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.