On paper, the job requirements of an English Teaching Assistant are to provide a cultural exchange in the classroom and to engage with the community. In practice, you are tasked with creating a home in a completely new place.
I worked as an English Teach Assistant at UCLouvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, while living in Brussels. Coming from a big city like Dallas, I chose to live in Brussels as I wanted to experience the center of Europe up close.
I had already visited Brussels in the past years and loved it. However, I soon learned that visiting as a tourist and living in a city are two very different experiences.
Anxiety and Perfectionism
Through my high school and college career, I strived to try to be the best at whatever I do. I approached the Fulbright in the same way. However, I underestimated the time and energy needed for such a huge adjustment from transitioning out of undergraduate to living in a foreign country. The first half of my Fulbright was marked with learning a new commute, a new office culture, and logistics concerning housing, finances, and other necessities. Once I felt adjusted, unfortunately, the second half of my Fulbright was marked by sickness and involved many doctors’ appointments and need for rest. I had to learn, and am still learning how to give myself grace and stop moving the goal post for what I measure as success.
Finding My Home
Through the many struggles and many celebrations, I found friends who became my support system through my grant period. A big point of stability for me was attending community kitchen. Regardless of how I felt, I made sure to get myself and go to the community kitchen. It was a simple volunteering activity that always made me feel better afterwards. People from all different backgrounds attended community kitchen and it was great to learn from them and hear their stories.
Being far away from home, I was nervous about celebrating Ramadan and Eid far away from my family. I was in an unknown landscape that felt difficult to navigate. However, luckily, I was able to be part of pockets of the community in Brussels and attend iftars hosted by Belgian Muslims as well as host iftars myself for my fellow cohort members. I was happy to attend an Iftar-Shabbat event and discuss the ongoing occupation of Palestine. These experiences shaped my time here and gave me friends that I am proud to call friends for life.
From the opportunity to attend part of the EU-NATO Seminar to Brussels Pride, In the last couple of months, I found a home in Brussels. Through the small kindness through the people I met to my roommate to the people in my cohort, my experience was shaped by the people who provided me the space to create a home.
Izzah Zaheer was a 2022-2023 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Belgium. In Spring 2022, she graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas with an undergraduate degree in political science and business management. In addition to her work inside the classroom as ETA to UC Louvain, Izzah engaged with the Muslim community, met new people, and volunteered with local organizations.
Articles are written by Fulbright grantees and do not reflect the opinions of the Fulbright Commission, the grantees’ host institutions, or the U.S. Department of State.