Madison Lewis's e-Portfolio

THE  NETHERLANDS  AND  ENGLAND

During Summer 2018 between my Junior and Senior years of undergrad, I had the opportunity to study abroad for three weeks. This was something that I was terrified to do, and panicked so much leading up to the trip that my mom, who is the biggest “suck it up and step outside your comfort zone” advocate I know, almost wouldn’t drive me to the airport because she was afraid I was going to make myself sick.

I chose to go on a trip that would take me to the Netherlands for two weeks followed by a week in England. During that trip I took classes that taught me about Dutch and English education of students approximately 2-8 years of age. We visited a new school nearly every day, sometimes even two per day, to make comparisons to the educational systems in our home countries.

I learned that there is much more leeway for schools in the Netherlands in terms of innovative approaches to early childhood education. We visited some schools that put such an emphasis on connectivity to nature that they put infants down to nap outside and put cloth booties over children’s shoes so they can get as muddy and messy as they want to when they go outside and investigate the natural world through play. We also visited schools that allowed the students’ interests to guide their own learning rather than a pre-set curriculum as well as schools that had little to no security simply because crime rates are so low in the Netherlands that there simply was no need for any. I learned that English schools and American schools are very similar and got to borrow as well as share many lesson plan ideas and classroom set-up ideas with international colleagues. We even got to test out some extremely high-end technology in a technology makerspace at a university designed for elementary aged students from all over to travel to so they can experience technology that they might one day be using in their future careers! My favorite thing I got to use was high tech virtual-reality gear (think Oculus, but better) that was similar to some shown on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!

While the educational and professional experiences I had abroad were spectacular opportunities and nothing short of fulfilling, what helped me grow most during my trip was adjusting to new cultures, making friends of different backgrounds, and navigating foreign countries with no internet on mine or my Longwood travel partner’s phones! Even things you’d think would be simple turn out to…well, not be…when you’re abroad. You’ll think you have something like grocery shopping down until you end up buying onion powder thinking it’s salt and nothing makes sense anymore! But once you learn to let the challenges roll off your back and embrace them as funny and “just part of the experience,” everything starts to fall into place.

I grew up a lot on this trip. I feel much more culturally competent, and I also learned that trying to lay low and stick to what you know is NOT the way to enjoy or get the most out of a completely new experience. My friend who went on this trip with me, Miranda, and I were the only two Americans and we decided on the plane over that we were not trying to make friends with the others from England and Hong Kong or trying to get too adventurous about anything. We were both terrified and just wanted to put our heads down, go to class, go home, and not get lost. Writing those words now embarrasses me and makes me feel ashamed. Fortunately, two of the English girls on our trip, Abi and Hetty, kept coming to our lodging and inviting us to do things with them and the rest of their crew from Northampton (Robert, Sean, Connor, Jack, and Hui). We managed to resist for the first few days, claiming jet lag (which wasn’t entirely untrue!), but eventually, we gave in and started adventuring out of our tiny house after class with them. We began spending time with the girls from Hong Kong (Fa, Winifred, and Janet) who were staying in our house with us, too. Miranda and I even introduced them all to macaroni and cheese!

Of everything I experienced on this trip, from open air museums in Holland and the canals in Amsterdam to seeing Wicked at the Apollo Victoria theatre, riding the London Eye, watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and visiting the Globe Theatre and Westminster Abbey in England, nothing compares to the friendships I made. Even now, nearly 8 months later, I am still regularly in touch with four of my friends abroad and more sparingly in touch with some of the others. I keep both east coast time and London time on my Apple Watch face so I always know what time it is where my friends are (Hong Kong is easier because it’s exactly 12 hours ahead most of the year). Nothing prepared me for how I would grow and change after studying abroad, but nothing could have prepared me. Despite my crippling fear, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat if I could. I am so grateful to the Cormier Honors College for not only requiring me to study abroad, but also for helping fund innumerable experiences during my trip that I will NEVER forget.