Our house - don't be fooled by it's deceptively attractive exterior appearance

Months ago, when Sean and I decided to do the CELTA course, we booked a respectable and classy AirBNB apartment in Medellín.  Two weeks before our course, the landlord sent us an email canceling our booking due to flooding.  We panicked and started to scramble to find other long-term rental options but everything was already taken.  We asked the landlord to help and he found us another option - one of his friends had a room for rent in an apartment with a "relaxed, bohemian atmosphere."  We jumped on it and that's how we've managed to spend the last three weeks in an all-male fraternity house.

Our room - we keep it clean

Though I've learned more than I've wanted to about getting friend-zoned, upper deckers and different ways/things to smoke, I wouldn't wish this experience on anyone.  From what I can tell, there are about 6-8 other testosterone-fueled residents; it's hard to know for sure because traffic of both sexes is always coming and going at all hours. Nobody does dishes and there are always remnants of food and garbage everywhere.  The floors are sticky. People eat our food.  There's a ping pong table that can be heard ping-ponging most nights until 2 a.m. I won't even begin to describe our shared bathroom lest I ruin your appetite for the next three days. There are raging parties until the wee hours and there's been quite a few mornings when Sean and I have gingerly stepped over comatose bodies while leaving the house for school at 6 a.m.

The male twenty-somethings that live here think we are the epitome of lameness.  When we try and explain that we have class all day and then hours of homework at night, their eyes glaze over and they stop listening.  They are nice enough, however, and frequently invite us to the parties they host.  I'm chalking this up to a sociological and anthropological "experience" but meanwhile I can't wait to sleep without earplugs and walk around without flip-flops.

The shared party/smoking balcony

Sean and I have one more week of CELTA class and thus one more week as fraternity "members".  The class has been one of the most academically rigorous and emotionally challenging experiences of my life and now I understand the nickname "Teaching Bootcamp".  Our cohort started with 18 students (three classes with six students each) and now we're down to 15.  I'm quite proud that I didn't actually break down and cry (at school, that is) until day 14 though.  I have one more 60 minute lesson to teach and one more paper to write.  Thank goodness there's a Dunkin' Donuts on campus and if I have any teeth left from grinding from nerves at night and if Sean's jaw doesn't cramp up from all of the clenching, donitos should be a nice treat on Friday morning when we're within reach of our certificates and one night away from a new sleeping arrangement.  Huzzah.

Our room again

During the last weekend of my Fulbright grant, Sean and I packed up all of our stuff, put it into storage at a friend's house and set off for Medellín, Colombia to do a month-long intensive CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) course.  A CELTA is very similar to a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course except that it is run by Cambridge/British Council and is accepted in more parts of the world. 


I have been wanting to do a CELTA for a long time as it is all about language learning theory and methodology.  We figured it would be a smart move for us since we anticipate additional time abroad and it opens up more doors for employment with actual paychecks instead of small living stipends which we've survived off of in the past.  We opted for the month-long intensive course because the timing worked out well (we're headed back to Michigan right when it's over) and decided to do it in Medellín to experience a different country and culture for our last weeks in South America.

This is what our classrooms look like at the language center

So far, the course has been a bit more work than we anticipated.  There are plenty of warnings in the application process about how much work it is, how stressful it is and how it's possible not to pass.  During my interview, the evaluator predicted that I would probably cry (she was right).  What makes this course so intense/exhausting/emotional?  It requires that we teach a real class in front of our peers and evaluators every other day which is, frankly, quite terrifying and extremely mentally draining.

Medellín - a gorgeous, clean, modern and safe city nestled in the mountains

 Teaching goes from 8-10 a.m. every day followed by an hour of feedback.  After that there are classes on language learning theory, teaching methodology etc. until noon when we lunch until one.  At one we have more classes about teaching prounciation, speaking, writing etc. and finally from 3-4 p.m. we have assisted lesson planning with our groups and teachers to get ready for the next day.  In addition to making lessons, activities and powerpoints to teach our classes, we have to do four small papers throughout the course and each one requires a different bibliography of reading.  Now I understand why most people prefer to do the normal course over a three-month period. . .

The university where our course is held

I haven't worked quite this much or this hard for a long time now and it's a bit overwhelming.  We are one week in and I have already learned more about teaching than I have during the education crash course in graduate school.  Even though it's causing us a lot of stress, I am loving the opportunity to learn so much about teaching ESL.  Fingers crossed that we make it through the next three weeks and successfully pass!

EAFIT Campus

Last week, the Brazil-United States binational center in Belém emailed me to ask if Sean and I would do a cross-cultural Q&A for some students hoping to study abroad in the future.  They said that dinner would be provided and that they would pick us up on Tuesday night at 6:30.  We didn't have anything else going on so we agreed and didn't think much more about it.

On the night of the event, a driver picked us up but things got suspicious when he didn't go the direction of the cultural center.  I became a little confused and frustrated with the driver as I tried to figure out what was going on.  Eventually, I gave up and just figured that we along with the student group were having dinner somewhere else.


We arrived at a nice Italian restaurant and when we walked in, Sean and I saw all of my ETA mentees seated around a table waiting.  My first thought was, Cool! The cultural center must have asked everyone to be on the panel!  which was quickly followed by Where are all the students?  Sean's first thought was, What a coincidence that the other ETAs decided to eat here too!

Turns out that my mentees had all gotten together to plan a little thank you party for being their mentor. I have honestly never been so surprised and tricked in my entire life - I didn't see it coming even for a minute which was shown by the fact that I had brought some pictures and lesson plan materials with me in anticipation of a discussion. They bought us both dinner with really good wine and presented me with a gift certificate for a day at the spa back in Holland. So nice!

This year I have been incredibly lucky to work with such a motivated, creative, hard-working and inspiring group of ETAs.  It's been a privilege to watch them transform over the past ten months and be transformed myself because of their innovation and tirelessness.  It's going to be really exciting to see what everyone does next and I'm especially happy that one of my mentees was accepted to be a mentor next year as well!

One of the most entertaining American holidays to celebrate outside of the U.S. is, without a doubt, Halloween.  In China and in Brazil, students have been very intrigued by the traditions such as trick or treating, pumpkin carving and dressing up in costumes. Once again, it was awesome to be in a city with so many other ETAs because we all came together to put on a big Halloween party at a nearby dance studio.  There was food, decorations, music, dancing and games such as a mummy wrap and bobbing for apples.  Sean and I brought a few pumpkins to carve and cookies to decorate which was fun as well.



Although we had hoped for a bigger turnout, the students that came had a great time.  It was especially fun to see the creativity in all of the costumes.  That morning, Stevie and I had put on a "Halloween 101" workshop that explained Halloween's basic history and vocabulary.  We also played lots of games and ate candy.



I saw various photos on social media of the beginnings of snow in my hometown around the 31st and it definitely feels a little out of place carving pumpkins in Amazonian heat and humidity.  Hope you had a safe and fun Halloween!