island hopping

After class, we got most of the group out on the ferries with us, for hiking, swimming and sunbathing on the islands! I ♥ oslo! :)  

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This week, we have a guest professor teaching us about a lot of the history of philosophy -- which is a refresher for me since I was a philosophy minor.  It was good to revive that information and explore it from different perspectives.  It was also helpful to reflect, with my classmates, how I can approach these issues with my students.  After class, which was an intense amount of information, we were glad to have our trip to the islands where we could catch up on our reading, continue discussions, and foster our friendship.  We began to feel like a family, which is important when you are away from home.  It's so wonderful that my new family consists of a Palestinian, a Russian, a Greek, some Spaniards, an American, a Ukranian, a Latvian, and a Slovenian.  

I am learning so much on this trip -- about Norway, about Oslo, about philosophy with children, about educational practices in Norway and all over the world, about life in various countries through the eyes of my classmates. And of course I have been sharing experiences from my own life and teaching.  It's been an impressive and special cultural exchange.