A junior Intercultural Club in Shah Alam, a school in Kedah and a Mandarin school in Puchong recently enjoyed a fun and interactive session learning about life in Denmark from AFS Returnee to Denmark, Khalilah Talha who was the first Malaysian on the AFS Multi-National Programme to that country.
Denmark is often referred to as the Land of Fairy Tales because Hans Christian Andersen, a prolific writer best remembered for his fairy tales, hailed from there. Khalilah began the session with a kahut quiz to assess the students’ knowledge of Denmark before launching into her presentation which covered aspects of Danish life, culture, sports, food, history and architecture.
There was also a segment where stereotypes and generalisations about Malaysians and Danes were shared with students from the three primary schools. They also learnt about the Danish alphabet which has three additional letters, and a children’s song “Lille Peter Edderkop”.
The students from SK Air Merah, Kulim, SJKC Sin Ming, Puchong and SRK Seksyen 13 Shah Alam were later tested on what they had learned and two winners were given books by Hans Christian Andersen courtesy of Khalilah. Feedback received by both teachers and students alike were positive, with some students expressing great interest to apply for an AFS intercultural experience to Denmark when they are eligible. The two-hour session was arranged by Klang Chapter Vice-President and teacher at high performing school SRK Seksyen 13 Shah Alam, Ong Bee Bee.
