Let the learning begin!

The second I signed up for the TESL branch of the SPICE program I knew I would be getting myself into quite the learning experience. Today I realized just how challenging this would be and yet equally, if not more so, wonderful. The other student doing the same branch as me met with the principle at Gomerus College (the school we are interning at). At first I was not excited to go because it seemed like a waste of money and time just to sit and drink coffee with him for half an hour. Well, I was wrong.

At 2:17pm we hopped on a train to Gronigen, arrived shortly after 3pm and walked to the school. First we walked into the wrong building (there are 4 at Gomerus), but then were escorted to the right building and met the principle for coffee and discussing the program. First, he informed us that he Googled where we were both from and wanted to hear our whole life stories. It was a wonderful time to build connections with him. Instantly we could tell that international students/studying is his passion. They have international students from all over-- Canada, other European countries, looking into Australia, etc. Clearly I am in the right place for my internship. We then discussed some of the issues with the program-- travel costs, time, etc. He was very open to suggestions and wanted this to be the best it could possibly be. Then he asked what we wanted out of the program. We told him we are expected to observe about 10 hours and teach/interact with students about 80 hours. He said the staff was all excited and always welcoming to new comers-- another wonderful thing to hear.

Let me briefly explain the program-- as a TESL endorsed education major, the goal is to teach students whose first language is not English the various subjects in English. It is a challenging course and only "the most brilliant students" (in the principle's words) do the program, and are therefore usually the most motivated students. So, that is what we will be doing. I can't wait! After the meeting and a tour of the school, he drove us to the train station and we hopped back on the train to Zwolle, landing me home around 7 pm, just in time for the last part of supper.

At first I was questioning this program. Will it go smoothly? Am I going to do alright in it? What if I discover I'm not supposed to be a teacher while I'm here? But with the support of my family (biological and host), staff at Gomerus, and all the others who are so encouraging and willing to help in any way possible, I believe that this is going to be the greatest internship I could experience. After all, who knows where I will be called? Maybe I will end up teaching internationally, maybe even at Gomerus someday. What a blessing that would be!