Teaching Teachers at Fulbright ETA Orientation

Mëttwoch, 23 September.

After a whirlwind trip to Brussels for Fulbright Orientation, I'm finally back in Luxembourg ... and still digesting everything I learned less than twenty-four hours ago!

The second day of Fulbright Orientation was reserved solely for the five English Teaching Assistants and focused on the challenge of teaching English abroad. Although we all have varying levels of teaching and tutoring experience, it would be a stretch to call any of us professional teachers. Of course, that's not the point of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship; if it were, they'd hire actual trained teachers instead of young people right out of college. Still, it's hard not to feel underqualified for the position -- especially when you realize that you're teaching more English Literature courses than you ever actually took.

That's why ETA Orientation was so important. It provided us with some teaching strategies and helpful advice and it reminded us that we're all are in similar -- if equally poorly-equipped -- boats!

Ready to exchange, explore, evolve and -- hopefully -- EDUCATE!

Touring Brussels with Fulbright Belgium

Méindeg, 21 September.

Hello from Belgium! I'm here in Brussels for my Fulbright Orientation -- a two-day crash course in living and teaching abroad. As part of our Fulbright Orientation today, we were given a brief walking tour of downtown Brussels. Since the vast majority of grantees won't be living in Brussels, this was a great opportunity to get to know the city while we were in town.

Photo courtesy of Fulbright Commission Belgium (Flickr).

We began our tour in la Grand-Place, the historic heart of Brussels. This city square has been the center of the city since the twelfth century; in fact, the Hôtel de Ville (pictured below) was built as early as the fifteenth century!

I found it interesting that most of the square -- along with the rest of the city of Brussels -- was destroyed in the seventeenth century by Louis XIV of France. When the residents of Brussels decided to rebuild their city, they did so quickly, coherently, and with respect to the existing historical buildings. That's why, according to UNESCO, the Grand-Place is such a stunning example of a world heritage site.

In addition to the ever-impressive Grand-Place, one of the most impressive sights on our tour were the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert (or Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen), a covered shopping arcade built in the mid-19th century. The opulence and sheer size of the galleries serves as proof of the wealth of the city of Brussels. It's stunning!

The arcade contains three beautiful galleries, appropriately named the Galerie de la Reine, the Galerie du Roi and the Galerie des Princes. Nathan, our impromptu tour guide, informed us that back in the day, people used to pay for admission just to walk through the galleries.

Photo courtesy of Fulbright Commission Belgium (Flickr).