Week 13

Week 13 | 28/03/16 - 03/04/16

Personal & Professional

After more buses, trains and planes, we finally arrived back in Denmark. Accompanying me for the next two days was my sister. She was just as excited to be in Aarhus as I was. Over the previous few weeks, I had been keeping her up to date with everything that had been going on and she was ready to experience Aarhus for herself. As we entered my little room, I felt a sense of 'being home' upon me. Comparing that feeling with how I felt when I first entered my room on the first day, I never would have expected to feel 'at home' in 42.2 room 12, Denmark.

Over the next few hours and days we explored the city's shops, café's, bars and restaurants and proved to myself how much I had actually learned about the beautiful city of Aarhus.

I enjoyed our time together and on Monday evening we had our final dinner. She prepared to leave early on Tuesday morning, while I prepared for my first day of placement.

As we both went our separate ways, one going to the airport and myself going to into the unknown, I felt sad and apprehensive at the same time. I felt really nervous for my first day as I wasn’t particularly sure what to expect. Ana, Cristina and I met outside at 8am and entered together. We were greeted by Peter, not knowing he would be our biggest inspiration for the next three weeks. We talked with him about what we would do on our first week and we agreed that we would use the first week to participate in the workshops, getting to know both the staff and students. During my first day, I stayed in the art room and talked with some students and one teacher called Melaine. Some of the students in the room didn’t engage in conversation so much however I learned valuable information about the ones that did. Kofoed's School is a Centre for welfare recipients, people receiving unemployment allowance, sickness benefit recipients and pensioners in the city of Aarhus. The objective of Kofoed’s School is to provide help to self-help with the aim of integrating the target groups into society by improving their self-confidence, skills and competences, thereby helping them to live a more fulfilled life. The students are aged 18 to approximately 60 years. They offer help to the city's vulnerable groups, for example lonely, unemployed, drug addicts or run-down people.

Ana, Cristina and I each had so many questions, more and more as the week progressed. How does the school actually work? Does it actually help people? Do the students stay in the same work shops each day? What do the social workers do? Albert Einstein (1922) said “the important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” As the week progressed and we talked with Peter more and more, he realised we had many questions that we wanted to be answered. He explained to us that Kofoeds Skole has a book that they are very proud of, and it is the heart within the Kofoeds Skole's all over the world. Peter also suggested that we set up meetings with the social workers in week two or three to find out more information.

By the end of our first week, we were more familiar with the routines of the school for example, each morning we met at 8am for breakfast and then participated in the work shops until lunch time. We all met again and ate lunch together, prepared by the students and head chef Tina, who used to be a student at the school and is now employed there. In the afternoon's we chose a different workshop for example dancing, and tried as many new things as possible to learn as much as we could. On Friday afternoon of our first week, we had a meeting with Peter and we talked about our aims and aspirations for the next two weeks in more detail. I was intrigued to find out what week two would bring for us.

'You have two hands. One to help yourself, the second to help others.' - Author unknown.

Reference 

http://homeinsteaders.org/authors/author-unknown/#sthash.ASqqoxNQ.dpbs