The unique thing about our homestay experience is that it is also an exchange opportunity. I feel that the education system in a particular country is very telling in the sense that it shows you what the society values and what the social dynamic between individuals is like. On Wednesday we were given time to work on our healthcare project with our group for the first period of the day. Even though English is a very common language that most of the population understands in Denmark, there definitely will be a language barrier that prevents long and titillating conversations and this was definitely a case where that occurred. Though it was harder to communicate the differences in our respective healthcare systems due to that, all members of our group developed an understanding of our healthcare systems. After a 20 minute break where most people ate parts of their lunch, we joined our homestay students to their class, English. Luckily, the entire class was conducted in English and was much more enjoyable than the music class. The particular topic we studied was urban legends. We learned though discussion, reading and recounting short stories to partners, watching clips of movies, and doing a few short questions from a workbook. The diversity of teaching methods used in just one class (1hr and 30mins long each with a 5min break in the middle) was very impressive, and was definitely a factor that made the class so interesting. As well, instead of only focusing on English, we were encouraged to explore other topics that had to do with what we were learning about, such and filmography and social. I also found the class structure to be pretty different from Canada. Teachers were not particularly strict or controlling of a student’s learning, instead choosing to leave the responsibility of their education in their own hands. Students are not punished for using their phones in class, but instead will see their marks suffer if their performance drops. Most of us Canadian students were shocked that this was the case. After lunch, we bused up to Aalborg and spent two hours sight-seeing downtown. We were given a map with spots we should look at, and were given the freedom to do so on our own accord. We teamed up with Danish students, and even they were surprised about how much history was behind each location we visited! One of the girls I toured with lives in the area and walks by some of the sights every day, and was still shocked.
Denmark is one of the world’s oldest countries, so it makes sense that they would have many buildings that date to as far as the 1200s, but the fact that they stand in their original locations preserved in fine condition is a testament to the Danes’ continuation of their culture. The fact that their history is so valued and rich is something that makes me incredibly happy. This is especially because Canada’s history is filled with centuries of incredible aboriginal and minority contributions that are barely recognized. It’s not a completely fair comparison to make since Denmark mostly still retains the descendants of their indigenous peoples, but nevertheless, it is one of many things I think Canada could take a hint from through Denmark. We later went bowling at a local alley and then to the Aalborg Zoo. There were quite a few species of intriguing animals, but I felt as though the enclosures were not was roomy or well-kept as Calgary. They also had much more exotic animals than us (around 7 giraffes), which I thought was strange. It was an interesting experience and definitely a lot of fun since we were able to go with not many others around (a Danish student’s mom got us in after hours). There was also a goat petting zoo and we all had the chance to hold a snake, iguana, and a beetle.
To add on to the day of intense activities, my homestay host who horse rides was able to gain permission from a friend to take me for a ride on one of her ponies. I’m infinitely grateful to her for doing this (and for course for hosting me!). What better way to spend a night than to ride horses in the Danish sunset, watching the skies of shades of pastel whilst windmills turned and lush green fields swayed?
Thursday went similarly. We finished up our group projects and I attended an a English class once again, but with other Danish students in the Canadian equivalent of grade 11 (my host is in grade 10). The students had expressed interesting in meeting Canadians and wanted to ask us some questions. Their curiosity about our lives and society, even though most of them were not part of the homestay, was much appreciated. We watched the movie This Is England, a film about the Faulklands War and the skinheads that emerged from London during that time. It turned out to be an interesting experience since the film was by no way a PG rated film and contained mature subject matter and language. I remember thinking about how a film like this would definitely not be shown in a CBE school, which brings me to my next point. The Danish are much less sheltered to themes like that in their education system. To learn about the ugly parts of history through sources that may be considered inappropriate by us is a norm for them. I think that this also has to do with the independence of the student and how they are treated like adults in the school environment. I would love to go on about the school system, but the differences are so numerous that this blog post can’t possibly contain my thoughts about it.
In the afternoon, we participated in a gym class where the student population was divided between sports like dodgeball, volleyball, and soccer. I chose volleyball, and two Danish students decided to join in despite their not knowing of how the game worked and it ended up being lots of fun.
