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!

Germany-- CHECK!

I intended to write a blog for each day I was in Germany, but quite frankly, I would be writing forever if I included every detail of one of the best weekends of my life. Yes, I realize every weekend here will probably be the best weekends of my life, but I could not have imagined a better place to start my out of Holland European adventure-- Cologne, Germany!

After class on Friday I left with 5 other SPICE students to catch a train from Zwolle to Cologne, with 3 transfers. Each train ride was about an hour long and filled with cards, coffee, and great conversations. The first transfer went smoothly, but then we arrived in Venlo and realized we had 3 minutes to get to our train. But wait, maybe that's not our train, so we slowed down our pace. Then the best old man in the world said to us, "That train leaves in 2 minutes. Are you going to Germany?" And we said yes. Then he said, "You need that train!" And so we ran, jumped on the train, and about 20 seconds later it took off. We then arrived to our last transfer and boarded the train to Cologne. The train arrived, we walked outside, and BAMB-- there was the most beautiful building I have ever seen-- the Catholic cathedral. Honestly, I can try to describe it and show you pictures of it, but words and pictures will not do this building justice. It's majestic architecture, incredible history, and extreme detail is honestly the most incredible thing my eyes have ever seen. Once we arrived we decided to walk to our apartment. We figured the walk would be between 45 minutes and an hour and were up to the challenge. We stopped at a grocery store for some necessities (food, natural water-- AKA sparkling water, etc) and then continued walking. We thought we knew where we were going, but then stopped every block for about 5 blocks to check the maps. Yep, still in Germany. Yep, the Rhine River is still to our right. After an hour and a half of wandering our apt. owner's crabby phone call, we hopped on a bus to get there quicker. We arrived in the "suburb" shortly after 8pm, unloaded our stuff and then went out to pizza. Yes, we ate pizza in Germany.

Here's the best part. We ordered a beer with our pizzas, because we can. Well, I accidentally ordered a half liter beer... oops. It was huge! But delicious and worth it. After that we just hung out in the apartment for the night and then woke up around 9:30am to explore Cologne. We took a bus to the city center and explored-- AKA more walking. We discovered numerous churches, all with beautiful interior and exterior detail. Here's a little historical fact about this city and that cathedral I mentioned earlier. In WW2, the city was bombed and basically completely destroyed, except for the cathedral. Around the city you can find random walls, buildings, arches, etc that survived the bombing, but other than that the city looks decently modern. A few of the churches we visited we reconstructed in the mid-late 1900's. It's a pretty incredibly historical and beautiful city. We made our way to the Cathedral, and like I said, words can't describe it. Everything about it is... ridiculously amazing. That's the best I've got. Here's what got me: the Cathedral was spared because of respect for the church, yet hospitals, schools, and the like were bombed mercilessly. Sure, they warned the people that they would be bombed, but it's just amazing to me to think that bombing buildings that we tend to view as "safe havens" were destroyed. Incredible.

Because we were in Germany, we felt as though we needed to visit a German pub, and so we did. We enjoyed a beer with some locals and some very interesting pictures, and then went off to find the chocolate museum. I had no idea Germans were so big into chocolate. In the museum there was a mini rain forest to show where the cocoa beans grow naturally, a complete guide to the process of making chocolate, and of course free samples-- lekker!

After a day full of walking and exploring, we decided to head back to our apartment, take a power nap, and go out to eat. Then I ordered wiener schnitzel-- which is not a glorified hot dog like I was expecting. It was however just as delicious as I would have hoped. We then went back to the apartment and got ready to enjoy German night life. It was an excellent time, let me tell you!

The next morning, Karl and I got on an earlier train than everyone else (see last blog for a bitter rambling about that), and made it back to Zwolle around 3:30 this afternoon. It was a wonderful weekend, and all the other European countries are sure going to have to step up their game to impress me. I think this weekend will be hard to top. At the end of the weekend, I am left with 200+ pictures, 2 very tired feet, and way too many memories and laughs. Leuk werk, Germany!

No pain, no gain.

When I woke up this morning the last thing I thought was that I'd be spending 7 hours of my day to book ONE train ticket. Good thing only one of our 3 professors showed up for classes today because it gave us plenty of time to discuss our weekend plans. So-- Germany it was: we found train tickets and found an apartment for about 30 euros total per person for 2 nights... sounds sweet, right?

Well, the website to book train tickets was being really selective about everything-- who got to buy tickets, when they got to buy them, and what price they paid. We all expected to pay about 72 euros for a round-trip ticket, but some how one of our travelers got one for 66 (and I booked it for him! I'm such a good Samaritan). Then we got a few others tickets, but for some reason Karl and I could not get tickets... for 7 hours. We literally spent 5 hours straight trying to book tickets and could not get them. We tried everything-- different computers, different credit cards, different websites, even tried to get people in America to help! We tried to call on the phone, but no one would answer and there was a long wait to talk to a rep! Then, at rocket speed, we biked to the train station to try and buy tickets there, only to find out they don't sell international tickets there... yay. So we biked back to my house, ate dinner, talked about the crappy service, and then attempted again. Total  it took about 12 people, 9 computers, 7 hours, 40 minutes on the phone, and a very stern and stubborn Friesan to get it all done. Finally, Karl and I had booked train tickets to get to Germany. What a day... and now I have successfully shoved a weekend's worth of clothes, makeup, passport, camera, and money in my backpack and tomorrow we leave for Germany! Pray for us: we will need it!

Taking the advice I posted earlier: packing 1/2 the clothes I intended to and twice the money.

PS-- this is it for the weekend. No internet in Germany for me! Dag!

Putting Survival Dutch into Practice

Today after class we had to put our survival Dutch into practice by heading out in Zwolle to find a few locations, ask for directions/hours of operation/ordering food, and such. Without my "I'm learning to speak Dutch" pin I'm pretty sure every person would have just started speaking English to me, and I kind of wish they would have. Speaking another language in the context of the real world is so much harder than saying, "I would like to pay" in front of your struggling Dutch class classmates. But alas, I managed to order a hot chocolate and a muffin. :)

Sorry to disappoint, but that is about as interesting as my day was today. Not every day can involve cheese and stroep waffles though. :)

Tuesday is the New Friday

Today seriously felt like a Friday all day. A piece of me is thankful it isn't though, because our first full weekend adventure to a different country is supposed to happen this weekend and we are no where near ready for it, but right now it's looking like Belgium? Who knows. Everything changed here in a blink of an eye (especially the weather). Anyways, today wasn't all that eventful at school: Survival Dutch, Cross-cultural communication, cheese sandwich for lunch, and intro to our art class. After class we biked home and looked up some more stuff for trips. Good news-- Spring break flight got booked. From Barcelona to home is 30 euros! Now we just have to get to Barcelona. This is going to be the best Spring Break yet!

For dinner we had a sort of dinner party with our parents and their Bible study group. There was lots of really, really good food (most of it had bacon in it... mmm mmm mmm). One of the ladies asked us if we've noticed differences in the cultures and what exactly we had noticed-- mostly toilets, coffee, drinking, stairs, and small driving paths. After dinner there was coffee time, of course, but this one was a bit different than usual. Coffee was served during their Bible study. Unaware that I was kind of intruding on the discussion, I grabbed a chair and my coffee and joined in. About 40 seconds later I realized what just happened but knew it was too late to walk away. So, I did what Americans do best-- ate. Probably feeling inclined to include the American, the group informed me of the discussion: the difference between grace and mercy. Then I was put on the spot: what IS the difference? I was not expecting that one... so, I thought for a second, ate a little more, sipped my coffee, and then answered. To me, grace is something that is already present. Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. Mercy, however, is something we must ask for when we repent of our sins. Maybe that's completely wrong, but that's what it seems to be to me. I'm curious: what's the difference to you, followers? There was some more discussion in Dutch, and some translation: should it be easy to accept mercy? Again, what do you think? 

At first, I felt a bit awkward entering a Dutch Bible study, but I am actually glad I "intruded" the Bible study. What a wonderful thing, to be able to participate in a Bible study with a group of people who don't speak the same language as me? Another blessing. :)

Waking Up in Zwolle

So, Monday rolls around and the weekend has finally caught up to me. I tried to tell myself to go to bed on time Sunday night, but after hanging out with my host family, putting away laundry, and skyping my sister about her trip out here (yes, she and Nate are coming!), it was almost midnight. Then it took me a bit to fall asleep and before I knew it, it was 6am and my alarm went off... I threw my phone, went back to bed and re-woke up at 7:40am. I got ready, made lunch, grabbed my bike and took off. I asked LaRae if she thought I should wear rain pants but she said it wasn't supposed to rain. So, we met Lauren and biked our way to the bridge...where it began to pour rain. Note to self: LaRae is no longer in charge of weather forecasts. We showed up to class pretty wet-- a combination of rain and sweat, and sat through 3 classes.

After class, we began looking at where we wanted to travel. Long story short, travel planning is NOT that easy. There's so many places to go, so many sites to compare prices, and in the end, you still pay an arm and a leg. However, we got some rough plans figured out and are well on our way to a wonderful semester in a lot of wonderful places. 

After dinner LaRae and I went to a friend's to watch a movie. I wasn't planning on going because I wanted to fill out scholarships but alas, I joined. Another long story short, don't watch Braveheart unless you are wide awake and have 3 hours to focus on poor acting and a lot of fake blood. It was a decent plot, but I just really am not into movies that don't include Draco Malfoy (kidding, but not). 

At 10:40pm I arrived home and will literally fall asleep in seconds... so... DAG!

Sunday Funday!

9:30am-- Breakfast with the family. 10:35am-- walk to church (in the rain, or course) with the family. 11:00am-- church in a completely foreign language. Yes, we have an English Bible. Yes, we have a translation of the sermon. Yes, our host Dad fills us in on what is going on in church, but it's just really not the same. I'm sitting there trying to follow the sermon, but I'm also trying to learn Dutch as I go, resulting in a very frustrated and tired brain. I'm closing my eyes during prayer, but all I can think about is hearing the "Amen" so I open my eyes with the rest of the congregation and don't look like I've fallen asleep. I'm seeing these 3 beautiful babies get baptized but I have no idea what the pastor is saying besides, "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

Part of the journey of SPICE is challenging ourselves to be submerged in a completely different culture and learn and grow from them. If I don't understand 90% of what these people are saying, how am I supposed to grow? You take what you have been given and roll with the punches. You ask questions. You appreciate the fact that you can be in a country that allows you to worship freely with others. You recognize that not everything in life is going to be easy as pie and you go with it and make the most of it. I'm not going to lie; it's a bit of a struggle mustering up the same excitement to go to a church when I know only 3 people and about 5 words. Jennifer, get over yourself. How selfish of me to think that I'm not getting anything out of a time of worship on the Lord's Day. I am so lucky to be able to study in a different country and to live with a family that comes from the same religious background as I do. Imagine how much more difficult it would be if my "Sunday fellowship" was with nonbelievers or Buddhists?

We got home from church and had coffee and cookies with the family, made a sandwich, then took a nap. After our nap, we had soup and bread and potato salad for dinner (just like home). Then we had little mini pancakes (they have a name for these like pulfergees or something like that), followed by ice cream-- my sweet tooth was more than satisfied. Then our two host brothers that live in Zwolle came over for coffee and family time. It was so fun. Seriously, this family is giving my own a run for their money. We looked for our farm on the map, but only found the "village" of Orovada and so I showed them some pictures on facebook. We then spent the next hour or so looking at pictures, telling stories, drinking coffee, and eating more sweets. We also learned a joke in Dutch, but that is something I will have to impress you all with in person. Believe me, you will not be disappointed: if it's not funny, at least be impressed by the fact that I can tell a joke adequately in Dutch.

All in all, it was a great Sunday, regardless of the rain and language barrier. That's something that's going to take adjusting and time, but that's alright with me.