Having just returned home from an amazing Comenius trip to Norway it’s time to reflect and think back over the six busy, fun-packed days we spent in the company of students and teachers from Nordreisa Videregaende – Reissa juotkkaskuvla, Storslett and the project partner schools (Bulgaria, Spain). I can honestly admit that I had very little research done prior to the visit and other than expecting it to be cold and dark, I was open to new experiences, ideas and adventure! I had never anticipated such an action-packed, educational and worthwhile exchange.
From the moment we arrived in Tromso airport, Berit and her team ensured that our experience was both enjoyable and beneficial. No stone was left unturned in the preparation they made to welcome their visitors both into their school and their homes. To get an opportunity to stay in a local person’s house rather than a hotel was a great experience. It gave me a sense of the Norwegian lifestyle and daily routine. (Thanks, Elizabeth, for the accommodation and for feeding me!!! )
We were all pretty tired when we arrived at the host school at 1 am, although it didn’t stop us having a quick look at the school through the windows! We were amazed to see so many offices and we were trying to guess if they were for the secretary (secretaries?) or principal. We would never have guessed that all teachers have their own work area, separate to the staff room and staff resource/library area!
Friday was spent in the school. The 8.25am school start brought a few moans and groans (although at least we didn’t have to get up at 6 am like Eoin and Jamie!). The friendly atmosphere of the school was striking. Many teachers took time to welcome us during the morning . As we went from room to room, many differences immerged between the school in Norway and most of our second level schools in Ireland. Most of these differences centred around resources....an auditorium, a student cafeteria, a large staff room, work areas/subject areas for staff, a laundry room (for the sports gear, lab coats?), a digital notice board, simple but effective recycling stations, video conferencing facilities (enabling teachers to teach students in other locations), e-portal services enabling teachers to distribute and collect assignments electronically, a music room, sports hall and stage, simple shelving for school bags on the corridors etc. Two people are employed in the school to look after the IT infrastructure and equipment. There were far more male teachers than we have in Ireland.
Students were without uniform and staff dressed casually. All students had laptops (rental scheme). Students had ten free minutes between classes. Students didn’t have a full timetable each day... so time was spend sitting in the corridors, library, study area, cafeteria. Regular use of mobile phones and Facebook seemed to be acceptable in the school. We attended some classes in the morning and then gathered in the auditorium for the school presentations. It was lovely to see all students presenting information about their home country and it was obvious that they had all made a huge effort. Well done to all of you. Friday afternoon saw the co-ordinators having another meeting and finalising the next stages in the project.
We returned home with our host teacher to a delicious traditional meal using lamb and cabbage as the main ingredients. We were introduced to traditional Sami music and song and spent much of the evening discussing traditions and customs in the area. We couldn’t but notice how organised everything seemed to be.....ladders on the roof to get easy and safe access to the chimney, one wheelie bin that takes all materials, great heating systems and well insulated houses. After putting on the many layers of clothes again, we took a lovely walk through the nearby countryside and noticed how dark it was when away from the street lighting. Most houses were well lit and had lights/candles in the windows like we have at Christmas.
Over the weekend we got a good flavour of the Sami language and culture by visiting a local handicraft shop and the new centre for indigenous people where we learned a little Sami and dined on a traditional Sami dish (a type of reindeer stew which is often served at a Sami wedding). We got to see a type of Turf-tent and a Sami tent and learned about the origins of Riddu Riddu, a cultural festival celebrating the Sami culture (not unlike our Oireachtas in Ireland) which began in 1991 and has gone from strength to strength. The video shown gave us a good understanding of the effort being made by the Sami people to strengthen the language and to ensure to pass on the culture and traditions to the next generation. It was great to see the traditional Sami clothes/costumes/shoes worn by teachers and students in the school on Saturday night and I had to admire the community spirit which saw at least twelve teachers in the school that night, all of them helping and contributing to our positive experience of our visit to Norway. After some traditional song (joik) in the Sami-tent (lavvu) we returned to our houses to witness the Northern lights so after a quick addition of more layers of clothes we went for a walk in the woods where we has a better view of the Northern lights....a great finish to a great day!
By Sunday evening one could sense the students’ disappointment that the visit was coming to an end as they had to bring their luggage to the school on Monday morning. However, little did they know that there was another action-packed day ahead of them. We got to attend more classes (Sami-language classes included), the students worked in groups on the ‘Scenarios’ for the next stage of the project (many thanks to Ida for her excellent work on the laptop!), they had another group lunch (not reindeer this time!) and finally started putting their bags on the bus. They were lonely saying goodbye to the Bulgarian students but have been in contact with them since through Facebook. Yet again, Berit’s attention to detail was amazing....rooms were booked for us in a hotel in Tromso and she even had arranged for the bus driver to give us a lift to Polaria...an interactive centre showcasing arctic wildlife. I will admit that the video effects had me grabbing the side of the chair, I thought I was being turned upside down. Time was taken to purchase a few gifts and souvenirs and then the snow fight began! As we made our way to the main street in Tromso the snowballs were coming fast and furious from all angles and the students caught me nicely from the side! The Spanish and Irish students spent the next few hours enjoying the snow and the facilities in the accommodation. After a meal of pizza, more snowballs, some playstation and general hanging out, they reluctantly said goodbye to their new Spanish friends and headed to bed.
Tuesday saw us bidding farewell to Tromso and Norway with promises to self to return in the future. We spent some time in the airport recalling events of the visit and preparing our blogs while fresh in our minds. However, while we might forget some of the smaller incidents, we won’t ever forget the amazing welcome we got in Storslett, the vibrant, colourful Sami language and culture and the similarities between the Sami and Irish situation in terms of promoting the language. We starting taking about the return visit to Ireland and look forward to giving you all a ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’. Well done to Berit and her team for the fantastic experience and a big ‘go raibh maith agat’ to Áine for organising the trip at our end.
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