Belgie

Saturday morning at 7:48am 9 SPICE participants departed the Zwolle train station. Final destination: Antwerp, Belgium. They spent 3 hours train hopping through the Netherlands until they reached Antwerp at 11:00am. They stepped off the train into one of the most beautiful train stations in Europe. The architecture was phenomenal! From there, they set off to find their hotel: Rubenshof Hotel (which used to be the house of a very prestigious/wealthy man). But first, the group followed their self-elected leader through the Turkish neighborhood (You have NO idea how terrified I was that I booked the hotel in the sketchiest ghetto area in Antwerp). After about a mile of wandering, they hopped on a tram and found their hotel (located a few kilometers from the city center but still a nice area). From there, the group decided to walk back into town, slowly but surely, and look around, seeing A LOT along the way. There were several museums, government(ish) buildings, and a ton of statues around the city. Because it was such a large group, there was a lot of wandering, picture taking, etc, but not a lot of lingering/information gathering-- something I kind of regret. 

Traveling with a group of 9 is a bit more difficult than I anticipated. Just imagine every aspect of a human being times 9 trying to navigate their way through a foreign city. That's 9 different interests, 9 different styles of touring, 9 different opinions, 9 different appetites, 9 different paces of walking, and 9 of everything else that has to do with human beings. As much as I love the group I traveled with, I wouldn't recommend traveling in large groups. It's just difficult to really enjoy and take in the city. I would have appreciated visiting a few museums, a few more waffles, and a few more hours in the city, but of course I can't always do everything I want. I am just thankful that I did everything Belgium is about: waffles, fries, chocolate, and souvenirs representing all of the countries near Belgium (and none of their own, except for beer openers with the little peeing boy). 

On the train ride back I asked the guys if they thought we saw what a true Belgian city should be like. It's weird: Belgium seems to be a mush-pot of a bunch of different cultures. I did not talk to more than 3 people who were from Belgium, but I saw tons of Turkish people and Dutch people. The shops were filled with cop-out delft and other typical souvenirs from other countries. Besides food, I'm honestly not sure what "Belgian culture" really looks like. See, Belgium used to not be a country, I guess. Supposedly half was France and half was Holland, but then Belgium was born. So they don't have their own language, and they don't have a whole lot of other really distinguishable cultural traditions. Maybe I'm being bias, basing this off of the one city I've seen. So correct me if I am wrong. 

All in all, it was a great weekend. I love the traveling, the public transportation, the food, and the opportunities to see so many different cities. Even if I'm left wondering what I actually saw, I love being able to say that I've been to Belgium. The most important thing to remember is this: I'm only here once and don't want to regret a single thing. And honestly, the only thing I can imagine regretting while in Europe is not seeing as much as I possibly can. So whether or not Belgium is culturally authentic, I know that the trip was worth it. AND my life has indeed been changed by authentic Belgian waffles. :)

Curve Ball

I had every intention of blogging about my day yesterday at Gomarus (another excellent one, mind you), but I just received an e-mail that has thrown me for quite the loop.

I have a very difficult decision to make in the next month or so. At the beginning of the semester I had to apply for student teaching. On the application we have to give some sort of indication where we want to student teach: local, not local (a state other than Iowa, basically), or international. Originally I figured I would do the first half of my student teaching in a bigger city involved in a large public school, and the second half I would complete in Sioux Center so that I could finish my career at Dordt with my friends. Well, the second half of this e-mail informed me that to receive my TESL endorsement I have to student teach internationally. I wasn't completely aware of this, but this obviously makes a lot of sense to me.

Originally I had planned for this semester and my internship at Gomarus to be an indication to me as to whether or not teaching internationally was something I really wanted, but evidently I have to decide whether or not it's something I really want before the end of March... pressure on. Today in our portfolio group we talked about stress and putting things in the hands of God. I opened the session with 1 Peter 5:6-7, a verse about just that. We then talked about different things we stress about. One of the members of my group mentioned how he really only stresses over life decisions: college, career, etc. I, on the other hand, have never had to stress about life decisions because I make them so far in advance. I chose Dordt as a junior in high school, chose my career path early, etc. Usually I stress little things like scholarships, assignments, people's opinions, etc. But of course, the time has come when I have to make a life decision quite rapidly. I don't have all sorts of time to think through everything. The choice is this: do I take the route I've been intending all along and ditch the TESL international, or do I go after something I think I really want but forfeit my last semester with my friends, family, etc and risk finding out that international teaching isn't for me? yeah, that's a lot more stress than I really want to deal with right now. But I suppose I have to take my own advice. It's in God's hands, Jennifer. Do what you must and take it one step at a time, pray, consult those who know you best and who want the best for you, weigh all your options, and did I mention pray?

So, right before Belgium I get this e-mail that stresses me out in a few different ways, but I'm choosing to put it on the back burner for a few days. It'll all work out. I have over a month. Yes, only a month, but still it is time enough. I have all these wonderful things going on around me right now that I'm going to appreciate, and I will just take it one step at a time and trust it's all going to work out.

On a lighter note, Gomarus yesterday was wonderful and Katrina and I explored Groningen a bit more as well: beautiful. Today I met with the principal and a bilingual teacher at the public school in Zwolle and that went wonderfully. All these awesome opportunities are opening up for me and I love it! After that meeting, LaRae and I went skating with our host mom and brother. I still stink at skating even in Europe, but it was really fun. A couple of the SPICE buddies showed up, too. All in all a good week, despite that scary e-mail, and now I get to enjoy a weekend in Belgium with some great people. So, again, no update for a few days. Sorry!

This education system rocks... maybe... sometimes?

On Tuesday afternoon we took a little field trip to a local Christian "high school" in Zwolle. In case you weren't aware of this already, their education system is a lot different than ours. Or is it? There are three levels: primary school, high school, then college (similar to ours). The main difference is the way it is split up. When students are in high school they are split into tracks, and these tracks are geared toward their abilities/interests as learners. In the states, we have similar things, but not every school is able to cater to each students interests and abilities. Here, since all schools, public and private, are funded by the government, they can. This sounds nice, right?
Well, not when you hear it from a narrow-minded old-school Canadian English teacher who only focuses on the negatives of the education systems he is not a part of. Dutch schools, according to this man, are superior to all other educational institutes because (I quote) ALL Dutch students love school. OK, sir, generalizations are ALWAYS wrong (haha). Had he stopped at this statement, I would have been fine. Obviously he didn't. He continued to tell us exactly why these students are so happy: because their learning needs are being met by the schools pushing them to do the track that is "right for them." Regardless if a student desires to be a mechanic or not, if the school sees that as the best fit, that's where they will go. Sure, they can try to be a teacher or engineer, but ultimately, they will fail in that and end up in the mechanic branch anyways. This is sparing them from failure, teachers from frustration, and other students from being held back/frustrated as well.
OK, that's not called education. First of all, it is the teacher's responsibility to help students discover what they're good at/career paths, NOT force them into one. Secondly, teaching shouldn't be about convenience for the teacher. If you have students who are bored and not learning, you don't just kick them out of that class or level; you work with them. You differentiate your teaching. What a horrible philosophy about teaching. Nothing is more frustrating than to hear someone who is respected and noted as a "great" educator say things that are so ridiculous, ignorant, and quite frankly irresponsible as a teacher. Maybe that's a bit harsh, but he really, really rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not a fan of taking the easy way out in anything, especially in teaching. If I wanted an easy job in life, I'd sign up for something else. Teaching is not going to be easy. I'm going to be frustrated with students who don't understand or who don't apply themselves, but I can't just pass the blame on them or the responsibility on another teacher. It's part of the job description, and if you don't like it, go be a plummer or something.
Alright, I might be being a tad bit bias, but this man really put my guard up and got me thinking: is this really a system I could see myself teaching in? They say they are all about the individual, but this dictating what track students are "capable" of doesn't sound like enhancing the individual or advancing the education of students at all. To me it sounds like hog wash and like schools are all about what's most convenient for the teachers. I don't like it. No thanks; send me back to good old 'Merica, please!
Today (Wednesday) I asked a few of the Dutch buddies who are education majors at the GH to talk with me about their education track to become teachers/the education system in general. After much deliberation and bribing (a cup of coffee/hot chocolate and the threat of a muffin being thrown at them if they refuse to meet with me), the gentlemen agreed to educate me on their education. So I asked a few general questions: Why do you want to teach? What do you want to teach? What are your life ambitions? How many credits do you have? Do you like how much internship you do?  And so on and so forth.
You'd think the answer to the first question would be pretty easy, but they seemed shocked that I asked them. Maybe they didn't think I was being serious, but alas, they did answer me. They agreed they both liked the idea of interacting with students and that it's different every day. Not a bad reason, but isn't there more to teaching? Yes. Yes, there is.
I then told the guys what I had gathered from the teacher on Tuesday afternoon. They said, "no, he is not being completely fair to the system." According to them, the teachers, parents, students, and some sort of entrance test to indicate the student's level together decide what track the student will enter. So, if a student doesn't score very high but the teachers and parents think the student can achieve at the next level, they can enter that level. They are given a few chances (not sure the specifics here), but if they can't keep up, they meet with the student and discuss different options. This is more acceptable.
Here's something interesting. Earlier I had a discussion with one of the host dads about special education, something very dear to my heart after working at Hope Haven and with my favorite 7th grader. Here they have special schools for students with disabilities. As of right now, schools are able to turn down students with disabilities. However, some schools are working on integrating special  needs into their schools. Ultimately the goal is to have this in every school, so that students/teachers can choose if they want their students to be in whichever school they see most fitting for their students needs. I asked the guys what they thought of this-- not the hugest fans. They said something along the lines of this being a lot of work for teachers and that the teachers in the special schools are trained specifically to help these students, and ultimately this is better for them. I disagree. 1) Life doesn't ship disabled people to a different country, and education should give students-- ALL students-- opportunities that give them skills they'll need in the real world. 2) Teaching is not about "ease." It's about teaching, regardless of the situation or the students. I agree, special ed teachers have the resources and skills that are most fitting, but in the states, that is why we have resource rooms, etc.

Because I need to get to bed to get some sleep before my internship in the morning, I'll summarize. At the end of my little interview session I came to this conclusion: they have a good system here, but like everywhere, it could use some work. The idea of helping students prepare for their career choice earlier is a wonderful idea and probably extremely helpful. The idea of separate tracks for varied learning abilities is amazing and I wish my high school would have had the funds for that. The idea of separating special needs students from the rest of the learners still irks me, but I am glad they are working to incorporate special education into every school. Really, it's a blessing guys. Working with people with disabilities will change your life. Yeah, it's frustrating at times, but the rewards are so worth it. I love that these guys get so much time in the classroom as part of their education program; I'm jealous of that. All in all, I think I am a fan of this system, but it's something that will take a lot of getting used to, and something that I still have a lot of questions about. I'm not as willing to say theirs is far better than American schools, but I will give them this: I think they have more of the right idea than us. Can I change that? No. Does this mean I never want to teach in American schools? No. I'm all for the challenge. Who knows, maybe I can bring some of the Dutch school system back with me and show the American teachers exactly what we're missing. One can only dream.

(Side note-- if you have more questions about the Dutch system/think I misunderstood it, please don't reprimand me. I am learning here still. Consult either Anne-Geert, Tom, or Gerald. :))

DAG!

Photos All Around!

Because nothing exciting is happening today besides trying to decide whether the word "vaak" means what we all think it means in Dutch class, I decided now would be a good time to post a few pictures. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you've already seen them. If you aren't... well, get on that!

Zwolle from the Pepper Box

Zwolle City Center

Amsterdam!

Night Watch by Rembrandt

De Bakker en Gouda

City Hall en Gouda

Halfway up a windmill in Gouda

Delft wooden shoe

Bridge in Delft

The cathedral in Cologne, Germany

Weekend #3

This weekend has been a bit different than what I intend most weekends to be like. That is, I spent a majority of my time in the house, relaxing, and eating. I don't have a problem with that, but generally speaking, I assumed most weekends I'd be taking on Europe, one country at a time. This weekend pretty much the whole group decided to stay in the Zwolle area. Saturday a bunch of girls got together to watch the Harry Potter movies. It seemed like a great idea to try to watch them all, but alas, we only made it through about 2 and a half. Here's the deal: we intended to start at 10am, but didn't get to Lauren's until a bit after 10, and then waited for Katrina to show up with the movies. We waited, and waited, and waited. We called Katrina, and she said she was on her way, about a kilometer away. So we waited, and waited...
and still waited. Apparently Katrina's kilometers are a lot further away than the average person's.

Finally, we called her again, got the name of the street she was on, and after over an hour of waiting, Katrina arrived to Lauren's with the assistance of Lauren's host dad coming to rescue her. The plan was to watch the movies, eat some pizza, and chill in sweatpants (bright yellow, mind you). That all went down the tubes as we impatiently tried to change the language to English, realized we had the "kill yourself extended version" of the movies, and that pizza places didn't deliver, or even open, until after 4pm. Most people would just accept their pizza-less fate and make a sandwich. Not us. No, LaRae and I decided it was worth the 5 minute bike ride in the snow in our slippers and sweats to find pizza at the grocery store. Let me tell you, nothing screams American like bright yellow slippers and sweats frantically searching the grocery store for frozen pizzas.

But alas, we achieved our goal, watched some Harry Potter, ate some pizza, and chilled all day. Then we decided to take on the grocery store again to get ingredients for dinner and puppy chow. Apparently people don't eat chex mix, chocolate chips, powdered sugar, or more than 5 chicken nuggets here, because we couldn't find anything we needed. Maybe it was just the grocery store, but seriously-- no powdered sugar or chocolate chips!? We decided on making brownies with oreos in them and had fries and fish sticks for dinner. We then proceeded to go out on the town. You quickly learn that socializing trumps cold bike rides, that is, when you have a close bike ride. For some, even a slow clap, bribery, and peer pressure are not enough... sadly.

Sunday arrived and after a week-long battle, my immune system gave in and the cold virus took control of my body. After church, all I wanted to do was sleep, but of course I wanted coffee time, too. So, I sat and had coffee and appletaart with the family, and suddenly the door opened and in walked my oldest host brother, his wife, and their adorable baby. All sickness, tiredness, and bad mood left instantly as I watched the precious baby interact with the rest of the family. After some socializing and broodjes, I went upstairs and took a nap until dinner time.

At 12:29am (yes, midnight thirty) our time the Superbowl would be online and available to watch (that was what we had made the brownies for), but I arrived to the conclusion that socializing was not enough for me to bike 30 minutes at that time of morning and then back again afterwards. So instead, I wrote some more, drank some coffee, ate a brownie, let my roommate cut my hair, and went to bed.

That is not a typical weekend-- for American travelers or Dutch folk, but still, it was a good one.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Because I have been so busy with my internship, trying to convince my body to sleep in, shopping, and eating giant hamburgers that have ham on them, I have no been blogging this week, and I apologize. However, I have been writing every day, in my defense, just not blogging.

On Wednesday, LaRae and I went shopping with one of the other girls on SPICE, so that was fun. I seriously love the way people dress here, especially the guys. After a bit of shopping we biked back home and then my uncle and aunt came to visit. Because I have been having a bit of trouble with my American credit card/bank account (AKA getting charged an arm and a leg to exchange euros), they brought me a Dutch debit card! So that's sweet. We had coffee together, talked a bit, and then they headed back to Friesland to feed their horses. Soon I plan to visit them there, but it was nice to get in touch with them a little bit already.

Wednesday night Katrina spent the night because we had to get to the bus station to meet our carpool date at 7:10 in the morning. What is carpool date? Well, Katrina and I figured out that it was going to be extremely expensive to travel by train every week, so we consulted our host parents to see what options were. Carpooling seemed like a great option, but where would we find someone to carpool with? Carpooldate.com, of course! Sounds a bit sketch, right? Imagine 2 girls sitting at a bus stop at 7:10am, a car pulling up and asking, "Are you Jennifer? I am here to pick you up," and then continuing on to Gronigen. The man was actually very nice and the ride wasn't awkward at all, at least not to me. Maybe he thought it was.

So Thursday Katrina and I hopped around the Gomarus school following the bilingual students, grades 7 and 8 (2 and 3 here), through History, Biology, and English grammar classes. I am so in love with this already. In history they were learning about the De Witt brothers. It's interesting to learn about another country's history because I have no idea, no bias, about anything going on. Another interesting thing we saw in history was the way the kids think words are spelled in English. For example, "revenge" was spelled "revanche." Interesting, right?

Perhaps I should explain what exactly is going on in this school. These students are taking all of their classes in English. So, they are not only learning new subjects but in a different language. I can't imagine trying to learn about my own country's history in a different language. Generally speaking, these students are the most brilliant and motivated students because they choose (or their parents choose for them) to be in this program. Usually I am not a huge fan of middle school students, but I already find myself growing quite fond of certain students.

After our day of observing, Katrina and I went shopping and then met up with some of the Dutch buddies for dinner in Gronigen before they presented something for the GH. We had a hamburger...and there really was ham on it! So strange, but so delicious. Then we got on a train and came back. When I got home I booked my Easter trip tickets-- Ireland and London-- and then LaRae and I met a few of the Dutch buddies and went out for drinks.

Friday I, again, did not have class so I slept in, and surprise-- there was snow! And not just a little bit of snow, no, it was snowing a lot of very large snowflakes. It was so pretty, but so scary to bike in. I bundled up, grabbed my bags, and headed off to school to fill out scholarship apps and check out books for my internship. After a little while, I met a few girls for coffee and Coffee United, the new place to hang out and do "homework." We then biked to the far side of town for Katrina's birthday party and finally, around 1AM, I arrived back home.

So, as you can see, I've been very, very busy the past few days, and am looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend of Harry Potter, pizza, and friends.

Ticket to Amsterdam

Well, today we left at 9:15 for Amsterdam. We were supposed to arrive around 10:45, but for some reason the train in front of us was not working, causing us to be delayed for over an hour. So, around noon we arrived in Amsterdam and toured the city. First stop: red light district. The last time I was here we went there as well, and surprisingly this time was a bit less appalling than the first time. Still, where are these women's dignity? Jokingly I told my roommate these women get up, "get dressed," and head to work where they sell themselves, and I am going to get up, get dressed, and go teach children. I just don't see how both can be considered jobs or how any human being could think that is an OK decision. It's really, really sad that we live in a world that not only accepts but also encourages this. Sickening to my soul.

After the culture shock of that we drank some hot cocoa, took a canal tour of the city, went to the Rieks Museum, and then to the Anne Frank house. You think I am just giving a very brief description of this, but in reality, this was not the highlight of our day. No, the highlight was the train ride back.

6:24pm, 5 girls go sprinting through the Amsterdam Centraal station, burgers and fries in hand, trying to make a 6:26pm train. They get on the train and then much to our surprise, we get about 20 minutes from Zwolle and find out that a person had jumped in front of another train and that we would, again be delayed, but this time for over 3 hours. So, what do you do with 17 Americans, 3 Dutch college students, and 1 professor while waiting for/on a few trains after a day full of walking and train rides already? You play Mafia, sing "Don't Stop Believing," and listen for the whistle.

10:15pm we arrive back in Zwolle after a total of 5 hours in Amsterdam and about 8 hours on a train. Now what? Well, we go to the Joffer, of course! We biked home, got ready, then headed back downtown for a night out. What a great night...  until I fell off my bike, scraped my knee, broke my chain, and got to double bike with LaRae, and then went to bed. Long but good day.


The End.