Project activities in Plungė - Klaipeda - Plateliai - Palanga

During the week our Lithuanian hosts presented their culture and traditions. We learned about customs that had been passed on from one generation to the next for several hundred years and which are still an important part in people's lives.

Introduction on how to weave your own carpet

 

 Hand-made traditonal Lithuanian tree cake (Šakotis)

 Learning how to decorate Easter eggs in Lithuanian style

 Lithuanians put these Mardi Gras masks on to scare the winter away and welcome the spring time.

 Religious symbols are found everywhere. These pieces are examples for excellent Lithuanian craftsmanship.

Storks are Lithuanias national birds. As we were not able to capture the real ones on a photo we show you these storks made of recycled tires.

 

We were served traditional Samogitian national cuisine in the same way as hundred years ago.

Not only small eggs are getting decorated, even big ones :)

Impressions of the Comenius project week in Plungė

On Monday the teachers and students had the first meeting at Plungės Technology and Business school. Our Lithuanian hosts gave us a warm welcome. We were guided around in school and had a look at different classrooms and lectures.

The Swedish students Gabriella and Matilda at Plungės Technology and Business school.

The Lithuanian students surprised us with their Eurovision song contest. Great singing and acting talents  made us really enjoy the show.

Official meeting with the mayor of Plungė and his staff 

Students in Health and social services year 1

Reflections on My Practising time by Ida

My name is Ida. I was placed at Solbacken at Landskrona. I think that practice is a good idea concerning my kind of education. I have learnt so very much about taking care of elderly people. I like the staff working there. They were very kind and nice. I’ve never been so welcomed.

I have learnt a lot about my future profession. I thought it would be more difficult but once you got into the actual work it was much easier. The time went by very quickly when you worked. It was awfully instructive and useful.

I have learnt a lot about caring for older people. And I’m very proud to have taken part of this.

Reflections on My Practising time by Marcus

My name is Marcus and I was placed oat Ängsgården at Sjöbo

I did not like to work there, though. The people there were really nice, so they were not the problem. I just do not like to work with old people.

I learnt very much everything about nursing. All about how to take care of old people.

Above all I’ve learnt that  it is not that easy to work with old people.

Reflections on My Practising time by Elin L

My name is Elin I was at a home for elderly and ill people in Lund and the people working there were really nice to me.

Practicing was really good for my education because I have learnt how to take care of, communicate with and read loud and clear to the elderly people.

The people working there were really nice and caring I think we need more of those people in the health care.

The greatest experience was meeting and showing respect to the elder. At first, I forgot to show respect while taking care to the elderly but then I learnt that you have to talk to them and inform them while you move them, help them with dressing and in the bathroom. They are humans, not objects.

Reflections on My Practising time by Lisa

My name is Lisa. I was placed in a place called Kullagården at Kävlinge. It was a very good place and I learnt a lot.   I think practising is a very good idea in my kind of education because you get into it and it helps you to take the whole thing more seriously. You learn easier when it’s real people and not just a book or a student playing sick or old.                           

The people are nice and very helpful to the people staying there. They were very welcoming and helpful to me to.

I learnt a lot when I was out. I learnt how to talk to different people in different ways. I learnt that you can’t be the same person all the time; you have to be nicer to some people and harder to some other people. But you should always try to help them if they need help. I learnt how you move people out of the bed; I learnt to drive a lift when they were going out of bed. I learnt so very much, and I am very proud of some things I did.

Most of the experiences made a great impact on me, but the one thing that had most impact on me was when I was going to go into one apartment and there was an old lady that was really ill and I had to see her and be in there with her and it was a really hard for me but I learnt to handle it and to take it easy. 

Reflections on My Practising time by Hanna O

My name is Hanna and I started from a place called Ligustern at Furulund. To be completely honest it wasn’t something I had looked forward to. I’ve never had/e thoughts of working within elderly welfare.

I think practising periods is good for me and everybody else. You really go out into the real “adult” life.

It wasn’t like I had imagined at all. I was not practicing at one place, as the majority of my class is, but in different ones. I practiced in something called homecare. It means that we’re going home to both young and older people with different kinds of problems. In homecare assistants, nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, rehabilitation work together. Then there is a boss of course.

The first time I was about to meet a patient I was shocked. I saw a young patient in front of me. But then my instructor explained to me that home-care takes care of younger patients also, if a doctor or someone else thinks they need help from home-care service.

I think it’s a good idea with practising time during your education, for me and everybody else. I learnt more than I usually do at school. That’s the meaning of practicing, that you learn the basics in school and then learn the advanced “real thing” in practice. You really go out into the real “adult” life. I also think that now when I've done my practice out there I can feel really proud of those five weeks.

What I especially can recall is a certain patient. He had a colostomy, which means that he had a bag on the belly. If one has it, it means that the intestines have been hurt or that you had a disease there, and usually it is cancer when you’re older. What I am proud of is that when my instructor would change this colostomy, I watched while she did it. And now you’re surely thinking that this sounds strange. So why am I so proud of this? Well for sure it was the first time I saw an organ that generally should be inside of the body.

I've learned a lot in home care during these five weeks. I’m actually very happy that I have worked in the care of the elderly care. I got good contact with my patients who I've meet these five weeks.

So it turned from happy to sad.

I can’t wait to the next practicing period!

Reflections on My Practising time by Elin N.

My name is Elin and I was placed in a retirement home called Billingshäll at Kävlinge. I think it is a very good idea with practicing during your education because we get into it and look upon it from another point of view and not just read books. You don’t really know if you’re going to like to do this kind of work after you finish school by only reading about it.

I enjoyed the retirement home very much because the people working there were very kind and thus I really liked them. They were very nice against me and the old people. I became one of them fast.

I learnt a lot, I can’t remember everything but I’ll try to write it all down. I learnt how to talk and use the right voice tone to the different old men and women. I learnt how to take care of them and how to wash them and how to change diapers on them. I also learnt how to feed them. And I learnt how to take care of a person with certain needs. I learnt how to make porridge.  And I learnt to wash their faces and take care of their teeth and dentures.

A special thing that happened to me was when an old woman that I was kind of close to fell and hurt her lung so badly that the lung was punctured. And my supervisor asked me to stay with her in her room until the ambulance arrived, and so I did. I was sitting beside her on the side of her bed and held her hand and she said to me ‘Don’t leave me’. Tome it felt like she trusted me and it was a big moment for me. This made a great impact on me.

Reflections on My Practising time by Snow

My name is Snow and I was placed at Vardaga Björkbacken at Dalby. I think practicing during your education is very good because I have learnt a lot and got to know how it is in real life when we get a job. People working there were like angels, so nice, calming and kind.

I learnt how to take care of people and how people can be when they get old. I've learnt how to handle emergency situations. If I want to have this kind of job, I must be better to calm down and slow down when people around me almost make me crazy. What I have to do is just take a deep breathe, I think.

Two weeks ago an old woman died. I had been taking care of her when it was the palliative time. And she was the first dead person that I’ve experienced and I was with her in during her last moments of life until she was gone. I felt it was hard to handle it and I almost started to cry. It was so sad.  But no, I stood there and watched her when she released her last breathing. 

Reflections on My Practising time by Matilda

My name is Matilda and I was placed at Kärråkra Home for elderly at Eslöv. The persons I was working with were really nice and I felt very welcomed.

I think practicing time is a good idea, concerning my kind of education because there are so many things that you can´t learn at school. For example, you often need different strategies to deal with certain kinds of patients and to get a better image of what we will do when we start working for real.

 I learnt a lot, like how to talk to the patients, change clothes when the patient still is in bed and how to feed whoever needed it. The whole experience has made a great impact on me and has helped me to understand what I want to do with my life.

Reflections on My Practising time by Albulena

Hey, my name is Albulena and I’m sixteen years old. I practiced at a retirement home at Arlöv. People working there are nurses, physiotherapist nurses, assistants and hourly employees. I have practiced at a retirement home for one month. The people working there were so nice to me. It`s good to work there because you help the old people and someone of those may not be able to walk or something else, but sometimes it`s not that good because some of them are heavy and annoying.

During my practice time I have learnt how to take care of people that have broken the leg. I have also learnt how to take tests (blood sugar) and how to answer the phone when someone calls you up to your floor, and how to talk to the old people, how to wash them but it was sometimes rather hard.

The personnel were rather kind but there was one that was especially nice to me. She called me darling, my little girl and stuff. 

Reflections on My Practising time by Erik

My name is Erik and I was placed at Mårtens Lund in Lund which is a special housing for people with special needs.

It’s a really good idea with practice in your education because you get to work with people who actually need help instead of practicing with healthy classmates.

The people working there were very kind and they made a lot of jokes to make the work more fun and they were always trying to see the positive and not just think about the negative.

I learnt a lot about the daily activities of the housing and how to help people with different diseases. One of the moments that had a great impact on me was when my supervisor had me do the main job and he was assisting me and asking me questions to see what I had learnt.

Reflections on My Practising time by Gabriela

My name is Gabriela and I practiced at a home for elderly at Eslöv. It’s really good with practise in your education because you can see if that is really what you want to work with in the future.

The people working there are very funny and nice

One day I was going alone to a room and when I came there the patient was very sick and had a TIA- attack and I called the ambulance and now she is ok! It really made me proud!

Reflections on My Practicing time by Jessica N

My name is Jessica and I was placed at Föreningsgatan’s retirement home in Landskrona.

I think practicing is a good way of learning because you see things in reality.

People working there are good at their job and nice and pleasant. I have learnt a lot like how to deal with people and how to work with the old and sick people.

Reflections on My Practicing time by Amanda

My name is Amanda and my practicing place was at Väpnaren at Klippan. I have mostly learnt routines. I have been in a resting home before. I have learnt some new things like good tricks for old with different damages.

Practice is in one way good for our education because we need to work with human care, health, requiring and interference in daily life. We also need to talk and understand their situation. But if you don’t want to work with this kind of job I think that there should be other options. It’s very important to learn all this stuff but there can be other jobs than a resting home.

The people working at Väpnaren are very kind and can understand the old women’s situation. Those working there get on very well and the house is newly built so it’s very clean. It’s a good working place.

It’s a great experience that we have so many good appliances to help elderly people. I have seen many new appliances that make it easier to move forward. It helps not only the patient but you us well, not to get unnecessary damage. 

Welcome!

This is a blog where students in the Comenius project I teach you, you teach me share their experiences of interaction between generations. Students visiting or working with elderly people will publish their thoughts, experiences and pictures to share with the other schools in the project.