It's intercultural time!

One year before, i was attending a course that was relevant with intercultural meetings in the kinder garden, between children of different culture. Within the frameworks of this subject, all the students decided to organize a public celebration, where children could be able to participate in different workshops, and interprate with children of different culture. What i mean is that apart from greek children we had invited Roma families with their children, that are helped from social workers to intervene, and we also had black kids. There were 4 workshops:

• of instruments~where kids were making their instruments with simple materials
• of fairy tales~where kids could listen stories and draw the heroes
• of drawing
  
• of playing in a ground game

It was really interesting for the students to notice how children of different culture and lifestyle could interact in the name of game..And equally important was for us, to find out that intercultural competences are needed for such cultural meetings , and i don't mean only the knowledge of the different culture such as that of Roma, but also the Receptiveness, the Tolerance, the Respect for diversity, the Understanding and flexibility.

Having taken part in this intercultural meeting, i had the chance to learn ways to cope up with intercultural situtations, without taking in consideration the social group, the culture and the life standards, or even the language of each kid. The body language is an international one, so now for me it is easier , to help for example a child of different country to feel good in the classroom.

Through this event i experienced the concrete dimension of stereotypes in Greece. It was pretty difficult to persuade both kids and parents that for example, the Roma kids are kids as well...It was really socking hearing from a child saying "I don't want to sit close to him, because he is Roma, so he is dirty", and furthermore it was really dissapointing knowing that these are parents' perceptions.

One crucial and ambivalent issue that derives from such cases is "Should we create different schools for different culture kids, so to avoid such examples of racism, or this change the same, provides the racism?" On the one side, we protect "different" kids from racism, and give them time and space to learn, but on the other side, we label these children automatically..It is without doubt a crucial issue that needs cautious treatment!

Visiting Instituitions

In 7th of Septebmer, in groups, we visited some Instituitions. My group had to visit a kinder garden for children with special needs and an after school care facility..

• Specialbørnehaven Wagnersvej: children with special needs

The target group are children with special needs. Most of the children have autism or/and syndrome of down. The children are between 2 years old and 6 years old, if needed extended till 9 years old. The kids live in and around Copenhagen.

The main objectives are:

· Learning the kids to live with their disability

· training communication

· and relief the parents from stress and pressure

• SFO Slottet Skole fritidsordning, After school care facility “The Castle”

The target group is “normal” children from 5 to 10 years old from upper middle class and with high income, highly educated parents.

Main objectives :

· Offering a safe place for kids to stay

· Developing social skills and more

· Given from the government

• Focus on the healthy food

• Focus on the sports and activities

During the presentation of our visit we had to compare these Institutions with those of our countries..

Danish History by Jb Andersen & Intercultural competences

6-09-2010
Part 1: Today Mr Andersen was with us, to tell us the danish story.. Starting from the stoneage, he "reached" 2010, by dividing the danish history in periods..the iron age, the Vikings, the Golden age, the thirties, the Liberation, the ninties etc..Quite interesting "watching" what was happening in an other country, when something else was happening in your own country..


Part 2: Intercultural competences ~ the understanding of situantions, realizing that cultural differences are influencing the situation, to stand back and analyze how to react the situation
By Elsebeth Plum

2 kind of knowledges:
~general knowledge about cultural meetings and intercultural communication
~specific knowledge about present cultures


Etno-centric perspective ~ Judging other cultures by the standards of your own defining the others in how they do not look like you.

Cultural-relativist perspective ~ Recognizes all cultures as equally good
By Thomas Hylland Erikson

Holde-days

3 days camping with 45 people more or less, 3 teachers and a lot of food.

It was so interesting having 3 days with different people..But we had the chance to talk with everyone, thanks to our schedule. Funny games, interesting classes outdoor in the sun -that was the first time that i had a class in the nature, wearing my sun glasses :) , almost bonfire, discussions, traditional dishes.. Actually, it was a challenge for me to cook for the international dinner tzatziki and mpatzina. One kitchen and so many people trying to cook and communicate in their language..It was so funny, watching Spanish people getting proud for their Sangria and the Danish for their fragiadellas ..


The sun was shinning and we were discussing and exchanging opinions on what the culural identity, the ethnographic and the cultural studies are..

Is it cool if you know students that are from the same country with you or it is actually a problem? Can it help you evolve or it is easy to hold you back? Should danish students be happy for their chance to interact with so many danish as well? Or am i luckier that i don't have so many Greek students to talk with? Actually...it is a trap..my goal is to interact with the international group and not with the greek one..It is surely a safe cave and encouraging, knowing that there will always be someone that may help you with explaining something, that will understand your way of thinking, but you have to be careful and not rely on this..or else you will be stuck in your country group..and you gain nothing.

Cultural meetings & Prejudices

When i came in Copenhagen i was surprised of citizens tend to put everywhere a danish flag..even in stickers in their kitchen's cabinets..

That is a custom, a tradition which comes in contrast with my customs, my values, my traditions. Such stories we had to tell, and discuss on, working in pairs, and analyze these based on the definition of "cultural meeting". And then students had to answer questions up to of what are they proud regarding their country, what do they think about the other countries and what students believe that others believe about first's country? In few words, we had to search for prejudices and pre-understandings that others have about us and via versa..Many people believe that danish people are "cold" while others support that spanish tend to be "let's do it tomorrow" people..

Guess who...?

All students sitting in a circle. We had to choose 5 people from the circle that we think-guess that they have some special properties..such as like cooking, have a big family, be patient etc. Then we all had to stand up and walk in the crowd, find these people and tell them which property we attributed to and why. That was pretty funny, trying to guess something for somebody just from prejudice and pre understanding.

Modes of study

Each country has its own educational system..Which countries are similar and which are totally different?

• First step: Students from the same country have to answer some questions up to which is the aim of their university, how is the educational system of their country organized, and which are the qualifications needed to be introduced in the university?

• Second step: Students from different countries discuss their previous answers and try to figure out which are the similarities and the differences between theis countries' educational system.

The outcome was maybe predictable..Southern countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain tend to have similarities, while the Northern countries such as Denmark, Finland and Norway follow similar educational methods.
The suprising point of the results, was without doubt Spain. That's because students have to pay for their studies in the University and for the educational material as well, so the family income influences them. If their income is not enough there are some scholarships you can make use of. What is more, northern educational systems, are mostly based on the groupworking, a way which is really interesting for the students. In contrast with, teachers in the southern countries tend to lecture in front of a group of students who just keep notes and being bored. The interaction in the first case is active and vivid, while in the second case, students are more pathetic.

Visiting the highlights of Copenhagen..

Date: 27/08/2010
Meeting place: Det Gule Hus

Aim: Copenhagen tour

• First stop: Rundetårn. A 17th-century tower, famous for its 7.5-turn helical corridor leading to the top, and for the expansive views it affords over Copenhagen.
• Second stop: Nyhavn-canal tour. A gateaway to the sea and to the old inner city, used from the ships to upload their cargo and from the fishermen for their daily catch.
• Third stop: Christiania. An autonomous neighbourhood, where the cannabis trade is tolerated by authorities..(that's cool)

Ending place: Det Gule Hus...That was really unusual for me..The whole students sitting everywhere, even in the ground, drinking beers from 3 o'clock, laughing, talking, playing guitar..It was so cool drinking in front of your school with your fellow students, until the sun went down. I just remember a fellow student sitting next to me saying to me "It's only 5 o'clock and we all drinking beers".. I love this Yellow House!!

It's breakfast time!

Thursday 26th August. First day at school..I woke up earlier than it was supposed to, because of my impatience..In the way to school i was thinking of my English..Will i speak fluently? Will i be able to communicate? I hopefully reached in Grundtvigsvej 11, and it was really easy to find out the Paedagoguddannelsen Frobel, because of some smily young people standing outside, welcoming the erasmus students. I got inside and in the second floor, i entered a classroom with a great buffet and many aknown people, so different but they all were smiling in the same shying way. I chose my sticker-name and i tasted my first spandauer! That was so delicious, and i started feeling familiar with this interculutral meeting. I met some students, i said my first english sentences and then everything was cool..We met the teachers, we saw the building and the classrooms, the yard and the Gule hus. Later we got separeted in three groups and students in each one had to choose a card and use it as a reason to speak for themselves. I chose a cardpostal, because i like travelling abroad but i have never sent a cardpostal to my family, hoping that i will do it here in my new home town. It was the first time that i was in a classroom and i was meeting my fellow students in so intersting way..It was so cool.

What about my expectations..

Trough this international course, i will be given the chance to come in touch with alternative teaching methods and different educational system. What is more, i am looking forward to experiencing the European unity as it is shaped through the Erasmus program. I firmly believe that my interaction with the different student's culture and with the different Danish pedagogical institution, will offer me the chance to enlrage my academical knowledge and to obtain an outstanding experience.

What about the course..

The course is...pretty.. interesting!People from Spain, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Finland, Mauricious, Turkey Netherland, France etc, different languages, different experiences, different lifestyles..is this an interculural meeting? I really love the group way of working in the class, and i am..pretty..happy for my decision to attend this course. It is the first time in my life, that i wake up at 7 o' clock in the morning to attend a class without resenting! I am more than sure that the next 4 months will be unforgettable.

What about me..

Hello everybody!

My name is Alexandra, i am 21 years old, and i am from Greece. I am studing pre-school education in the University of Thessaly and i am in the 4th and last year now hoping to graduate in june 2011. This semester i am attending the international course of UCC Frobel in Copenhagen and my first days here were more than perfect..