As always, the results are mixed!

The good news- I am here with seven teammates. The bad news- ten are MIA! The part of the team that came from Charlotte made it but the part from Raleigh is stuck, maybe in Newark! They will get here soon, we hope!

Well, my week of getting ready was not very successful. First, I got food poisoning and my stomach is still unhappy. Then my computer hard drive crashed and, except for an amazing husband and the lucky day I married himm, I would have lost all my data that I had not backed up (ok, so it was six weeks since I backed up anything!). But I got packed for this trip and the immediately (within 12 hours of my plane landing) following 2 week trip.

Saturday morning I was up bright and early (since I hardly slept anyway, that was easy enough to do). I left the house at 5:15 in order to pick up Laura at my first stop. Then we picked up Nadeen at 6:20. The three of us went to Sharon's house and her wonderful, sweet husband drove us to Charlotte. We quickly found the other four who were leaving out of Charlotte and made our trip to Newark. Since we had a lengthy layover we did not worry when Bernard found that the other ten people who were supposed to meet us, were running late. As the weather outside deteriorated into a drizzle, the news inside was much darker. They could not make it from Raleigh in time to join us on the overseas flight to Copenhagen. We would need to move forward without them.

Disappointed for our friends, we boarded the plane for our 7+ flight. God was with me on that. I had requested, and been given assignments for bulkhead seats in order to avoid the likelihood of blood clots but the airline had given those away to other people. When the final over bookings were straightened out and our plane door shut, an empty seat remained in my row so I had three seats to share with one other person. During the flight I became acquainted with Anders Svensson and he invited me to visit the private school that his oldest (out of three girls) daughter attends. He explained to me that it is a school sponsored by the government and required to teach the mandated curriculum but he pays $200 a month in order to have her in a better situation that is very close to his home and offers her a smaller class size (20 to the public school's 28 per class). We are now working out plans for doing this.

Once we arrived at our hotel and stowed our luggage we went on a quick tour around to discover the familiar locations we will need for the next few days and then went on a canal tour on a boat. It lasted on hour and I found that the longer days also seems to mean that the sun is strong. Even though I had sunscreen and it was only 10AM, I still got too much sun. After that we went to the buffet lunch that offered treats and delicious food more than I can even describe. I have, howerer, not found my stomach to be very anxious to eat any food, let alone tasty food.

Now we are moved into our luxurious hotel rooms. As long as a person does not have a roommate yet, there is plenty of room. I shall see how that works out once Ann arrives tomorrow! Right now, I have the entire cell and "touch all four walls in one turn" bathroom all to myself. I have worked on my JHU school work, checked out the lives of my buds on facebook and need to do a bit of walking before I call it a day in a few more hours. Right now it is 6 PM, which is 12 noon at home. I have been up for 36 hours and will probably get to sleep before I hit the 40 hour mark. That is not bad at all for a trip across to Europe.

Tomorrow's agenda includes breakfast at the hotel, Danish University of Education, the arrival of our missing half (yes, have faith) and a school visit. Then we are free and I may go over to Malmo, Sweden. Whatever I do, an adventure awaits in Denmark. The church bells are tolling 6 PM and I am out to explore in the last 4 or 5 remaining hours of sunshine. It is still bright and shiny right now!

Time for Orientation!
Tomorrow is our training for Denmark! We have orientation and work on our unit ideas. We are going to hear from a couple who are from Denmark about the culture and then we are sharing, in groups, about an article we read. I am looking forward to moving closer to the trip. Plus, I get to see my TOY BFFs for the first time since the NCCAT gala and the last time before the trip. The budget issues effectively keep me from seeing them unless I can afford to pay a sub and drive 600 miles round trip!

7 Steps to a Flat Classroom

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

7 Steps to a Flat Classroom

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Two new interesting developments-
First, I found out that someone in Haywood County is going to Denmark, too! That is exciting. She works with a friend of mine. So now I have 6 of my TOY friends and a neighbor both!
Second, I got a link to an article about the value of this program in understanding and preparing ourselves and our students for the globalization that is happening. It is added to my links provided.

For me there was not a lot to do to get ready. I have had a passport since I was a child. I have traveled a lot so I am prepared for that aspect. I do have a new external hard drive to take along as back up on my trip since I will be in my school law class when I go. I did make a new folder in "My Documents" and on my outlook for Denmark so that I could store all the information about the trip.

Next event- training! April 17 and 18th! Maybe someone will keep me for the night since I will be a long way from home! I have a list of participants, an agenda and some resources. The links from that are also in the list!

Denmark Bound!

The Center for International Understanding is planning a trip to Denmark to learn about their education system and connect with people there. Would the Teacher of the Year team like to join them? WOULD we! Then came the budget cuts and struggling economy and we were at risk. Now, thanks to a very generous and kind AT&T, I get to go! I can not wait. My goal is to make at least one school contact that can be used in my classroom during the next school year.

On these pages you will find my trip story. Please join me on this adventure to learn, grow, experience and share. I will be better for your participation!