6 LU

Well, tomorrow is the big day. The day that determines if I am truly prepared to teach on my own. Until these last few weeks, I really had no idea what goes into the first first day of school. How am I going to decorate my walls? What will my rules be? What are our class jobs? Where will our portfolios go? HOW WILL I INTRODUCE MYSELF? What will we do right away on the first day? How will the students do make-up work? How strict to I have to be? How often will I integrate technology? How will I assess them in math? Reading? Spelling? Writing? Should I send an introduction letter to the parents? Which students can sit by each other? Which of my students don't speak English? Where will their notebooks go? Should I assign lockers? Where can I find binder dividers? Where do I take my bus line? Do I allow the kids to see the classroom before I get them to bring them up before school? Will they like me??? And these are only a fraction of the questions I have had to ask myself and others in the past 3 weeks. 3 weeks! What have I been doing all of this time that I still don't feel ready for tomorrow?? I am exaggerating. If I left this very minute I am sure I would make it just fine through the day (By the way it is 6:30 pm). But in the life of a teacher there is always something more that could be done.
We had new student orientation today and I got to meet five of the six students that are new to the school. They were all so sweet and open to discussion and they left me on a high the rest of the morning. Yes! This is what I'm here for! I just hope that feeling lingers throughout the week...the term...the year!
Here goes. Wish me luck.

A rainy day in Brussels town

Ah, it's good to be back! I've now been back in Brussels for 6 days and have managed to move out of my old apartment, move into my new one, do some rearranging in my new classroom, and attend hours of meetings dealing with taxes, lunch cards, and the philosophy of ISB. My To Do list continues to grow, which is expected when moving into an unfurnished apartment, but considering this is the first time I've moved into an apartment with out anything being provided, I find that more and more things I had just always taken advantage of keep jumping on my To Do list as well. Included on my list are setting up a phone line and Internet (I'm using the computer in my old apartment right now since the apartment is still being leased by the school), switching the utilities into my name, and picking up a rug and washing machine that I had purchased last year that I couldn't move without a car. My roommate, Amy, moves in Sunday, and I'm excited to see her again for many reasons, one of which is her car that she will be bringing. It will certainly make moving and shopping for our apartment exponentially easier without having to walk everything everywhere.

It feels great to be back. There is an amazing group of new hires, including 4 Luther interns (one of whom is my friend Megan who was here last year as a student teacher), who have all done loads together in these first couple weeks. I hosted the first Sunday market chicken dinner on Sunday to celebrate moving into my new apartment and the fact that I now live right behind the market. We've had an equal number of rainy days to sunny days, which is significantly better than last year when it rained for the first 17 days I was here. And tomorrow is a holiday, which means all shops and businesses will be closed (including the school) so I have no choice but to reacquaint myself with the city of Brussels by walking around and drinking coffee in cafes.

Have I mentioned that it's good to be back?

I've missed you, Iowa

So today marks Day 26 of being back in the states. With only 5 more days remaining of my summer, I am beginning to reflect on the reasons that I have missed/will miss not only Iowa, but different aspects of the states in general. The following are the things I've forgotten I've missed about living in the states:
1. Driving a car-7 months of not driving one is a long time. I couldn't wait to get behind the wheel of my old but reliable Chevy and cruise around Des Moines with my music blaring and windows rolled down.

2. Stores open past 6 or anything open 24 hours-I went to Target at 9 pm just because I could. I ate at Perkins at 2 am. I love that I don't have to do all of my shopping before I eat my dinner.

3. Eavesdropping-I never realized that I would miss it until I realized I couldn't do it living in a country whose language I'm only beginning to understand. There is only so much of a conversation that you you can grasp when you're listening in and only catch "tomorrow," "car" and maybe "it's hot outside."

4. Small talk-Similar to the previous item, I never realized I would miss small talk until I couldn't make it anymore. Though it did make me appreciate it all the more when I could answer someone's question if they asked what time it was or the name of the next bus stop, it was very frustrating to only be able to say things like "I take the chicken" or "I am looking for shirt" or "It's hot outside." When I arrived back to the states a month ago, I found myself answering questions with way more words than I needed to use, and it was all I could do to limit the conversation to the original topic and not talk just for the sake of talking. It just got me so excited to be able to explain things without answers containing only one word.

5. Free refills-Unlimited coffee and free, refillable water are two of the things I will always miss the most when living in Europe.

6. Courtesy-I will miss being ushered ahead at a store or being told "please" and "thank you" so often that it makes me sick. It took moving to Europe to really appreciate how considerate most Americans are (I say most because I am just now being kicked out of a coffee shop 10 minutes before they close).

I'm sure I will think of more reasons after I move back to Brussels, like that whole "You don't know what you've got til it's gone" motto. But until then, I will keep sipping on my refillable coffee, shopping at 10 pm, and talking to everyone I see just because I can.