So Danish Right Now

My last post was about ways in which aspects of life in Denmark is similar to home, but don't get me wrong- I am definitely in Denmark! Today, I even went on my first Danish bike ride! As mentioned previously, EVERYONE rides bicycles in Denmark. When going to class at 9 last week, there was literally men and women as far as I could see on the main road, all purposefully riding their bicycles in a neat line, wearing long black coats. At the train station, there are hundreds of bicycles parked along the sidewalk and in their double layer bike rack. It is a standard form of transportation to get to the train or work. My host mom, Søs rides about 10 kilometers every day to work, and her commute will soon double to 20 kilometers. It's just a way of life.


I finally had my first taste of this lifestyle! My host dad, Henrik, and I went for a bike ride around Ishøj and to the store to pick up a few things with Milo. Although it was a bit cold outside, the ride was great; it felt wonderful to be outside and on a bike again! I have literally ridden a bike about twice in the past 10 years (both rides occurred maybe two summers ago), which is very abnormal here. Luckily, the saying "you never forget how to ride a bike" appears to be true, and I rode with ease. It's great, in Denmark most roads have special bike lanes, so it's not like in the States where bikers are hated by drivers because they are always in the way. And another fun thing about Danish bikes- you brake by pedaling backwards, which made slowing down really easy! I know that growing up, my bike that had training wheels braked in this fashion, but once I graduated to a bike with gears, it was only hand brakes, but I really liked using the pedals.


Another part of my life right now that is "so Danish" it my practicum site, or the school that I will be observing in for 4-5 hours every Thursday. I was placed in a "Forest Børnehave" with kids ages 3-6, which, quite literally, means a "Forest Kindergarten". This is the description I received of my school, Skovager: "This institution has a building they use as a home base and to take shelter some of the time if necessary. Generally they are out and about in the surrounding woods during the day and sometimes they take field trips to other forests". Søs told me that this is the kind of kindergarten that all parents would want their kids to go to. Danes really value time outside in nature; it is normal practice to have babies nap in their big prams outside under a roof during daycare, for example. So, this kindergarten is very typical of Danish culture; the kids will literally be outside for most of the day, every day, in all temperatures and many kinds of weather. 


I am very excited to begin my practicum. It will be fascinating to see the differences between Danish and American children, teachers, and school. It is generally said that Danes view their children as more competent, and trust them with more freedom, so that will be really interesting to see. This kindergarten will literally be the opposite of American kindergarten. They do not begin teaching academics at all in the public school system until children are out of kindergarten, so kindergarten and earlier is strictly for developing social skills and things of a less "scholastic" nature. I remember at my kindergarten there was a big focus on learning to read and write for kids who couldn't yet, and other more academic topics. Yes, we had playtime and story time and recess, but these things were much more structured and limited. This Danish school will be very different, with a much more unstructured day, where kids can create their own fun and experiential learning.


So, that's my life right now- just SO Danish. Haha. My first full week of classes begins tomorrow. Soccer begins tomorrow night as well, which will be freezing, but I can't wait. It will be nice to get into a rhythm, but I have been enjoying the free time I have right now.