Let's take a trip!

Stockholm

This past week our international advisor arranged a student trip. After a scenic 7½ hour bus ride we finally reached our first destination—Stockholm. Stockholm was a refreshing taste of city life, with a nice mix of restaurants, shopping, scenery and history. I personally could have spent at least a week more there, but two days was enough to break my bank account. The highlights of Stockholm had to be experiencing hustling and bustling Swedish city life and upgrading from McDonalds to eating a true American meal at TGIF, mmm tasty.

Church in Estonia

The third day we hopped aboard the cruise ship Baltic Queen to Tallinn, Estonia with around 800 other exchange students from the Scandinavian area. We met students from New York, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and even UND! (only after chasing him down three flights of stairs because he was wearing a University of North Dakota shirt...small world.) We docked and toured Estonia and danced one more night away on the cruise ship before our return home. Sleep deprived and hundreds of pictures later, I can say these are the “aha” moments that make me realize studying abroad was the best choice I ever made. —xoko

"Erasmus" (European students) we traveled with

Teaching in Sweden?

To be honest I’m not sure if I want to be a teacher and with only two education classes under my belt, it’s safe to say I’m the underdog around my fellow Swedish Education majors. This being said; let me tell you about my shadow day experience.

Anotonskolan, Blekedamm is a school of multiple “houses”, housing grade groups K-9. It gives a camp-like feel, where the kids remove their shoes and call their teachers by their first names. After my first day shadowing 4^th and 5^th graders I was highly impressed by the students English, number of aids per classroom and freshly made lunches prepared by a chef. This week was “North and South America Inspiration Week” and being from North America the teachers wanted me to plan three hours of lessons for students ranging from 12-16 years old—that night.

Three hours of sleep later—I headed back to Antonskolan with a powerpoint I created that focused largely on how Sweden and Scandinavia are connected to North America and how our school systems compare and contrast. I believe it got the children thinking and active in asking questions. Next we played quiz BINGO about my presentation and they all received North American and Swedish candy to compare the differences. Lastly, they each received a Minot pin to represent what we learned about the “Magic City” and where I am from. Leaving the classroom I know the teacher and students took something out of this day, but so did I. My shadow experience hardly went as I thought it would (sitting in the back of the classroom), but sometimes the greatest rewards come out of things unexpected.

—xoko