Friday April 16, 2010

Friday was another busy day for us.

We started off with a visit to the German School in Tonder. - Nordschleswig
The Director of the school explained the history of the Danish-German border including the vote in 1920, German occupation in 1940, and Danish control of all German property in 1945.  The Germans in Denmark had to start over in 1945 to re-establish their school system.  There are 15,000 people making up the German minority in Denmark, and 45,000 Danes living in Germany on the other side of the border.  30 years ago the division between Danes and Germans was very well defined and separate.  Now there is complete integration. Many groups from other nations visit this area and school in particular because it is a very successful example of positive cooperation and integration.
This German school is a private school, with 75% of the costs paid by Danish gov't, almost 24% paid by Germany and perhaps 1% paid by the parents of the students.  The school educates about 130 students in kndg thru 10th grades with 18 teachers, and an average of 15 students per class.  Their school year runs 200 days(40 weeks) from August till June.
The 8th grade class gave us an excellent ppt presentation IN ENGLISH that they had researched and developed explaining the school, the history of relations with Germans, and their educational program.  The school operates under the authority of the Danish Education Ministry and follows their regulations.  The students broke us up into groups and took us on a tour of their school speaking English the whole time.  We returned to the conference room and enjoyed coffee and bruschetta that the students had prepared for us.

Then it was on the Legumcluster and the adult school.  Schools like this in Denmark were developed following the principles of the philosopher Grundtvig.  The school provides an "informal/unformal" education - UD/DANNEISE.  The program is geared to helping you explore who you are and where you are going in life.  The school currently houses 51 students 18 yrs and older, taught in a variety of disciplines by 10 staff members. Typically when Danes finish Gymnasium after the 9th grade many take a break for a year before entering their next phase of education or work.  The 10th grade year is optional.  The school is funded about 25% with State funds and the rest is paid by the student.  It is an expensive program in which to participate.  Subjects being presented include Theology, Religion, Chinese, Music, Art, Voice, Journalism, Media, Psychology, Team Building and International Politics.  Degrees are not earned and grades are not given on student work.  There are students from all over the world there, many who have l;ittle or no resources.
We were treated to a fine lunch at the school and several students showed us around their campus.
We then took off for the city of RIBE to learn a bit about Danish History and see the Viking museum there.
A guided tour of the museum was provided complete with a "ride" on a Viking ship.  The Vikings did not wear helmets with horns on them as depicted in most of our literature and the Minnesota Football Team!!  Many artifacts unearthed over years give us a view of life in Viking times.  The museum guide led us on a tour of the city of Ribe where we saw very beautiful structures dating back thousands of years.

 Back to Tonder!
After a short time to relax, our Team and host parents assembled at Hagges Pub for a farewell dinner and  Folk Festival.   Members of District 1460 GSE Committee were present as well several Rotary Club members.  Each August Tonder offers a Folk Festival which draws 20,000 people to the town.  Many famous artists come to play their music - i.e. Arlo Guthrie.  Pictures on the walls of the Pub depict musicians who have come to perform in the past.  They are very proud of their festival, and rightly so!  We received CDs of last year's performances.

Additionally, a video of the Black Sun phenomena and various bird species from the area was shown and we received a copy as a gift.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner of typical Danish fare, experienced a "drink" called "Gammel Dansk" and expressed our appreciation for everything that the Tonder Club had done to make the week so successful and enjoyable for us.

Warren

Thursday

On Thursday, we started our day by visiting a daycare and kindergarten school. Children typically attend daycare un. til they are 3 and then attend kindergarten from ages 3 - 6. One thing that was surprising to us was that the young children take their afternoon naps outside, no matter what the weather is like. If it's snowing or raining, they cover their carriages with a tarp, and in the summer with a bug net.

Next we made our way to the local nursing home. We were given a tour and an explanation of the care the elderly receive . We were surprised to learn that nurses actually receive lower salaries than teachers in Denmark.

After lunch, we went to Møgeltønder to see Schackenborg caste, the home of Prince Joachim and his wife, Princess Marie. Unfortunately the Prince was not home at the tíme; he was in Copenhagen celebrating the Queen's 70th birthday.

We then took a drive through the countryside visiting the Trøberg ruins, a Protestant Church and monastary, and the border between Denmark and Germany. We could stand in two countries at once!

The day ended with seeing "The Black Sun", an event where up to a million starlings visit the marshes in search of food and rest for the night. So many flock at once that they can actually black out the sun. The event can be seen every spring and autumn, and we were lucky enough to see them on the last possible day. Our guide estimated that there were about 13,000 to 16,000 starling birds out tonight. Despite the fact that we were freezing (temperature was about 45 degrees, but extremely windy), it was worth going to see.

 - Krystal Smeak

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Today everyone in the group had their first vocational day.  I had the opportunity to sit with the manager of the local daily newspaper in Tonder, learn it's history and a little bit about Danish media in general.  The newspaper called JydskeVestkysten, got its name when two newspapers joined together - Jydske & Vestkysten - on January 15th, 1991.  The newspaper has a circulation of 75,000, with 9 different local sections depending on where people live.  The paper is the 5th in all of Denmark for the number that subscribe.  Compared to the US, it is expensive to have the newspaper delivered to your home, costing $2 each day.  There are 33 different newspapers in Denmark, over 40 TV stations and 80 different radio stations

After talking to the manager, I joined a local reporter who I shadowed for the next few hours on the island of Romo.  He was interviewing two Park Rangers about a new project.  Near the beaches there are large grassy areas where numerous species of meadow birds live.  The grasses are now growing too tall for the birds.  The Rangers are building a fence around a large portion of the meadow and inside the fence they are going to place sheep that they hope will eat the tall grasses allowing the small birds to return.  The project is part of a larger initiative called EU 20000.

Next I followed the local photographer to another place on the island to take photographs for a story about the financial crisis and how it has affected island life.  We went to a development that was started by two men in Tonder, but then sold to a German developer.  The project went bankrupt halfway through the building phase, leaving only the concrete bases of the homes and some pipes sticking out of the ground.  For the same article, photos were also taken to show the different building styles that can be found on the island.

Tomorrow the group will be back together again for our next adventure that includes visiting the local castle.

Megan Balmer

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Today we were fortunate to have another sunny day for our visit to a dairy farm. The farm is in pristine condition and is owned by a family committed to animal welfare and educating visitor on the workings of their farm and agriculture in general. The farm consisted of 400 cows. The dairy operations are fully automated so the farm is able to operate with only 5 total employees. Danish farmers are prohibited from administering antibiotics to the cow prophylactically and use of hormones is also prohibited. There are standard dairy production farms and ecological ones. The ecological farms are required to grass feed the cows and may not use antibiotics even in cases of illness. We enjoyed coffee and tea with the farmer and his wife and heard from a retired veterinarian on the subject of animal welfare.
We left the farm and headed to a local college for a wonderful lunch followed by a tour of a local bank. Interestingly, we were not at the bank to learn about financial matters, but rather the view the bank's substantial art collection. Danish industry recognized that art in the workplace is conducive to a productive work environment. After viewing the fantastic artwork at the bank we drove a few miles across the border to Germany to visit the Emil Nolde museum. The museum contained three floors or extraordinary artwork. Following out tour of the museum we returned to Denmark for a culinary experience of a lifetime dining at the famous Stig's restaurant. We are very fortunate to have experienced what we did today and look forward to another eventful day tomorrow when each of us will participate in our first vocational day of the trip.

Touring Tonder

We had a BEAUTIFUL day in Tønder! We started the morning with a tour of the town and the town hall. While at the town hall, we had the opportunity to learn more about the structure of the national and local government. The town hall was recently restored to its original condition and was absolutely gorgeous. It's amazing this think that this building is about as old as the United States!

We then were able to tour Hydro, a major manufacturer of aluminum products used in air conditioning systems, primarily in cars. We looked so stylish in our steel toe boots, safety glasses, and neon yellow vests! The plant was imbeccably clean, and we had the chance to see the aluminum go from the billets (the "raw" aluminum alloy in large bullet like bricks) to the massive rolls of aluminum tubing.

We continued our tour of Tønder with a visit to the Water Tower, an old water resevoir converted into a museum and observation deck. What a view! We could see the entire town, with all of it's terra cotta roofs and old world brick buildings. We briefly visited the art museum (we'll be back there later in the week), but had the opportunity to see the work of famous Danish furniture maker, Hans Wengers. We then walked to Christ Church. The steeple of the church overlooks the town and was built high as a signal for the incoming sailors.  The inside of the church was absolutely breathtaking. I can understand why the town is so proud of it. The detailed woodcarved plaques and the massive pipe organ.

We had some free time to walk through the town and do some shopping. Some of us relaxed at the local cafe with a capuccino or chai latte, but we couldn't rest too long, we had a presentation to give for the local Rotary club! We were treated to an excellent meal of chicken, roasted potatoes, and various salads. We then gave our first presentation to the club about our lives in Central PA. It was a relief to get the first presentation done, just so we know what to expect in the future. - Amanda

tønder/rømø

Hello everybody! We made it to Denmark and we were greeted very nicely at the airport by people from our first host club! We went to the island of Rømø and had a great time on the beach and enjoying a wide array of different types of fish for lunch! We made our way back to the our first town of Tønder! We met our host families who are all very nice and welcoming. My host family is extremely nice and both are school teachers. It is very nice because they have two daughters who are very similar to me and my sister in both age and character. We went for a walk so I could see that tonder had both rural areas and town areas, almost like York. I enjoyed a very nice salmon and veggie dish prepared by Palle. I am learning a lot from the family about Danish culture and also about their travels abroad as well. I am excited to tour the town some more tomorrow!

http://tweetphoto.com/18027542 - our arrival pic in Denmark!

Melissa

Departure

Hello everyone!
We're at the Harrisburg airport getting ready to depart for our amazing 5 week journey! We will miss all of our family, friends, colleagues, and Rotary members! We'll keep you updated as much as possible!
Love,
Heather

http://twitter.com/heather795/status/11948974108