Today was our second vocational day. Some had the opportunity to visit the local tourist bureau to discuss the areas efforts to promote itself as a destination for weekend getaways. The tourist bureau is situated in an old jail with offices in jail cells. Another one of the group visited Energi.dk to learn about the infrastructure and trading of Danish electricity. Two members of our group visited a school for the blind and I visited a school for social workers and nursing assistants, a senior center and a nursing home.   
The Social and Sundhedsskolen school in Espjerg prepares students for careers in medical assisting, social work and child care.  I was able to observe the students taking their practical exams and talked with several of the staff regarding the curriculum for each of the programs.  Interestingly, the medical assistants complete 6 months of didactic education at the school followed by one year of clinical education where the instructors are supervisory nursing staff and not educators employee by the school.  

Following my visit to the school I headed back to Fredericia to a senior center.  The senior center made me look forward to being a senior citizen!  I saw the exercise class, cooking class, gardening area and visited with some wonderful ladies in the ceramics room.   There I learned that the senior center is a great place to go to take up a new hobby or just social with other retirees.  The cost to join the senior center is about $15 annually and covers any activity a person wishes to participate in. 

After an excellent visit to the senior center, which by the way is staffed almost entirely be volunteers, I was off to a nursing home to visit the Parkinson's and dementia section.  To my surprise, there is no mechanism by which to keep patients in the area except for the diligent staff.  This nursing home is an old building that was recently renovated and the combination of old brick building with modern steel beams and a roof made completely out of glass is extraordinary.  Combined with it's panoramic views of the sea this nursing home provides a fantastic environment for its residents.