So what exactly...do you do?

Since I've begun my internship at the International School of Brussels, I have been asked several times what, exactly, I do. Being an "intern" doesn't really lend itself to a self-description sort of job.

So...
Are you a teacher? Well, no.
Are you an assistant? Um, not exactly.
So what exactly...do you do there?

Well, I...
-work with four different first grade teachers
-am first in line if any of those teachers needs a sub
-lead morning meetings
-play guitar
-transport kids around the school/campus
-lead reading groups
-bask in the greatness of my weekly duties (morning and recess)
-resolve conflicts (*see above)
-differentiate between attention seeking/genuine bone breaking injuries (already one broken arm this year)
-manage six year olds who have behavioral disorders and don't speak English
-cut, paste, copy, print...and any other tedious labor with which the teachers need assistance
-organize and create bulletin boards
-take photos
-clean
-lead a book club
-manage the student/class guinea pig interactions
-babysit
-help lead for a sports program that meets once a month
-communicate between parent and teacher/parent and child/child and teacher
-dictate students' writing when they still aren't able to hold a pencil properly
-assist during computer times
-familiarize students with terms and phrases like "community" and "habitat" and "wash your hands after going to the bathroom"

So you can see that it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what I do, or at least enough to give myself a proper title. Teacher/counselor/transporter/laborer/photographer/manager/leader/assistant/communicator estraordinaire has a nice ring to it. TCTLPMLACE for short, of course.

And all of this happens just during the day. Nevermind the netball league I'm playing in, the French classes I'm taking, the two girls that I tutor, the book club I've joined, and the choir rehearsals I attend in the evening. And the weekends? I save those for traveling around the world. Or just Europe. Whichever sounds most appealing to me at the time. I'll be checking out Amsterdam this weekend. I'll fill you in on how adventurous that turns out to be in my next blog.

Until then,
Bonsoir.