last day@ Sct. Severin Skole

Når tiden går baglæns

Vil jeg gør’ det hele igen

= When time goes backward

I will do it all again... 

2 nationalities in one...

On Friday, it was my last day at Sct. Severin.

I had my last lesson in the 2nd period. It was an English lesson in 7B.

I thought it was time that they learnt something more about Belgium.

I made a quiz about Belgium (which was really easy thanks to the smart board software). They scored really well! Then it was time for some Dutch. I had 2 sets of cards. Yellow and red ones. The yellow ones were English words and phrases and the red ones were the Dutch ones.

I gave everyone a yellow one and they had to try to match it with a red one. I didn't expect it, but it went quite well. When everyone had 2 cards, I let them read the English word/phrase and I translated. They thought it was quite funny.

The last thing I wanted to teach these pupils was a Belgian dance. So I let them watch "De kabouterdans" and everyone danced along. I also have a group photo of this class because I taught them so many times.

At the end of the lesson, Carsten suddenly said that they had something for me. They had made a small book and everyone had written something in it. (Now I discovered where the paper was from, I found yesterday). It was so nice of them. I also gave them a box of Belgian chocolate and they were very happy with it.

7B

After the break I went to the 8th graders to let them write their names on my flag because I didn't have the chance to do it yesterday.

When it was time to go to my last lesson, it started to be a bit tough. When I arrived in the hallway, 4 or 5 pupils came running to me to hug me. That was so nice, but I wasn't allowed in the classroom yet. After some minutes I was and we started with the presentation of the family again.

I did with the 5th graders the same activities as with the 7th graders. First a quiz about Belgium. The result: they need a lot of practice but I think they already learnt quite a lot from this. Then I taught them some Dutch, the same way as I did with the 7th graders. "Ik hou van jou" seems to be quite easy but don't let them say ' bedankt' because that's just hilarious. 5A thought that " Gelukkige verjaardag" was way too weird ;). We also did the plopdans and they enjoyed it so much. When the lesson was over they kept playing it.

So the end of the lesson... I got a very nice poster where all the pupils had written something down. I also got a present from Karin: a nice postcard and 2 shot glasses to drink the Danish schnapps. :) Some of the pupils kept hugging me and it was really touching when some of them said: please don't go. It was so hard to hide my tears and even Karin and some pupils were crying along. But still, it was time to say goodbye.

5A

When I came in the teacher's lounge, I could see a lot of cakes and pie. I remembered that Rikke once promised me a table with 7 different cakes (typical Danish tradition) and she quite managed. I also had some waffles and speculaas for the teachers. First we all ate something and it was very nice. Then, the adjunct-principal made a speech. The principal himself wasn't in school today.

The speech was very nice. They wanted to thank me for all the things I had done for the school. I had made a large contribution to the school but also to the pupils. It was quite touching and again tears were there. Then it was my time. I started off quite well, that I wanted to say something as well, if I managed because it was all so emotional. I was crying all the time but I still knew I had to finish my speech. I thanked the school and all the teachers for being so nice, friendly and caring. I also thanked some of the teachers, especially the once who had taken me in their classes but also Lasse and Rikke. I also got a present from the school: it's a very cool thermos bottle which has the logo and name of the city on the top.

When the break was over, I got a hug from so many teachers saying they would miss me and that it has been a pleasure meeting me and so on. I will really miss it here.

After cleaning up, Rikke asked me if I was ready to go home. I said no but I knew I had no choice. We went to do some shopping and then we went home. I was a bit nervous because my parents arrived today. It was nice to see them back but it was also so hard to say goodbye to the family I lived with for 3 months. Michael was the first to leave because he went on a scout’s weekend. Then I had to say goodbye to the small children. They kept saying: Vi ses i morgen (See you tomorrow) and it was so incredibly hard. Klaus had to leave for a meeting.

But the hardest was saying goodbye to Rikke. She was crying just like me saying my bed and room will always be there for me. I am always welcome. It was so hard but it was time to come home.

I learnt so much these last couple of months. I learnt things about my teaching, who I am as I teacher but I also learnt some things about myself. Difference doesn't matter (it doesn’t matter here what colour your hair is) and most important: the person matters. Pupils are seen here as persons and the individual guidance here is amazing.

I want to thank everyone who believed in me during these 3 months and also the ones who encouraged me to this chance. Time flies when you're having fun but I know that this is not the end. I learnt so much from this experience and I have so many good memories.

One of the teachers told me: you have 2 homes: one where your heart is and one where your bed is. True and false. I've got a bed in Belgium and Denmark and both places will have a place in my heart forever.

I can go home and say that I've visit the 4 biggest cities in Denmark, I can speak Danish ( not really fluent but still..), I made friends all over the world, but the most important thing : I can say that I grew. I have grown in my teaching, being me, being confident, having patience, being independent, ....

This is my last blog entry and it feels so strange. I will miss it in one way but I will miss Haderslev and its people the most! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I loved telling you about my experiences here. This is something no one can ever take from me.

Memories are forever!