Challenges and Future Plans

Monday, November 24th

It's Monday again, but there are only two weeks left in this time abroad. While two weeks sounds so short now, there have been times here in which two weeks feels like a long time. In this post, I will discuss some of the challenges I have faced while being here as well as my plans for the future.

It's almost comical the way it works. I arrived here and everything was new. Everyday I faced new situations and was consistently challenged with culture and context. Now, I've made some friends, I know many people in the school, and the day-to-day is smoother. Just when you start to find your place its time to go home.

One of the biggest challenges that I've faced while here is the language barrier. At first, it was easy for me to accept that I didn't understand what was being spoken around me and I was content to sit and be a part of whatever was going on. I've found though, with time, I've started to partially understand what is happening and in my opinion, that's harder.

Despite my lack of studying Dutch, through repetition and routine, I understand basic phrases, nonverbal cues, and common situations. This means when I am part of a Dutch class or in a Dutch-spoken social situation, I can participate, just not fully. I believe that as I've come to know people more and feel more belonging here that I want to be more involved in what is going on. However, the language barrier is still very strong. This can lead to some frustration as I feel I'm missing out or unsure if I am taking an acceptable action. In these moments, when I feel that frustration rising, I remind myself of the kindness people have shown me to include me and make me feel very welcomed here. That gratefulness helps me to return to a place of contentment and evaluating how I can be involved where I am, how I am.

Another rising challenge I am facing here is fatigue. When I arrived here, I brought excitement and interest. I was always eager to learn about the culture and see new places. While I would say that that interest is still here, I would also say that one first experience after another has worn me down a bit. Newness is exciting but with time there has been a growing desire for normalcy and the familiar. Changes and challenges take a lot of energy and I feel that my battery is getting low. To fight this fatigue, I've practiced a lot of self-compassion, something I learned about last year. By forgiving myself gently and quickly for cultural misunderstandings, having a quickly-drained social battery, or being unhappy with my delivery of a lesson, I am able to reduce the buildup of stress and continue to enjoy the beauty and individuality of this place. I also allow an extra hour for sleep, knowing the importance of listening to my body as it signals for more sleep.

As I began thinking about heading home, I made a plan for travel, rest, and moving forward to getting my first teaching job.

When I leave here in two weeks, I will take the train to Germany. While I initially planned to explore the country more, an opportunity for a great stay in Germany came up. I have also been able to travel around the Netherlands a lot in the time here, so I look forward to staying at the retreat center in Germany for a few days.

After Germany, I will explore Amsterdam for a couple days before my flight. In this time, I will visit the Rijksmuseum and explore the art scene in the city. They also decorate the city for Christmas at that time, so I'm excited to see the elaborate lights installations as well.

When I return home, I will celebrate the holidays with my family. It will be very nice to be all together in this season after being away for the last few weeks. I am looking forward to sharing about the time here and reconnecting with the community back home.

After the holidays, studying for my OAEs will begin! I hope to get licensed very early in the new year so I can begin the job search.

Despite the challenges, I am very thankful for the time here. I look forward to being home, but the experience of living here is invaluable. I will take what I've learned both through the school and the culture into my future teaching career.

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