Saturday, October 20, 2012

Dutch in Michigan - October 2012

Both our Dutch visitors and their American hosts have had a great time this week. Students have attended three days of classes at Traverse City West Senior High, visited Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, took a ferry to Mackinac Island, and attended numerous sporting events and music concerts. Click the photo below to see a photo album of the week. Our Dutch friends leave Monday morning to head to Washington, D.C. We look forward to visiting them in The Netherlands in the spring.
Dutch in Michigan 2012

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Delft & The Hague

Tuesday, our final full day in The Netherlands, we took a 20 minute morning tram from The Hague to Delft. In Delft, students did some last minute souvenir shopping. They also climbed up the very tall and narrow tower of "The New Church." The church was built between 1381 and 1496, and provides a stunning view of Delft and a distant view of The Hague. Inside the church is the burial crypt of the Dutch Royal Family - which includes the remains of Dutch monarchs going back to William of Orange. William of Orange is considered the Dutch George Washington - the founder of the modern state of The Netherlands. Before leaving Delft, students spent about an hour exploring the Prinsenhof Museum, an old convent, that is the place where William of Orange was assassinated. The bullet marks are still visible on the walls. The afternoon was spent in The Hague. Students explored the city and finished their gift shopping. Today we returned to Traverse City. While students were sad to leave their friends in the Netherlands, they were no doubt happy to see their parents and family waiting for them at the Traverse City airport. This will be the last blog post for the year. This has been an amazing trip. Both the American and Dutch students formed friendships that will last a lifetime. Mike and I were truly impressed at how mature all of the students were. We were also very pleased to see all of the American and Dutch students bonding so well as a whole group. Sometimes in groups like this, small cliques form and certain students only hang out with certain other students. That was not the case with these kids. They represented Traverse City West Senior High and Ulenhofcollege, the State of Michigan and Gelderland, and the United States of America and The Netherlands very well. Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Lamers, Mr. Hubbers and myself are all very proud. Thank-you for a wonderful trip.
Delft & The Hague

Farewell Doetinchem Video

On Sunday April 1st, Traverse City West students left Doetinchem. After a half hour farewell, complete with tears and hugs, our charter bus pulled away from Ulenhofcollege en route to The Hague. As is clear in the video, neither the Dutch nor the American students were ready to say goodbye.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Amsterdam

A false fire alarm made sure everyone at the StayOkay hostel in The Hague was awake at 6:30 a.m. After a hearty breakfast, we walked the short distance to the train station to catch the express train to Amsterdam. We spent an hour at the Rijksmuseum. The museum is currently undergoing a major renovation, so we were only able to see a small portion of the museum, including Rembrandt's masterpiece, "The Night Watch." We took a tram to the Anne Frank House. Even those who have never read the diary were moved by the power of the experience. After a few hours of shopping, we took a canal boat tour of the city, and then took the train back to our hostel in The Hague. Tomorrow we will spent some time in Delft and our final afternoon in The Hague.
Amsterdam

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Farewell Doetinchem, Hello The Hague

Today we bid a teary farewell to our friends in Doetinchem, and very slowly boarded a bus for the Hague. No one wanted to say goodbye, so at least a half an hour was spent crying and hugging. After finally getting on the bus, we began our trek to The Hague - the political seat of The Netherlands. We visited the Mauritshaus and saw works by Rembrandt and Vermeer, including "The Girl with the Pearl Earring." We walked by the Dutch version of The White House to see where the prime minister works. We toured the MC Escher museum and walked by the "Knights Hall," where the Queen gives the equivalent of the "State of the Union Address." After dinner at our hostel, we took a tram to watch the sunset on the North Sea, in the beach town of Scheveningen. Tomorrow we take an early morning train to Amsterdam.
Goodbye Doetinchem, Hello Hague

Friday, March 30, 2012

Presentations & Windmill - Doetinchem

Students arrived at Ulenhofcollege this morning to teach Dutch students about the United States, and Michigan in particular. Students were divided in to groups of five, and went to various classrooms. Using a GoogleDoc presentation they had prepared in advance, each group taught the Dutch students about American pop culture, geography, famous Michiganders, etc. In the afternoon we toured a local windmill and witnessed it in motion. After walking in to the windmill, the local miller explained how the windmill ground flour. Students will be with their host families all week-end. We head to The Hague on Sunday morning. The next post will be sometime later on Sunday.
Presentation & Windmill - Doetinchem

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Sports & Banquet Photos - Ulenhofcollege

There are a lot of photos in the album today - 139 to be precise. Just click on the photo below to see the entire album. There are photos of the students arriving on their bikes at Ulenhofcollege, playing various sports during a phys-ed class, and of the banquet dinner at school in the evening. Included in the banquet photos are a few whole group shots, and a picture of each American student with their Dutch "twin."
Sports & Banquet Ulenhofcollege

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Rotterdam

We arrived at school today at 7:00 a.m. for a long 3 hour bus trip to Rotterdam. On the way we experienced rush hour traffic in Arnhem, Utrecht, and Rotterdam. Rotterdam is the third largest port in the world, and the largest in Europe. We made it all the way to the Europoort. We saw the large "Maaslandkering", which is a swiveling dam that closes and sinks, when necessary, to prevent high tides from coming in and flooding the whole city of Rotterdam. It is the northernmost point of the Delta Works. One quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level, and the Delta Works helps protect the country from massive flooding. We watched as huge cargo containers were unloaded from ships. We also saw the church that the Pilgrims left to travel to the new world, "Pelgrimvanderskerk," or "Pilgrim Father's Church." Tomorrow students will stay in Doetinchem and attend photography and physical education classes at Ulenhofcollege.
Rotterdam

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Kroller-Muller Museum

Click on the photo below to see an album of all of today's photos. All of the Dutch and American students visited the Kroller-Muller Museum today. The Kroller-Muller Museum is a museum of modern art with a variety of 19th and 20th century paintings. It has a large collection of VanGogh pieces. It is located in the National Park de Hoge Veluwe in Otterlo, Netherlands. We had a guided tour of the sculpture garden, and visited the museum at our own pace. Students also spent some time biking on the grounds of the National Park. Tomorrow we board a bus early in the morning to take us to Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, and one of the largest in the world.
Kroller Muller Museum

Monday, March 26, 2012

UlenhofCollege & Castle Bergh

This morning students attended classes at Ulenhofcollege to learn about Dutch history, art and geography. In the afternoon, students took a local bus to Castle Bergh. Castle Bergh is a medieval castle on the German border. We had an informative tour from local guides. For dinner we ate on a pancake ship on the River Old IJssel. Everyone is tired, but very happy!
Castle Bergh

Friday, March 23, 2012

TC West Doetinchem Arrival Video

Below is a video from our exciting and friendly welcome at Ulenhof College in Doetinchem, Netherlands. Traverse City West students are now staying with their host families for the rest of the week-end. After biking to school, students will report to Ulenhof College to learn about Dutch history, art, and geography at 8:45 on Monday morning. In the afternoon, students will tour Castle Bergh. The next blog post will be sometime on Monday March 26th.

March 23, 2012 - Arrival Day in Doetinchem

Today we all arrived safely in the Netherlands. When we arrived, our Dutch friends were awaiting us wearing TC West t-shirts and holding welcome signs. Below are photos from various airports and bus stations, and from our amazing greeting at Ulenhof College in Doetinchem.
Netherlands March 23, 2012