"Church Camp did not prepare us for real-life forest situations..."

I had my first day at practicum at my Forest Kindergarten last week. Simply put, it was amazing.

I took the bus to literally the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Copenhagen. The bus went on a freeway! I did not even know that buses could go on freeways! I got there a few minutes late, but managed to find the building, since it was the only real building on the street intersecting the freeway off-ramp. The facility is a lot bigger than I was expecting for a forest kindergarten. There is an actual school (the Danish equivalent to elementary and middle school) and attached down a long corridor is the kindergarten and nursery. The babies (0-3) stay at the building, and the children 4-6 in the kindergarten go on different trips every day. We stayed inside for about the first hour. It was a very different experience than my first day last semester. I was amazed at how much Danish I could speak and understand! The kids were even more confused than the kids last semester because I obviously knew some of the language, but kept telling them that I didn't speak Danish. Last semester the kids just thought I was mute or stupid or something. We had circle time where I was introduced and we sang some very cute songs, and then it was time to get ready to go into the forest.

I do not know if I have mentioned the Danish children's play suits yet, but they are basically the equivalent of the Iron Man suit. I am sure he could have just worn one of these playsuits and been fine. Seriously, kids are indestructible when they are wearing these things. They are one piece snow suit-esque things that basically make the child resemble some sort of star shaped pillow and the material on the outside is completely waterproof and magically never tears or gets worn out. I secretly want a play suit, life just seems so much more carefree when you can use a pile of frozen gravel as a slide (something that occurred during our adventure).

After the kids were dressed it was decided that I would go with the "big girls" on their trip. So I left with a pedagog, a helper, and eight 6 year old danish girls into the forest. When I say we went into the forest, we literally went into the forest. We walked to the edge of some wooded area and I thought we would end up at a trail or an opening, but no. We just turned towards the trees and started making out way in. In the city most of our glorious snow is gone, but in the woods there was still quite a bit. We ran down this small hill (since Denmark has no large hills...) and ended up at a frozen pond. Since the weather has not been as cold as before we walked part of the way onto the pond, and then heard some cracking and turned back. I thought that we would continue in a different direction since it looked slightly treacherous to walk around it, but I forgot that the kids were wearing their suits and can do anything. We literally squeezed our way through trees on a snowy slope next to a half frozen pond. The kids loved it. We wondered in the forest for a while until we got to a clearing that had a pile of gravel with a thin coating of ice on it next to a trench. The children decided this was a slide and while I had a heart attack thinking about how dangerous it was they had a blast climbing up and falling down it. We had lunch in the forest and I played a very successful game of "ice cream shop" with the kids where I would walk up to their ice cream stand (a tree, because in a forest that is all there really is) and order outrageous flavors and they would tell me that it cost hundreds of kroner. This is to date the longest conversation I have ever had in pure Danish, and I am proud to know that if I ever in real life order liver patee ice cream and am charge 500 kr for it I can tell them that I want it for free.

The kids started getting cold and grumpy, and I must admit I was too, so we went back after only 4 hours outside. It was explained to me that usually they spent more time outside but because it was so cold they were going back early. I actually left after this instead of staying for the extra 2 hours I had planned on. I was exhausted. Playing in a forest is a lot of work.

Kids and the forest of course made me think of Church Camp, because that is the forest I experienced when I was little and that is the forest that I typically play with kids in. I do not know what type of teacher I will be for the children's classes this year, I may just take the kids into the forest, tell them that Jesus loves them, and then set them loose. I am not sure who would be more surprised in my behavior, the parents with the American childcare mindset who can see the potential risks and want to sue me, or the rest of the counselors that I usually try to micro-organize into following some sort of structured curriculum. I will never look at children the same way after this experience. How can I? Why in American culture do we baby children to such an extreme in every day tasks and taking responsibility for their actions, but expect them to be able to do fractions by second grade? Right now I am enamoured with the Danish system because it is pushing my boundaries of what I "know" about kids, but it has its flaws too. I do not want my children to be held back academically for the trade off of being able to eat with a knife and fork by the time they are 3. Every time I visit a new school or go to practicum I am forced to acknowledge what my priorities are, and what the social norms of the two cultures are telling me my priorities should be. Denmark or America, I hope that I always have a forest I can play in.

The All-Telling Packed Lunch

At my last practicum site I packed a lunch the first day because we were told to, but the rest of the semester they provided for us. I do not think I will be as fortunate in the forest, unless I resort to eating wild berries... or children.

Anyways, as I packed my lunch tonight to be ready for tomorrow morning I thought about what I packed last time for my first day of practicum. My lunch then consisted of: Laughing Cow cheese dippers (like that snack with the breadsticks and orange cheese, the cheese the cats went crazy for), a fruit leather, and a salami sandwich on white bread, all kinda shoved into an awkward tupperware. The lunch I just packed myself consisted of: carrot sticks that I peeled and cut myself, and two pieces of rye bread cut into halves with raspberry jam and sliced cheese on them, placed in bags tied with knots.

This may not seem very telling to the average person, but on the Danish-O-Meter I went from about a 2 (figuring out where the grocery store is) to about a 7 (avoiding pre-packaged snack foods and enjoying Danish rye bread). I do not think I will ever make it to the perfect 10 (being able to tolerate pickled herring floating in a raw onion pool as eatable), but it is fun to be able to look at myself and see a change I did not realize had happened until after I snuck a piece of rugbrød (rye bread) during preparations because it looked so tasty.

I Should Be Reported For Blog Neglect

I am sorry that I have not posted in so long, and I apologize that this post is not going to be about my trip.

Copenhagen has slapped me in the face since I have been back. I have not had time to figure out how I am feeling or to contemplate what exactly is happening in my life right now. I would give a description of events, but it is mainly freaking out because of the new people in my house, going to my new classes, and living in a constant state of chaos.

I just saw the movie Black Swan. I know it is a "psychological thriller" but I actually cried through a lot of it. I am pretty sure that no movie has ever affected me as much as that one has. I will not get into the details because I am sure that no one cares as much as my intrapersonal intellect is telling me to, but especially in this chaos that the new semester has thrown me into it was perfect.

I think if I ever wrote a book about my life I would call it "High Intrapersonal Intelligence: Gardner's Theory to Being a Selfish Bitch".

My new practicum site is in a forest kindergarten. I am very excited and have my first day tomorrow, but like all new things there is a lot of anxiety in that.

All in all my spirits are high, I am making new friends, and I am loving life. This past week has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride though. I have made you a picture.



I will keep posting and eventually there will be a fabulous post about my travel adventures. Please have patience with me, I am trying to.

The Italian Ring Dance

The Italian Ring Dance is something that I have observed in Switzerland and France also, but it is mainly performed in Italy, as per its name.

To start the dance, one must have have a very limited French vocabulary. This is essential for both yourself and your partner. Your partner can be any ethnic race, but they are under no circumstances are allowed to be fluent in English, or know more than a few key phrases like "pretty lady" and "hello". If they do know these phrases they will probably be repeated frequently throughout the duration fo the dance. The most common setting for the Italian Ring Dance is in a public place where tourists frequent, but it can also be done at bars and in dark alleys.

Now we get to the dancing. The partner must approach you and lure you in with accidental eye contact or a sweet smile. He will try to communicate with you in his primary language, which you will not understand. After looking confused and motioning that you do not speak his language he will ask if you speak French. You must reply "un petit peu". He will then talk to you in horrible French with a very thick Italian accent and you will be able to understand very little. You must throw your hands up in the air and shrug. He will respond with slight frustration, but here is where the fun begins. He will start miming everything he is trying to say. He will ask you to walk by making wiggling motions with his fingers and point in different directions. Tonight I even got him to tell me I look pretty by doing a combination of pointing to his eye and pretending to do a hair flip with a smile and a point to me. Eventually after some silliness, he will point to his ring finger, and then to you. This is when you nod yes that you do indeed have a husband and he is waiting for you at the hotel.

So ends the Italian Ring Dance. If your partner is a gentleman he will shake your hand, or possibly kiss it, and say goodbye. I have never not met a gentleman while doing the Italian Ring Dance, but if he is not I imagine it would end in pepper spray and running.

Hjem i morgen!

Awkward Post from Italy about Dansk Juletid

So I left for my trip without talking about Christmas, and I know that when I get back from my trip all I will want to do is talk about France and Italy, soooo here is an entry that will not do my Christmas experience any justice at all but needs to be written.

I went up to Aalborg in Northern Jylland for Christmas to spend it with a family I know from when the daughter studied abroad in California when she was 16. I took the train because I still had a valid train pass from my travels in November so it was nice to not have to pay transportation, but it was the train ride from hell. At one point I literally had to get off the train and run in the snow to the car over because they had separated the trains while I was looking for a bathroom that worked... I arrived in Aalborg at 9 instead of 7, but they had waited for me for dinner. It was the 23rd and we had a great meal and then I went to bed because I was rather tired from the 6 and a half hour trainride that was only supposed to be 4.

Danes celebrate Jul on the 24th, so we got up early for a wonderful breakfast and then were off to a party at their old neighbors house. I felt a little out of place at the party at first, but then I was served a glass of wine and we started singing Christmas carols. Some in English, but mostly in Danish. I liked to sing them because I knew the sounds and recognized a lot of the meaning! It made me feel really connected to the language. After the party we went to the Zoo! The Big Band that my friend played in throughout school was playing at a service, and although we missed most of the service we still got to go see baby lion and tiger cubs! So precious. It was outside so it was a little cold, but I was loving having my first white Christmas. I wish I had my pictures uploaded because it was spectacular. After the zoo we went home for lunch and had tarlet things that were traditionally Danish, it was a pastry shell filled with gravy and chicken and white asparagus and I could have eaten these things until I burst. They were delicious! I relaxed and watched friends for a bit before the next church service at my friends church. I listened to a translation through earphones except for the Danish hymns and the Christmas story. We sat in the loft and the church was all lit with candles. This is when I had my teary eyed everything-is-perfect moment. After that service we went home and all the Grandparents came over. The grandparents spoke only Danish, so that was interesting for me but we all watched TV while the mom made dinner. Dinner was the most amazing thing I have ever had in my life. I do not know why Americans think that turkey is a bird to eat, duck is the most delicious meat. Yum. We had duck, pork roast, red cabbage, potatoes, gravy, caramelized potatoes, boiled apples, and Risalamande for dessert. My family at home does not have a traditional Christmas dessert and I am bringing Risalamande into our lives starting next year. It is rice pudding mixed with whipped cream and almonds with a warm cherry sauce. It made my tastebuds dance. Also, there is a while almond hidden in it (in our case 3) and if you get the almond you get a prize! (which is traditionally a marzipan pig). After dinner and some schnapps we moved on to singing around the Christmas tree. You light the candles on the tree and hold hands and dance and sing around the tree. WHY IS DENMARK THE CUTEST COUNTRY EVER?! So we did that and then we got presents. The family was very generous to me and I was overwhelmed with the feeling of belonging and love. It was about 1am by the time we finished so I went to bed.

Christmas morning we slept in to about noon and had lunch. We went to a harbor to take a walk and it was a very relaxing and chill day. At night we went to one of my friend,s friends from gymnasiums house for dinner and cocktails. After the party we went out to the bars and I swear that every single person between 18 and 25 was out at the bars on Christmas night. It was a crazy experience! The dad picked me up and I went to the kitchen to get water and I set off the security alarm. It was embarrassing, but we all laughed about it. Morfar came over the next morning on the 26th for breakfast and then they packed me up with weinerbrod and they drove me to the train station.

I can not express the gift that they gave me for Christmas. The experience is one I will remember for the rest of my life. Although this entry is mostly just the play by play facts, it was a truly hyggeligt time.