Melbourne

I took an extended weekend, and decided to visit my friends in Melbourne, Australia.

The view from my friends’ flat.

We had winetasting at some vineyard outside Melbourne. Afterwards we went to Wildlife Sancturary - I wanted to see a Koala bear hehe. The building behind my friend is the Wildlife Sanctuary Hospital.

The operation room…..Interesting to witness that.

Eureka Skydeck 88.

My friend persuaded me to come on top of the building. I wasn’t so sure in the beginning, because I suffer from vertigo. I considered this for a while, and decided to challenge my fear.

When we went into the elevator, my heart beated briskly. It was a quick journey, as the elevator moved 9meters in a second. We reached the top floor in less than a minute (88 floors - 300 meter high)

It was a beautiful view. I was still hesitating with going close to the window, but after a while I felt comfortable, and enjoyed the amazing sight.

“The Edge” You can see people are inside the glass box. You enter into a room that slowly moves 3 meters out of the building. I was going to try this out too. I spent a few minutes calming myself, as it looked freaky to me.

This is the view from a different angle. The black square at the right side, is the Edge.

In this picture we’re inside the Edge. At the beginning, I was horrified! I was extremely precautious with walking around in the box, as I kept feeling that the glass underneath me would break - and kept thinking this would be the end of my days! However, I enjoyed this experience, as I have conquered my fear.

Last night in Melbourne

We went to an Italian restaurant were they only served pizza. I must admit, that was the best pizza I’ve ever had!!!! Afterwards we went to a bar called “Dog Bar.” The place had a pleasant atmosphere…….

Flying off to Singapore. What a view! It was priceless!

I stayed the night at the Ambassador Transit Hotel at the Singapore airport. Next to it on the top floor, they have an outdoor pool. I went there to relax, and had a little cocktail before I went to bed. The next morning I returned back to Hanoi

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Tam Coc

Tam Coc is located approximately 100km south from Hanoi. It is known for the 3 caves. The staff from the Kindergarten and I rented a floating boat, and sailed at the Ngo Dong river.

Sailing between rice fields and mountains, no sounds of the noisy traffic, was utterly idyllic to me. The first cave was kind of scary to sail under - there was completely dark!

Imagine that you’re blind, and can only use your hearing sense, then you have come to the right place. We could wagely sense, if there were a boat in front of us or next to us……..

Some were screaming just to make others scared, but at that moment, we had already past the first cave sailing towards the second cave.

After the third cave, we took a rest....

There’re other boats were women sell snacks and drinks. Some of them were a bit annoying, because they kept on pressing us to buy more than we really wanted.

I know, they’re only trying to make a living, however I still think it’s tasteless to give us more food and drinks in our hands, than what’s nescessary.

Luckily the other staff from the Kindergarten helped us (told them off) to stop these women that were “attacking” us with their fruits, snacks and drinks, and they stopped persuading us to buy more products.

If youre nearby Tam Coc, I’d recommend you to try it for yourself. It was a nice and peaceful experience with beautiful sceneries, the air was fresh and free from pollution.

My Goals

Working elements:


I want to gain a better understanding of the teachers working process.

I have observed the teachers’ daily structure and yet not completely understood their procedures. I will not hesitate, if I have any questions or if I wonder about their methods in practice – I will have a dialog with the teachers, so they can give me a better comprehension of their methods regarding working and disciplining the children in the Kindergarten.

Sometimes they don’t have an answer for my questions, because it is something they ought to do from the government’s guidelines or from the principal. Then I’m told “that’s how it is” I also accept it, as it’s part of the culture, that you obey the authorities with no question asked.

I will continue on reflecting on the teachers methods and adapt (as long as my norms and personality doesn't get compromised) into the culture in the Kindergarten, as I know it's the most advantageous way I will get the full understanding of their working process.



I want to acknowledge the children as individuals.

If a child is sad, hurt or frustrated, I want to be there for them. I will listen to their words and acknowledge their feelings. I also want to acknowledge them for who they're as individuals with different social and learning skills.

I am aware of, that it’s not always possible to succeed. The teacher tends to get frustrated, when a child isn't capable of learning what the teacher wants to teach the child. At this very point, I want to guide the child, based at the child's competence. Although, I have experienced that the teacher has encouraged me to stop, because we have a tight working schedule. I still want to continue on giving the child a little extra help, because those children tend to be overlooked by the teachers. Even though they're a little more intellectual challenged, they still deserved to be acknowledged, as it makes one grow and become more confident as a person.

Especially if a child is crying, and I'm giving that child a little extra attention, the teacher has often stopped me during the process and encourage the child to stop crying. I know it’s not part of the culture, to display ones emotions in public – but I still believe the child has to be heard, as there is a reason for why the child is sad.

Furthermore, I want to break through this message to the teachers, that it’s acceptable to show emotions, and only natural that a few out of 36 children are being more challenged than others - they can't all be excellent "pupils". They might not agree with me, but it’s worth a try. I believe by showing any kind of acknowledgement such as empathy and understanding towards a child, is the first step of getting a solid relation to the child. It's important to me, I get their trust, if they want to receive my help.



Being different, yet still inspiring the teachers and the children.

Being a foreign student, I still have the same authority as the teachers. The children must obey and give me the same courtesy as the other teachers. I am aware of the power I have towards the children. I’m aiming for giving the children the same courtesy as they give to me. I want to be their role model, even though I can’t be the same role model as the other teachers, as I a westernized individual.

In Vietnam, it's a collectivised society, there’re no room for individuals – even the teachers aren’t individuals. They think, teach, and speak the same way. The children get the same treatment and expectations, regardless on their social or learning skills. Furthermore, the teachers expect the children to be equally good at the same subjects, and consider it as a personal defeat, if the child doesn't live up to their expectations during the lessons.

Those children whom are challenged, need more time to learn new things. I want to focus on them, in order to improve their learning skills. Most of the times, there’s only ONE WAY of teaching/learning certain things – that's what the teachers can relate to, because that's how they were taught during their education. As I mentioned before, the teachers get frustrated, when a child doesn’t understand the task.

I don't blame the teachers. I know the teachers are lacking of tools to help a child that is challenged. This is were I've got the opportunity to inspire them with other pedagogic methods on helping a child . I've already given them inputs on how to do things differently (thinking outside the box), and they appreciate my help, and hope for more inspiration. I'm aiming for on keeping giving them new inspirations regarding those situations.



My personal goals:

I want to gain a greater understanding of the Vietnamese culture.

I myself am raised with Vietnamese norms and traditions by my parents. The Danish institutions taught me about the Danish norms and traditions, and I’m well socially integrated in the Danish society.

Even though I have a good understanding of my own culture, I still manage to get puzzled on the local Vietnamese' behaviour. The way they think, talk and behave in public. Additionally, the way the parents raise their children. I will still observe what’s going on in my surroundings and reflects on their actions - sometimes I've blatantly asked them "what is the purpose of your action?" They usually give me a good philosophical reason - other times they tell me they have no clue, the just do it, because it's a way of life, which is related to their culture. Even so, it still improves my understanding of the Vietnamese culture.

This will provide me a better insight to have a continual development as a social worker with pedagogic methods – especially if I happen to meet a Vietnamese child (or a child with a similar culture) in a Danish Kindergarten with parents whom feel so strongly about upbringing their child with Vietnamese norms, traditions and culture. Instead of judging them for being ignorant, I have the understanding of their culture - their way of life. This will enriched the coorporation between me and the child's parents in the Kindergarten.



I speak Vietnamese, not fluently…….however I get by.

I'm aiming for better speaking skills and to have a broader vocabulary in the Vietnamese language. So far, the children and the teachers have taught me so much in Vietnamese. It’s excellent, and a useful way of learning new vocabularies with all their objects/material in the class. We use them on each other to translate from Vietnamese-English/English-Vietnamese.

This method is good for training our memory, because we remember new words easily when we have an actual object associated to the word. I intend to become much better at the Vietnamese language, and to have taught the children/teachers a greater variation of the English language.

Description of Hoa Thuy Tien Kindergarten

Hoa Thuy Tien kindergarten is relatively new. It was established in Feb. 2001. The Kindergarten is located on the outer side of Hanoi. At the moment the Kindergarten has 380 children - they’re divided into 11 classes, in 3 different sections.

There’re Class C (3-4 yrs. Old) Class B (4-5 yrs. Old) and Class A (5-6 yrs. Old). Each class has approximately 35- 40 children, 1 head teacher and 2 other teachers.

The Kindergarten has 33 teachers, 6 staffs in the kitchen, 1 janitor, 1 doctor, 1 vice principal and the pricipal.

The principal has a master degree in “educational management”.
All the teachers have a 3 yrs. long education from College and some of them are still studying at the University during the weekends, which takes another 2 yrs.

Besides the 11 classes, the Kindergarten has a play ground, a gym room (but they mainly use it as an English class room), a music room, a computer room, several libraries (they’re so tiny you can hardly consider it as a library), offices, dining room and a kitchen.

The Kindergarten is placed under the government, who settled the guidelines for the Kindergarten, which the teachers must obey. Although there are guidelines, the Kindergarten works out their own agenda. The government finds a subject, and the Kindergarten decides from there, what to do and how to do it.

The Kindergarten is also under management of National College for education, which it is a part of. This college educates teachers and it is placed right next to the Kindergarten.

The weekly plan contains 7 subjects; such as Vietnamese, maths, psychical skills, music, creativity, personal/social skills and topics that are related to their culture. All those subjects is a part of their daily structure. The teachers chose the main themes of the week, were the children will be taught about the themes/topics, and they combine it with activities so the children get a better knowledge of the topics.

On top of that, they also have 2 other subjects, such as martial art (Kung Fu) and drawing class.

The Kindergarten receives support and money from the government for different things such as materials, furniture, books, the teacher’s salary and basic things like toys.

None of the children bring their own lunch meal to the Kindergarten. The parents pay for the children’s meal, learning fees and some of the teacher’s salary. The payment per month is 20 – 50 U.S $.

Those teachers that have a “teaching contract” receive their payment from the parental payments and the Kindergarten. The other teachers that have a “government contract” get their salary from the government. The parents of the children are from the middle class and upper classes. The majority of them are working in offices, as professors and teachers.

The Kindergarten has had Danish students (plus from Singapore) for the past 3 years – they find our knowledge and ideas very useful, as much as we can learn from them too.

I’m in class A2. At the moment there’re 36 children, a head teacher, two other teachers, a Vietnamese student from college (to become a teacher), and myself as Danish student to become a social worker (working in institutions with pedagogic methods in practise). The other student and I, have a role as a teacher, so the children must give us the same courtesy like the other teachers.

The classroom has 4 functions:

· Teachings/playing

· Dining room

· Dressing room

· Sleeping room

Reflection:

Usually when we think of a Kindergarten, terms like “kids being kids” and “playing” are terms that pop up into our minds. According to the Danish educational system, I would consider class A2, as a year 1 class or year 2 class in a Danish Primary School.

However, here in Vietnam, they’re more focused on the teaching, because they believe, the more knowledge the child has, the more the child will develop. These children are able to get dressed and undressed from top to toe by themselves. They fold their clothes nicely, and don’t roll their clothes together and throw them into some corner. They’re well mannered and are polite when they speak to an elder person. They always greet each teacher the first thing in the morning and before they go home – one by one. They’re helpful towards the other pupils. They manage to eat nicely. I’ve been here for 3-4 weeks now, and I’ve never seen leftovers on their cheeks, fingers or clothes. They’re quite competent comparing to the Danish children ages 5-6 in the Kindergarten.

Although I’m a bit worried about the children’s personal hygiene. Either the children haven’t been taught about bacteria, the awareness of how fast bacteria can spread, or they’re just being lazy. Maybe it’s a combination of both? I’d like to make more observations on that.

Apart from that, I suppose the reason why these children in my class are so competent, is because the entire day is structured with teachings. This has shaped these children into “little students”. It’s all a part of preparing the children to Primary School, which is also why they’re so focused on discipline.

For instance, if a child is behaving badly, he/she gets taking away from the rest of the group. As a punishment, the child has to sit in a corner by oneself with crossed legs, and crossed arms, and reflect on what he/she has done wrong. Furthermore, the child has to apologize to all the teachers and his/her classmates for disturbing the lesson. There’re no tolerance for misbehaved children, and the punishments can sometime seem hard from a Danish perspective, but as the teachers believe it’s part of growing up, as the child should learn the consequences for ones actions.

Another example is, when the children are getting too noisy, the teacher claps on their hands twice “clap clap!”, and the children stops up and say “Be quiet, please!” And then it’s quiet in the entire class. I think it’s quite impressive, that the children obey the teachers so much – The Danish Kindergarten or Primary School could learn a lot from that kind of discipline.

My expectations

In general:

What I mainly want to gain from this experience is a broader understanding of my own culture, their way of life, norms and traditions - which are major elements that will contribute to my development as an individual.

I myself am Vietnamese (but have practically lived in Denmark all my life) but I was raised with Vietnamese culture, traditons, norms and values. I have been visiting Vietnam 3 times - twice with my parents and once with my class (Univerisity College Lillebælt, Pædagoguddannelsen in Odense, Denmark - Bachelor in Social Education) for 3 weeks were we travelled from noth to south.

I always manage to gain new experiences (good and bad) and new knowledge each time I’ve been there. The journey to Vietnam has never been the same, even though I mainly visit the same cities.

I believe what have made the experiences different each time, is the interaction between me and the local people I meet - rich and poor. When they tell me their stories, how they survived the war, how determend they are on chasing a fulfilling life, how creative they are on using the resources from the nature for their survival. It makes me reflect on my own life/situation - it puts everything into new perspectives.

Work wise:

Regarding the work challenges, then I must admit that I’m aiming for a greater insight regarding pedagogic work in the Kindergarten in Vietnam. I will observe the teachers everyday structure, to improve my understanding for their pedagogic work. I am aware of, that their methods are significantly much more different than in Denmark – however, that’s why I need to adapt into the work environment. I can still be critical on their methods, but I still need to reflect on the working situations, before I jump too quickly into the conclusions. I’m aware of, there’s a reason for why they choose this kind of pedagogic method in praxis – and that’s the understanding I need to have an insight in.

Furthermore, as I speak Vietnamese (not fluently), I do kind of expect, that I will develop a larger Vietnamese vocabulary. I’m aiming for being better at using body language and reading others body language too. The way we express ourselves isn’t universal - even though some body language is common worldwide, each country still has their own way of expressing one selves. I expect to have a greater comprehension on how the Vietnamese use their body language. That is definitely one of the main goals of this journey.

Personally:

I think my biggest challenge is I’m going to live in an entire different country, where everything such as culture, traditions, norms, eating habits, traffic, and language is alienated from my usual life. It will not worry as much as it will motivate me, as I think I great adapting skills. However when everything has become an everyday thing to me, I will eventually miss Denmark.

My biggest concern is the fact that I will be missing my boyfriend. Lacking his presence or sharing all these great experiences with him, is new to me. It’s going to be extremely hard with plenty of agony and frustrations. However, I’m not going to let it be an obstacle for going through this journey – it’s just another challenge! At the end of the day, I appreciate his blessings for letting me go, deep understanding and support for giving me this opportunity for chasing my goals.

Being Danish in a foreign country means that I will be more aware of how Danish I really am, than what I normally would consider myself to be. In Denmark I consider myself Vietnamese, and I only consider myself Danish when I’m outside the Danish border. I think it’s very common for a Danish individual with a different ethnicity. Of course there are the cons and pros by being Danish-Vietnamese, as I also know the Vietnamese mentality, know how to behave in public, respect for elders etc. but I still think the local people would consider me as a foreigner, because of the way I express myself as an individual, is more westernized.

When I return:

I hope I will have heaps of great experience - positive and negative which I can learn from. I Hope this journey will give me so much joy, make me wiser on life, give me good memories that I always can look back to. Most of all, I hope all these experiences will mature me more than ever.

I expect that I have been wiser on the Vietnamese culture, that my limits have been challenged – that I have become more aware of my strengths as my weakness.

In laymen terms, I hope my work experience as a trainee has taught me more about the social system. The hierarchy system in this institution is not a coincidence – the fact is, that there’s a connection between the social system and the pedagogic work in praxis in Vietnam.