Avery Stevens is a second-year English Teaching Assistant at Ghent University. He completed a master’s degree in English: Literary and Cultural Studies with a Creative Writing thesis at the University of Oklahoma in 2023, where he also taught a first-year writing course. During his second year in Ghent, Avery looks forward to continuing assisting with English Grammar/Academic Proficiency courses, enriching student understanding of linguistic and cultural characteristics of his home state of Oklahoma, and participating in the work of the university’s student tutoring services. For Avery, cultural engagement activities within Ghent include, among others, playing percussion with a local symphony orchestra, taking Dutch classes, and exploring his surroundings through his hobby of film photography. Below, Avery reflects on his first year as an ETA at UGent.
Q. “Can you describe your grant project for us?”
I am an English Teaching Assistant at Ghent University. While my responsibilities primarily revolve around teaching English Proficiency seminars where second-year students apply their English skills to academic presentation scenarios, I also had the pleasure of taking on extra tasks such as guest lecturing over unique linguistic characteristics of my home state of Oklahoma, workshopping speaking practice sessions, participating with the English department’s peer tutoring team, and co-supervising a Bachelor paper.
Q. “What inspired you to apply to the Fulbright Program in Belgium?”
With a background studying French, I had been excited to be in a place where I could become more fluent. Funnily enough, though, I found myself in Ghent and have been thoroughly enjoying my time learning Flemish and using it every day. Belgium is a linguistically and culturally varied country, and being exposed to such an array of differences is something I find enriching – especially coming here from a small town where people are all relatively similar with comparable worldviews and life experiences. Being in Belgium, for me, meant living in a country where a good percentage of the people living here are also from somewhere else, strangers in a new land but familiar through circumstances – even Belgians understand how tricky adjusting to life here can be! – while making personal connections and gaining insight into new perspectives on life.
Q. “Can you describe a typical day in your life?”
Life can be so different from day to day, but a typical weekday would start with getting up, putting on my headphones, and walking to the nearest grocery store for breakfast items while listening to US news podcasts. It is the perfect way for me to get the blood pumping and stimulate my brain while also keeping up with how life is back in America. After breakfast and coffee, I bike from my apartment to the office. I should say, I am very grateful to be in a place such as Ghent where cyclists are so well accommodated – just watch out for the tram tracks! I share an office with people from the Ghent University Linguistics department, which can make for a communal and collaborative working environment. Something pleasant about the university work environment here that I find to be different from that of the US is that it is typical for everyone to have lunch together in the faculty kitchen on our floor – a wonderful way to socialize and unwind before getting back to work for a few hours. It is not an irregularity, however, for me to sometimes do afternoon work in a favorite coffee shop with a good view of the street, reading, journaling, or (especially during the beginning of the year) taking care of personal administrative tasks as part of transitioning to life abroad. After arriving back to my apartment, my partner (who joined me here) and I would decide on something for dinner and then either unwind with a movie or join fellow grantees at a nearby bar.
Q. “In what ways have you engaged with your host community in Belgium?”
I engaged with the Ghent community in a few ways. A percussionist, I knew since before arriving that I wanted to participate with an orchestra in some capacity and subsequently joined the Ghent University Symphony Orchestra, which had weekly rehearsals and concerts at the end of each semester. Taking Dutch classes at the university language center was also wonderful to not only acquire skills to better engage with locals but also to meet a number of people from other countries as we sympathized with one another over our experiences with Belgian bureaucracy.
Q. “Can you tell us the story of a particular memorable moment from your time in Belgium?”
With all of the fantastic opportunities and events organized by the Commission – receptions at the US embassies in Brussels and Luxembourg, visits to NATO, a commemoration of the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, various seminars and other get-togethers with current grantees and alumni, and countless other activities with other fulbrighters (chess club and stew sundays!) – it is impossible to choose any one moment that stands out the most. The amazing experiences I have shared with fellow grantees and other new friends are moments I will always be thankful for. Yet, like others, I am still someone who gets in a rut, a dull rhythm, so that it is easy for me to feel the borders of daily life closing in around me even during an experience such as Fulbright. It is for this reason that I find walks and lengthy bike rides so refreshing – finding myself in unfamiliar areas of the city, sometimes in different zip codes, observing the lives of others – those communing in parks, walking their dogs, sitting along the canal or on a café terrace, a wedding party celebrating outside of the Stadhuis, children playing in the bubbles blown by guys in public squares whom I call ‘the bubble men’, people waiting for buses while others arrive, unload, and go their separate ways. I pass by windows and see friends and families sitting around low-lit dinner tables, or co-workers sharing a private drink after closing hours, reminding me how fortunate I am to have friends here with whom I can do the same. There is something about being in a city where everyone sort of lives on top of and alongside one another that I find incredibly charming, and it is one of the things I love most about a city like Ghent.
Q. “Has Belgium been what you expected? In what ways has life in Belgium surprised you, either for its similarities to or differences from your own culture?”
Coming into this Fulbright experience, I can’t say I had many expectations; I was just excited to be somewhere new. Back in the US, I had found my own community, my third space, and I was a bit worried about my ability to cultivate that sort of atmosphere here. Luckily, I have. The most obvious differences between Belgium and Oklahoma is the urban landscape – cobblestone streets through pedestrian areas heading towards beautiful, ancient buildings versus large streets built for cars through wide open spaces. But a wonderful similarity is the kindness of strangers. I have found Belgians out on the street to be helpful and open in ways not too unlike people in the American South, the only difference being that Belgians won’t typically turn these interactions into opportunities for making a personal connection with someone new as someone in Oklahoma might. Something else I admire, specifically about the people of Ghent, is how civically engaged they are. Ghentenaars (as residents are called) are not shy about expressing their political beliefs, standing up against perceived injustices, and organizing demonstrations in support of what they believe to be the best way forward for their community.
Q. “What advice would you give to someone who is considering applying to the Fulbright Program?”
To absolutely go for it. And if your application is not accepted, try again. Experiences this program offers are too fruitful, too enrichingly rigorous, too mind-opening, too gratifying, too adventurous, too refreshing, too valuable for gaining a global understanding of the world and our place in it to ever let Fulbright pass you by.