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| Our very sad send off |
As I sit and write the final blog entry
relating to my Swiss adventure it is very surreal that the journey I initially
apprehensively waited on is now over.
Looking back over the last twenty weeks I am amazed and proud with all I
have achieved both academically and personally. In my Week One blog I mentioned that come July
‘the good memories would hopefully outweigh the bad’, and, having reached this
juncture I can most certainly say that they have.
Throughout my time away it would be untrue to
say that I did not have some low times.
From missing my family and friends, to just seeing a familiar face from
time to time never mind the stresses associated with the well-known broken
wrist! Experiencing an accident like
that really opened my eyes as to how easily it can happen and the importance of
simple necessities such as insurance and European Health Card.
Before I left my small village in Fermanagh to
go into the big bad world I was excited at the prospect of meeting people from
all over the world. This Erasmus
experience has certainly allowed me to do that and I have developed some
wonderful friendships with girls from Switzerland, Germany, China and of course
Israel. Ravit and Meital from Israel
arrived the same day as us and having that immediate bond allowed us to develop
a wonderful friendship and they often were my ‘go to people’. Israel was never a country I would never have
thought about visiting but having heard so much about it, and not being able to
return home until I promised I would visit, has meant it is now on my
‘list’.
Bea and Tracy are names that have been
mentioned throughout my blogs from day one.
These girls went above and beyond to ensure that we were welcomed and
saw everything that needed to be seen.
Having them come to Stranmillis in September is very exciting and
something I am very much looking forward to.
I will certainly try to repay them by showing them as much of our
country and culture as possible.
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| Messing around |
Our final week in Switzerland was one that
brought many lasts, including the last coffee here, the last time we eat here
etc. Despite all the assignments we had
to complete we made sure we had time to spend with all our new friends.
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| Our last night |
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| Coffee on my last day |
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| Catching some last minute rays! |
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| Throwing the key of our padlock in the Lake for some luck! |
As a student teacher and having completed this
experience has meant I have gained a lot academically and personally that I
would have never gained staying at home.
Academically I have not only learnt about other educational systems but
experienced first-hand understanding of them while teaching and gathered many
different resources and ideas to bring home.
Language was never a subject that I thought about much as it is not particularly
emphasised within the Northern Ireland curriculum, however, having experienced
and witnessed children from the age of four being able to speak two languages
has made me think twice about teaching children languages.
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| A cake and champagne waiting when I got home |
Personally I feel I have developed as an
individual and have become a more open minded and tolerant person. These are qualities that will be greatly
beneficial to me in my classrooms in the future. Developing and maturing as an individual was
probably not on my mind as I set off for Switzerland but reflecting now on the
experience I feel that I have really benefited in this regard. Everything that happened while being away has
been part of a learning curve and I know within myself that my ability to cope
with all the trials and tribulations has been a great achievement. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone and now
being able to say that I lived in another country for five months is a great
feeling. As Barack Obama said in one of
his speeches:
“The
best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for
good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen,
you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
For the
last time,
Auf Wiedersehen,
Stephanie
I will also leave you with a picture of my dog who was also smiling for me coming home..
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