, McDonalds. We walked around the city and decided to enter into the Amsterdam Dungeons for a tour. This was hilarious as Caroline is easily scared and for some reason, the employees discovered this, making her tour a living nightmare in her eyes. Throughout the tour they use members of the public as part of their scenes and of course I could not escape and was held on trial. When I stated that I was from Northern Ireland, I was immediately found guilty which was funny as the Dutch believe all Northern Irish are good stone throwers! We also visited Madam Tussauds on Dam Square where we met many famous faces including Beyonce, Robbie Williams and David Beckham. We wanted to visit Anne Frank apartment as we had recently watched the Anne Frank movie but the queue was extremely long, however I have been before and was able to share old pictures with the group as they were quite disappointed.

Wednesday 5^th May was Liberation day in the Netherlands which marks the end of the occupation by the Nazi army in World War 2. We decided to go to the festival in Eda, which was a good idea as the streets were lined with people once again. It seems the Dutch make the most of their national holidays and celebrate in style! There were parades in the street and also in the afternoon there were different music events. We had dance music, jazz music, Spanish music and the best thing was the fact it was all live. People danced around the different stage areas, enjoying their day.

A circus arrived in town on 7^th May so on the opening night a few of us decided to go as one of the Irish girls had never been to a circus in her life before. This was an enjoyable experience, especially as the circus was mainly human acts apart from the Elephants and Camels. The elephant was performing tricks like you would have seen elephants doing in cartoons like Tom & Jerry as a child.

9.5.10-15.5.10

Nijmegen had a music festival on 12^th & 13^th May on the main street of the city with live music from DJs and bands, local and national. The first day we only attended for a small time and on Thursday the Belgian students had friends from home staying so we all decided to go into the centre and enjoy the festival in typical Dutch style, beer, music and street dancing! This was really good and is a thing I will do at home, even though NI does not seem to have as many festivals as the Netherlands does.

Our flat decided it would be a nice idea, over the period of one week, for everyone flatmate to cook a meal for the rest of the group which went down a treat, especially when the girls cooked! I opted to try to cook a dish that was inspired by our Portuguese flatmate and although it was not as nice as hers, it went down well if I say so myself. I think the boys were the most nervous about cooking but we all managed well and impressed the flat with our culinary skills. On the final night when Mark cooked, myself along with Caroline prepared a Banoffee pie as she wanted to learn how to prepare it so she can create it for her family in Sweden. I don’t think we have eaten as well over the last four months as we did this week!

It has become a tradition over the last few weeks for a few of us to go into the centre to a café on Monday and Tuesday nights to listen to live jazz music by up-coming local and international artists. This is something I would not have done at home but is an area of interest I will take home, especially as Londonderry holds jazz festivals annually and also many bars in the centre have nights for local artists. We were able to sit together, chatting, listening to music and being social with many international friends.

As a memory of our time here we decided to order personalised hoodies for members of the group that wanted one. On the front of the hoodie it states, ‘Erasmus 2010 Nijmegen’ and then everyone put either their name or a phrase that represented their stay here on the back. For instance because of my accent, people find me hard to understand when I say my name so on the back of my hoodie I have written my name the way I apparently say it, ‘Gaarrryyy’. These are a good memory to have and everyone had such a laugh thinking and reading them when they arrived.

20.5.10-25.5.10 Poland

Caroline, Jatta and I decided to book a trip to Poland to visit the students that were here on Erasmus, so on 20^th May we set off to Dusseldorf to catch our flight. We left Vossenveld at 2.30am and after a 1hour 45minute flight and a 5hour train journey we arrived in Lublin to be greeted by Klara and Alicja. I was surprised by how run down the area was, the trains and stations are nothing compared to other countries around Europe. The previous week Poland had severe weather and floods but luckily we brought sunshine with us and it was really hot over the weekend even though we did not pack for hot weather!

Thursday evening until Sunday morning we stayed in Lublin, in the east of Poland at Klara’s home, touring the cities old and new town. The city was beautiful but also felt quite run down compared to cities here in Holland or in NI. As we walked around we walked through a street that was still damaged from WW2 which was unbelievable, however they are not repairing the old theatre, 65 years later. Poland’s public transport is very run down compared to here and NI therefore I am now grateful for Translink and will never complain about them again.

On Friday afternoon we went to Majdanek Concentration Camp. This is the first time I have ever experienced something like this and it was such an eye opener. This is the oldest camp museum in Poland and one of the only camps not destroyed by Germans during the liberation. This was so interesting from a different perspective than we have in the UK, were our grandparents or parents fought in the war; however the polish people had family locked up and even murdered in this camp. The girls we were visiting both had stories of family in this camp which was interesting to hear! That evening we had a BBQ and made warm beer, a Polish drink with beer, spices and orange heated to about 80degrees. This was ok but I will make it for my friends at home also.

On Saturday we went to the Open Air Museum in Lublin which was similar to the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh. We walked through the history of Poland and had ice cream in the old café.

On Sunday we travelled back to Krakow, the second largest city in Poland where we stayed until we were flying home again. This was a beautiful city and the weather made it even more beautiful. The old town and its history and the Jewish Quarter were explored on Sunday afternoon. We sampled Polish dumplings which were surprisingly good and reminded me on Tortellini except better.

On Monday we decided to book a tour to Auschwitz and Birkenau as this was one of the main tourist areas in Poland and I was glad we visited Majdanek first to prepare us for what we would see at Auschwitz. We had a fifty minute documentary on the bus that explained about Auschwitz and how the name came about and about the liberation of the camp. The documentary had photos and video clips from the camp in the 1940s that were created by a Soviet camera officer. Upon arriving I didn’t know how to feel, it was spooky there but the history was so great I was excited to see inside the camp. It was just like what you see in the movies and it was a dull grey day so it added to the atmosphere. Inside we saw rooms with tonnes of human hair and the smell was awful, you could just imagine the screams of people inside. We also saw rooms full of suitcases that belong to people as young as 3 years, tonnes of shoes, pots & pans and toothbrushes that all belong to prisoners. Hanging on the wall were pictures of prisoners and you could not help but look into their eyes and see the fear and tears in their eyes, it was unbelievable. We walked down the road at Birkenau railway station where the Jews were separated into workers and those that would die. It was hard to imagine this happening! Both camps were unbelievable and definitely worth visiting as they can create feelings inside that question how one human could be so cruel to another.

This was an amazing trip and made my stay in Europe perfect! Over the last few days here I will be going to the Beer factory in Nijmegen as I didn’t even know it existed until recently and we will also have 4 birthdays to celebrate and our leaving party to attend. I have had so much fun over the last few months; I would definitely recommend Erasmus to anyone who is considering it for the coming years. I wish I was setting out from Belfast once again!

Professional Development

As classes have been finished for a while now, I have been working on my research paper which has been interesting. I decided to investigate what motivates teachers in 2 different education systems and the results proved my hypothesis wrong. Teachers seem to be motivated by tangible rewards like money as much as they are motivated intangible rewards like praise. To complete the paper I had to email an online questionnaire to 10 teachers in a primary school in Londonderry and also to 10 teachers in my practice school here in the Netherlands. By doing this topic I was able to incorporate some business studies into the paper as I have not done any business studies since leaving Stranmillis. I feel that the paper was worth doing as it threw up some interesting results.

Week 14, final countdown...

Personal & Cultural

This was the last week we were together as a complete Erasmus 2010 in Nijmegen as a few members of the group leave this weekend to go back to the reality of their home countries. Many of us placed this thought at the back of our minds as I feel our group have grown extremely close in a short time which I never expected when I was setting out on the experience in January. I always knew I would make friends but not to the standard I have therefore the thought of some of them going home was hard.

This week we had our last class together, Drama so we ended on a high note as we divided into groups to create final presentations which would be shown at the certificate ceremony on Thursday. There were 7 in our group and we had so many ideas to bring forward for the presentation but in the end we decided we would make a ‘movie trailer’ entitled ‘The Dangerous 7’ that described our time here in Nijmegen. A lot of work went into this final piece and we took create pride in making it as it was enjoyable and brought back many memories for the entire group to have a laugh at. The trailer consisted of ‘spoof’ movie parts acted by ourselves, movies from our experience and pictures. We also included music such as final countdown, parachute and the time of my life and the lyrics were perfect for the group and our time together as we have had the time of our lives here together. I feel that this was one of the easiest groups I have worked with as there was no bickering and decisions were made easily which normally does not happen with so many in one group.

We decided it would be a nice idea to go out for one last meal together in our favourite restaurant, Pinocchio’s. It was great looking down the table at so many people from different cultures and backgrounds that only 3 months ago had no clue that we existed. We had English, Northern Irish, Swedish, Portuguese and Austrian, an experience we probably will never have together again in such a setting.

Thursday saw the end of the International Course at PABO, which brought a few tears to some faces. We each received a paper plate that was stuck to our back and as we moved throughout the room we would write a compliment on everyone’s plate so every person would leave with a ‘plate full of compliments’. This was a nice idea and people wrote from the heart and the things that were said I will never forget. Every country had to prepare something for the international lunch and being Northern Irish we had to include potatoes! Between ourselves and the St Mary’s girls we made a pot of Champ which went down a treat as many had not tasted this before. Everyone put in great effort for this and we ate like Kings that day. The Spanish Tortilla was delicious and my flatmate has decided to teach me how to cook it! I was pleasantly surprised by a type of Norwegian cheese that tasted of caramel, this was a good opportunity to taste different foods from the cultures of our friends as many people made things they have with their families. That afternoon we had our presentation movies from all groups. This was great entertainment and we laughed at so many incidents we had here. To end the day we had the certificate presentations with a different style. Each folder was laid out on the floor, one for everyone and each person would select one and present it to the person whilst saying something about the person to them. I believe this was a great way to end the program and many people said personal things about each other.

The long anticipated Queens Day has arrived and on Friday, dressed in a form of orange and Dutch flags on our cheeks we set off to Amsterdam to celebrate with the country in style. This was a fantastic experience, one which many of us said we would like to repeat next year as a reunion. The streets of Amsterdam were crowded with over 3million people all dressed in orange, the national colour of the Netherlands. A great day was had by all, especially sitting in Dam Square near the Big Wheel and other Amusements in the sun. I even feel this tradition should be adapted by the UK to celebrate our heritage and Queen.

Personally I found it difficult to say goodbye to those that were leaving on Saturday, especially the English girls we have grown close to and shared many experiences with here. For us it was not so much a goodbye but a see you later as visits to each others homes have been planned. For those that go further a field to Poland or Spain it was difficult as you do not know for sure if we will ever have an experience together again but how knows what the future will be.

Professional Development

As class has now finished it is difficult to think of professional development but this week assignments were given back to the group, graded with feedback. I am 100% pleased with how I have performed whilst being on Erasmus and feel my assignments reflect this. I was extremely pleased with feedback from my Teaching Report as I tried to be reflective with this as I can often find this a difficult task. The lecturer said it was a great read and the comments left were inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience here in school and I wanted this to be evident from my report. I will now be able to use their feedback to produce my final research paper for the course.

As a teacher, I will cross paths with many people, hopefully from all walks of life. It is very easy to get attached but as a professional I need to get on with it and I feel this experience will help me develop this ability.

Being here has helped me in deciding how I want to direct my professional and personal life. It was always my plan to travel but being here I now want to travel and teach English in the likes of China as everyone including the children here enjoy being able to communicate internationally via English. I feel that if I did not come on this experience I would not have decided to do this therefore I have Erasmus to thank for my newly planned future.

Week 13 antics...

Cultural & Personal Development

We were meant to fly to Berlin this week as we had some spare time but thanks to the Volcano in Iceland, our flights were cancelled so we had a week off here in Nijmegen to finish off 2 assignments and enjoy the sunshine as the spring has finally truly arrived in the Netherlands.

The time is approaching where people are now leaving to return home as there Erasmus experience is over. I believe it is more difficult to say goodbye to people from here than my own friends and family at home as you always knew you would return home but we will never have the same experiences all together as we have had over the last 13 weeks. This wee Tina and Astrid were leaving to go to Belgium again so we had a farewell party. This was a lot of fun and was a good way to say goodbye in typical Vossenveld style. Over the next few weeks more people will leave but I feel it would be better if everyone was here for the same length of time rather than some 3 months and others 4.

We decided to go to Utrecht to sightsee in a different city in the Netherlands. This was a beautiful city with a nice culture in the city. We had lunch in a typically American Restaurant, KFC which was a treat as Nijmegen does not have a KFC so it was one of the first in a long time. The city had a good market on that day so we walked around tasting and looking at typically Dutch items. As there are many canals in this country we decided to go on a boat trip around the city. This was a good way to see more of the city than on foot and it was relaxing sitting listening to the commentary. Before returning home I found a Starbucks Store and had a Chai Tea for the first time in 13 weeks! This made the day perfect!

About 15minutes by bicycle from our flat there is a beautiful lake and park and as the weather has been perfect the last few days we decided to pack lunch and blankets and got to the lake and soak up the rays! This was a brilliant day as we lay on the sand, had lunch and chilled out after working on our assignments. We brought the football too so we played games like Volleyball and Football on the sand. It was like being on Holiday and we all got a little colour which made the girls happy!

On Saturday one of the Irish girls celebrated her 21^st Birthday and organised a Beach themed party for everyone. Everyone had to dress up in beach wear and some of the ideas were great. We had jellyfish, mermaids, surfers, pirates and I was an Octopus. I used large noodles for the pool, cut in half to make my legs. It was such a great day as the sun was shining again so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the evening. A photographer from the HAN magazine came to take pictures of the party to put a spread in their magazine which gave us a giggle as he was snap happy. We had a barbeque on the grass as the sun went down and it was a nice evening with the group. Many other Dutch students from the Vossenveld complex turned up to the party which was good as it was the first time we got to mix with other people from the building as everyone likes to keep themselves to themselves here.

We also booked our return flight this week and after I felt quite down as the entire experience has past so quickly and I do not know if I am ready to return home again, back to reality. This experience has been a great eye-opener as I realised I can live away from home and there is life outside NI that needs to be explored. I always found that I lost confidence in myself when I left the comfort of school and went to University but being here I feel like I have found myself again and I am willing to be the first to offer an opinion or the first to give a presentation and it’s good to have that feeling again!

Professional Development.

We had no class this week as the Ideal School day was cancelled as the teacher was stuck in Helsinki due to the Ash Cloud over Europe.

One of the final assignments was to write a final essay about our time here discussing many aspects from class time to life in the Netherlands. I felt it was important to be honest in this essay even if the things I had to say were negative on some cases but more reflection will take place during evaluations of the course. It was interesting writing the essay as I was quite reflective of my time here and I normally struggle to reflect on issues in my life. One of the main things from this essay that many others wrote was the fact that Secondary students should not be accepted onto this course as it is Primary based or the course should be adapted for Secondary students as they accept a few of us onto the course.

I also wrote a reflective piece on my school practice here but this was very positive as I really enjoyed my experience in schools here. It was active and the schools were very welcoming to us and the children were always enthusiastic in my lessons which was very rewarding for me.

Week 12 fun...

Cultural & Personal Development

The week started with a trip to Den Bosch on Sunday that was organised by one of our teachers, Paul as he used to live in the city. One of his friends volunteered to give us a tour of the city. We walked around the city, both the centre and the outskirts along the walls of the city. In a way it reminded me of home and how both cities used city walls to protect themselves during a war. We went into a small museum where original brick walls that had been buried were being preserved. We had all had lunch together in the city which was a good way to sit and discuss what we had seen and also chat with Paul, getting to know him better. When the tour was over we went and had the most amazing ice cream and it made the trip perfect.

On Monday we had another trip with Ben for Dutch Culture to the Open Air Museum. This was really interesting as some of it was outside and recreations/original buildings of factories and machinery that was used in the past. The building was owned by a woman who had no family and when she died it was left to the state. She was friends with Leonardo Davinci and he had given her paintings before he was famous therefore there were some original paintings in the museum.

On the Thursday of this week the University had organised the School Fest for the Dutch students and us. So it was party time again in Vossenveld and some of us gathered to have dinner before we went to the party. This was like the Back to School Bop at Stranmillis but not as good of course! It was nice being with Dutch students for a change as we did not have many opportunities to socialise with them as we are not integrated in class or Vossenveld. A good night was had by all listening to old and new hits, dancing around the hall. It was like a small goodbye before the course ends at the end of the month.

Weeks ago we found out that Rihanna was having a gig in Arnhem so we bought tickets to go. Three of us travelled to Arnhem for the concert and others were going to meet us there after. The concert was fantastic and worth every penny. This reminded me on times last year when I went to the Odyssey with friends to a few different concerts and it made me appreciate the times I have had at home with everyone but also I realised how much I enjoy spending time with the new people I have met here. After the concert we went into Arnhem centre to meet the rest of the group and try some new nightlife.

Other than these few activities this week has been quite quiet as our assignments were due for Friday therefore a lot of time was spent at our laptops working on essays and presentations. It was nice to get them finished for Saturday but we also have 2 more due next week.

Professional Development

Classes are now coming to an end as the course draws to a close for those that leave soon. Other than working on assignments, thinking back to the things we had discussed in class, we had our final international class meeting. These assignments were quite interesting to write as many of them were topics I have not studied before like Human Rights or Philosophy therefore it was interesting to write about something different other than Business Studies or ICT. Thinking back to the course, I am not sure if I have fully enjoyed the TET Course we took at the PABO but I can definitely say I enjoyed the school placement we had here and also I have definitely enjoyed the Erasmus experience here in Nijmegen.

Week 11 times...

Personal & Cultural

It’s Easter Sunday and I am patiently waiting for eggs to arrive from home…waiting…waiting. Let’s hope they come on Wednesday after the bank holiday. As a few people have left the country for Easter it was the perfect time to get a little work done for the course. On Easter Sunday we decided to have a group dinner in the evening. Caroline and I made the main course which was a traditionally British roast beef dinner and I can safely say I done myself and Britain proud as it went down a treat and the first roast dinner I have had in the last 10 weeks! Two of the Polish girls created a traditionally Polish starter of rice and also an egg mayonnaise. The Portuguese couple created a Spanish tortilla to compliment the rice dish which was also really delicious. The dessert was apply pie created by the Polish girls and it was one of the nicest pie’s I have every tasted even though we disagreed if it was traditionally British or Polish. That evening we had a games night with card games and other board games like connect 4.

The weather has been fantastic over Easter so on Tuesday assignments were set aside and we decided to go for a picnic in the sun. Along the canal there is a small farm where you can sit and relax and it also has a small play park for the children. As the sun shone we ate our lunch watching the employees chase after escaped chickens and listened to the snoring pig. That evening we relaxed along the canal in the sunshine trying to get the boats to honk their horns. I believe we got 1 honk from about 20 boats.

Its wednesday and a package from home finally arrived! Easter gifts of chocolate! Thank you family! This shall keep me happy for a little while.

On Thursday the entire erasmus group went to Lazerquest. It was amazing craic and we will definiately be making a return visit in the near future. I managed to come third even though my gun broke half way through, i was pleasantly surprised by the actions!

One of the lectures was leaving Pabo on Friday and in Dutch tradition they had a farewell ceremony for him in the Pabo Pub after school. Its very different here as students and staff drink and socialise comfortable on a regular basis. It is tradition in Dutch bars that if you ring the bar bell, you must buy everyone in the pub a drink and every time someone leaves we get free drinks and food.

Klara celebrated her 23^rd Birthday this week so we had a special dessert evening for her and I don’t think I have ate as much dessert on one evening ever! We had Banoffee Pie, Baked Alaska, fruit, custard and chocolate.

Alicija, a Polish student, had friends arrive on Saturday so we decided to have a traditional Polish party as they brought Polish drinks with them for us to sample. A brilliant night was had by all, tasting Polish drinks and food. Here is hoping for a repeat when we visit Poland in May.

Professional Development

Like last week we continued with the ICA course on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This was an emotional rollercoaster for the entire group as we discussed some difficult and controversial topics like bullying, sexuality, racism and many other phobias. This was very well lead course as the leaders/trainers could read the group so if the energy was going down they would have an energiser game or a break for the group. They also could get the mood back to top form again after difficult discussions. Many members of the group broke down during some of the activities in this course so we all learnt that we would need to be very careful when we are leading these activities. Thursday and Friday we became the trainers so in groups we had to lead certain activities which were very interesting and enjoyable. Each time an activity was complete we would give feedback to the group and get feedback from the trainers on areas we excelled on and areas we needed to improve.

In the end of this we received a manual with the activities that suited the groups we would be teaching. Many of the activities we have done are within the manuals. This was a very good course to be involved in as we could use many of the activities within LLW classes in NI to challenge topics that are already within our curriculum. The entire group grew together as we found out so many things about each other and our lives before the Netherlands. The course ended with an activity called the Compliment Flower. Everyone received a flower with enough petals for everyone to write a compliment about you in. This was a really nice activity and the things people were now confident to say to each other was incredible and it was touching to read. We are now certified to deliver the ICA course.

week 10 & action!!

Personal & Cultural

It was sad to come back after having a fantastic time in Rome and the weather there made it perfect! We landed in Düsseldorf Weeze around 8pm, was funny to think we had been in 3 countries in one day, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.

This week a few of the flatmates were disappearing home for Easter and the Belgian girls even invited us but due to a course we had to take at the end of the week we could not go so it was going to be a quiet Easter here for us! It was sad to see people leave even though you knew they would be returning a week later, it proves that it will be tough saying goodbye!

We had a group trip bowling on Thursday night which was a lot of fun, especially due to the fact that when a yellow pin was placed at the front and you got a strike, your group got free shots from the bar. We had around 4 so it made the night worthwhile. After this we went into town to celebrate Okke, a Dutch student on the CIS, birthday.

Friday was Good Friday and we were unsure if places were to open late or not like back home. Ana, a Portuguese student on our floor, had her boyfriend over for the week and it was his Birthday today so in Portuguese style they prepared a dinner for everyone and it was so delicious, I even challenged myself to eat things I would not dare back home, like Olives! More of the Portuguese students came around for this so it was nice to spend time with everyone even though some familiar faces were missing. We had a good flat party and went into town to celebrate the night away.

Professional Development

On Monday we had a visit to Werkenrode Special school and it brought back memories from my time in Sandleford Special school back in November, it reminded me how I much I enjoyed that experience. I am normally a nervous person in situations like these but from that placement I have overcome the fear and I was looking forward to this visit. As we arrived we had tea and found out about the school from the Principal and it was interesting to learn that some of their students board at the school in special accommodation. The tour was given to us by the students as part of their assessment in English language which was far better than listening to the teachers talk as you could find out what they thought about being at the school. At the question and answer session, the Principal asked them if they had the choice would they rather attend a mainstream school or Werkenrode and it was so difficult to hear that 2 or 3 of the students said they would prefer a mainstream school or reasons like fitting in etc. This got to a few members of our group.

This week also saw the start of the ICA course we have signed up to do in Diversity and Cultural Awareness, similar to the DMU at Stranmillis. For the first half of the course we are thinking about our personal awareness and for the second we are training to become the trainers therefore after the course we shall be qualified to deliver this program which is very interesting. Many members of our group were un-keen to start the course due to the time commitment it required but after my first day I was really enthusiastic and curious to continue to see where the course took us and many others felt the same. The course is good because we have serious discussions and also fun filled activities that get us active in body and mind without realising we are doing so. Many of the activities we do can be carried out in the classroom and will be very beneficial to us when we are qualified teachers or on placement. We cover topics such as prejudice, discrimination, views of society, bullying etc.

Week 9...already?

Personal & Cultural

This was a fantastic week, especially with jetting off to Rome but that’s later…

As I mentioned last week we had all decided to take part in an Erasmus Come Dine with Me Special which was exciting. In Vossenveld we have 3 floors for international students with 9 people living on each. Each floor had 4 groups of 3 and we made sure all groups were mixed up so groups of friends were not working together. I was teamed with Mikayla from England and Caroline from Sweden. It was good that we had 3 in each group as it meant that each person was assigned a course and my luck I was assigned the main! What should I cook was the question on my lips for a long time, even up to 2 hours before kick off! Caroline made a Caesurae salad for our starter and Mikayla made a Banoffee pie for desert. I had changed my mind many times but eventually settled to make chicken with garlic, peppers, onion and a Tomato sauce on rice. It actually all turned out to be really delicious and the group done themselves proud, however when our challengers cooked on Tuesday, from entering the room we knew from the effort they had put in that we were beat and true to the feeling, we fell at the first hurdle!

As the weather was really nice last week the group were making the most of it so on Wednesday afternoon a few of us went into town for drinks in the sun and done a little shopping while there. It was a nice relaxing afternoon and reminded me on being at home with my friends during the summer months!

On Thursday afternoon 5 of us went to Rome for 3 nights. We arrived at our hostel in Rome around 9pm so we didn’t have time to do much on Thursday so we went for a traditional Italian pizza and it was really good. It is true what they say; you don’t taste good pasta or pizza until you try it on Italy! We were in a room of six and it was a relief to find out that the other person in the room was also from London and we all got on well with her. She was 19 and travelling on her own which shocked many of us as we couldn’t imagine doing it on our own, sharing a room with 5 strangers.

We set off early on Friday morning to make the most of our time in the city. It was very difficult to order breakfast and because we were speaking English it was clear that the Italians got very frustrated and annoyed with us when we were ordering food. We managed to get a good deal for a tour bus for the 2 days that we were there so we set off on the red bus to see the sights. We started with the Coliseum which was a lot smaller than I had imagined especially when you went inside it. We walked around the whole Coliseum taking it in that I was actually in Rome. There were so many people and school groups there, especially American, I think I seen more Americans in Rome than I did Italians. It was unbelievably warm while we were there so it made the trip even better, some of us even got sunburnt. We walked through the old ruins that were behind the Coliseum and sat in the sun for a break before we caught the bus to go to the Vatican.

The Vatican and St Peters square were also smaller than I had thought but it was funny thinking back to ‘Euro Trip’ and ‘Angels and Demons’, two movies that I last seen the Vatican and St Peters square in. There we thousands of people in the square and the queue to get inside the Vatican was huge but it didn’t take that long to get inside so we waited. It was definitely worth waiting to see; although I am not Catholic it was breath taking inside. We walked around the Chapel part of the Vatican and went to see the Pope’s graves in the basement. There was a large crowd gathered around Pope John Paul’s grave and many were crying or throwing letters on top of his grave which showed to this day how he has touched or is continuing to touch people’s lives.

Saturday was another early enough start and this time Bryony, the other English girl, joined us. We hopped back onto the bus and travelled around the city again and we stopped off for a late breakfast and the staff in this restaurant were so nice and welcoming to the group and it was surprisingly cheap. We walked up to the Spanish Steps, were there were so many people again sitting on them in the sun but it was difficult to enjoy as many street merchants were hassling everyone. We wanted to go to the Trevi Fountain and whilst walking there we went down a street that was lined with designer stores that we could only dream of shopping in but it made us laugh.

The Trevi Fountain was also smaller than you would imagine but it was really nice with so many people surrounding it, sitting in the sun. We all decided to follow the myth and throw money in over our heads and make a wish; it was funny to see that everyone that was there was doing this. We went for Italian Ice Cream which was amazing and we sat in the sun for hours enjoying our time in Rome. It was so sad to leave Rome and the sunshine behind in Italy to return to the Netherlands on Sunday evening but this is an experience I will never forget. Through talks with people, we couldn’t believe that we were in a room together in Rome with people we only met 2 months ago having such a good time together.

Professional Development

This was our last week on school placement which was quite sad as even though we were only there for 4 short weeks, I felt as if I had built a rapport with the pupils and teacher in the class. On Tuesday I taught my first ever music lesson with a song I learnt in our own music class at PABO, The Food Rap. There was a parent in watching this lesson which actually made me quite nervous but I also feel it gave me more confidence to conduct the lesson. This lesson was fantastic to carry out and the students were extremely enthusiastic as they liked to be active and sing. It started with them repeating each line after me and then they were divided into groups with each group being assigned a line of the rap. To bring in rhythm and speed which was the objective of the lesson, each group had to create an action or sound that went along with the rhythm and speed of their line. It was interesting to see their ideas being but into action, especially group 1 as they had such a unique idea for their line. After this the whole group rapped altogether doing all the actions and it worked well, even the teacher and parent tried to join in.

Wednesday was our final day together and I conducted a lesson which I called ‘Tour of London’ which also had another parent observing, however she was more active and worked along with the groups taking part in the lesson. Each table was a famous sight in London like Buckingham Palace or the London Eye and it had a suitcase with trigger cards. There were 5 groups and they all had an individual map to follow to get around the room. Whilst at each destination they had to choose 5 things they wanted to take with them, according to the time of year they had decided to visit like Union Jack, passport or camera to mention but a few. The aim of the lesson was to build confidence of pupils with their peers as they would have to argue there reasons for wanting to take certain items with them and in the end they would need to explain their reasons for their choices. This lesson worked really well and they were very enthusiastic to explain their answers or tell stories of their time in London. In the end they packed a case for me coming to the Netherlands for 4 months and their ideas were fantastic as they took into consideration I would be here between winter, spring and summer for clothing, I would have work to do so I would need a laptop and the fact that I needed to communicate so I would have a phone.

After the lesson was over, a member of the class thanked me on behalf of the class and presented me with typically Dutch flowers, Tulips which was such a nice gesture as I didn’t expect anything and it made me feel so appreciated within the class and school. I continued to observe the class as they had a group presentation on Turkey, which was a project they had been working on. 2 pupils presented a PP and one of their parents made a Turkish salad for everyone which was actually really nice as I am quite a fussy eater at times. I have learnt that parents are very involved in their child’s school life and are all very keen to come into the school to help out or do things for their child’s classmates. Watching the parents in the room it was evident there was a lot of this as the pupils would approach and carryon with the parents which I don’t see much evidence of in NI.

Before the end of the day I said thank you to everyone and gave them a card of thanks and chocolate for the whole class. Before each child left the room they shook my hand and individually said thank you for teaching them, coming in everyday and teaching them more English. The parent also thanked me and stated that she was actually shocked at how well the children responded to me and how much they were able to understand me when I spoke which is something that took time.

I have learnt form this experience to be a lot more patient, especially because I was in the minority and it was very difficult to stand at the front talking with 25 Dutch children trying to understand me. I have also learnt to control the speed at which I talk which is something I can take home with me also as I often find that during SBW I can talk very fast at times. As I study secondary education I found it difficult to drop the level of my lessons to a primary level but I think I dealt with this well and again I can take this home with me for junior classes or perhaps a future in a primary level setting. It was nice to leave on a high and I plan to return to the class in the future before I return home to NI.

week 8...blasts frm nijmegen!

Personal & Cultural

This has been a quieter week than most, with people getting sick and work beginning on assignments as deadlines are approaching fast now! It was nice to have some really nice weather, showing spring has arrived in Nijmegen!

On Wednesday we couldn’t let St Patrick’s days pass without celebration so after school practice we told everyone what St Patrick’s Day was about and that evening we went into town. I forgot to wear something green so I was the odd one out! We went to ‘The Shamrock’ bar, an Irish pub, in the city centre. It was so busy and with a drink we got free St Patrick’s/Guinness hats and tambourines to bang along with the Irish music that was being played! This was a lot of fun and everyone really enjoyed themselves. It was also interesting to learn that the English girls prefer to celebrate St Patrick’s Day over St George’s day as it has a better atmosphere even in London where they are from.

On Wednesday we had the opportunity to take part in the special forces military training. We had to go to the NEC Stadium to be taken hostage by terrorists and wait for the Special forces to rescue us. As we sat in the room waiting, suddenly terrorists burst into the room and made everyone get onto the floor and stay in silence. A few people made noises etc and the terrorits picked on them to make examples! This was funny and was like nothing I've experienced before! After about one hour of being held hostage the special forces sawed through the emergency door and came rushing into the room. We had to file out one by one with our hands on our heads! Our Muslim friend wasn't allowed to leave as they suspected him of being a terrorist! This was very funny and I never realised they used ordinary people to carry out these exercises!

A few members of the flat have gone through a phase of cooking this week including myself. Andrea, a Spanish resident wanted to cook an apple crumble that an Irish friend had taught her so I decided I would lend her a hand and bring some Irish hands to the dish. This turned out great and smells of cinnamon flowing throughout the flat. On the same day I decided to make cakes for everyone so again the oven went on and more delicious smells flowed throughout the flat, bringing curious eyes to the kitchen!

On Friday evening the flat gathered together to watch Sport Relief on BBC. It was nice to sit together and relax, watching the entertainment that had been happening all over the UK. Other countries also have programs similar to Sport Relief to raise money for charity.

Next week will see everyone teaming up in groups of 3 to challenge each other in an Erasmus ‘Come dine with me’ special! This should be interesting, tasting typical dishes from all over Europe. Also next Thursday we jet off to Rome for the weekend!

It was a close friend’s birthday back home on Saturday and I found for the first time I wanted to go home while being here. I knew it was only because I didn’t want to miss out on any fun from home but once we got together that evening and celebrated here, it reminded me why I was enjoying being here so much and that is because of the experiences I have been having with everyone and I am grateful for this experience and the people I have met.

Professional Development

Teaching Practice here has began to get very boring as I only teach one lesson per day for about 30minutes and the rest of the time I have to sit at the back of the room listening to Dutch lessons which can become very monotonous after a while. I try to walk around the room assisting where I can but this can be difficult at times. I do however try and note as many differences that I can think of either about the school, the environment, teaching strategies etc to use as a comparision to NI.

On Wednesday I was able to teach the class about St Patrick’s Day, using PP as an aid. This was very interesting even for me as I never really understood or thought about why we have St Patrick’s Day apart from the myth about the snakes! For instance I never knew he was from the North West of Ireland or that he was taken as a slave by the English. I was able to use You Tube again to show celebrations form Belfast, Dublin and New York. The class seemed to enjoy this lesson and were very enthusiastic to ask questions about Ireland and St Patrick. After I had finished teaching the lesson, the class teacher asked questions in Dutch to the pupils to find out what they had learnt and everyone was keen to retell aspects of the lesson and what they had learnt! Although I would have preferred to do this as part of the lesson, it was better for the children as they could understand what exactly was being asked rather than them trying to understand me. This lesson reminded me to speak slowly and clearly which is an aspect I can take home for the future. Although I have started to talk slower here and more clearly, often when in front of a large group, I revert back to talking normally.