Learning Outside the Classroom

Inside of the Roskilde Cathedral.

In addition to the scheduled class time, each of my classes also has multiple field studies throughout the semester that are meant to supplement our in-class learning.  Last week I had two field studies.  The first was with my Danish Language and Culture class.  On Wednesday, we met at Nørreport Station in Copenhagen and took a half hour train ride to the Roskilde Cathedral.  It is the first Gothic style cathedral to be built of brick, and has been the main burial site for the Danish royal families since the 15th century. My teacher, Nina (we address teachers here by their first names), gave us a tour of the cathedral and a brief background behind many of the monarchs that were buried there.  It was interesting to see how each area had been decorated in a different style, depending on the time period in which the person had died.  There is also a clock from the early 16th century that still works today, and we got to see the wooden people on it move and ring a bell as the clock struck 10 o'clock.  The entire cathedral was beautiful and no detail had been overlooked.

A few weeks ago my Danish Language and Culture class also went to a supermarket during class to learn the names of different fruits, vegetables, meats, drinks etc. Nina set up a scavenger hunt and gave us a list of food items in Danish and English.  We then had to go around the supermarket to find out what each word corresponded to and then either put the English translation or the Danish word that was found on the item.  This was so much more fun and interactive than just sitting in a classroom looking at words in a textbook, and actually made it easier to remember what each word meant because I can visualize the item and remember what it was called.  We probably looked like foolish Americans running around a supermarket, but it was a great activity and a really enjoyable way to learn


This past Thursday night I went with my History of European Ballet class to see Swan Lake, performed by the Royal Danish Ballet.  It was in the Copenhagen Opera house, which opened only 5 years ago and cost over 500 million dollars to build!!! It is extremely modern and beautifully designed (as one would hope, considering how much it cost to build) and there is a great view of the stage from almost any seat in the theater.  We had seats in the balcony, which was a great perspective for seeing the dancing swans and all their spirals and lines that they danced so perfectly in.  The performance was very nice, but the relaxing music, comfy chairs, and dark theater made me really tired...especially considering the ballet started at 8 PM and was 3 hours long!! I was starting to zone out a little towards the end and was ready to be in bed sleeping. We will be going to 3 more ballets with the class, so from now on I know to bring some type of sugar to keep me awake (and a good night sleep wouldn't hurt either!)

I really appreciate the fact that my abroad program places such an emphasis on not just learning about things, but experiencing them as well.  By having us partake in activities that relate to our classes, it makes the topics much more interesting, and I know that I become more willing to hear about a topic that otherwise I may not have been as interested in.  I look forward to my many other field studies and have two coming up next week!