Another week in the books here in Denmark. I am learning so much in all of my classes, especially about the school systems here (which was a huge goal of mine). I already know techniques that I can bring back to the states and incorporate into my future classroom.
One amazing aspect of the DIS program is that no one has “classes” on Wednesdays. These days are set aside for what we call “field days”. They are opportunities for all of my classes to give the students experiences in the field, regardless of the subject or content area. For example, this week, my Danish language and culture class took a trip to a local high school. Besides feeling completely out of place in my flannel shirt, jeans, and birks, it was my favorite classroom experience thus far. The students there have the age range of 16-19, and I swear they all look like they just stepped out of a Calvin Kline magazine photo shoot. Our time there was spent asking and answering questions about ourselves, our hobbies, our schooling, and our home country. The students (who speak flawless English) were genuinely interested if our cafeterias looked like the ones in Mean Girls, and if college was just like American Pie. It was a great experience, and a fun way to get to know the opinions of youth in the country.
On Friday, my host father Michael celebrated his birthday. We had a small party for him, where I was able to meet my host father’s parents and grandmother, as well as my host mother’s parents. None of them speak English well, so I spent most of the night listening to rapid Danish, without a clue of what they were saying (my host mom did act as a translator at some points). My favorite parts of the birthday were the cake, the decorations, and “cheers”. The cake was a traditional Danish cake, store bought layers of cake with filling and fruit between each layer, topped with a glaze and whipped cream. The decorations consist of Danish flags. Like a lot of flags. Basically picture a super ‘Murican, Fourth of July party, with everything as red, white, and blue, with American flags everywhere. Now change those flags to Denmark flags and that’s a birthday celebration. My host mom keeps telling me that she is going to decorate the apartment with American flags for my birthday, and I have politely told her “no thanks” several times. The best part of the night was the “cheers”, or “skål” in Danish. It’s not like in America, where you toast in the beginning and it’s done. Nope, this continues throughout the meal, creating a game of calling out people for drinking their wine, then forcing everyone to stop eating and take a drink. As the newcomer, every time I picked up my wine, I was told “skål”, forcing me to wait for everyone to get their glass and say “cheers” for the table. It was a very fun, and new, birthday celebration experience.
I have been in China for four days now, and it already seems like it has been weeks. After 19 hours spent in the air and more than 20 hours in airports, I finally arrived to Kunming where I will be studying for the semester. I was a bit embarrassed at first showing up with two suitcases and a giant erg wrapped in green bubble wrap, but already I feel happily welcomed.
There are 9 other students doing the program with me, and I am the only one from Bucknell. There is however, another rower in the program and we have already decided to be workout buddies.
This weekend we traveled as a group to a smaller nearby city, Tonghai, for orientation where I visited Confucius, Daoist, and Buddhist temples dating back a thousand years ago.
Tomorrow is the first day of classes and I have a rigorous semester ahead of me especially with the challenges of the language, but I am looking forward to every moment of it. I am excited to share with you all the events to come!
Okay, I have a confession– I have already been to Scotland. I travelled here in 2014 and loved it so much I just had to go back. I’m here again in 2016 and it has been an interesting change in perspective from coming here as a tourist and staying for only two weeks to coming as a student who will be here for a whole semester. For one thing, its day 1 of living in an apartment (with 6 other people– only 1 of whom has moved in!) and adjusting to cooking all my meals for myself.
I’ve been here for about five days. The first couple days were spent doing orientation with all the other Arcadia programs in Scotland. There was one other Bucknell student there, but she’s studying at the University of Glasgow. The very first day I was here I met a couple other Arcadia students at the airport and together we explored Edinburgh. Edinburgh is a relatively small city with a population of ~500,000 people. It’s fairly easy to cover most of the well-known sites in just a day; so, after just a couple hours we were able to see some of the beautiful places Edinburgh has to offer in the heart of the city where the Old Town and the New Town meet. We went to St. Giles cathedral on the Royal Mile (exterior above, interior below) which, in addition to beautiful stained glass and arched marble ceilings typical of cathedrals, has another hidden gem known as the Thistle Chapel, a gorgeous wood-paneled room that pays homage to all sorts of cultural and religious Scottish icons.
We were able to see the view from the top of Calton Hill, which hosts Edinburgh’s own mini Parthenon and observatory…
…And also get a great view from the top of the Walter Scott monument, dedicated to one of Scotland’s most famous authors. You can see the view we had (and the Edinburgh Castle!) in the picture at the top of this post!
On my second day, we took the time to visit a few local pubs, which, if you are ever in Edinburgh (or any other British city for that matter), I highly suggest doing. They provide a unique cross-section of British life, allowing you to interact closely with local people and fellow travelers alike all while providing a comfortable environment to relax in. Everyone wants to Haggis when they come to Scotland; instead, I suggest trying a meat pie from a pub! It’s a personal favourite of mine, but if you ever are wondering what you should try, ask the bartender. Chances are they will be more than happy to provide suggestions.
Edinburgh is a historic city– practically every building in its center has a unique story behind it’s doors. It’s essentially split into two parts– the Old Town and the New Town. The Old Town, the side with the University of Edinburgh where I’ll be studying, is best known for the iconic Edinburgh Castle, the University, and Holyrood Palace. It is centered around the Royal Mile which runs from the foot of the palace up to the Castle.
The New Town is approximately as old as the United States (so I guess “new” is all relative, isn’t it? Too us Americans its pretty darn old!) and features the Scott Monument, Calton Hill, and Princes Street, which is where most of the main commerce in the city is.
The split is defined by the long-drained valley of Nor Loch where the Waverly Train Station is now built.
We left Edinburgh for a couple days to visit Stirling and stay with a host family. I was hosted by a very kind woman named Irene, her husband James, and their spaniel Holly.
Stirling is filled with its own illustrious history, too. Despite the cozy feel of the city streets, reminders of the part the city played in Scottish history are everywhere.
From the top of the William Wallace monument, you can see all of Stirling and even all the way to Edinburgh. Plaques at the top point out where the Battle of Stirling Bridge took place 700 years ago. It is remembered for the victory of the outnumbered Scottish army against the English. They won due to the military genius of William Wallace, who you probably know best as Mel Gibson from the movie Braveheart, which, despite being a rousing film, is incredibly historically inaccurate. For one thing, during the 13th century neither the iconic blue face paint (which was used largely by the Picts during the time of the Romans) nor kilts (which were first seen in the 17th century) were worn. For another, Wallace’s lover Isabelle of France wouldn’t have ever met Wallace; at the time the film takes place she was four years old! Finally, as I mentioned, the battle is best known as the Battle of Stirling Bridge… However, if you watch the film you may notice the lack of, well, a bridge, despite it being an integral part of how the Scots defeated the English.
Nonetheless, battlefield, bridge, and castle (Stirling Castle, that is) can all be seen in this picture!
The River Forth; the far bend is where the Battle for Stirling Bridge took place
We were also able to see the Stirling Castle, which has a remarkable view of the hills and fields surrounding Stirling. Its a fantastic piece of history and it’s incredible to walk around and take it in and realize that where you’re standing very well could have been the same place a king or queen walked hundreds of years before. Absolutely one of my favourite Scottish castles!
The Lady’s walk on the outer walls of the castleThe outside of the King & Queen’s chambersInside the hall where great feasts would be held; the night we were there the hall hosted a military ballA tapestry from the queen’s chambers
This Monday will be the start of my classes in preparation for my internship at the Scottish parliament! It promises to be an exciting time, what with the after effects of Brexit and the possibility of another referendum for independence! I can’t wait to start learning about Scotland and it’s politics and history.
Follow me on Instagram at winterk63 ! I usually update with pictures once or twice a day.
These days are set aside for what we call “field days”. They are opportunities for all of my classes to give the students experiences in the field, regardless of the subject or content area. For example, this week, my Danish language and culture class took a trip to a local high school. Besides feeling completely out of place in my flannel shirt, jeans, and birks, it was my favorite classroom experience thus far. The students there have the age range of 16-19, and I swear they all look like they just stepped out of a Calvin Kline magazine photo shoot. Our time there was spent asking and answering questions about ourselves, our hobbies, our schooling, and our home country. The students (who speak flawless English) were genuinely interested if our cafeterias looked like the ones in Mean Girls, and if college was just like American Pie. It was a great experience, and a fun way to get to know the opinions of youth in the country.
On Friday, my host father Michael celebrated his birthday. We had a small party for him, where I was able to meet my host father’s parents and grandmother, as well as my host mother’s parents. None of them speak English well, so I spent most of the night listening to rapid Danish, without a clue of what they were saying (my host mom did act as a translator at some points). My favorite parts of the birthday were the cake, the decorations, and “cheers”. The cake was a traditional Danish cake, store bought layers of cake with filling and fruit between each layer, topped with a glaze and whipped cream. The decorations consist of Danish flags. Like a lot of flags. Basically picture a super ‘Murican, Fourth of July party, with everything as red, white, and blue, with American flags everywhere. Now change those flags to Denmark flags and that’s a birthday celebration. My host mom keeps telling me that she is going to decorate the apartment with American flags for my birthday, and I have politely told her “no thanks” several times. The best part of the night was the “cheers”, or “skål” in Danish. It’s not like in America, where you toast in the beginning and it’s done. Nope, this continues throughout the meal, creating a game of calling out people for drinking their wine, then forcing everyone to stop eating and take a drink. As the newcomer, every time I picked up my wine, I was told “skål”, forcing me to wait for everyone to get their glass and say “cheers” for the table. It was a very fun, and new, birthday celebration experience.
