What a subject! Culture...

Hiiii everybody!

Heerlen is a small town where I am living now for more than two months. It is not far from Brussels, one hour and a half by car only, however cultures are very different between the two countries. 

For example, the way of living is very different and even after so much time spent in this coutry, I am still not used to this. I am sure you are already familiar with a few differences between the Netherdlands and Belgium. 

While, here in Belgium, every morning we have to cope with traffic jam, over there, they have to deal with the "bicycles" traffic jam. This is very impressive at first. 

At 5 p.m., while here we come back from school or work or sometimes not even have finished our daily occupation, there, it is already time to eat. Unfortunately, I didn't share this tradition because I am not hungry at 5 o'clock. I managed to eat with my flamates a few times, but 4 hours later I was hungry again! So I gave up trying and now keep eating at the Belgian rhythm.

Speaking about that, their meals are also different. They often intermingle sweet and salty. For example, pancakes with cheese and sugar on top it. Yuk!

There are also differences in education and school. 

The school seems really perfect on the outside. The rooms are well maintained, the materials is up-to-date (a blackboard directly connected to a computer, which is very useful).

But the relationship between the teacher and the pupil is very different from the one we have in Brussels. Pupils shake hands with teachers and talk aloud inside of the classroom. It is hard to have their attention for more than 10 minutes. There is no respect at all. 

Teachers do not collaborate. They never work together nor help each other during a test or an examination. My master always told me not to share my works with the other teachers. This is completely from our mentality and I do not feel comfortable with it. 

Good luck for everybody!

See you soon, really soon now! ;)

Sandy,

Hello everybody!!!

What to say about the differences between their culture and ours?
In fact, I think that there aren’t many differences.
All I can say is that they are busier with technology which can be positive but also negative…

To speak about the relationship between the teachers and the students it’s not too close, not too distant. It’s the same as in our school even if some people think it’s not closed enough…

Another difference which is a big problem is that they are really more .. individualist ^^ for them group work means we have to do everything on our own…strange, isn’t it?
But I don’t think every Flemish person is as individualist as they are…It’s a problem with people from ‘Mechelen’ if I can say it like that, I don’t know and to be honest I don’t want to know it. I’m telling the days now and it’s almost finished (35 days)!!!

Irish culture, waouhhh

Hi everybody,

Hope you're all fine.

I have to say that I'll be happy to be back in Belgium. It was a good experience but I had a big "culture clash" with my host family. And that is delaying my thesis very much. Irish people are all great, in the beginning I'd say, but when something isn't working like they thought it would work, it's finished. I'll explain that when I'm back.
So these days, I didn't work at all, I had to do everything in the house. Very fun I have to say...

For the rest, at school, the education is different. The discipline as well. The kids are great and I've no problems with them. The teachers are nice too. I'd say the kids here are allowed to do more than in Belgium. And when they do something wrong, there's barely a punishment.

They are also very religious. They go every week to the mass. They can go Saturday evening at 7 p.m. or Sunday in the morning. There are even blessings for pregnant mothers. I don't even know if we have that in Belgium, but I was suprised to hear it here.

I would'nt be able to live here, because of our culture difference. I think 3 months was just enough. I've seen things that I won't do in my future classes. It's an experience that will certainly help for my future.

Now, see you all back in Belgium

Gwennaelle

The cypriots...

Hi everybody! I hope you all are fine!

First thing to say about the cypriots is that they are very religious. It is really rare to meet somebody who is not going to the church once a week. Even at school everything is related to god and religion.
When there are celebrations (like Name's Day, wedding, birth, ...) the teachers at school bring food and alcohol for the other teachers. Twice a week we have the "chance/or not" to have plenty of food in the teacher's room. That is also a cultural point: the cypriots eat and drink a lot and always! There is a canteen at school and the students take there pizza, olive and cheese pie, hamburger, croissant, sandwich. They begin to eat pizza at 7.30am when they arrive at school!
There is a cult here in Cyprus: The king's kid cult! The child is the boss of the family. He has what he wants and is really unrespectful by the way.
An other difference is that each member of a family has his own car. Yards of houses are full of cars, it is not just one or two cars it's five or six of them.
The cypriots like also to show off! They like to show that they have money, they make noise with their cars, cypriot woman wear high heels on the beach... It's true that Limassol is a rich city...but sometimes it is really hilarious!
The cypriots also have a special humour. They don't understand our ironic humour! That was a bit difficult in the beginning.
But now, they are used to it!

I'm having a wonderful time here!

I kiss all of you!

A lot of courage (I know it is a difficult period for everybody!)

In a short time we will see each other!

How to deal with Flamish people?

Hello everybody, I hope you are all enjoying your experiences.

The students in Leuven are quite nice and open. They are also quite frank and honest with each other which is very different in Brussel. For example Meltem and I had to make a presentation about new words in English and the students must analyse our presence and mistakes and so on. Even if we have been there since three months, they were quite critical which is very constructive for us but they can still be very friendly. So they are quite professional.

Also there isn't much competition between the students. They are relax in class and always ready to help each other. Even with students from other classes.

So it is quite nice to be with them, we learn a lot together but in a good ambiance. We are well included in their class which is quite nice.

So that's all for the moment, we all see each other very soon
I miss you all...

Cultural differences

Hi !

There are no major differences between my culture and the culture of people (students and teachers) from EHSAL. We all live in the same country, not especially the same region, although a majority of students live in Brussels, capital of Belgium.

Brussels has a particularity in comparison with the two other regions: it knows the culture of Flemish and Walloon.

The only difference I can see between us and the other students is that we are all different, all the better!

We should live in peace with the others; take us like they are and not like we want them to be. Culture is important and as future teacher we’ve to deal with other cultures.

Teaching a language is also teaching the culture of the language. As a teacher, we don’t teach what we want, we don’t teach what we know; we teach what we are.

See you soon.


Kevin

Ooo great LEUVEN!

First of all, I don't agree with some of you who say there aren't any cultural differences between Flemish people and the French-speaking people in Brussels. Perhaps it depends on the region you are because in Leuven I've noticed several cultural differences since I've been there.

One of these differences is the way students behave in class treating their teachers as if they were their friends (we should also have this kind of teacher-student relationship in our schools in Brussels, don't you think?).

Another cultural deviation is that Flemish students don't greet each other with a kiss on the cheek as we do in Brussels, instead they only say 'Hey!' and smile.

One thing Flemish students at Groep T can make constant jokes about is SEX!! When there's an opportunity that occurs to speak and make jokes about it during the lesson they'll grab the opportunity with their two hands!! UNBELIEVABLE!

Pointing out these differences doesn't mean I don't like them much, these are just some differences I beheld. Otherwise they are very mild and helpful people! I like Leuven quite a lot!

See you soon!

MEL

Hi!

Hello! I hope everybody's fine and that you all enjoy your experience! What a difficult question to answer! I don't see many differences between people from Mechelen and people from Brussels. The biggest differences I can see is that the former are more individualist than us. I mean they often work alone even when they're making group works for example. They also use more technology, indeed every instruction, event or work is put on an intranet that we have to check everyday. As I told you last time, they have a lot more computers than us. They are more punctual than us, they neither arrive late nor arrive earlier at an appointment. Otherwise I don't see many differences.

Hope to see you soon,

Blandine

Hello sweeties!

Hi everybody!

I won't surprise you if i tell you one more time that I just love England and its culture :) I've met lots of people since i've been here and the more I discover about England the more I want to stay and live here! Of course, there are some "chocking" habits I still can't get used to, like going out on Satuday night being almost naked or drinking until you can't even walk anymore but who cares about these tiny details? It just makes me smile...

I have been able to notice that most of the people are really polite (sometimes too much probably) and it really seems to be national. They are not as anxious and as stressed as we are.
English people read lots of newspapers, especially tabloids, which is not that much the case in Belgium.

The school education is quite strict and well organised, comparing to ours. In every school children have to ware uniforms, clean their tables, prepare their books and dictionnaries by themselves, which is not that bad, is it?

Food can look strange sometimes :) but it's always delicious. In fact, the combination of the ingridients is not very usual for us but not the taste.

Do you want to know how my stay here has influenced my English? It has just becoming a real passion!

Kiss you,
Lia

hartelijk dank

Al meer dan twee maanden dat jullie België of minstens het I.S.P.G. verlaten hebben.

Ik zou iedereen hartelijk willen bedanken voor de tekens van vriendschap die jullie mij gegeven hebben, o.a. door de woorden die jullie mij toegestuurd hebben met jullie foto erop. Die foto stond op mijn tafel tijdens de hele periode van mijn ziekte : een fantastische hulp... Aan de studenten van 1 en 2LG heb ik een kaart toegestuurd ter gelegenheid van de paasvakantie om hen te bedankten maar voor jullie wist ik niet wanneer jullie vrijaf hadden. Daarom schrijf ik jullie nu bij het begin van dit derde trimester in het I.S.P.G. Beter laat dan nooit...

Ik wens jullie veel moed voor de voorbereidingen van jullie lessen, het lesgeven, de persoonlijke werken die sommigen moeten schrijven, de boeken die jullie moeten lezen, etc. en nog leerrijke dagen waar jullie ook verblijven.

Ik zal bijzonder blij zijn jullie op het I.S.P.G. terug te zien. We zullen elkaar heel wat te vertellen hebben.

Met vriendelijke groeten en tot binnenkort
Ch.Van de Putte

Warning: End-of-study paper!

Hello again everyone!

Some important things to mention for those who write their paper with me:

1. Do not expect me to correct your rough version of your paper... This would take me too much time if I had to do this with everyone! Send me chapters that are already carefully finished!
   
2. Do not spend time translating things in French and then back again in English! It's a waste of time, energy and a risk to make more language mistakes and not to sound English at all! Read things in English, write key-words on a sheet of paper, then paraphrase this in your words afterwards. AVOID using an online translation website... I can tell that immediately! And, no need to say, I won't correct your text!
   
3. Do not forget to mention your sources and to quote them too. Plan your argumentation.
   
4. To make things clear: I correct the first 5 pages in details for everyone (language-wise), and then you're supposed to correct things by yourself... I'll only underline the mistakes and you do the correction. After all, you'll be language teachers in a few weeks time.
   
5. We wrote some advice in the newspaper we gave you at the beginning of the year, if you remember well... Go and have a look!
6. My role as a promotor is to help you for some linguistic (there are mistakes one shouldn't be doing when in the third year) and methodological aspects of your paper and to advise you when necessary. I'm making these things clear because last year, some students took advantage of our goodwill and we spent time doing things THEY should have done. I don't want to do this anymore... You are responsible for your paper, not us.
   
7. Also, take into account the fact that I need minimum two weeks to correct things and to send you my comments.
8. Last but not least: do not expect me to spend my holidays correcting your papers. I'm not available from July 2 to August 18. I'm sure you all understand that a teacher HAS to take some distance from her job to find the energy to go on. I won't spend my holidays correcting a paper you had two years to work on.

It might seem a bit harsh for some, but I'm sure most of you understand that it's all for the best and to make you responsible for your own learning and results.

I wish you the best for your paper and am looking forward to reading you soon.

Best regards,


V Henin

Hi everyone!

Hello everyone!

I'm glad to read news from you... Everything seems to be going fine for most of you, which is always best to read! You seem to be all working hard... and that's another positive thing! :-)
Well, I should first apologise for not writing sooner. Things have been quite hectic lately at school. To be honest, they still are...
First, Mrs Esmanne and myself had to welcome the Mancunian students and their professor. We organised cultural activities in Brussels for them with the 2LG. I think everyone was happy with the experience.
Then Benoît, Gregorio and Sehri went there for a month too with 3 primary students. We went to assess them before the Easter holidays. And everything went fine!!! We saw some very good lessons in English, and excellent team-work! We're really proud of them! :-)
Last week, we were in the Netherlands with 1 and 2LG. We were very lucky with the weather (we had to do everything by bike!): clear blue sky, no clouds, no rain, almost no wind... Perfect! Mr Vandepaer had planned a very busy programme with interesting cultural activities. We went to see seals and to fish shrimps, to name but a few. Everything went well!
Next week, it's the festival of languages... Fingers crossed everyone to make sure everything runs smooth! ;-)
On a professional note, is it normal I still haven't received some "Courants Pédagogiques" papers (Vanessa, Blandine, Aswin, Rachid, Jil, Stéphanie and Gwennaëlle)? I had some problems with my PC some months ago, so I might have lost them... Could you send them back asap, please? They were due for February 4. Do not forget to send me the TIC papers too... they're due for tomorrow! ;-)
I wish you the best!


Regards,


V Henin

"This here is the victory lap, then I'm leaving"

Honestly speaking, I never considered the Netherlands as very distanced nor did I expect any big cultural challenges coming here to Zeist. I used to visit Holland once in a while with my parents as a kid and now I already knew some friends that are studying here before I arrived. So coming to this country was more like moving to a familiar place.

So since I’ve moved here I haven’t really had any cultural clash. There are differences regarding the educational system and the teacher-pupil relation, but that was predictable, right? Plus I came here without real prejudices against Dutch people; I kind of knew they didn’t all grow tulips in the back of their yards nor did I expect to see a lot of windmills along the roads.

What I can tell you is that everyone on the street (bus, train, shop, whatever) seems friendlier than in Brussels... It’s true that I live in a gorgeous small town where they all seem to know each other but still everything seems so bright and colourful. Does that make any sense or is it just me?

Also I realized from the beginning that I had to adapt... adapt to the way they walk, the way they talk, the way they ride their bikes, etc. That is of course not to look too much of a tourist idiot in front of people. So now, sadly enough, I finally feel like I belong (c:

See you soon, I miss y’all!

Aswin

Flamish and French people: are there differences?

Hiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The subject of this month seems very difficult to me.
I don't find there are differences in our culture and the culture of the students of the EHSAL. I only noticed that they can't be on time. Indeed, the lesson begins on 11 a.m. and they arrive on 11:10. OH don't think it just arrived once or twice since I'm there... NOOO it's always the same.
Otherwise, they are very sympathic and they help us as they can. For example, Glenn sent me the slides of the course "Onderwijs beleid en-organisatie" without I asked him anything... Thank you once again Glenn!!!!!!!!!

See you soon!!!!

Vaness