Close to the finishline, and did you know this about Denmark?

Hello people!

Here I am, in my last week of my Erasmus expierence. I remember the first day here like it was yesterday. The time went so inredible fast! The last 3 weeks were crazy like all the weeks here.

The weekend of 5 december Liz and Thersa visited me and it was an amazing weekend full of parties, food and shopping. It was really nice to see them again and to talk Dutch for a couple of days. After they left I was exhausted and wanted to sleep for a couple of days but it was totally worth it!

Just when they left I had to work hard at my final project. Together with 3 other students we did a research about how we can use drama as a tool to help youth-immigrants get included in youth-clubs. For me this subject is a perfect warming-up for my final thesis next semester which I want to do in that direction. We went to my placement, a youth-club in a multicultural neighborhood, for interviews and some exercises with the kids as an experiment to see if drama is a good tool to support inclusion. The exercises didn't went exactly how we thought it would be going, but it worked and that was our main goal.

This monday was our final presentation and we finished the project with an A which is a 10 in the Netherlands. I am more than proud at my group but also at myself. This final-project represent the whole semester which means that the average grade at my diploma will be a 10. I don't think I could have done better with that ;-).

Oh, last week I was tourist in Aarhus; i've visited ARos Art Museum once again. There were some new exhibitions and I wanted to see the view from the rainbow-roof one more time. And I've also been at Den Gamle By, a small town with houses from 100 years ago. It was all dressed-up in Christmas-style which made it look really cozy!

This week is all about finishing stuff, writing evaluations, saying goodbye, packing my stuff, etc. Unfortunately I have a pretty big cold now, but I will manage that these days, I can rest when I'm home this Sunday.

Oh, and then one more thing. I found out some more things about Denmark and the Danish:

• Did you know it is forbidden to build sandcastles at the beach? According to a tourist-information book it is forbidden because you would mark your territory which is not allowed to do at the beach. 
• Did you know that it is also forbidden to take someone with you on the bike? 
• Did you know Danish are crazy, but really really crazy about Christmas? Since the first of December the country exploded in one big Christmas-country and even on latin-dance we dance on Christmas-songs now.
• And last but not least an explanation about how to cross the street by bike: when you want to go left on a crossing with trafficlights you first cross the street and wait there again for the next trafficlight to cross the street again. They won't be happy if you just take the turn in one time! 

Well, now it is time to empty my fridge and freezer: dinnertime! 

Oh, for my welcome-commité: I will arrive this Sunday at 15:05 in Amsterdam. I would like to have some kaassouflé's at my arrival! 

See you soon! 

Birthdayparties, christmas and the last weeks

Hello people!

At first I have to apologize for the lack of messages this month. I was too busy or too lazy to write about all the nice things I do here.

Let me start with my birthday. I have never celebrated my birthday in a foreign country but even now I wasn't without my family because they visited me! My parents, sister and brother-in-law Rik, 2 uncles and 2 aunts came in Aarhus at the 15th of november to check out where I live and ofcourse to celebrate my birthday. I was a really good weekend with a loooot of food and presents. They spoiled me so much with candies, wine, tequila, beer and Dutch food. I'm still eating 'pepernoten' and I even have some wine left.

At te 16th, my birthday, we went to the deerpark to give some carrots to the deers. Unfortunately, the weather was not so good the whole day with a lot of wind and rain. But the deers were happy to see us (or it was just the carrots) and the wind didn't blew us away. In the afternoon my dad and uncle went to ARos-museum and the rest of the group went to the city to shop. Although it was more window-licking because most of the stores were closed. At the end of the day we went to a restaurant together where my aunt tried to connect me with the waiter by saying I turned 21. Thanks Tante Kiek ;-)

At the and of the day we already had to say goodbye and my parents took already a lot of my stuff, included my bike, back home to the Netherlands. It was the plan to go back by car, but I go back by plane now so I can't take all my stuff with me then. It was a short weekend with my family but I really enjoyed it. It's nice to show them where I live and how Aarhus looks like.

After I said goodbye to my family I thought I could relax, but suddenly my doorbell rang and there were my classmates with a cake! I really didn't expect it and it was so nice of them!

At friday 21 november was my birthday-party for my classmates and friends. I organised the party with 2 of my Greek classmates and one Greek guy. We hired a DJ and around 80 people came to dorm 21 to have an amazing party. We danced, we laughed, we drank; a perfect birthdayparty.

The next day we cleaned everything and went to another party in the centre where we could drink for free from 22:00 to 00:00. It was a big neon-themed party and there were a lot of people. Yet, another great evening!

Last friday (28/11) I went to the centre to check out how they lit up the Christmas-lights and how Santa arrived in the city. There was a big parade with music and 3 santa's (I really thought there was just one Santa...) and at 19:00 they lit up a big Christmas-tree at a square. And after that it was shopping time! The American tradition of Black Friday is also a hit in Denmark and the stores were open till 23:00 and they all had special discounts. I didn't really shop but it was nice to experience it.

This weekend was pretty relaxing. I had to arrange some stuff for when i'm back in the Netherlands. In only 3 weeks i'm back and the 'real life' will start again. That means finding a company where I can do my research for my final thesis, look for an apartment and a job. Lot's to do! But before that I still have some time here which I'm going enjoy till the fullest. This weekend Liz and Thersa will come here and I'm sure it will be an amazing weekend!

See you soon!

Legoland, Halloween and awesome lessons

God eftermiddag!

At first I would like to say that yesterday AND today were sunny! It's pretty rare, so I had to say it ;-)

Last Saturday I went to Legoland in Billund. Because of my amazing dorm-mate I could go for free because she work tFhere. And she even offered a ride from Aarhus to Billund, how nice! Denmark is really expensive so I took her offer directly.

Legoland is actually more interesting for kids, but it was nice to have been there. Ofcourse everything is made of Lego but there are also some rollercoaster-and water-splash-things. We tried them all and in one of the water-splash-things we shared our boat with a Dutch man. I recognized him directly because he was complaining a lot. The slide was not cool enough andthe weather was terrible he said. We just sat in the ride and listened to him complaining and getting ready to get the full load of water. The boat was going down pretty fast and at the moment we 'landed' a big splash of water came all over the complaining Dutch men. I couldn't help it, but I was laughing out loud. Karma is a bitch.

 Last Friday was Halloween and ofcourse we celebrated it with the class. I was dressed up like Nicky Minaj (mom, dad, don't watch her video's please). My outfit was completed with a t-shirt with Twerk - or Treat on it, an Anaconda in my hand and a lot of towels in my pants to make my butt as big as hers. With all the others dressed up we headed downtown and found out that Halloween is not a thing they realy celebrate in Denmark. We were almost the only ones dressed up and we were feeling a little stupid. But we recieved some free drinks at a bar because of our outfits and we danced on the street so it was still a good night.

Besides sight-seeiing and partying my school has started again. Last week we had the presentations of our practical placements and from Wednesday till Friday we did all kind of excercises about body-language and movements. It was so much fun to do. I also introduced some excercises which I learned at courses I did in the Netherlands. On friday we made a kind of choreography which we had to perfrom in front of the class. We even showed the Danish party-public that night our dancing skills on the street ;-).

Next week we will work on a project called 'Shadow theatre'. We are going to work together with Danish students and probably have to perform our show, but I will tell more about that in my next blog!

Furthermore, I felt a little homesick this weekend for the first time since I am here. My grandfather is turning 90 tomorrow and the family organised a party for him today. I wish I could have been there to celebrate with them. Luckily I could talk with my family via Skype and I will see my parents in 2 weeks! :-)

Rain, rain, rain and even more rain

Hello everybody!

I thought the Netherlands was a cold and wet country, but Denmark is much worse! It is raining a lot the last few weeks and it is also pretty cold. Now I understand why they sell so much rubber-boots in the stores: you really need them! But I still rather have wet shoes than wearing those things. I just pack some extra socks when I have to leave the house.

This week was my autumn-break and I had two things to do: work on my assignments from last year and visit Odense. Well, I've worked on my assignments and finished some, but I still have a lot to do. Luckily I have 6 weeks off when I'm home so I can finish everything before I start with my final thesis. And this thursday I visited Odense with my Dutch classmate Klarissa. I talked Dutch the whole day which was pretty strange, haha!

Odense is the third-biggest city of Denmark and I really like the city. All the houses are colourful and there are a lot of parks where you can walk, relax, sport, play, etc. (when it isn't raining). We visited the museum of Hans Christian Andersen. The famous fairytail-writer was born and raised in Odense. I found out I don't even know half of the fairytails he wrote, but that he was a genius writer is obvious. But besides of writing he was also really creative and made a lot of paintings and other artworks.

In the whole city are statues of fairtytails from the famous Hans and you can walk the route by following footsteps. But unfortunately we couldn't find all the footsteps so we decided to go explore the shopping-area to expand our costumes for Halloween. After a dinner at an Italian restaurant where they switched our dishes we went back home to Aarhus by bus. I really can advise to visit this city when you go to Denmark!

Next week will be my last week at my placement at the youthclub. I am really looking forward to this week because I like the placement a lot! It is too bad I have only one week left, but I will enjoy it as much as possible.

For now I will enjoy my free sunday inside while it's raining outside (again). Farvel!

From Copenhagen to Skagen and being Fancy!

Hello my fancy-readers!

It is 2 weeks ago since my last message, so it is time for a big update! In the last two weeks I went to Copenhagen and Skagen, the most Northern point of Denmark. I also started my 3 weeks of practical placement at a youthcentre (klubbern) and last but not least: I shouted the sentence 'I'm so Fancy' a millions time. 

2 weeks ago I went to Copenhagen with my Greek friends Katerina and Maria. Maria her father and uncle were here and they had one extra place in the car, so they invited me! It takes 3 hours by car so we had to leave pretty early, but it was totally worth it. We hired some bikes for the day and went to all the big highlights of the city. I was a sort of tourguide, although it was also my first time in the city. But I am used to cycle and the Greeks aren't. So they had to focus on the bike and while they were doing that, I figured out where to go. And suprisingly, we only got lost once! Who said women can't read maps? 

Copenhagen is a beautiful city, and I really like the atmosphere there. Except at Chrisitanstown, the 'town' with no laws. They use a lot of drugs there and police is everywhere around. Furthermore, we saw the Palace, the castle, the buildings of the government, the botanical garden and, ofcourse, the Little Mermaid. I was really looking forward to see the Little Mermaid, but it is the same dissapointment as 'Manneken Pis' in Brussels. A really small statue and it is not so special as I expected. But ok, it was nice to see it! And because I was with the Greek family I have thousands of pictures from the trip (they take pictures of everything). I will post something here, but more pictures will be found at my Facebook-page. 

Yesterday I went to Skagen, the most Northern point of Denmark. It was a trip with the Studenthouse, a company that organizes all kinds of trips and activities for (international) students. We went with two busses full of students and had to leave really early in the morning. We were really lucky with the good weather because most of the day we were outside and in the nature. At first we went to Råbjerg Mile, a really big dune. It looked like one big desert and on top of the sandy-hills we had an amazing view. The dunes are changing all the time because the wind replaces the sand continuous. 

After the Danish Sahara experience we went to a bunker made in WorldWar 2. At the end of the day we visited the place where the two seas meet: the Northern Sea (Skagerrak) and Kattegat. It was an amazing day and I was like a Greek girl because I took a lot of pictures! 

Besides all the trips, I am here for my study and I just finished with my first week at practical placement. I have my placement at a youthcentre in a pretty multicultural neighborhood. The biggest task is to connect with the kids. And that is a pretty big challenge because most of the kids don't speak English or are too shy to speak it. Luckily there are some kids that can speak it pretty good and help me with the translation. I try to connect with them to just join the activities they are joining. On wednesday I was at another department of the club and I liked that place so much that I can do my next two weeks of placement there. At the first department it was more difficult for me to connect with the kids and at the other place I had a connection in 2 hours.

The children are between 10 and 15 years old and the club is a place for them to relax after school. The club don't organize acitivities for them, but they can choose themselves what they want to do and the club makes it happen. Sometimes they organize a trip to Copenhagen or some other place. And everyday they offer a lunch and dinner for the kids. It is really interesting to see how the youthclubs are working here. There is a lot of freedom and that has positive and negatives sides. The kids can do what they want and that is good, but when they misbehave the pedagogue won't punish them. They only say something about the misbehaviour and that's it. 

And now the last thing: being Fancy. There is a song on the radio with the title 'I'm so Fancy'. I had the song on my mind all the time and was singing it without noticing it. But then other people told me that I was always singing that song and were thinking about me when they hear it on the radio. And suddenly I shouted the sentence 'I'm so fancy' all the time. Now I am at the point that I'm annoying myself, ánd others. But it has to be said: I'm so fancy!

Well, that was it for now. Today is a relaxing day without any plans and tomorrow my second week of the practical placement starts. And on friday I have my autumn-break, yayy!

The crazy things of Denmark

Hello!

I am in Denmark for 5 weeks now and I have noticed a couple of things that I found interesting, funny or just really crazy and I would like to share it with you:

• Denmark is expensive. I went to Copenhagen on Saturday and to cross a bridge on the highway you have to pay 35 euro. And when you pass it again, you have to pay it again. You would think it is a really special bridge made of gold, but nothing of that was true. It was just a regular bridge that connect two islands. But also just daily groceries are way more expensive compared to the Netherlands. 
• At some nursery's they let the baby's sleep outside in their prams. Maybe that is not really strange but wait: some mothers just let their pram outside of the store with the baby in it! They think it is safe enough to let their child outside. My dormmate told me that once there was a Danish woman in New York where she let the pram with her baby in it outside and she recieved a big ticket from the police for doing that. Here in Denmark it seems normal, but I don't think you can do it in another country.
• Denmark is a good country for cycling. There are a lot of people using their bikes everyday, just like in the Netherlands. But they really see that as a sport! I like to just cycle relaxed to my school or to the store, but the Danish go so fast like they are joining the Tour de France. And they all have a sportive bike with millions of gears. My bike has only 3 gears and flowers on the handlebar and a big pink bell. Nothing sportive about that.
• And then the fashion: Scandinavian style is minimalistic. But it is also really boring. They wear only black, white and grey and they always wear sneakers. Nobody is wearing heels. Even with a fancy dress or skirt they wear their sneakers. The sneakers can be in any colour, it is probably the only colorful thing in their wardrobe. 
• The neighborhood where I live is the ghetto of Aarhus and the most poorest in the country. When I tell someone (from Denmark) that I live in Brabrand they feel sorry for me. It might be a really multicultural neighborhood, but I like it in a certain way. It sucks that it is far from the citycentre (25 mins by bike), but for now I think it is ok. For the Dutch people: you can compare it with the Bijlmer in Amsterdam. You hear a lot of bad things about it in the news, but to live there is not so bad as they say. 

Well, enough shared for today. Later this week I will write a post about my visit to Copenhagen last Saturday! 

I'm back!

Hello people!

It is a couple of weeks ago since I wrote my last message. There happened some things and I had a lot on my mind because of that. But I am back now!

The last time I wrote, I just finished my first week and school was just started. Now I am already in my 4th week of the minor. I really like the minor, although it is a lot focused on kids. But I am learning a lot new methods and the lessons and assignments are really interesting. Yesterday we visited a primary-school in a rich area of Aarhus. It was a really big school (900 children!) and the whole area was amazing. There is place enough for the kids to play and they have a lot of freedom. The school-system looks a lot like the Dutch system, but there are also some big differences. For example, when a child don't want to join a game or a lesson, they don't have to. The teachers don't force them. Also, in the school we visited, only 5% were immigrants. But in the neighborhood were I live, it is 5% Danish children. So there is a big difference between several schools!

It was really interesting to see how the pedagogues and teachers work with the children. The children are really free and I expected a lot of annoying kids because of the freedom, but they were so brave and listening really well. The freedom gives them space to develop in several ways and gives them positive energy.

Yesterday-evening we had a prémiere of our own movies. In the first week we got an assignment to make a short movie about yourself and an important thing in your life you would like to share with your classmates. It was really nice to see all the movies (digitails) from eachother. It was a nice way to get to know eachother in a different way.

Today I went to a forest where you can walk around between deers. It was a beautiful forest next to the sea and there were a lot of deers. In the beginning they were a little scared, but we sat down for a while and the deers were coming to join us :-).

Furthermore there were some parties, some funny days at school, some eating, some drinking and a little sight-seeing in the last couple of weeks. I will post some photo's below!