GOES

Dear all of you,

I hope you are all enjoying your internship.

Romain: it looks really interesting and the three of you seem lucky to be in such a great school.

Steph: I hope it will get better.

Karim: your pictures are beautiful! I definitely want to come in April! I want to see the whales!!! :- )

On the Friday before my departure, I was a bit “dépassé” by everything because I had not packed yet and I did not know what to take with me. I was really excited and definitely not scared because my sister was driving me there and I would have her with me for the weekend to get used to my new home and village.

What about my arrival there:

Once upon a time (three weeks ago to be more specific), on a Saturday, a young girl (22 is definitely still young!) arrived in a small village with her sister. The name of that village was Goes.

I must stop here and give you a few informations about that village otherwise you will not be able to visualise the story.
Goes is a village of 36 800 inhabitants (but they are definitely cheating on the numbers! There is no way that 36 800 persones are leaving is this village (unless you put thirty of them in each house!) There are no big buildings. Most of the constructions are small houses. There is a small harbour which is really cute when it is sunny. (As you can see on this picture)

Goes can also be creepy when it is foggy. (a few days ago I was just walking around the streets, it was rainy and foggy and I swear I felt like acting in a cheap horror movie where you wonder why the girl is stupid enough to walk alone at night in an empty dark foggy street because she is definitely going to be torture and killed by some creepy maniac).
And as we are in the Netherlands and they eat supper around 17h30, there is no living soul left on the streets after 18h. (I swear I am not exaggerating! The first words of my sister when we arrived around 18h on Saturday were “C’est super mignon mais ça fout les boules comme endroit... c’est samedi soir! Ils sont où les gens!”)


Back to my wonderfull story: (for those who did not understand: the young girl is me!)

My sister and I first put all my stuff (table, chairs, suitcases ...) in my new house
and then we went out for dinner and then to sleep.

The next morning we went for a walk in the village hoping we would meet living persons but we returned back home disapointed. On Sunday, people stay at home and everything is closed (except the Subway!) so we took the car and went for a walk on the beach and she then left for Brussels. On Sunday night (meaning around 17h30) I went to eat at the house of the teacher who “takes care” of all the language assistants, Mrs Dieleman. It was really pleasant.

On Monday, I had to be at school at twelve to meet my mentors. I thought I was going to have four or five mentors but I then learned that I was only going to have one. I was first introduced to her and then to the all staff members. That was a bit awkward because I had to stand and Mrs Dieleman asked everybody’s attention and introduce me. I did not have to say a word. When she was finished I just sat and started talking to my new mentor. Her name is Mrs van Koevering. She is super nice. When I first met her, she was wearing a pair of used jeans and a lether jacket with “diamonds” on it and silver boots. It was quite a weird but definitely funny outfit for a teacher.
She told me that during the next week the pupils would have oral exams and asks me to take students during the lessons and to talk with them so they could practice their English. I was surpised to see how good their level was.

On Tuesday, my housemate came back from Germany. She goes back there every weekend as she is married and wants to spend some times with her husband. I am really lucky because she is super nice and funny. Her only default is that she always talks while we are watching a movie. She shows me pictures of her wedding, holidays and family. And it is definitely hard to look at the pictures, to listen to her, to watch the movie and to try to follow all this at the same time.

I spent the rest of the week speaking English with the pupils in order to prepare them for the exams.

Nothing really happened during the next week. The pupils had to pass their exams and for those who had English, it mostly went well.

As you understood, there is not much to do here. At the beginning, I was a bit scared I would get bored. However, I like it here. I read, work, watch TV,go on internet (when it is working) and walk a lot.

My schedule is great. I must be at school on Monday afternoon and Tuesday all day. I am off on Wednesday and must be there again on Thursday and Friday afternoon. All in one, it is 15 houres which is perfect not to have too much pressure but not to get bored either.
I have four classes. The pupils are around 15 years old. I have three “vmbo” classes and one “havo”. They are adorable and respectful (except some girls in one of the vmbo classes).

The school is quite different than those where I have been during my other internships:

- There are no gates around the school. Anyone can go in and out of the school.
- Pupils are allowed to smoke on the “playground”.
- I-pods and GSM are allowed in the school but are not suppose to be used during the lessons. However some teachers let the pupils listen to music while they are working on their own.
- Pupils can come into the teacher’s room whenever they want to ask questions to teachers.
- Pupils and teachers can wear whatever they want.
- There are only two breaks during the day. Both of them last 30 minutes. There is one in the morning around 10 o’ clock and another one around 12.
- Teachers stay in the classrooms. It is the pupils who move after an hour.
- Pupils can move the table in the classroom. The structure of the room changes every hour.
It is a “free” way of working. For the “vmbo” pupils, it is the last year so they are supposed to know what they are going to study next year and what job they want to do later even if they are just 15. So the aim here is to give a sense of responsibility.

During this last week I have only observed the lessons. My mentor has a strange relation with her pupils. On one side they respect her and listen to her and on the other side they are really closed and have a friendly relationship (she always calls them “My dear friends”). She hugs them and kisses them on the cheeks or the forehead all the time! It took me some days to get use to that!
I hope I will be able to have the same kind of “connection” with htem (without the hugging and kissing)
Anyway, I have definitely the best mentor ever! She is so adorable and super funny!

That is all for now. Except that I am going to India for a month this summer!!! (I know this has nothing to do with the internship but I am so happy about it I wanted to tell you.)

May the Spirits be with you all!

Victor