Week 13 - Personal Development

This week it has finally hit me we have a lot of assignments which need to be completed. I will never learn always seem to leave assignments right to the last minute. Brown, R. (1996) stated, “If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done.”  This is exactly what I do as I work best under pressure. This week resulted in me getting up every morning and cycle the short journey to the library to complete my assignments as my laptop has broken. This was a struggle as my log in details never worked and I always had to ask a random Belgian student to sign me in the computer.

 On Wednesday our tutor and lecturer Jan Schrooten collected us in his car and drove us to our placement school of St. Lodejwik Technology School. Here we ensured everything was going to plan and were giving our timetable of the next few weeks in which we are teaching. The teacher who was left in charge of us is coincidentally also called Jan and invited into the school with open arms. He helped us with any queries we had and emailed us throughout the week to ensure we understood what was asked of us and took into consideration our thoughts of everything. Although there are a few days we have to be in Gent at 8.30am meaning leaving Hasselt just after 7am, we are still very happy with our timetable and very grateful for this opportunity.

Hilmi, Adam, Stewart and I at St. Lodejwik School, Genk.

Holly and I both had work to do this week and it was 25 degrees so we decided to visit the local Japanese Gardens in Hasselt and take our work and picnic with us. It was an enjoyable day in the sun even though we were both working but we were topping up the tan at the same time which is always a bonus. Holly is staying in Hasselt one month more than us which is sad as I don’t want to leave. Although I know I will see her soon as she has already booked flights to me in Ireland for 10 days in July. 

Dr. Seuss once stated, “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” I will try and remember these words of wisdom when I am saying my goodbyes to the close friends I have made and lived with for the past four months.

Percicles mentioned, “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven in to the lives of others”. This particular quote sums up my thoughts on my  Erasmus experience overall as a whole and I hope to keep in touch with most of the people I have met here from all over the whole. We have already planned many trips and holidays with many, so it is not goodbye forever it is just goodbye for now.

Holly and I.

The Japanese Gardens in Hasselt.

The Japanese Gardens in Hasselt.

The Japanese Gardens in Hasselt.

The fish in the Japanese Gardens.

Reference List

http://www.slideshare.net/tonyvincent/education-technology-quotes (Accessed 26th May 2013).

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1173-don-t-cry-because-it-s-over-smile-because-it-happened (Accessed 26th May 2013).

Week 12 - Cultural Development

Fighting to keep on top of these blogs is a struggle when there is so much going on around you – assignments due, the sun is shining and the local outdoor swimming pool has opened!

This week brought a visitor from Stranmillis to us, Dr George Beale. Dr Beale met us for lunch after a history lesson he was lecturing which was nice to hear a familiar accent. As Adam, Stewart and I are all post-primary students we have never got the chance to met Dr. Beale in Stranmillis before so this was a special time where we enjoyed ourselves and had a lovely lunch in the KHLim Dipenbeek University Campus.

We also got the chance to meet up with our placement school and tutor this week to discuss our subjects and lessons which we will do during our short placement. This was a very enlightening experience, as we were giving such a broad range of ideas to choose from and teach the pupils. It was eye opening to learn of all the different cultures and nationalities in which the pupils are that we will be teaching.

This week only consists of three days in lessons so I therefore jumped at the opportunity to go travelling again, this time to Amsterdam with Holly and Rebecca. It’s close to Queen’s weekend in the Netherlands which we disappointedly found out when we arrived in Amsterdam as it meant everything is so much dearer but it will be a great cultural experience which we will remember for the rest of our lives. Accommodation, food etc. prices are sky high but nevertheless we are going to enjoy ourselves for the four days we have here. The only hostel we could find which had room available for us was a grubby place which was far out from the city centre, but we had no choice. Reluctantly we paid the 150 euro each for the three nights, 50 euro a night is a ridiculous amount for accommodation like this but as it was busy I think they make up their own prices. I have never been to Amsterdam before but have heard so many wonderful stories about it. I didn’t mind what tourist attractions we visited except I wanted to see the Ann Frank House and go on a canal cruise. Disappointedly we didn’t get to Ann Franks House for many reasons but we did everything else in Amsterdam.

The streets where packed of people in orange celebrating for the coming of Queens Weekend which was a fun cultural celebration that is something I have never seen before! Although it was a dear weekend it was a great experience and was definitely worth the money.

Views in Amsterdam

Pedal Boats

Amsterdam Canals

The I Amsterdam Sign (I'm in the A)

Canal Boat Cruise

Amsterdam Canals

Canals

Week 11 - Professional Development

After such a busy and energetic week last week, we have been given two days off, which I am taking the full advantage of sleeping in.

Althsuler, M. Once stated, ‘The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.’ This is an interesting statement as our time on Erasmus is nearly over and we all are rethinking about our time spent here in Belgium.

Professionally I feel this experience has had a positive outcome on myself already even though we have not finished yet. There is a lot of knowledge and wisdom in which I have gained from this both professionally and personally. Professionally is the most important as next year I will begin final year in Stranmillis University. The different cultures and religions have opened my eyes to a whole different world which I was not aware of when living in Ireland. The different types of school systems throughout the world have shocked me, first hand from my own experience in Belgium and also by the other countries in which my fellow Erasmus students explain to me. These aspects will bring my professional level of study to a higher level as I have more experience with pupils of different nationalities, which is a common aspect in many schools within Northern Ireland for some pupils to not have English as their mother tongue. As there are not many teaching jobs in Northern Ireland with our current climate, this experience has gave me the confidence and belief in myself that I feel I can travel abroad in search of work, which I did not feel before this Erasmus program.

One aspect which I was slightly nervous about was the Religious side of things, going away with two people which are opposites. However this thought quickly vanished on my first week and I could not have picked nicer people to spend four months of my life with.

Moving on from this we had to do a few lessons on Irish history to English classes at our university, called the KHLim. I found these very interesting as I am aware of some Irish history but not in great depth. So I portrayed the Catholic side of history while Adam and Stewart gave the Protestant side of history. After our presentation the Belgian students were shocked at how us three get on so well as they have heard about the troubles in Ireland and even the recent riots in Belfast on the news. We then explained our sides of it that we don’t take sides and want peace – evidently the religion issue within Northern Ireland is improving as two Protestants and one Catholic went on Erasmus together, which definitely wouldn't have happened ten years ago.

Pope Francis (2013) urged members of, ‘all religions and those belonging to no church to unite to defend justice, peace and the environment and not allow the value of a person to be reduced to what he produces and what he consumes.’

Adam, Stewart and I with one of our English classes.

Reference List

·         Pope Francis. (2013), POPE URGES ALL RELIGIONS TO COME TOGETHER IN COMMON CAUSE. “PEACE”.

Available at endtimeheadlines.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/pope-urges-all-religions-to-come-together-in-common-cause-peace1/ (Accessed on 3^rd May).