At first, I wasn't even supposed to do an internship, since I was in the 11th grade. Internship opporunities were only available to 10th graders at the time. But since I'm an exchange student, the international student coordinator cut me some slack and decided that it would be better to see something other than school in Germany. Little did he know that school is one of my favorite places in the world (I know man, it sounds corny).
So not surprisingly, as you know already, I decided to do an internship at a school. And since I'm really interested in alternative learning, I wanted to give Waldorf Schools (the biggest European alternative schooling chain) a shot. However, they never replied my emails, and I got really annoyed.
Moving on, I came across CJD schools, a chain of private, Christian Montessories in Germany. CJD stands for Christliche Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands e.V., an organization that helps children in many areas (similar to social work organizations). They are also known as "The Chance Givers," and indeed, they truly are. Before applying for the internship, I didn't even realize that it was a Christian school...just look at all the plans that God has for us. His timing is never wrong, and He always gives the best to us.
As I switched on the lights to the classroom, I saw "Welcome Michelle She!" in a cartoon bubble on the blackboard. It was the sweetest thing ever. As the children walked in, a third grade guy comes up to me and says, "Hey, you're new! Are you our new intern teacher?" He later high fives me for being only a few centimeters taller than him.
When the teacher, Herr (Mr.) Stegmier, asks which kids want to give me a school tour, everyone raises their hands. He picks two kids from our classroom. And as we go through the school, 5 kids from all different classes decide that they want to show me around the school, too.
In the classroom, there's also a German-Iranian-Japanese kid. He is one of the cutest little kids I've met, and on Friday, when I brought my luggage to school (because I had to go directly to AFS Camp in Berlin afterwards), I saw him on the sidewalk. He happened to be on his way to school also. He sees me, runs up, and grabs my luggage.
"Two hands are always better than one, Michelle She!"
I want to squeeze that kid tight and tell him that he is the sweetest person who has ever lived.
Today, I happen to bump into him again at the Klassik im Park, a concert series held at the Burgerpark in Braunschweig. He was standing in line for ice cream, and it was almost his turn. But when he sees me, he runs up and says, "Hi! Are you Michelle She? Do you want ice cream too?"
My goodness. I shall steal him and bring him back to the US.
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This was written 2 weeks ago! A follow up on my experience will be coming soon :)
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