It snowed when we left Trondheim... I secretely hoped we could not take off so we would have another day to ourselves in beautiful Trondheim... so did some of my students... it's very cute to watch the boys being so enchanted by the foreign girls... so terribly cute...
But they also longed for a chicken burger... I haven't had the pleasure yet to taste one but according to them, in Antwerp are the best! Today it is also their sacrifice celebration... that's litterally translated. I really don't know the word in English. It's the day they remember when Abraham tried to sacrifice what was most dear to him, his own son, as a token, as proof for his great respect in God, Allah. Because God was convinced of his loyalty he gave him a lam which he must sacrifice instead... Muslims all over the world celebrate this by slautering a lam and giving a family celebration...
Intensive worksession in Tiller Upper Secondary School
Today the students worked hard on the networking, trying to find a joint venture with a foreign mini company. The others did interviews in school about the different countries. In the evening we had a very nice diner made by the mini company UngiSelskap UB. They prepared a quiz and then a little game... and then the party began... Now that was partying and socialising... All my doubts about this project vanished because now even the girls socialised and enjoyed themselves...
It was snowing a little bit when we left Tiller Upper Secondary School...
Today the minicompanies presented themselves again. Andrea presented a most interesting lecture on "business and cultural awareness in Norway, Latvia, Belgium and Austria". She travelled all over the world and has very interesting ideas on people and how they react. That influences their businesses.
With Jon we made some adjustments to the programme because the students also need to work on the comeniusprogramme. The creative product developments were very intensive. My students needed a lot of encouragement. I had some doubts whether this programme was too difficult for them... So while they had some free time in Trondheim I went to the hotel to work on some things. Some of my students came back early and wanted to talk to me. They were disappointed because it was very hard for them to understand all the presentations. They said "it's like listening to Turkish for 2 hours for you... it is like that for us in English"... I was again a little bit chocked. I tried to get them to understand that English is an important international language, a language nearly everybody can learn and more and more people speak. They agreed with that but they were not convinced that they are going to need English in their future jobs, in their life... How can I convince them? I tried to show them situations in which they could use English... situations in which they would need English... that is, if they ever are going to leave their little Turkish or Moroccan community... if they are going to work in Antwerp for an international company... if they are going to meet foreign people in Antwerp... if they are going to travel to another country besides Turkey or Morocco... I was even more down after that and thought I failed...
With Jef's school we went to see the Tyholttarnet, the radio- and TV tower with the restaurants which turns so you have a beautiful view over Trondheim. Unfortunately we couldn't sit in the restaurant because that was only for people who would eat. Instead we had a drink on the first floor, which also gave us a nice view.
Then we went to a very nice restaurant "Kvilhaugen Gard". My Turkish girls disappointed me again by refusing to sit with other students. Again I had to encourage them and so did Inga. The Latvian students also don't have a lot of confidence in their ability to speak English. We told them to try and talk to each other. It doesn't matter if it's grammatically incorrect. The most important thing is that you get to know each other a little bit and learn more about each other 's life... After a while they did... The meal was gorgious... I could easily have eaten more...
My principal decided to walk to the hotel. It was a long walk all the way down and my girls were very tired so we took the bus. The Belgian boys, my boys and some of my girls walked... it was a nice walk. I would have liked to come with them but somebody had to accompany those who wanted to take the bus...
Again in the evening we had a meeting with the teachers...
I don't have any readers so I just do this for myself... one never knows who will read this some day.
The first day in Trondheim was already very busy! We had a very quick walk through beautiful Trondheim. It's a pity we cannot take more time to just stroll around and enjoy the beautiful colours of autumn, reflected on all the colourful houses in Trondheim.... At least, this time I get to see more than in January!
At the Tiller Upper Secondary School we are greeted by our students. Some of them had a very good sightseeing by the Norwegian students, some of them didn't... They are really very determined to do better when they visit us in Belgium in February!
The presentations by the mini companies are very interesting. Although I was a little bit shocked about my student's English, I know they did their best in presenting their school to this audience. I know how I had to push them, had to encourage them to do their best... it's a nice film so I'm pleased. Their presentation of the mini company was also well! Oguz, the CEO, even joked a little bit and won everybody's sympathy in doing so! Vocational students presenting before a big audience... they are absolutely not used to doing this so I'm again proud.
One minor point was the food. I specifically asked for halal food. In Belgium, in this Turkish and Moroccan society, this is very strict, like the Jewish people want kosher food, they want halal food. Jon underestimated this so we had to go to Mc Donald's to give the students a lunch they could eat. In the afternoon I talked to the mini company who was going to prepare dinner and they assured me they would make vegetarian food so that my students could eat. They were very nice and very polite and quite willing to make the effort. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I really mean that. We can think what we want about this, it's their faith and their choice and we have to respect that.
In the evening we had a meeting with all the teachers at the hotel. What a long day!
