Dutch at Sleeping Bear

Today 20 Dutch students and 13 American students spent a day touring the "Most Beautiful Place in America" - Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park.

Dutch in Michigan - Day 1

The Dutch have arrived safely and have spent one day at Traverse City West visiting classes and eating donuts and drinking cider!

Netherlands Long Presentation

1) Hosting in October - Photos 1 & 2
2) Fly to Netherlands - Photo 3
3) Stay in Homes There - Bike to School - Photos 4-6
4) Ulenhofcollege - Photos 7-8
- U.S. Students Present - Photos 9-12
- U.S. Students Learn from Dutch Teachers - Photos 13-15
- Bonding Through Sports - Photos 16-18
5) Day Trips from Doetinchem
- Castle Bergh - Photos 19-23
- The Dutch Version of Greenfield Village - Photos 24-27
6) The Hague
- Miniature City - Photo 28
- The Hague - Parliament - Photos 29-30
- The North Sea - Photos 31-35
- Hostel - Photos 36-38
7) Delft - Photos 39-45
8) Amsterdam - Photos 46-52
9) Closing Banquet & Lasting Friendships - Photos 53-59

Netherlands Trip - Short Presentation

Photos 1 & 2 - Dutch to Michigan
In October, Dutch kids come to Michigan. They tour the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, attend a T.C. West football game, stay with American families and experience American culture first hand. They in turn teach us about Dutch culture.

Photo 3 - Americans to The Netherlands
In March, American students fly to The Netherlands. Our students stay with the family of the same Dutch student they hosted in Michigan in October.

Photos 4 & 5 - Teach Dutch about U.S.
While in the Netherlands, American students go to Ulenhofcollege and teach the Dutch students about the United States. American students serve as ambassadors for their school, city, state and country.


Photos 6 & 7 - Learn About Dutch Countryside

Photos 8 & 9 - Learn about Dutch Transportation & Leisure Activities

Photos 10 & 11 - Learn about Amsterdam & Dutch Art

Photos 12 & 13 - Learn about Dutch History - Castle Bergh

Photo 14 - Learn about Dutch Politics - The Hague & Dutch Parliament

Photos 15-21 - Friendships & Culture
For the rest of your life, you are unlikely to ever have a cultural opportunity like this again. Later in life you will have the opportunity to travel overseas. Later in life, you will have the opportunity to learn about the history or art of various countries. However, it is unlikely that you will ever again have the opportunity to live with a family from another country and truly learn first hand about their daily lives, their schools, their values and their culture. You will develop friendships that will last a lifetime and you will develop knowledge and wisdom that you can never gain from a textbook and that you will carry with you for the rest of your life.

Mr. Hubbers Teaches Dutch History to TC West Students Video

Kelly Brown, Andy Clark & Dani Bennett Interviewed by Dutch TV Video

Queen Beatrix' Working Palace Video - The Hague

TC West Plays Soccer at the North Sea Video

TC West Presents to Ulenhofcollege Video

TC West & Ulenhofcollege Basketball Video

TC West & Ulenhofcollege Soccer Video

Outdoor Air Museum Raft Video

Amsterdam - Monday

Dam Square & Canal Boat Tour

On our final day in The Netherlands we walked from our hostel to Dam Square in Amsterdam. There we saw protesters dressed in gorilla suits. They were protesting the fact that on government construction projects in the Netherlands, only 30% of the wood is from "sustainable" sources.

Mrs. Lamers then gave us a wonderful walking tour of Amsterdam. After exploring the city and eating dinner at the Stayokay hostel, we took a tram back up near Central Station and took a boat tour through the many canals of the city.

Tomorrow morning we leave the hostel at 6:30 a.m. to get on a 10:25 a.m. flight to return to Michigan.

Our hosts in the Netherlands have been wonderful. Many thanks to Mrs. Lamers and Mr. Hubbers for helping to coordinate this trip from the Dutch side. Also thanks to all of our amazing host families. Many tears were shed yesterday as students said goodbye to their host families. While students report looking forward to seeing their families back in Michigan, all say that they will really miss their new families in the Netherlands.

I will post a few more items and videos upon my return to Michigan. Thanks to all of you for following the blog. The students had a wonderful time and represented their school, city and country very well. See you all back in Michigan tomorrow.

Saturday Doetinchem & Sunday Amsterdam

Last Day with Families, VanGogh Museum, Anne Frank House

On Saturday, our last day in Doetinchem, the students were with their families.

On Sunday morning we met at the train station at 8:30 a.m. to say our goodbyes. A few of the Dutch students traveled with us to Amsterdam to prolong having to say goodbye.

In Amsterdam we visited the Vincent VanGogh museum and the Anne Frank House.

Friday Photos

Outdoor Museum & Final Chinese Banquet

In the morning, the Dutch and American students visited the Open Air Museum in Arnhem - a short train ride from Doetinchem. The open air museum is a Dutch version of Greenfield Village. There were old windmills,Dutch homes, and actors dressed up in period clothing - creating old wooden wheels, etc.

After taking a train back to Doetinchem in the late afternoon, we biked to Ulenhofcollege, where the students had their final dinner together as a whole group. Chinese/Indonesian food was brought in to the school.

Thursday Photos

Class Presentations & Sports
In the morning, TC West students presented in front of Dutch classes at Ulenhofcollege about Traverse City and the life of teenagers in the U.S.

In the afternoon, Dutch and American students played sports together.

Saturday-Wednesday Photos

The Hague and Delft

I have had internet connection problems with my computer, otherwise I would have been posting more often. Sorry about that. I think we are back on track now though, so I should be posting more often.

On our visit to the Hague on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we stayed at a youth hostel in the North Sea town of Scheveningen - just a tram ride from The Hague. As you can see from these photos, we played soccer on the beach on the North Sea.

In the Hague we saw Queen Beatrix' "Noordeinde" work palace. Several of us were also lucky enough to be able to watch parliament in session. All of us visited Mauritshuis - an art museum where we saw works by Jan Steen, Johannes Vermeer and Peter Paul Rubens. The most famous piece of art we saw was Vermeer's "The Girl with the Pearl Earring." We also visited Madurodam - a miniature "city" which gives an overview of the country itself.

On Wednesday we took a tram from The Hague to Delft. In Delft, we climbed 350 some stairs to the top of the tower of the New Church. We also toured Prinsenhof Museum, the place where William of Orange was murdered.

Days 1 & 2 Photos

Planes, Trains & Buses
Most of these photos are from our trip to the Netherlands on planes, trains and buses.

Other photos include a photo of the Durbins and Mr. Hubbers and Mrs. Lamers in front of St. Catherine's Church in Doetinchem.

After overcoming jetlag, on Friday morning we went to Ulenhofcollege where several Dutch teachers taught us about Dutch history, geography and art.

There are also several photos from Friday afternoon when we visited the small village of 's Heerenberg and toured Castle Bergh. While there, several of our students were interviewed by Graafschap TV about the Ulenhofcollege-TC West exchange.

Departure Day Blizzard

This is the view in Traverse City on the day we were scheduled to fly from Traverse City to the Netherlands. Our flight was supposed to leave Traverse City at 8:00 a.m. When we went to bed the night before there was no snow on this deck. The morning of Wednesday March 23rd, this is the scene. Our flight from Traverse City to Detroit was cancelled. Mr. Durbin has been awake since 1:00 a.m. trying to arrange alternate flights. We now will be taking a bus from Traverse City to Detroit and getting on a plane in Detroit at 10:50 p.m. and flying directly to Amsterdam instead of going to Dusseldorf. We will get to the Netherlands eventually!! We are all looking forward to it.

Potluck #2

Potluck #2 - TC West Commons - St. Patrick's Day Eve 2011

Dutch students at Potluck

Potluck - Durbin House - Fall 2010

West-Central Football Game

Mr. Hubbers and Mrs. Lamers at the West-Central football game - Fall 2010.

Potluck at Durbin House

Potluck at the Durbin House - Cedar, Michigan - Fall 2010