Paris

The Eiffel Tower

I just got back from an awesome weekend in Paris with Travel Active. I can’t even express the beauty of the city itself. It truly is something one must see for themselves. Well, we left on Friday morning from our local train station. I never thought that France was so close to Holland, but apparently everything is close to Holland. I actually really liked the bus ride to there, because we were able to see all the country and scenery we passed through. We went through Brussels and other cities in Belgium. These are things I expected I wouldn’t have ever seen during my stay.

Paris

We got to Paris at around 6:00 in the evening. We then had dinner at some fast food restaurant in the city. Oh, let me share something with you about French culture. Very little of the people speak English. I kid you not, when I was ordering my fries from the restaurant we ate at at the evening, I had to explain what French fries were to the cashier. What???!!! I think I was shocked by the fact that we were in Paris, a huge tourist destination, and the employees at a fast food restaurant could barely speak English. Anyway I survived.

Basilique du Sacre Coeur

It was kind of weird for me to go from speaking and hearing Dutch all the time to just French. We did not have much time to see the museums of Paris. We only had a few spare hours of free time leftover from the bus tour and boat tour, so I definitely think I will go back before I leave. Another tip about Paris; you MUST have the crepes while you are there. I had the most delicious nutella crepes during my visit. There is nothing like them!

Hollanddddddd

I just got back from tennis training, and I must say that I had a wonderful week in Holland. It is starting to get more and more routine for me. I go to school each day and go to sports in the evening. However, I am finally getting use to the horrible weather here! There is much rain, wind and cold here in the autumn season. This wouldn’t even be an issue if it wasn’t for the fact that I have to bike everywhere I want to go. Despite this fact, I would say that I am loving it here.

I went to a school party last week and that was fun. I would say its totally different than the one in the U.S. though. Kids here don’t dress up for them, and everyone dances to the music (which by the way has all techno beats). I love the obvious difference though. Oh, and they also last until 2:30 in the morning. You definitely don’t see that in the states. However I am looking forward to this upcoming weekend most excitedly. Travel Active has organized an excursion to Paris for us. YAYYYYYYYYYYY! I will finally get to visit a place I have only dreamed of. It was nice to hear that I will be missing to school to go, but I feel that three days is not long enough to see such a wonderful city. After I get back from Paris on Sunday I come back to a celebration that is called “Ganzemarkt”. Its literal translation is “Goose Market”. It’s a unique thing only found in my town in Coevorden. I will tell you about that thought after I have attended because I know very little of it now.. Nextttttttttttttttt WEEEK!

Top Five Tourist Destinations I Would Like to See While I Am Here!

Top Five Tourist Destinations I Would Like to See While I Am Here:

I have been in Holland for a little over two months now. I haven’t been able to site-see very much due to school, social life, and other things that make up my life, but I do have a few places in mind that I would definitely like to check out. These places are a little cliché for visiting Holland but I am sure that it for the obvious reason: They are must-see places to see! Anyways I will give you a low-down on these places and tell you why I must see them.

Madame Tussauds-Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is home to many famous museumsOne of them being Madame Tussauds. I have been informed by many peers at school that this is something I must see during my stay here in Holland. I have also read great reviews about. It is basically a giant famous house of wax figures. They range from world famous celebrities to famous Dutch painters and museums. Either way, I think it highlight a small part of Dutch culture.

Anne Frank House- Amsterdam

Another place in Amsterdam that I have always been keen to visit is the Anne Frank House. Almost all of us have heard of it. Its world-famous for once being the hiding place a young Jewish girl and her family during World War II. I have always been fascinated by its existence since I read The Diary of Anne Frank in middle school. I have heard and read many great reviews about this particular tourist destination, so it is definitely a priority for me to see while I am staying here in Holland.

Van Gogh Museum- Amsterdam

Van Gogh is recognized as one of the most famous artists in the world, in my opinion, and he just so happens to be Dutch. (Lucky me, I am in Holland!) Anyways, there is a museum dedicated to his very existence. Why must I see this? Well, throughout my years in school, Van Gogh’s name and famous artwork has repeatedly popped up in class or in books. Particularly, I find it all very interesting and would like to see it for myself.

Rijksmuseum- Amsterdam

This museum is known as the largest museum in all of Holland. Each year it receives millions of visitors from all over the world. It contains a variety of Dutch masterpieces and works of art from all different time periods in Dutch history. I am fascinated by Dutch history so I think I will definitely enjoy visiting this place.

Fluorescent Art Museum

This museum is not very famous but I’ve heard its very interesting to visit. First off, its completely dedicated to Jimmy Hendrix (Pretty awesome). Second, its completely comprised of fluorescent materials. I have hear that this museum is really just out of the ordinary and a must-see of Amsterdam

A Normal Week in Holland

Well, this week was pretty average. Northing too exciting happened, but I thought I would share it anyway. I started my week off with school on Monday. I did not have to arrive at school until 9:45, so it was nice to sleep in. (Especially at the beginning of the week ) School was pretty average also. This week I mainly concentrated on studying for my Engels test that was on Friday. All the answers must be in Dutch, so I was mainly studying the Dutch words not the English ones. I can not tell you how difficult it is to spell Dutch sometimes! Words can be like 15 letters compared to its English translation of five words (crazzzzzzzzy!) Also, one English word can be translated into like three Dutch words (Great!). However, we will see the results of my test next week (crossing fingers).

My host family says I will get a treat if it is above a 5. (The grading scale is on a one to ten basis here btw.) Besides all this studying, I continued to go to soccer and tennis training. Altogether it is about 4-5 hours of my week. I like it because it gives me a chance to socialize with friends that do not attend my school. Besides sports and school I decided to make an American/Mexican meal for my host family. I decided to make enchiladas. I think they were just as curious as I was at how they would turn out. I was surprised when I found almost all the ingredients at the Albert Heijn, except for the enchilada sauce(I improvised with taco sauce). All I can say is the dinner was a success. My host family said they really liked it and wanted me to cook it again!(SCOREEEEEE!!!!!!) My week was nice. Tomorrow I have school again at 9:45, can’t wait.

Excursion Utrecht!

So yesterday I attended an ice-skating excursion arranged by Travel Active. I was so much fun. It was a nice opportunity to see all my fellow foreign exchange students again. We all had the chance to exercise our ice-skating abilities, which was enjoyable to see by anyone.

Utrecht Centraal

Second Excursion!

We all arrived to Utrecht by train. It was a nice surprise to find a fellow friend on the same train as you. I had a few:). However, I was nervous at first, because I had read that the train system in Holland was very strict about time. (I am horrible at keeping track of time.) Ultimately, I arrived on time in Utrecht Centraal, which was nice. This was the scheduled meeting center, and it was huge in size. So many people were there! When I arrived I was reunited with all my fellow friends I had met during orientation week. This excursion was little different than the previous one to Giethoorn. This time the whole group of Travel Active students was allowed to go and not just part. When everyone finally arrived, we then departed to the skating center itself.

Ice-skating

When we arrived we received our skates and started to skate. It was such a funny site to see us all “attempt” to skate. For many, it was the first time. For many of the Brazilians, this was the case because some had never even seen ice. Many of us fell a lot. I know the pictures taken that day will be very enjoyable. After we had our fun skating, we all went to an Italian pizzeria for dinner in town. This was probably the best part of the whole day. It gave us the chance to talk about our acquired experiences, since we had left each other from orientation week. We all tried out our new Dutch. It was surprising to see that we could maintain actual conversations! It was nice to see that we were all more comfortable with language at this point.

Having pizza for dinner

At the end of the day we all said our good-byes at Utrecht Centraal and left for our different towns throughout Holland. I would say yesterday was definitely gezellig.

School Differences

By observing over the past few weeks that I have attended my high school in Holland I have noticed that there are many differences between it and my high school in America. I love the change and difference. In some ways I think it is better than what I am used to in the states.

One major difference with my school here in Holland and my one in the U.S. is the amount of students attending. There are about 1500 students attending De Nieuwe Veste. This is small compared to the 2500 students studying at my high school in the states. One would also notice the difference in the layouts of the schools. My school in Holland is partly built over a canal. It consists of three floors with two stair-cases. It does not have a cafeteria that serves tons of different kinds of food. It does have a canteen though. This is where the students eat and socialize. I have noticed that the hallways are much smaller and numerous than those of my school in the states. There are no sports facilities either. Apparently it is not popular to play sports for a school in Holland. I can also say that the actual classroom itself is different. My classrooms in Holland are much more “old school”. Most of them only have chalk-boards with no computers in the room at all. This so different to my classrooms in the states, where there are smart boards and laptops always on hand. The library here in Holland is also much smaller than the library of my school in the states. For the most part, everything is smaller and more simple.

The hours I attend school here are also very different then what I am used to in the states. Sometimes I will not have to go to school until 9:45, which is so nice. In the U.S. I always had to be to school by 8:15 every day. I also was not allowed to leave earlier than 3:30 (when school ended). I can say that I love the time schedule for my school in Holland.:)

Smaklekker

Okay, so I would say that every country has their own special foods. Holland has its own. I like most, but dislike some. Some are healthy and some are not so healthy. I would say that most of the food eaten here in Holland would be looked down upon in the United States. So far my experience with food here has been wonderful. I love how most foods are foreign to me, and it’s a surprise every time I visit a restaurant.

Let’s talk food. There are some things that I think are the just in Holland. One example is “patat” or commonly known in the states as “French fries”. They are best had in Holland. I say this because for one, they are usually cooked in animal fat. This may at first sound disgusting, but don’t judge until you actually try them. They are literally the best fries you will have ever had. Also, do not hesitate to have them with mayonnaise. This is the Dutch way of eating. I would say that it tastes better than the American way of eating them with ketchup.

Kroket, the best Dutch food ever!!

Another special Dutch food is “kroket”. You will find nothing like it anywhere else. It is so Dutch. I will try to describe it the best way I can. It is a like fried thing with a sort of meat sauce in the middle. There you have it, kroket. You really just have to see it, then taste it to know what I am talking about. Hahaha Some people like some people don’t. I am a fan, definitely.

Stampot. Ever heard of it? I know I hadn’t before I came to Holland. It sounds disgusting. Personally I don’t like it, but most Dutch people love it. It is basically mashed potatoes with all different kinds of things in them. There are many different kinds of stampot. Some kinds have like cabbage in them, and others can have meat in them. It can be served with a sort of meat gravy on top. Well, that’s stampot for yuhhh.

Punting in Giethoorn.

Sailing through a body of water

Punting

My first excursion with Travel Active was this weekend. They arranged for us to go “punting” in Giethoorn. Punting is where one propels a flat-bottom boat with a pole through a body of water. Let me tell you, it was very hard. By the end of the day I was exhausted, but I can say it was all worth it.

A group of exchange students

Fantastic excursion!

Our entire group that met up in Giethoorn was of about 20 or so. Upon arrival I met some students that I had never even met before, and I was also reunited with students I had not seen since my orientation week. Seeing everyone again was so nice. Most of us knew a little more Dutch, and we were constantly trying it out on one another in the beginning.

Me and Lee from New Zealand

Molly Molly Molly

We all had stories about our first days of school and about experiences with our host families. It was definitely ‘gezellig’ when combined with koffie and brood. After all the students arrived, we separated into our groups for punting. I was in a group of three with my friend from New Zealand, Lee, and my other friend from America, Molly. Actually seeing us all together trying to punt was ridiculous. We were constantly ramming into other peoples boats and nearly falling over all together. This is what made it so fun though I think. I think people walking down the side of the canals found it enjoyable just to sit and watch us.

After punting for what seemed like forever, we went to the snack shack to enjoy classic Dutch fast-food. This consisted of kroket and patat. Mmmmm Lekker!!!! We then finished off our meal with lots of talking and enjoying some icecream. We then parted ways and made our way back to our host families. Saturday was a very nice day for me in Holland:)

Sailing Dutch Style

This week my host family decided to take me sailing in Friesland. I must say it was quite an experience. We drove for about an hour from Coevorden. It was a very nice drive. I love how it is so green and well preserved here. One might also notice how very flat it is here in the Netherlands. I suppose this is why everyone bicycles. I loved the ride with my family. We joked a lot and just talk about what is going on in one another’s lives.

We arrived at the port in Friesland about an hour later and met up with my host family’s friends and companions that were also sailing with us that day. They were all very friendly, and had questions about my school in America, and how school was here. We all conversed for about 45 minutes, and then we proceeded to have coffee and a small lunch. This consisted of cold sandwiches, yogurt, bread and cheese, fruit, and coffee (so Dutch). After this we all boarded our sailboat with our guide and left off. We sailed down a canal for about 3 hours. It was a very nice time. We all conversed with another, and enjoyed the nice weather. It was sunny and slightly windy (very enjoyable for Holland). It was nice to see all the scenery and other boats that were also sailing that day. I learned a little more Dutch from the friends of my family that day which was nice. Overall I would say the day was very ‘gezellig’.

My First Day of School

I started my first day of school with many impressions, expectations, and curiosities. I was scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time. (That is a lot of emotion.)This was what my whole exchange trip was all about, studying at another high school in another country.

My host mother and I arrived at De Nieuwe Veste sometime in the middle of the day. I was immediately shocked by the appearance of the school. It was literally on stilts on a canal. It looked amazing. I had never seen anything like it. To me, it looked like a small community college. It looked very modern with a parking lot for cars and another for bikes. (Lots and lots of bikes) The school consisted of three levels. It had stairs which I was unfamiliar with back home and an elevator. I noticed that it had no huge cafeteria like in the states, but it did have a small canteen that served small snacks. Anyway, my host mother and I went inside to meet the school director. We made my school schedule, and he told me that I could go ahead and start my school day with all the other students. All the emotions and feelings started to set in as I walked to my first class. I was the only foreign exchange student attending De Nieuwe Veste at the time. I was the only student in the whole school that did not speak fluent Dutch. Every time I encountered another student I literally felt like I was being observed and criticized in every shape or form. This was exciting and nerve-wracking. I was happy when I met the Dutch students of my class and found out how nice and accepting they were of their new foreign exchange student. Some were scared to try their English out on me but most felt the opposite. They had tons of questions for me that were about many different things. The teachers were also very nice to me and encouraged me to try to learn and speak as much Dutch as possible.

I finished my school day off by riding home on my newly acquired bicycle. I loved the exercise! I got home and shared my day with my host family. They were happy to hear my results. I found that at the end of the day I was exhausted! I went to bed fairly early due to my fatigue. It was quite a day that I will always remember.