Christmas with the Brothers

Category: Americans in Luxembourg

Posted on in 2021, Americans in Luxembourg, Fulbright

Christmas with the Brothers

Over the course of the past several months, I’ve been fortunate to develop a relationship with the monks and seminarians of the order of Verbum Spei located in Esch-Sur Alzette. The connection began first between me and a seminarian from New Zealand named Jonathan over our shared struggle of being native English speakers living in Luxembourg. Each Sunday, I would make my way to St. Henri, on the northern side of town, struggle through understanding the mass in French, and spend 30 minutes afterwards talking to Jonathan. In October, the parish began weekly seminars on theological questions and there Jonathan would translate the talks for me. After the talks, I would get to spend more time conversing with members of the community and other Brothers. On Wednesdays, the parish held the young adult seminars with talks that were followed by the Brothers inviting us into their home to enjoy bread and their home made beer.  Following a mass in early […]

by Jasper Anthony
Posted on in 2019, 2020, Americans in Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Finding a Home in Luxembourg’s University Choir

Through previous experience abroad and in college, I have found that joining a local choir is a quick and rewarding way to make some friends and raise your endorphins (which can be a rollercoaster of highs and lows when assimilating into an unknown environment). I did my research over the summer of 2018 and chose the University Choir of Luxembourg. It was a done deal after running into the enthusiastic and fabulously Luxembourgish François Carbon, the choir’s communications director, who also happens to be the Minister of Culture for the University of Luxembourg, at a lovely farmers market in the town square of Esch-sur-Alzette. We arranged for me to come to choir the following Tuesday and have a quick audition before the rehearsal. But before any of the singing could happen, I had to figure out how in the world to get all the way from the tiny southern village of Oberkorn to university campus at the north end of […]

by Fulbright
Posted on in 2019, 2020, Americans in Luxembourg, Luxembourg

You Study What, Exactly? – Field Notes on Museum Scholarship

When I tell people that I study museums, they’re often…confused: “You mean you’re an art historian? An anthropologist? Does that make you a curator?” In actual fact, my research has more to do with the how of museum than the what. Art historians and anthropologists have expertise in a particular subject area – contemporary photography, perhaps, or Etruscan pottery – and their task in museums is to research and preserve those objects they have devoted themselves to understanding. Museum scholars, by contrast, focus on institutions: what they choose to collect and how, their relationships to visitors, and the ways they employ objects in their care to tell stories (among many other concerns). My research explores how museums’ chosen narratives are communicated: who they include, what they leave out, and the methods employed in the telling. In other words, I study what museums have to say and how they choose to say it. For example, in considering a painting, a museum […]

by Fulbright
Posted on in 2019, 2020, Americans in Luxembourg, Fulbright, Luxembourg

Fulbrighter Spotlight with Evelyn Adam

Evelyn Adams was a 2019-2020 ETA in Luxembourg. Now that she is settled back home in the US we organized a virtual meeting to interview her so she could share her experience with Fulbright. She shared some memorable moments, advice, and difficulties she had. Instead of a blogpost we decided to connect more with the grantees and suggested sharing their story through an interview. Can you tell us who you are and what you did on your Fulbright grant ? I am Ev Adams, I am from Williamsport Pennsylvania. As for my Fulbright grant, I was in Luxembourg, where I was an English Teaching Assistant. Specifically, I was in Differdange which is near the French border. I was working at an International school called the ‘École Internationale de Differdange et Esch-sur-Alzette’. It is a public international school which is becoming more and more popular in Luxembourg because it is such an international country. So, that was really cool, and it […]

by Fulbright
Posted on in 2019, 2020, Americans in Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Decently Athletic…Definitely Not a Runner

That’s how I usually describe myself. That’s how I described myself when I first got to Luxembourg, sitting on Ingrid’s balcony, chatting with the other ETAs about our college experiences. Alexis played tennis. Ev started a running club. I was on the Bates club sailing and equestrian teams. As I said, I’m decently athletic, but definitely not a runner. And then I found the 10K. On my original application to be a Fulbright ETA, I wrote that one way that I wanted to engage with the community was through athletics. This race, I figured, would be a great way to connect with other runners both in our Fulbright cohort and with other people I had recently met at the University of Luxembourg through Erasmus. No, I had never been in a running club before. And no, I was not in any way trained to legitimately run races, but I was going to do the Agora Red Rocks Challenge. As it […]

by Fulbright
Posted on in 2019, Americans in Luxembourg, Luxembourg

The 12 (x4) Days of “Lëtzebuerger Chrëschtmaart”

Without the holiday of Thanksgiving holding Luxembourgers back from starting the yuletide festivities, Christmastime in the Grand Duchy begins in the middle of November. Strolling down the streets of Luxembourg City to the Place d’Armes city center, I was surprised to see the preparations for the installation of holiday decorations shortly after the end of October. Needless to say, however, I didn’t mind! This time of the year, bright, sparkling lights drape elegantly over nearly every major street, shops amp up the festiveness of their window decorations, and the irresistibly sweet smells of roasting nuts and all the traditional confections you can imagine waft through every inch of the city. In Luxembourg City, you’ll find not one, but three “Chrëschtmaarts” (Christmas Markets) that began on November 21st and will end on January 5th. If large crowds are not for you, not to worry! Various smaller towns throughout the country have their own smaller yet even more charming markets, full of […]

by Fulbright
Posted on in 2019, Americans in Belgium, Americans in Luxembourg, Arrival Orientation, Fulbright

2019 U.S. Grantee Orientation

Enthusiastic – and highly caffeinated – smiles greeted the Royal Library of Belgium as the newest cohort of Fulbright grantees slowly trickled into the building, newcomer jitters in tow, eagerly awaiting their program orientation. After a steady chorus of casual greetings and public transit mishaps, Fulbright Executive Director Erica Lutes formally opened the presentation by asking each grantee to introduce themselves to the group — and introduce themselves they did. This year’s group of Fulbright grantees boasts a wide array of incredibly accomplished individuals, with eight student researchers, nine English teaching assistants, and five scholars (to arrive in the spring) in Belgium, six English teaching assistants and one researcher in Luxembourg, and three Schuman researchers. With such a diverse range of backgrounds to draw from, there did not appear to be one academic stone left unturned. Polite chuckles laced with pride accompanied the account of many grantees’ interests, and, with projects like “exploring the role of prenylation in plant crop productivity […]

by Fulbright
Posted on in 2018, 2019, Americans in Luxembourg

Day at School

One of the things I love most about teaching English at EIDE (École International de Differdange et Esch-sur-Alzette) is how varied each day is. I float through different classrooms throughout the day, which gives me the opportunity to always be interacting with different teachers and students. As an ETA, I work at the first public international school of Luxembourg. The school includes both primary and secondary levels, but as of now the oldest students are about 14, or the equivalent of 7th grade, because the school was created in 2016 and is still growing. I have the pleasure of working with pretty much every single grade, from P1 (1st grade) to S2 (7th grade). Even though I have the same schedule every week, the weeks are never the same and I am always learning more about teaching methods and education within Luxembourg. Let me bring you along on a typical Monday teaching at EIDE in Esch-sur-Alzette! I’ve got three different […]

by Fulbright
Posted on in 2019, Americans in Luxembourg, Fulbright

Life in the Squared 999

Jet-setting off to a new country for a year comes with a certain allure. No one there knows who you are, where you come from, or what you’re interested in. You can be the mysterious new foreigner, and can adapt your persona to easily fit the culture in which you find yourself. Sometimes, however, you move to Luxembourg…

by Fulbright
Posted on in 2019, Americans in Luxembourg

A University that Doesn’t Show its Age

The University of Luxembourg is fascinating. It is the country’s only public university but it was only founded in 2004! Although the University is quite young, it feels very established. It has numerous undergraduate, masters, and PhD students, and it hosts many seminars and conferences. I was also impressed by the Law School’s roster of adjunct and guest speakers. The University is also multilingual, offering numerous courses in French, German, and English. Some programs are entirely in English, while many require two languages.

by Fulbright
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