Mine første klasser

My first classes

Well, the first week of school has come and gone, and I am very happy to report that my classes went extremely well. It looks as if they are going to be a lot more work than I was expecting (especially since I am taking 5 of them instead of the normal course load of 4 at Dickinson), but I am going to learn a ton. I'll present a brief summary of some of the highs (and a few lows) from the first meeting of each of my classes. I've broken down the description for each class into several parts:

Service Learning Seminar:
General info and students: This class meets only once a week and seems like it is made up of really interesting people. There are just 10 of us, and we sit in small groups to enable us to have discussions about our work and readings.
Coursework: We are assigned readings each week, must work at a volunteer placement for 40 hours over the course of the semester (~4 hrs a week), keep a "reflective journal" twice a week, and write a series of papers.
Field studies: [note: there are no DIS classes on Wednesdays, which enables every course to take a series of field studies (usually 2 per class) during the semester]. As a group, we will be going to work at a school and visiting a series of 3 volunteer organizations in several parts of Copenhagen.
Icebreaker: [note: in every class the Professors used some pretty creative icebreakers to get us talking]. We each wrote down one thing that we are proud of, put them in a hat, and took turns pulling one out, reading it aloud, and then trying to guess whose item was whose. The activity was interesting for two reasons. First of all, people have done some pretty cool things (publishing articles, scoring the winning basket of a championship game, opening for a band at the 930 club in DC, tutoring in Thailand, etc), but I was also very surprised by the person who had done some of the items (i.e. it was a girl who had scored the winning basket... shows my gender stereotypes). Anyway, it was a good chance for us to get to know each other a little better.
Professor: The teacher is very passionate and has worked hard to match us to volunteer sites that fit our interests. I was put into a community center for refugees with mental illness... pretty awesome! Information about the center, called Muhabet (meaning "togetherness"), can be found here, but I am also posting a brief summary below taken from the website:

MUHABET MEANS TOGETHERNESS
Mentally ill refugees and immigrants are a marginalized and invisible group and the percentage of this group who are admitted into hospital is still increasing. Many are traumatized-suffering from PTSD due to war-flight –etc. while others are suffering from a mental illness after a long life in Denmark. Very often they are extremely lonely and isolated have no contact at all with their local community due to language barriers as well as cultural ones.
That is why Najib and Emine in the spring of 2003 started Muhabet in order to give this forgotten group some where to come – find peace - meet others in the same situation but also to make the outside world aware of them. The large windows of the drop-in center are symbolized by the fact that the world can look in and the guests can look out.
Muhabet is designed like a café, with sofas, chairs, tables and an open kitchen. There is a rather big cellar where children can play and use the computers, a another room is for praying and bellydancing. Everything is painted in warm colours reminding the guests of home. During the opening hours the guests meet the volunteers over a cup of tea or coffee talking about everything. It is possible to be advised about small matters, like how to call the municipality, translating a letter etc. Or you can be left alone. 
Be yourself and yet be part of a group without feeling like an outsider and if you like - take a nap. You are not registered and we meet you like you are: A human being. There is no hidden agenda, no religious party and no political party is involved. A lot of the guests have a very bad economy and don’t have the strength to cook. That is why we offer them a daily hot meal consisting of vegetables and meat [ halal ] which is donated by various businesses. Many of the guests come either through their contactperson from the District psychiatry, by positive hearsay or through the municipality. They may have been accompanied several times- and then they come by themselves. When that happens it will mean that we have obtained what we aimed for, they feel secure -safe and at ease with the surroundings. No money is involved between the guest and Muhabet.

Developmental Disorders:

General info and students: This class is significantly bigger than the Service Learning Seminar (there are 26 of us), but the other people in the class also seem really awesome. Most are psychology majors, and all by one are girls (typical!). 

My psychology textbooks!

Professor: My professor is incredibly attractive (he was a semi-pro beach volley ball player) and is a developmental clinical psychologist working with children and adolescents. Need I say more? ;)

Coursework: We will be studying developmental psychopathology (mental illness in children and adolescents) and discussing prevalence rates, symptoms, treatments, and prevention for each disorder. LOTS of reading, two exams, two papers, final take-home exam/paper

Field studies: Visits to a psych hospital for children and adolescents, one other TBA field study

Ice breaker: Our prof asked us to write down the response to the following question: "If you were to wake up tomorrow morning as a person of the opposite gender, what experience would you find the most fascinating?" After we handed in our papers, he said, "Now, if you're anything like the last 3 years of students who I've given this assignment to, at least one third of you will have responded, 'Pee standing up!'" Sure enough, every second or third paper said, "Pee standing up!" At the end he turned to the one boy and said, "As a representative for the male population, would you care to speak about the experience of peeing standing up?" He said, "Well, I mean, it really isn't all that exciting..." We couldn't stop laughing. 

Danish Language and Culture: 

General info (and students): This class is on the smaller side (I think there are 15 of us). We sit in a giant semi-circle to enable us to have discussions. I didn't particularly connect with as many of the students in this class, but that's fine. The course is a mix of learning Danish (the language) and learning about Danish culture. 

Professor: Our prof is kind of intense and very fast paced. She does have a sense of humor (but not as much as my other Profs). However, she has taught the course many times before which gives me some confidence and hope. 

Coursework: We have a LOT of work... like a LOT... including a ton of vocabulary and grammar and many readings about Danish culture. Exams, papers, worksheets, reflections, etc... oy! The first class we spend through general vocab, the alphabet, pronouns, numbers... ahhh! 

Field studies: A ballet, a football (soccer) game, trip to a museum, class dinners (one is next week)

Ice breaker: Boring... just a basic "name," "where you're from" thing

...almost done I promise!!!

Applied Psychotherapy:

General info (and students): About 20 students in this class and again most are psych majors. There are a shocking number of males (3!!!!) including EVAN! He and I sat next to each other, which was very nice. The class is incredibly exciting! We are basically learning the general info and basic techniques involved in different types of psychotherapy (which is unheard of at an undergraduate level). We are going to be watching tapes of therapy sessions, practicing techniques with a partner, and giving presentations. 

Professor: Our prof is really sweet and seems very young, though given her work I guess she's probably in her mid to late thirties. She has had a terrible knee issue for the past month so she has to use a cane to walk, which I imagine is going to make standing at a smartboard (high tech blackboards that DIS has) difficult. She is very passionate and definitely wants us to get the most out of this class.  

Coursework: Again, a lot of reading, but it seems really interesting. There are a ton of case-studies and in fact, one of the major assignments is writing our own differential diagnosis and treatment plan for one of several cases we are given. We also have to give a group presentation (my least favorite type of work) and unfortunately I was assigned the ONE (out of 9) topics I specifically whispered to Evan that I wouldn't want. Oh well... it's only one assignment and it is in about 3 weeks so I will get it over with soon. 

Field studies: Because of her physical limitations (bad knee), our field studies will be happening in the classroom. A music therapist and some other professional (I can't remember which type) are going to be coming to talk with us in class. 

I also have my "core course," Positive Psychology, but the class only meets once a week (on Mondays) so we have no yet had it. The syllabus seems like it will be really interesting AND we will be studying Post Traumatic Growth (PTG), which is the topic of my senior thesis!!!! Cool!!!! This is also the class that we take our Study Tours with. Each core course goes on a "local/regional" study tour for 3.5 days (we go to Western Denmark) and then a "Long study tour" to some other destination in Europe. We are going to London for 7 days in March!!! Yay!

Okay, I worry that I've totally overwhelmed you, reader, so I will stop for now. However, I do have fun updates from the weekend that I will post later tonight (with more pictures). :)

Much love,

Sara