Short Study Tour

So, as part of the DIS curriculum, each academic program gets to take various study tours. This was our first tour as a class and we had a GREAT time. It was a really good way to get to know each other better and experience certain parts of Denmark that we would not otherwise have had the chance to see. Our class traveled all around the country by bus in the very short 3 days that was our trip.


DAY 1


On the first day we headed south of Copenhagen to an island called Møn. Here we visited a unique school and living facility for children and adults with special needs. It was a whole community where they could live, work, and receive and education. After that we visited a very old and beautiful church where the walls were covered in medieval frescoes depicting scenes from the bible. The group shot below is my whole class standing in front of the cemetery behind the church.

Next, we went to a Møns Klint, which are some famous white cliffs. We had to walk down this enormous, wooden stair path to reach the water by the cliffs. We were pretty tired by the time we got there, but the view was incredible.

When we finally reached the bottom of the stairs we had to take off our shoes and roll up our pants to reach the shoreline because the tides were so high. The water was FREEZING!!! They told us that we could "take a dip" if we wanted, but I decided to pass. Only one boy and my teacher decided to brave the icy waters, you can see her in the background of the picture below.

For the first night we stayed in a hostel in a town called Næstved. (Don't ask me to pronounce it beacuse I can't)

DAY 2

On the second day we headed to the city of Odense, which is where Hans Christian Anderson was born. We got to see the little yellow house he grew up in. Odense is a very small, but cute city and while we were there we got to eat in the Ugly Ducking restaurant. We ate a lot of very traditional Danish food on the trip, which I am beginning to get used to. A traditional meal might include fish, cheese, bread, potatoes, beets, Danish meatballs and various other foods that I am reluctant to try.

For most of the second day we visited various special schools and got to meet the staff who worked there. They told us about their programs and we learned a lot about the Danish philosophy on education.

That night we made our way to Ribe, which is the oldest city in Denmark.

Day 3

For the last day of the trip we began with a guided tour of Ribe. I really enjoyed this tour because we were able to walk all around the city and learn about its history and culture. The picture below shows one of the narrow streets in Ribe and the beautiful Cathedral in the background.

After we left Ribe, we made our final stop on the tour... LEGOLAND!!! We had a ton of fun in Legoland. Basically, it is an amusement park for children, but we had fun too. There were so many structures and rides made completely of Legos...I was impressed.

Here is an example of one Lego structure. They had built the whole Kennedy Space Center and the rocket would produce smoke as if it were about to take off. I think one of my favorite Lego structures was Mount Rushmore that had actually been built into the side of a hill.

We had a really great time on our tour, and I cannot wait for our long trip to Holland. For now I must focus on my school work. It is a very busy week for me with papers and presentations. Be patient with my lack of posts. I love you all and miss you very much!!