the end of an amazing semester

The last weeks in Denmark seemed to fly. Time passed so fast, that I have not had time to realize that this incredible semester would be over soon.

GOING OUT

08.06.2013
Our last time in Prinsen was great. We celebrated Maria´s Bachelor and had so much fun. Some of us followed misterious limes and others created new songs, "ein Reis im Kornfeld". :)

11.06.2013
After we had passed all of our exams we had to celebrate it at the beach with some sommerspys :) Nothing better than sitting at the ocean and enjoying time with some friends.

13.06.2013
Of course we also played BINGO for one last time. Unfortunately I never won BINGO in this whole semester. But it was much fun although especially because we were eating an awsome burger before.

23.06.2013
For the last time of going out we decided to do something special. Two friends and I went to a city directly at the ocean. There was a big fire at the beach and so many people who watched this event. A number of students were there and though their final papers in the fire. Everyone was celebrating the end of the semester and had a very good time. It was like in a movie, like I always imagined a great party at the ocean.

UNIVERSITY

14.06.2013
The University organized a goodbye dinner for all of us. They cooked for us and we just had to come, eat and enjoy. Because some of us were leaving the next day, it was already a sad atmosphere and almost all of us had to cry while saying goodbye.
After this hard goodbye, my friends and I went to the harbour and took the same pictures like in the beginning of this semester but without snow and jackets. :)

21.06.2013
On friday in the second last week there was a big graduation day in the university. All students, who graduated and passed their bachelor exams got their diploma. Also we, the international students were invited and got our diploma for this semester. There was a dinner and a party after the ceremony. It was all for free for us students. :)

COPENHAGEN

15.06.2013
We thought that staying in a foreign coutry for nearly five months and not going out in the capital city is not possible. So we decided to go to Copenhagen on a saturday afternoon for doing a shopping tour and going out. Unfortunately it started to rain when we finished the shopping, so we sat down on some stairs with a roof and waited for the rain to stop. After about two hours we went to McDonalds, sat there and waited for going out. Finally we went out and actually found some acceptable pups. :) We took the last train home and had a big dinner from McDonnalds there.

22.06.2013
On the last saturday we spent in Denmark, we decided to go to Copenhagen again and visit the famous amusement park "TIVOLI". It was not so cheap to get in because we took a multiride-ticket, but in the end it was worth it. With this ticket we were allowed to ride every attraction we wanted. I managed to overcome my fear of height and rode the biggest carussell I have ever seen. It was awesome and I was so scared!!
All of us were glad that we went there, because if we did not, we would have missed a great adventure.

TRAVELLING

17.06.-20.06.2013
In the second last week we travelled one last time.
First we drove to Skagen with the train. The journey last for about eight hours and we did not have a comfortable seat in the train. We were glad as we reached the campside and found our cottage. :) It was small but comfortable enough for us four.
As fast as we could we went to the beach. It was wonderful and we laid down in the sand. We ate about 100 "Pizzaschnecken" this day.
In the evening we cooked some soups in the citchen of the campside.

The second day we borrowed two Tandems and went to the top of Denmark. It was awesome to see the two oceans colliding. We saw the Noth Sea to the left and the Baltic Sea to the right. All of us were so brave and went into the ocean. Besides us there were pensioners wearing long trousers and jackets and we were just wearing our bikinis and swimming in the ocean.
In the end of the day we managed to ride the Tandems very well. We went to the city and enjoyed the sunset with some icecream.

On the third day in Skagen the weather was not that nice, so we were just sitting in our cottage and playing Ligretto. We went for a walk in the evening to see the ocean once again. :)

On the fourth day we went to Göteborg via ferry. In the beginning the weather did not seem to be nice that day but suddenly it changed and there was just the sun in the sky. We did some sightseeing, were eating and lying in the sun in a wonderful park. Moreover we went to the HardRockCafe and I bought some T-shirts. It was great. I really like this city.
After this great trip we nearly missed the train back to Copenhagen. We were running so fast and managed to be at the trainstation in time.

VISITS FROM MY SISTER

26.06.-29.06.2013
In the last week of this semester my sister came to visit me once again. She wanted to see the ocean in summer as well and not just frozzen.
We went to the beach, to the harbour and we were eating a delicious burger. :) The bed was not that comfortable but it was enough for these three nights. (i tried my best for her! ;P) My lovely roommate prepared some cookies for me and my sister.
The day before we left Denmark we played Ligretto for one last time and then we went to bed very early because we had to get up at 3:30 o´clock in the morning.

COMING HOME

29.06.2013
I was so excited to come home again. After being away for such a long time, I was looking forward to see my boyfriend, my family and my friends again. :)
We took the first train at 5:00 o´clock in the morning and drove to the airport. Our flight was delayed and so we landed in Vienna half an hour later than expected. My sister took the airplane one hour later.
Once we arrived in Vienna, I was so excited. I nearly could not wait to get my luggage. After waiting for some minutes, I took all my stuff and ran out into the arrivals hall. There I saw my boyfriend, mother, father and my brother. I just ran to them and hug them. I was so happy! It was the best moment for a long time.
We were waiting for my sister and then we drove to an italian restaurant.
In the afternoon, as we  were driving home I fell asleep in the car and did not expect anything to happen. I went down to the cellar and there was everybody!! They organized a surprise-party for me! It was awesome. :D

Thanks to everybody for making this semester possible and as unforgettable as it was!!

sunset

On the first days of June the weather was great as well. I enjoyed it so much and sometimes my friends and I went for a walk in the evening and were watching the sunset at the harbour. 

 

 

 

 

 ♥ We had such an amazing view!! ♥

 

swimming in the sea

In the end of May the weather was fine in Vordingborg and so we were lying in the sun for nearly two whole days. All of us were enormously sunburned but we did not realise until it started to hurt.

 

 

We enjoyed the great weather and were lying at the beach as well. Because it was so hot, we decided to jump into the sea.

 

Finally we swam in the sea in Denmark!

 

Exploring Scandinavia

“The journey not the arrival matters.” – T. S. Eliot

 

 

After we have already been to some cities in Sweden, Norway and Denmark my friends and I thought of going to the capital cities of Sweden and Finland as well. We decided to fly to Stockholm and go on with the ferry to Helsinki.

Our trip started on Monday the 27^th of May. We flew to Stockholm and there we did not see that much sights on that day but we were having lunch at T.G.I Friday´s and it was awesome. The weather was great and we had an amazing view to a little park. The rest of the day we were just walking through Stockholm to somehow get an overview. We had much fun with taking pictures and entering areas that did not look like the places we wanted to reach. ;)

In the afternoon we finally got to the ferry. It was gigantic and we were impressed. On board, there was a promenade with many shops, bars, restaurants and so on. We had a nice time on the ferry and enjoyed our travelling with some cocktails.

The next day we woke up in Helsinki. Our day started with great weather and a wonderful market at the harbour. There was more than enough food, souvenirs, cloths etc. After a little shopping at the market, we started our walk through the city. We saw so many beautiful places and enjoyed our stay there. Especially, sitting at the sea and eating an ice-cream was great.

 

 

 

 

After this impressing day and a little hurry in the end, we reached the ferry again and travelled back to Stockholm. We were enjoying the fine weather on deck, drunk some “Radler” and played “Ligretto”. :)

Wednesday in Stockholm was kind of an adventure because nothing happened like we expected. The day started very good with a great breakfast at the ferry but then we could not by a ticket for the hop-on hop-off bus because the machine was broken. After some waiting time we nearly missed the next bus because we were photographing some guards of the castle and Theresa had being shouted at. Afterwards we had to pay twice for our tickets because the machine had a failure. After some time it started to rain and did not stop anymore. We wanted to see the city hall, but it was closed and we couldn´t go into the famous “Icebar” neither, because there was a wedding going on.

So all together we had bad luck nearly the whole day but we made the best out of it. We had much fun with our umbrellas, were eating at McDonalds, driving with the hop-on hop-off bus through the whole city and saw many sights. Now in the end we can already laugh about everything that happened.
       
--> Who travels has a lot to tell! :)

In the evening we went to the airport by bus and waited for our flight back to Copenhagen. After an exhausting and unforgettable trip we finally reached our homes late in the night.

After this trip, I have already seen all four Scandinavian countries. Everybody was so friendly and helpful and tried to make our stays as comfortable as possible. I think the mentality of Scandinavians and Austrians is completely different. In Norway, Denmark and Finland it seems as if people are enjoying their lives much more than Austrians do. Everything is so decelerated here.

Stockholm was different. It conformed more to Vienna, because people here seemed kind of stressed like in Austria. Everything was so fast and hectic. E.g. everybody went across the street without waiting for the traffic lights to get green and several people were shouting at us for no reason.
So I felt more comfortable in Helsinki that in Stockholm, because it was smaller and more compact so that it was easy to get an overview of the city and it seemed as if the people had a more positive attitude to life.

All in all, I enjoyed our trip and had a lot of fun with the girls! :)

 

Educational Studies I

"The Class"

Today we watched the movie “The Class” for the course Educational Studies. I think it can be related to the topics culture and intercultural classroom, which we already worked on in class. The main character is a teacher of a multicultural classroom, who has to deal with many different kinds of problems regarding his pupils.

In the beginning it seems, as if the teacher is kind of racist himself. At least the pupils feel like this, because he always just mentions popular “white” persons and never “black” celebrities. I have the feeling, as if the students feel kind of attacked in their cultures and their appearance. As a counteraction one of the students asks the teacher if he is gay and it seems as if he tries to embarrass him in front of the class.
As a teacher of an intercultural classroom it is always important to get the student´s trust to be able to do a meaningful teaching and to make the students learn something. It is so important not being the one who students are afraid of, or who they are teasing. There should be a respectful atmosphere between the teacher and the pupils.
In the movie this actually is not the case. The students are after each other and trying everything for provocation.

Because of the good attitude of the teacher, the students actually improved in this year. He was able to open their minds for themselves and each other. They were talking about their lives and they are truly happy about their end products of their self-portraits in the end of the movie. Namely the teacher printed them out and bound them in a respectable way.

I think that the teacher should have tried more to get the respect of the students, because it would have eased the lessons in a significant way. Also the other teachers would have profited if the class was more respectful.

To my opinion it is a very realistic movie, which shows exactly the situation in a multicultural classroom, where not just students who are rich and who had the chance to grow up in a good society go to school, but also poor and desperate ones. As a teacher you should clearly think about what these pupils need and how you could impress them to get their trust and respect. You should try to get as much information about their surrounding that you can be an concerned and understanding teacher.

While watching this movie I used observation to get information about the situation in that class. I just wrote down facts I could see and did not interpret anything. Now, as I am writing this Blog Entry I am trying to interpret the “Data” and to relate it with our discussed topics.

Hopefully I can put this knowledge about intercultural classrooms into practice in my own teaching-career.