30/11 Maarslet (6/52)

Today is Day 1 for me in Maarslet School. I woke up at 5am to prepare myself - just in case I have missed out some important documents in my bag. Here we go!

Oh, Look, my really awesome host, Ms Sussi, prepared a lunchbox for me before I left the house! You can see, there is an apple, 2 oranges, 2 bread, 2 carrots and 2 bread! 

Haha, I decided to 'celebrate' my first day of school with a picture of myself. What I wear: Green Long Sleeves (from Uniqlo) with a set of Long John beneath. Wore a jacket over my outfit as well. As you can see, outfit for teachers in Denmark is really informal - unlike Singapore. There is no picture of me cycling under the windy weather, but let me just say that it was really bad when I tried to cycle up-slope when the wind was hitting against the direction where I was cycling. In school, I also gave a short introduction about myself to all the teachers, and I shared with them a background of myself as well as my Teaching Philosophy! 

Let me give you a short tour around Maarslet School. Oh look, here's the cozy library for students of Grade 1-5!

Here's the assembly area for students, where students can congregate during tea breaks or lunch time to talk or organize common activities between students from different classes!

Here's the playground for students of grade 1-3. According to Ms Britta, it is compulsory for students to leave their classroom and have fun in the playground. This will be helpful for students who are restless or have short attention time span. 

Here's how a classroom looks like. The walls are layered with bricks - very quaint and historic. The walls are also nicely decorated with Christmas ornaments! Really thoughtful, unique and special for these children to celebrate a festive season in their own classroom! I am sure it builds a sense of ownership in the class.

Outside the classroom, is where they put their jacket. The idea is to ensure that the classroom space is not messy and cluttered with sweaters.

Here's how their Design and Technology room looks like! It resembles the D and T room we see in the secondary rooms of Singapore!

Here's one of the Geography class I have been to! No doubt, it is a well-behaved, inquisitive and well-mannered class! Even though it is spoken in Danish, 

I went to the Canteen at 1pm, and all the food are sold out, except for snacks - which are not exactly real food. Hence, I shamelessly headed to the nearest local supermarket and bought packets of Thai Curry instant soup and Instant noodles after school! It is just 5 days here, but I am already missing Asian food so much. Here's a picture of how instant soup in Denmark looks like! 

I forgot to take a picture of dinner (again). But it's fine, I will be having the same dinner tomorrow because Ms Sussi and I could not finish the food, so I will take the picture then! The children has went over their dad's house and will not be staying at home today. Of course, I remember to take a picture of my dessert! Apple Strudel! According to Ms Sussi, Denmark grows lots of apples, and it is a problem because they have no idea what they can prepare with these apples. Hence, Ms Sussi's mother prepares bags of apple of strudel every month for Ms Sussi and her family! Technically, it is crushed apple mixed with sugar water. Yes, it is very sweet, but it is really delicious! 

That's all for my day today! Godspeed,

29/11 Maarslet (5/52)

Alright, it is Sunday today, woke up at 5am today to edit my PPI and start on my thesis. Went to the Kitchen, and prepared some Danish cereal - oh, it is interesting how cereal is prepared in Denmark (or perhaps it is done in Singapore too, but I am not aware). But what my mom usually does it she adds hot water to a bowl of cereal to cook it, and finishes off with some sugar or banana for some sweet flavouring. In Denmark, you can do this, or you could add cold milk and raisins to a bowl of cereal. The result is pretty much uncooked cereal, and it is sweet when you eat it with some raisins. Here's how it look like:

During the morning, we headed to our local flea market located nearby. There is a story behind this flea market, and it is about how an old woman started selling her own wool during Christmas in the town of Aarhus to make for a living. Slowly, the locals recognised it as a form of tradition to sell their own hand-made products every Christmas, and today, it is widely accepted as a norm to have such flea market every Christmas. As you can see, it is really crowded, and most of the stalls are run by the elderly - a really great way for them to age gracefully! I bought some cloths made of wool and also a nice purse for my friend!

Here's a drink that Ms Sussi bought for me. It is red wine, heated with almond and raisins. The extra spices are supposed to make the beverage more 'spicy' and 'flavourful'. After drinking, it certainly added comfort to such a cold weather! 

Oh look, a band also came to grace the festive occasion! No doubt, the melody was uplifting and it certainly denoted the festive mood of Christmas!

Here's a picture of me Ms Sussi and I! 

Went back home and took a nap before I work on my thesis again, but anyway here's dinner! They are leftovers from yesterday's dinner, mixed with salad! There is also corn rice too - and according to Ms Sussi, they are really healthy because it contains full of fibre! She also added some Denmark curry sauce to the meal to make it more palatable for me! 

Alright, that pretty much summarizes my day today! I shall returned back to my thesis. Tomorrow will also be the first day of school for me in Maarslet, hope everything goes well. Godspeed, 

Day 2 in Malling

Today Roosh and I checked out our area's supermarket called Super Brugsen.
It was a 20 minutes walk from our home to the supermarket.
The variety in their supermarket is alike our Market Place or Cold's Storage.
They sell all kinds of food and things and something cool is that they have
cup noodles of spaghetti bolognese and carbonara.

We will have to walk pass the Art School in order to go to the supermarket
so this is the school we will also be teaching in.

Here is the supermarket

Some photographs of our surrounding on our way home.
Horses belong to our neighbour.




Here are some of the goodies we bought

Prices are similar to Singapore's Cold's Storage price.


Us doing our winter exercising on our home's trampoline.
I think we jumped for nearly 30 minutes till we are warm
enough to walk in the cold with shorts and t shirt.
Our home dogs Barney and Freda had their own share of
fun as they dug holes in the sand pile.

 

To note:
Remember to bring your own bag if not each plastic bag costs
3dkk = 65 cents sgd.

28/11 Maarslet (4/52)

28/11 was my most tiring day in Denmark - I know it is extremely to make this claim for this is only the 3rd day here, but here's what I have did.

Ms Sussi suggested that I try cycling to Maarslet School so that I am familiarized with the area. After all, I will be cycling every day to school. But guess what... the terrain is so hilly, so it was really challenging to cycle within the woods, beside the roads and along steep elevations. Note: I do exercise regularly and it is a routine for me to cycle every weekend, and I presumed it would be easy in Denmark. But it is really challenging to cycle along slopes when it is such a cold weather at 5 degree celsius, so that's really something you have to note if you are planning to go for International Practicum in Denmark during winter - that you are comfortable cycling long and rough terrains in cold weather.

Anyway, I was introduced to the bus stops, train stations, supermarket and Maarslet School around Maarslet. The journey around took more than 2 hours, and I was panting when I was back with my host family.

In the afternoon, they brought me to Aarhus Shopping Centre. While they were shopping for Christmas gifts for their family members, I chanced upon a shop named 'Sushimania' and I bought some sushi for myself ;) 6 pieces for 30 KRs. Everything is really expensive here in Denmark, and the only thing I got myself here is a Sweater from H and M that cost 80KR.

Thereafter, we headed to the long train of shopping belt located nearby Aarhus Shopping Centre. It is similar to Orchard road in Singapore. It is especially beautiful at night with all the Christmas lightings. According to Ms Sussi, most of the shops here are affordable to most average Danish households. However, I tried to match the prices back in Singapore, and it cost as much as twice of what Singapore would charge. Yet higher prices is expected since there is a welfare system operating in most Scandinavian countries.

Ms Sussi and Klaus wanted me to feel less homesick, so they brought me to a Chinese 'Lunchbox' Restaurant. The lunchbox is sold in small (45KR, 3 scoops of food), medium (55KR, 4 scoops of food) and large (76 KR, 5 scoops of food). It is something like the mixed rice stall that we see in Singapore, just that in Denmark, it is calculated by 'scoops' instead of whether it is vegetable, rice, meat or fish. I got myself a medium box, which is more than enough for me. Oh, they do offer 'buffet' style, which cost 89 KR. However, the medium box is already more than enough for me. Haha.  

When I went back, I took a 1 hour nap, and I forgot to take a picture of dinner I had. But to summarize, it was leftover food from yesterday, and oh, they made salad! It tastes so good, just by putting oil, soya sauce, pepper, salt and garlic. I would definitely want to try this in Singapore!

That pretty much summarizes my day today, see you next time!

27/11 Maarslet (3/52)

I woke up at only about 11am today (since I had no school and only be required to report on Monday). Prepared a bowl of cereal for myself, added raisins and sugar to make it more flavourful. Decided to head out at 1pm and familiarize myself with the neighbourhood.

There were green pastures, frozen pond nearby and a coniferous forest nearby! According to Sussi, the Danish government has restricted all busy urban developments in this area to ensure that the town remains in touch with nature. That is really a good initiative, and it helps to keep the cohesiveness of the town intact. 

Returned back at 4pm, and sorted out my belongings in the room until 7pm when Sussi brought me to the local supermarket to ask what I would love to eat most. Dinner was served when I returned - again prepared by Klaus. I forgot to take a picture of my dinner, but look! There is 'supper' today in the family. The kids, Josephine and Alexander, really love all kinds of dessert! 

There are chips, sweets and some cakes with 'mousse' or more commonly referred to as 'Vanilla Cream' inside the chocolate coating! That pretty much concludes my day in the host family house! 

26/11 Maarslet (2/52)

Train broke down in between our journey from Copenhagen to Aarhus on 26/11, and here's me trying to resist exhausation as I desperately determine how many stops we are away from our destination. 😌 (and nope, we are not even halfway there). 

When I arrived my host's family house, Sussi's boyfriend prepared dinner for me, here's their effort in cooking sumptuous Asian dish to warmly welcome me! It is rice and chicken prepared with asian spices and sauces. Really delicious. Look, there are some vegetables too! 

Oh, their family owns a pet rabbit too! He is named 'Basse'. Fun facts about Basse: One of its ears used to stand and the other droop. But the rabbit is 2 years old now - and as age catches up on him, both ears droop. 

I am so tired from the long journey, and I decide to turn in early. That's all for today. 

Day 1 in Malling

Today we had meal time at:
0700 breakfast
1200 lunch
1500 tea
1830 dinner
2230 milk

Breakfast
We had the luxury of having homemade marmalade and juice freshly made from the apples and strawberries in Helle's garden.
There is also cornflakes, oats, raisins, cheese, bread, butter and garlic that is rather universal.

Lunch
Bread, ham, pig's liver (similar to cny steamboat's liver), jam, juice.

 Tea
Coffee, tea, carrot cake, chocolate cake, dark chocolates

Dinner
Homemade meatball curry pasta specially cooked by Bodil who came over.










Legend
Helle = host
Tues = Helle's husband
Bodil = Helle's husband's big sister

Roosh and I visited Efter Skolen today. Our host Helle works there. It is a boarding school that specialises in Theatre, Music and Dance. We had the opportunity to speak with the Principal, Vice Principal, teachers and students. They were very welcoming and lovely. Students have very close relationship with their teachers, p and vp. Meal times in school are with their teachers, p and vp. They have contact group of 7-11 students to 1 teacher weekly. The students love it. Students clean their own dishes after every meal and clean the school. We were blessed to tour around the school by 2 lovely students Nina and Zoe. We also have the opportunity to learn dance as we volunteered ourselves as students to be taught during our observation.


We live in a farm house that is as big as the entire land area of NIE.
The walk from our home to school with the signage Malling.
Our host says it is a 5 minutes walk but Roosh and i took nearly 30 minutes to walk. Malling School is about 45 minutes (slow) walk. You don't want to walk fast because there is no walking pathway and you have to walk where the cars drive and sometimes you walk against the direction that the car drives so slow is good and is the way of life :)

 One of the music rooms

 Places where students can hang out during their free time

 Library/ Reading room

 Kitchen for cooking/baking

Nina was also my 'dance teacher' as she taught me how to Hustle.
Students here are 9-10th graders who are passionate for the Arts.
After the 10th grade, they will go to upper secondary school. 

Spent our afternoon decorating our host's place for Christmas with her beautiful youngest daughter Heidi. 

Here are just some of the many photos.
This is a part of one of her house that stretches across the size of four 4-room hdb size flats. Roosh and i felt very loved here, we are very well taken care of.













Roosh should be updating more with the photos in her possession :)
*Funfact every friday is disney night and at 7pm all children countrywide of Denmark watch disney
(including me and roosh hehe)

With love,
Michelle

25/11 Transit at Helsinki (1/52)

This will not be a long post, but there are not as many shopping outlets or cafes in Helsinki Airport as compared to Singapore. Just a note, there are more outlets inside the Check-in area as compared to the Check-out area.

We rested at a cafe while waiting for our next flight to Copenhagen in 5 hours. Regretting not preparing any Euro currency now, as I had to shamelessly borrow 10 Euros from Roosh. But this cup of green tea is worth it as I am starting to feel cold - even as the temperature inside the airport is so much warmer than the temperature outside. 

Lesson point: In case you are travelling to Denmark, prepare euro currency whether or not you are travelling to any european countries.