Week 5 – Personal Development 11/02/12 - 17/02/12

We have been given a take home exam which consists of three questions, six pages long to complete in one week.  In comparison to sitting an exam with a few hours to complete the questions I always prefer to be given work to take home. I am much  more comfortable when I’m afforded more time to think, work on and complete an assignment. Basically the exam is like an assignment except you have a shorter time to complete the work. Again, this was challenging as I am writing about topics which I have not studied before such as carrying out a risk assessment and community development. 

The teachers here are extremely helpful and are very easy to approach for guidance especially regarding exams and presentations. I have realised how lucky I am to be a native English speaker. English is the second language of many of the other students studying here  such as those from Italy and France. This has caused added difficulty when completing coursework and some students have been asking me for help with the English in their essays. Google translator seems to be the tool of choice and  many students would be lost without it. Helping the other students has proven to be very rewarding and it has given me an insight into the difficulties facing many international children in our own schools back home . Studying here has been a great opportunity to re-evaluate my own view on different cultures across the world, and to really broaden my horizons for the future.

The Badminton training here is really great and this week we got the chance to meet the coach of the Trollhattan Badminton Club. He invited us to watch a badminton match and placed us in a group according to our ability. The games are of a really good standard and I think I will improve a lot during my time in Sweden. I even had the opportunity to play a mixed game against a Swedish Champion, unfortunately myself and Robin the French student lost this one. We also got to watch some of the younger players including the Swedish number one player at Under 13. As a coach in the North West Squad I have been able to take some new ideas from the sessions and note them so that I can use them in the future.

This week was also Valentine’s Day therefore a French Student decided to host a party; it was great fun as they decided to put a blank piece of paper on the wall for everyone to write special messages in all languages. Being here has made me realise how much more multi-lingual other cultures are compared to Northern Ireland as everyone here speaks at least two languages. This experience has made me want to learn another language apart from English and I think I will consider taking up a course when I return home.

This weekend we also attended the Local nightclub called Lipz and we were shocked when we were able to make ourselves a taco wrap with salad which was available on the middle of the dance floor. We have been told that in Sweden it is compulsory to have food served where there is any drink. I feel I have really settled into the Swedish way of life, and I love every minute here.