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

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

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

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

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

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