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2018 Blogs

3/30/2018

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Connor Spurlock
When we landed in Amsterdam my dutch partner, Thomas Tichelman,  picked me up from an airport. Then drive to his house about an hour away.  When we got to his house, the showed me around his house and I unpacked. His house was amazing. It was a five story story traditional Dutch house. I had the luxury of having my own floor and shower. Five stories is rather unusual for a Dutch home. Most Dutch homes are three stories high.

I sent Easter Sunday with Thomas’ mother who lives a few house from Thomas’ dad. They are divorced but the transition was very smooth. I spent have the week with Thomas’ mom and the remaining week with Thomas’ dad, Justus and his step-mother. Marine. The food was amazing because Marine was French and cooked many great French recipes.

On Monday, all the students took about a two hour train ride to Den Haag. In English, we call it The Hague and it  is the center for the government in the Netherlands. We visited the Mauritshuis Museum where I saw many famous paintings. I saw one painting called “The Girl with the Pearl Earring” by Johann Vermeer. We also saw two painting by Rembrandt. One of the Rembrandt painting was called “The Anatomy Lesson” and the other was called “Self-Portrait”.  When we got there we walk around and looked at the sights.

On Tuesday, I  went to school with my partner and sat thought some Dutch lesson and English lessons. I think that  their school system is a lot better than ours because the classes are more interesting.During the week, I rode my bike everyday to and from school. It was great exercise but it rained for the entire trip; so I was also getting wet.

On Friday, my partner dropped me off at the train station. Then we got on the train and rode it to Amsterdam  and got on the flight to Lisbon, Portugal.
We were on the plane to Lisbon it landed and we got off and went on the bus to the hotel and unpack my bag and I slept. It was a long week.

 ​Gabriela Spiva
This week was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my whole life. We kicked it off by biking to school for an hour and a half. Cycling to school was very different and challenging to my normal driving to school. It made me so grateful to have not only my license but also have access to a car. 
   The school was the weirdest experience I have, I’ve realized the staff has so much trust in the students that the rules are often very different from what we know back home. I am amazed by the responsibility the students have too. They bike to school, sometimes from long distances, and enter school. At school, they don’t ask to use the restroom they merely go. It’s unique that teachers and students have mutual understanding and respect. 
   This trip was an excellent opportunity also to see how they grade and how different that is. They use marks on a scale of 1-10, with six being sufficient. This system allows the school to judge on work rather than on performance. It’s interesting to contemplate what life would be like if we adopted a similar policy. 
   After making sure everything was fully completed with our video, we headed to coffeelicious to celebrate our final full day in the Nederlands. We all ordered different drinks, I tried my first cappuccino, and left satisfied. After cycling home, we got ready for our film festival and left. 
   Cycling to the school for the final time was bittersweet; it reminded me of the first time I cycled there and made me happy with memory. That night was filled with smiles, laughter, and eventually, tears as some of us said goodbye to our wonderful hosts. Those of us who were lucky enough to have two families said goodbye to some of our host moms and dads.
    After the final movie was shown and awards were given out we all headed to hang around with friends. Having that last night together with people I had grown to care about meant more to me than I can describe. I was so overjoyed to know that I had indeed made some lifelong friends. Though I do understand I won’t see everyone again, to most of you guys, I can say with honest intent, see you later.
Robin Helms
My time in the Netherlands has been such an amazing experience. Being away from home seemed like it would a lot scarier but with the help of Evy, Mika, Eric and Yvette its been simple. Starting with the drive to Dordrecht from Schipol I already felt at home with the Vermeulen family. Eric and Yvette were exceptionally kind and easy to talk to. Mika, although sometimes in his own world, was so kind and reminded me of my own little brother back in Merced. Evy quickly became a close friend and I felt immediately comfortable with her family.  I’m so grateful that I didn’t have to worry about an awkward stage in the middle of an already confusing, foreign country.

The time I spent in Dordrecht was so much fun. I was able to see so many things that I never had before. This experience was once in a lifetime and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. I used to think that travel was reserved for retirement but after this trip I want to make travel a priority. Being able to see different cultures and ways of life is something that I will always cherish. I’m so grateful that I was able to have such an amazing time. My friends made this such a fun time and I don’t think it would have been the same without them.

Brian Matthews
My Experience in Europe

Before we headed off to the Netherlands on March 30,2018 we had to experience an unexpected 5 hour delay in the airport. We later found out that the delay was due to the other airplane that was scheduled to to take us to Amsterdam had a malfunction with the door. This actually worked out for us better because we left later and arrived when there wasn’t much to do except walk around for a little bit, perfect for the amount of energy we had. We decided to eat at a pancake restaurant and the Americans decided to order Dutch pancakes and the Dutch ordered American pancakes. This was my first time in a foreign restaurant and when the waiter came up to he didn’t say, “Hi how is your day going?”or something along those lines, he just said, “Hey, what do you guys want?”. This rubbed off on us Americans the wrong way and we thought he was being rude but according to the Dutch this was actually considered a nice waiter. This was also my first time eating Dutch pancakes and I didn’t even know they existed until then. I ordered pancakes with the honey yogurt and strawberries, it was actually pretty good. The only thing that surprised me was the size and how thin the pancake was. The pancake took up almost the whole plate but was super thin like a crepe. We also had tiny pancake bites with powdered sugar and butter which was really tasty. After we finished eating we tried to decide whether American or Dutch pancakes were better and it was close but American pancakes won the majority.
 The next day it was Easter Sunday and my Dutch host and I, along with Nick and Rubin went to a movie in Rotterdam. We woke up early and got on the bus to Rotterdam where the movie theatre was and Watched Ready Player One. At the movie theatre there weren’t any major difference except you didn’t have to talk to someone in a ticket booth to buy a movie ticket, you could just go to the machine and select the movie you wanted to watch. This wasn’t super out of the ordinary but when I saw the size of the skittles I was in shock, they were a little larger than a box of raisins. I knew the Dutch age in small portions but this blew me away. After the movie ended we got back in the train to go  back to Dordrecht. Once we got off the train we walked to a restaurant that serves kebab, a meat that comes from a lamb and is from the country Turkey. I ordered a Turkish pizza which was the exact opposite of a pizza it was actually more of a burrito or a wrap. Inside the pizza was lettuce, tomato, curry, mayonnaise, cheese, and kebab. To add extra flavor tomas recommended I add spicy curry(which I like hot sauce). The pizza was actually pretty good but not better than carne asada, which was what Rubin and Tomas thought. Later that day Tomas and I went go bowling with a group of other students that were in the exchange program. Even though I lost it was still fun.
 On Monday the group went to an art museum in Amsterdam. Mrs. gave us a tour and explained the paintings and we also got to look at the parliamentary buildings and some statues of prominent figures. When the tour was done tomas and I headed back to Dordrecht on the train. We we got back to his house his cousin from Italy made us some pasta based on a Jamie Oliver recipe; it was really good. After lunch we rode our bikes to the bowling alley where we had gone the night before but this time we were going “go-kart-in”. About 6 other students from the exchange program met is there and we went go karting. It was super fun and it felt like I was in a video game. After we raced 2 rounds we said goodbye and got on our bikes and cycled home in the rain. This was actually very relaxing because there were not any cars on the road and I would never ride my bike around Merced in the pitch black at 11:00 pm so it was like I was in a dream for a little bit.
 The next morning it was my first day of school!!! Well not really, it was my first day of school in the Netherlands. As expected I took his moms bike to school and tomas took his scooter but before we even got out of the drive way he crashed his scooter and cracked the windscreen. Tomas called the school to tell them what happened and that we would be late. When we arrived at the school it wasn’t what I expected, it looked really small from the outside but on the inside there were 3 floors and it was huge.
 Wednesday we went to school and I went to most of Tomas’ class with him. I could not understand what they were taking about in most of his classes because they were speaking Dutch. Once school was out we rode our bikes to Tomas house and got ready for the concert. The concert was in Amsterdam and we were running late,if we didn’t leave soon then we would miss the train. We actually missed the train even though it felt like we were going as fast as possible. Everything was alright thought because we could catch the next train that was going to Amsterdam. Amsterdam was super crowded and the line for the concert was out the door. We eventually got in and lost track of the other 2 students who we saw in line with us. When the concert was over we tried to look for a place that had kebab but nothing was open so we got on the train and went home.  
 Thursday was the same as the days before we went to school  and took our bikes. The only thing different was we were having PE. I was surprised that the teacher trusted the students to ride their bike off of campus in order to go to a facility for PE. After PE it was back to the school to work on the video. This video would be showed at the farewell dinner later that night. At the dinner we had some Dutch food that was pretty good. Afterwards we went to Rubins house and watched a movie.
 Friday was not all that interesting we got on the plane to Portugal. After we got settled we went to a restaurant down the street from our hotel.
 Saturday was going to busy and it all revolves around the tour in the Red line bus. The red line bus reminded me of the the double high buses in San Francisco. This red line bus took us all around the city and we got tot see some very interesting things, ancient forts the tygarus river, and many more. The day concluded with the group going out to eat at an Italian restaurant, which had very good pizzas.
 Sunday morning we met in the lobby at 8:00 and went on a tour of Sintra with our tour guide. Our first stop was a tour of the National Palace of Pena. Although the walk to the palace was up a very steep hill, once we got to the top there was a beautiful view of Sintra. Then we went to the site of a masons initiation. The area was very mysterious, had various secret tunnels, and had a spooky vibe. This didn’t take way from the experience it made it even more of an adventure. Once we walked out of the cave and finished our tour it started to rain and this ruined the plan of going to the beach so we just went back to the hotel. At he hotel, after the long day off exploring Sintra we ordered pizza and since Mrs Spurlock recommended we don’t go to sleep, we decided to pull an all-nighter.
  Before I write anymore, initially when I saw that I was assigned Monday I thought that nothing interesting would happen. I thought we would just get on the plane and I would go to sleep and watch a movie, well I was wrong. When we got off the plane in Amsterdam I was just waking up from my nap and didn’t realize the predicament we were in. The plane that was taking us San Francisco was going to leave in 15 minutes and we were still in the plane. At that moment mostly everyone started freaking out and Mrs. Spurlock told Connor and I that we had permission to run across the airport and hold the plane. So as soon as we got off of the everyone started running and looking for gate E. It turned out that gate E was all the way on the other side of the airport and we had to get our boarding pass and passports checked in order to get to the other side of the airport. The line to get these documents checked was very long and time was ticking. As each minute went by we kept on looking at the TV screen to see if our flight was still on the screen, it eventually disappeared and we were pretty sure that the plane had left. Little did we know Mrs. Owens had gone ahead and made sure they held the plane for us, if she didn’t go ahead I would’ve been in Amsterdam typing this blog. Thankfully we made it back to America but our luggage did not it was still in Amsterdam. This was a major surprise and this type of thing to happen to you but all we could do was fill out papers with out a dress and description of our bag and have it returned to us.
 This trip was full of adventure, suspense, comedy, and action. I enjoyed every part of the trip and this was truly a once in a lifetime experience. A special thank you to my mom and dad for allowing me to go on this trip and thank you Mrs. Spurlock for planning this trip and giving up your time so we could have this trip.

​​Jenna Briggs
April 5, 2018
Europe Blog 


 A year ago from today, I would of never imagined that I’d be here, dreading our last day in The Netherlands.  I recall being so excited when I first learned of the Dutch-American Program, and even more so when my parents agreed to letting me travel overseas, alone practically. 
  As you may have inquired, today marks the last night of our stay in Dordrecht.  It is quite a beautiful city, and I am at a loss of words to describe all of its wonders.  Over the past week I have had many amazing adventures.  We were able to squeeze in lots of sightseeing despite the short amount of time we had.  I was even able to see a REAL castle (not the Disneyland one), visit Kinderdijk, get a canal tour of Amsterdam, and see the city of Rotterdam by night. Which leaves us with today-our last day attending the school Stedelijk Dalton Lyceum. 
  With anything, a wave of sadness hung over us girls heads’ as we cycled to school this morning. Knowing that this was the last time we would cycle together, we would try to laugh, but somehow it always ended with complete silence.  Within a short amount of time, we had arrived at school, and went our different ways. 
  The first hour of school was the same as it has been for a couple of days now.  Us Americans enjoyed our down time in one of the classrooms, allowing ourselves to work on various projects.  After that, it was on our way to P.E. different from America, we had to cycle there! 
  One hour later, we were cycling back to school for the remaining periods of the day (they call them lessons). However, my partner Maartje and I ended up leaving around lunchtime in order to get one more attraction in. We headed towards Keukenhof, a tulip farm close to Dordrecht. 
  Never before have I seen so many extravagant flower patterns. The arrangements were beyond amazing and color flowed all over the landscape. When my host family first told me about Keukenhof I was in anticipation to see if it stood up to their memories of it, and so it did! I can’t believe that a full week has already gone by, here in Dordrecht. It saddens me as I write this, because I know it is my last day of taking in all of my beautiful surroundings. Hopefully I will be able to come back soon and further complete my experience of this beautiful country, the Netherlands! 


​Nick Ehsani

Monday, April 2

    ​After an exciting weekend of trying to sleep on a plane and traveling to places with our Dutch hosts, I got ready for our next destination, The Hague, or as the Dutch call it, Den Haag. Today was the first day in which everyone involved in the exchange traveled together in the Netherlands, which was great as I got to see some Dutch hosts that I became friends with when they visited the United States. My day started off with me waking up to my partner, Ronald knocking on my door asking what snacks we should bring, then realizing I had slept in a little bit; luckily I had prepared the day before so getting ready was no big issue for me. The Smits family, as well as Brianna, another American exchange student, left the house to get to the train station via car. Since I had came to the Netherlands a year before this exchange, I was no stranger to the train system of the Netherlands, and I enjoyed the hour long train ride.
We hopped off in The Hague and started to walk to the center of town, we did however stop to take a big group photo overlooking Binnenhof, a government office where many historical Dutch events, and Mauritshuis, a well known art museum in the Netherlands which I will get to later. We then walked through market stands selling goods and Dutch food until we reached the center of the city, and we had to be weary of busses, cars, bikes, and trams while crossing the streets. We then passed many stores, old statues, and government buildings while on a guide of the historical aspects of the city, given by a social studies teacher who also took part in the exchange. We then stopped at Binnenhof and everyone was set free to eat lunch somewhere, I had just went to a Subway because we had a limited amount of time. One thing that stood out to me was that the Nacho Cheese Doritos bags here are orange here instead of red which I would have never expected.
After lunch we went inside the Mauritshuis and we were required to but our jackets and bags into these big metal lockers. Then we were given a tour of the art here in the museum by another teacher, and from her I learned a lot about the museum, the paintings, and some general things about art as well. Although we observed the most well known painting in the museum, Girl with a Pearl Earring, I found many other paintings to be interesting and a few that were just funny looking. I have been to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and the most notable difference between the two are that this museum was much more crowded, and smaller. Afterwards we made plans to go to Rotterdam for the rest of the day with a small group, and then walked to the train station.
I really looked forward to going to Rotterdam, as it is another one of the larger cities in the Netherlands. We got off the train and stopped by some buildings with interesting architecture, including apartments that looked like a chain of blocks, and a pencil shaped building. We then lingered in a place called Markthal, a giant marketplace full of people, shops, restaurants, and performances. Afterwards we went to a shopping mall nearby and I bought some stroopwafels and candy at a cheap price to bring back home. We wandered around the different shops and took pictures of places for about an hour or two until we started to get hungry. We then walked to a restaurant farther from the city center called Happy Italy. This place was an Italian chain in Europe, and their portions were larger than expected. On top of that there was a play-place for kids with a ball pit in the basement of the restaurant which I found odd. It started to get late, so as a group we walked to a WaterBus, which was a boat that took us from Rotterdam to Dordrecht. I had fallen asleep during a portion of the ride because not many people were on the bus besides us, so it was a good opportunity to take pictures. It was dark when we arrived in Dordrecht, and we were picked up and driven home.
I came to The Netherlands again with the idea in mind that I would go to places I have never been to before, and despite myself coming to the Netherlands beforehand, this truth was ultimately met and more. Today was one of the most fun days I have had in a long time, and it was a great time to get to know people and to see new things. Given the chance, I would definitely return to either of these locations again.

​

​Tuesday, April 3rd - Anna Gueorguieva


Tuesday was our first day at Stedelijk Dalton Lyceum. Many people biked to school or rode the bus. I biked with my partner, Demi, for half an hour from her town ‘s-Gravendeel to the school. Even though it was cold and early in the morning, I enjoyed it thoroughly as I got to see so many beautiful houses and scenery. Everywhere I go I am amazed at the narrow brick streets, numerous rivers and canals, and especially the unique architecture. After arriving at school we had a tour around the school and had a dutch lesson where we learned how to ask for a stroopwafel in Dutch (which we received!). I then joined Demi to an economics class (it wasn’t even her class - she had a free period at the moment - but we decided to go so that I could see how the lessons were. After eating lunch (sandwiches with spreadable cheese and chicken) I went with Demi to her English lesson where they learned about George Orwell’s “1984”. After school, the Dutch and American students were seperated into groups and went together into Dordrecht to look for landmarks. Not only did I see the beautiful churches and waterfront but I learned that Dordrecht was actually the oldest established city in the Netherlands, which I didn’t know before. After our tour, my partner and I met up with some friends and went for a short shopping spree at Primark and ate some noodles at a restaurant. We then biked some more and went to a bowling alley with friends which was tons of fun even though the Dutch students are all somehow way better than me at bowling. Overall, it was a great day filled with meeting new people and seeing new things, I feel so grateful to have experienced Dordrecht and the Netherlands with a great partner and a great group of people.

​

​BLOG 2018: Nick Cantrell


From the moment I found out I would be able to go on this trip, I was very very very very excited! I never thought I would ever be able to travel to a different continent, let alone a different country. My Sister went on this trip a few years back and it was so amazing to know that I’d be following her footsteps.

The flight ended up being WAY better than I thought it would be. I didn’t expect it to only be 9 hours, I expected it to be longer. Since I slept through half of it it was actually a decent experience. When I got there, I was ready. Customs went by smooth and I was finally able to see Rubin! It was very nice to meet his parents and to meet up with people who I haven’t seen since they visited in February. That whole day was nice just to look around Amsterdam and become familiar with the country that I was going to stay in for the next 9 days

Sunday was an excellent day! Especially one to remember, we did so much that day! First I woke up and got ready for the day for I knew Thomas and Brian were going to pick us up to take us to the train station. I had my Dutch breakfast once I was dressed, we ate saucijzenbroodjes, German schnitzel which was super good, and also we had mango.

Once I finished my breakfast, we got picked up by Thomas and Brian and got dropped off with them by his dad at the train station where we would take a train to Rotterdam. In my Opinion Rotterdam is way cooler than Amsterdam and is one of the coolest towns I’ve ever been in. It is very modern and has very interesting looking buildings. We went to the theater to see a movie on IMAX 3D which was an awesome experience and was way better than the theater in Merced. Another cool thing we did after that was that we went to the art museum of Rotterdam, the art was very unique and had lots of things that I thought was either mind blowing or super confusing. There was a lot of work on Jesus Christ since it had a lot of old work, so that was also a good way to celebrate Easter. Once we were finished with that we took the train back to Dordrecht where I tried Kebab which was Turkish meat that resembled Shawarma a lot. After that we topped the day off by going bowling where I won one of the rounds and we had Dutch Fristi and Chocolate milk which was very good! Sunday was a very good way to start off my stay in the Netherlands!

​

​Jessica Delgado

Sunday April 1, 2018:
    Today I woke up extremely tired, I never understood the term ”jet lagged” until now. All I want to do is sleep but I have to much of The Netherlands I want to explore. Today is Easter and we had a traditional Dutch breakfast, that consisted of 8 different kinds of breads, sprinkles, nutella, peanut butter, jam, and chocolate. I don’t understand and still don’t see how Dutch people can consume huge amounts of bread for meals. Don’t get me wrong, the bread here is amazing and if I could too, I would eat all of it.
    Danique (my Dutch Partner) and her mom had planned a full day for me. My Dutch family brought there 7 month old dog, Kia with us to explore the Netherlands. She was a bit crazy in the beginning of the car ride, but she calmed down and was a great dog for the rest of the entire day.
We started off our day driving to the Vaalserberg. The Vaalserberg is the only hill in The Netherlands and is located in the province of Limburg. It was about a 45 minute drive but it was worth it. The Vaalserberg is a point that connects three countries; The Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. The Vaalserberg was 5 stories high and when you got to the top the ground was made of glass. It was to give the illusion that you were going to fall threw the glass. Besides the fact that it was freezing cold outside and windy, the view was gorgeous! I had never experienced something like that and experiencing a point where three countries meet, and it being in Europe was very memorable.
    Then, we went to Germany. I was beyond excited because I never thought in a million years that I’d be going to Germany. At first, when we were driving into Akens, Germany I didn’t think I’d like it because it looked like we were just driving into a “ghetto” part of Oakland, California. But, then we went further into the city and it was beyond beautiful. It was everything I’ve ever imagined when I pictured Germany. The buildings, churches, and reastrauants were memorizing. It’s hands downs one of my favorite things I’ve seen so far while in Europe.
We went from Germany to Belgium. It fascinated me how you could drive to different countries in short amount of times. Belgium’s country side was beautiful to look at. As we got further into Belgium, the architecture in Belgium is old but very unique. Danique’s mom showed me very important sites in Belgium like buildings, churches, and monuments. I liked seeing Belgium from the car, I didn’t really enjoy walking around the city. We only stayed for a little bit and then left because we were all starving.
    Happy Italy, was an amazing restaurant to eat at. It was very warm inside which was great because we’d been so cold all day. I ordered a pesto pasta which came out in a matter of seconds. The place was known for serving their food very fast, which was true. About every food I’ve eaten in has had pine nuts. I’ve grown to love pine nuts on my pasta, bagels, and sandwiches.
I’m extremely grateful for today and everything I’ve experienced. This is a whole new world, I’ve explored and I never thought I’d be able to do something this amazing.

March 31,2018 Dutch Blog
​Kylie Barkman


On Friday, March 30, 2018 we were supposed to depart on our plane at 4:30 pm. Due to technical difficulties with a door we had a four hour delay. The delay was not posted online to let all the other flyers know about the problem. Mrs. Spurlock, along with all my other classmates had a long wait at the airport gate. As we boarded our flight, the captain announced it was a lighter flight, meaning not many people were aboard this fight. I sat down at my assigned seat and realized I had a whole row to myself. This allowed me to sleep the whole fight which was a total of nine hours. The delay caused us to arrive in Amsterdam way later than expect. Our original time of arrive was 11:50 am.  My dutch family had a lot planned on this day such as visiting the red light district, seeing the Anne Frank house, and even the Van Gogh Museum. On Saturday, March 31, 2018 we met with our dutch families at 5:30 pm. This timing gave us no time at all to tour the city of Amsterdam so instead my dutch family to me to Ridderkerk to eat at a pancake house. This was my first “Dutch” dinner which had an atmosphere that wasn’t common in the States. Kids where everywhere, they were screaming and everyone talked much louder it seemed.  Dagmar ordered me a pancake with banana and Nutella on it. Once it arrived it was bigger than the plate which was very surprising. The pancake tasted like something you could get in America it wasn’t anything too special. Over all the start of this trip was very good other than the four hour delay. I hope we get to go to Amsterdam another day this week so I can experience as much as possible of the culture they have here. This is going to be a very busy week.

​March 30, 2018
Mrs. Owens
​

     “Passport, check, outlet converter, check, medications, check, Euros, check.”  As I go down my list preparing for my departure from home, I say to myself, “Breathe deeply.”  The hardest part of traveling for me is the preparation.
     Friends and family have been asking me for weeks, “Are you excited?’ It’s hard to explain my feelings of anxiety to those asking about my level of enthusiasm.  
​     They only think that a trip to The Netherlands and Portugal should produce excitement. However, I have the added responsibility of preparing the home front for my absence. Laying in supplies for my kitties, meeting with my pet sitter, stopping the mail, calling the credit card company to let them know I will be making charges in another country, arranging for international service on my phone, and making decisions about what I will pack all tend to dull any anticipatory feelings of joy that others believe I should be experiencing.    

     “Is there anything I’ve forgotten?” I ask myself as my departure time nears.
     Soon my ride to the airport pulls into the driveway and the reality of my trip sets in.  I am going to Europe. I am on my way with two members of the group with whom I am travelling.  The car hums down the road loaded with backpacks, suitcases, and expectations when all of a sudden, the lyrics from a song pop into my head. “Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go.”  I inadvertently change the lyrics to make them fit the moment. “Over the river, and through the freeways to SFO we go.” I do whatever I can to make the trip to the San Francisco Airport from California’s Central Valley seem shorter and less tedious.  Traffic, traffic, traffic. Merging from one freeway to the next. Waiting in one line then another.
     
As we approach the terminal, looming above the horizon with the maze of roadways at its base is the grand entrance to San Francisco International.  My chest tightens. This is the beginning of a new unknown journey. I’ve never been to Europe, nor have I stayed with a host family in a foreign country.  Now mind you, I am not a novice traveler. I have been to South America, Australia, and Japan so I do know the ups and downs of international travel. However, each trip presents itself with its own challenges and unknowns.  “Breathe deeply,” I once again remind myself as we approach the drop-off for departures.
     The hum of cars pulling up to the curb, the buzz of passengers saying goodbye, the scurrying of people to the kiosks inside, and the clacking of luggage rolling over the hard surface of the floors brings me to the present and out of my thoughts about lists, tasks, and errands. I begin to relax.
     “Do you have any of these items in your suitcase?” queries the counter agent.
​     “No,” is my short but polite response. As my suitcase is tagged and sent down the conveyor belt, I let out a relieved sigh.  “Now,” I think, “I am excited. Let the adventure begin.”
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2017 Blogs
Aliyah Moreno
4/28/17
Today was a sad day it was the day that honestly felt like it was never going to happen; the day everyone dreaded; the day we were to depart. This morning we all went to Dordrecht Central Station to go to Amsterdam and from there going on plane to Wales. When we got to Wales, we met part of the Boggs family who were going to show us around Wales while we were there. When we were on our way to  Swansea, Wales, our driver was scheduled to take us to the hotel. However, he ended up getting lost so we were just driving around in circles. Finally when we found the hotel,  Mrs.Spurlock went inside and asked about our rooms but it turns out that they didn't have our rooms ready. So we decided to eat in their restaurant which also happened to be the lobby of the hotel. Once we ordered our food, we ended up not getting it for another two hours and they still didn't have our room ready so we decided to go and explore the shopping center that was less than a block away from the hotel. We also went into the market that was connected to the shopping center. It was located on the side of the shopping center and there we saw a lot of venders that varied from local foods and foods from other places to local drinks and drinks from other places. We also saw some clothing displayed for sale and Welsh souvenirs. Then, we decided to head back to the hotel hoping they had all of our rooms ready.  Surprisingly, they had them ready, we went up the stairs and into the only room they had ready. We were assigned our rooms and from there we got our luggage, and went to our assigned rooms to get settled in. Right when I got to the room, I put all my stuff down and decided to get my clothes ready for the following day. I had moved all my toiletries to the bathroom and got my stuff ready for the shower. From there I just layed down on my bed on my phone and then I saw the time and saw that everyone had to go down to the lobby because we were going to go eat dinner which was Fish and Chips. We all had to get into taxis and have them drive us about 30 mins from our hotel to a place that was kinda like a small beach to look at.Once we arrived there they handed us what we got and we all took our food and went to the benches nearby and started eating,about 20 minutes or less into us eating Aiden and Garin started to feed the seagulls some of their food which then caused more and more to start coming and in less than a minute there about 10 seagulls waiting or eating food. After like 2 minutes me and Taylor turned to look at the table where Aiden and Garin were feeding the fish and noticed them getting up to walk away because there were so many of them and in that split second a seagull ended up pooping on Conners sweatshirt which just made everyone just burst out laughing and what made Aiden and Garin run away from the table afraid of being pooped on also. After everyone calmed down they started to kinda go their own ways so,Dillen decided she wanted to go walk on the beach and collect some seashells to bring home with here so my teacher had me and Taylor go with here so she isn't alone and so she doesn't get to close to the ocean. From there everyone decided to take a group picture so we all took the picture and then Annie decided to bring her dogs so everyone got distracted and ran towards the dogs, after about 30 minutes of just walking we all left and went to one of Annieś friends house where they performed a type of skit that was so cool because we saw how one person can change their voice to make them sound completely different yet at the same time the exact same.After they performed they taught us the Welsh national anthem and sang us some more welsh songs so, we decided to sing them the anthem from the United States, after we just went around and started talking to everyone.

Honestly this trip was so much better than I ever imagined and I'm so happy I went and saw and meet some Welsh people and their culture.
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Dillen Ngo
​4/28/17

I have a record of having really bad luck. Seriously. Some of my incidents have included me (accidentally) putting two people in the ER on two separate occasions, getting stung by a scorpion, and having my hair catch on fire in a church. So I can’t really say I was surprised when I came down with a cold shortly before our trip. I arrived with my bag stuffed with different kinds of medicines: cough drops, sore throat medicine, vitamins, decongestant pills, and of course, DayQuil. Nevertheless, I had spent the first few days of the trip coughing and sniffling, and the cold, rainy weather of Holland didn’t quite help (although my host family informed me that at least I could experience typical Dutch weather!) Worse, I had developed a pretty bad cold sore, and I think everyone who has had it before will agree with me when I say that cold sores are the absolute worst. And in addition to all this, I had a mysterious red eye. When my condition didn’t go away after a while, the teachers arranged for me to go to the doctors on Tuesday, and while I had to skip out on an activity about Dutch phrases, I think this was worth it, because, in the end, how many of my fellow exchange students could say that they’ve been to a Dutch doctor?

One of the first things I noticed was that the doctor’s office was very similar to the ones we have in America, a waiting room with both elderly patients and younger patients, and magazines and children’s toys to entertain them. I did, however, notice that instead of a nurse or the receptionist telling you that the doctor is ready, the doctor herself comes out and greets you. Once I was in the examination room, I also noticed that the room was bigger than in the states, since it combined the doctor’s personal office with the typical examination room. After getting my eyes checked, the doctor prescribed me medicine for my sore and my red eye.




[My Prescription]

Just like in America, we then headed over to the pharmacist to get the medicine. Unlike the states, however, the pharmacist was in the same building as the doctor. And lastly, while I personally do not have much experience or knowledge of such things, my mom did observe how much cheaper the medicines and the doctor’s visit were compared to here. Then again, I saw this as a tourist, not a citizen, so I can’t really grasp how their healthcare system truly works, but these were a few observations I made.

And thus concludes my thrilling adventure at a Dutch doctor. I returned to school, where all the American students had to follow our Dutch partners around for the rest of the day. I recall attending an English class, a French class, and a maths class with my partner Eva. In English, we looked at rhetorical devices, which is not something I am too familiar with myself, so it was interesting to learn something about my own language alongside non-native speakers. Next was French, which I partly understood since I have rather basic knowledge of French. Lastly, there was math. Math is my favorite subject, but in Holland, I couldn’t understand a single thing not only because the class was entirely in Dutch, but also because the math was above my level. Interesting, there were only 6 people attending the math class! There were a few other things I noticed that were different at their school. For one, they didn’t have laptops. However, many schools in America do not have laptops, and it’s possible that many schools in Holland do have laptops, but this is a comparison of Stedelijk Dalton Lyceum and El Capitan High School, so I will only be comparing the difference between these schools. Another difference I observed was how much bigger their school was. Perhaps it’s because their school is indoors, whereas ours is outdoors, but to me, it felt easy to get lost in the different hallways. In fact, I did get lost in the school while returning from the bathroom! Luckily, after much wandering around, I made my way back to class. They also had three stories, as opposed to our two stories. I imagine this would be quite tiring when you’re tired and carrying a heavy bag, especially if you’re a somewhat lazy person like me! One thing I thought we should incorporate at El Capitan was the room in their library where you had to be completely silent. I think this would be really beneficial to people who want to study, or just enjoy some quiet time. They also had vending machines, much to the delight of everyone (including the teachers).

I can’t write a blog post about Holland without mentioning the cycling. In Holland, they cycle everywhere. Most of my peers cycled as well, but I was too short to use my host family’s bicycles, so instead I just rode on the back of Eva’s bike. It was a bumpy ride, but it was also quite fun. On Tuesday, we had visited the city center, and saw many of the landmarks, and ate poffertjes, a Dutch treat. Dordrecht is very different than Merced. It’s older, and you can see this in the architecture and the streets. It’s an absolutely beautiful city, and I enjoyed touring the streets. Eva also showed me a Dutch supermarket, which is much smaller than the ones here in America (but bigger than the ones in Italy, which is quite interesting to me. Perhaps because Italy likes independent markets and sellers? It’d be quite interesting to learn more about the different supermarkets around the world) and to the McDonald's where she worked. There, I had my first ever McDonald’s burger. For me, however, the highlight of it all was the egg rolls we bought from a street vendor. I’m Vietnamese, so it was nice to have a bit of home while overseas.


[10/10 would recommend]

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Garin Boggs
4/24/17

Today was the second to last day of our trip. We were going to make the most of it. We got up in the morning, ate breakfast, and then went to the bus station. It took us a long time to find the right bus, but we eventually did. We were on the bus for forty five minutes to an hour. We passed King Arthur’s rock and saw the countryside in Wales. We arrived in Gower. It was one of the most beautiful, amazing places I’ve ever been to in my entire life. We met up with my great aunt, Annie, and about 15 minutes later we began our long hike around the Gower Hills. It was steep on the way up. Most of us were exhausted and we were only five minutes into the hike. It was worth it though. There were so many great views from the hills. We took many amazing photos. My friend and I took photos that resembled a scene in the movie Titanic. I took some photos that were even movie worthy. Eventually, we hiked seven hundred feet in elevation. It was pretty awesome. The view of the beach and everything else around us was absolutely beautiful. Some of us had trouble getting up to that point but it was worth it. The view was stunning. The rest of the hike was downhill and pretty easy. We made it back to sea level about fifteen minutes later. It was about eleven o’clock. We still had to walk all the way back to where we had started. The kids were so hungry. By that time, I felt as if I could have eaten a cow. It took us an hour to make it back to where we started. It was a six to seven mile hike. I enjoyed it but was quite tired and hungry.

When we got back, Annie,my great aunt, was waiting there with a huge lunch. It was like I had seen Heaven. It was the best thing I’d seen since the trip began. I was so happy. The food was amazing!I was very hungry. So was the rest of the group. I think we could all agree that Annie’s food was exactly what we needed after our long hike. Usually, it’s cold and wet in Wales, but the weather had been great in the last week. It was hot enough to give my siblings and I a sun burn. Some of Annie’s closest friends were there. Two of them had stayed with us six or seven years ago. It was good to see them after so long.

After lunch, some of us laid down and closed our eyes for a bit in the grass. It was very peaceful. Afterwards, we bought some stuff at a gift shop and walked down to some cliffs near the beach. The photos we took were amazing. They were like something you would only see in a movie. About an hour later, we took a bus back to the youth hostel. It was an hour back to the hostel. I slept most of the way. Towards the end, I woke up next to an elderly lady who was yelling at me to give her a boost up. Apparently, the words give me a boost up really meant that she needed help with her backpack strap. She asked my teacher, “What’s wrong with the boy?!?”, in her British accent. It was quite hilarious.

We had some free time as soon as we got back. We had two or three hours before we were scheduled to meet Annie at an Indian restaurant. In the meantime, Aiden, my best friend who came on the trip with us, and I went to Topman. We bought some pretty nice clothes. We then came back about ten minutes before we had to check in. We went back to the bus station to catch a bus to the restaurant. We missed the bus by a few minutes and ended up having to find another bus to take us where we needed to go. We were thirty minutes late, but our reservation was still valid. We had an excellent meal. We had another fifteen minutes before we had to be back and at the bus stop so we went to the beach right across the street. We were going to touch the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.     
  Saturday ended up being my favorite day of the week. It was packed with activities that everyone loved and I got to spend time with family and friends. There wasn’t anything better I could have thought of doing that day. I would like to thank my great aunt, Annie Bath, for making the trip to Wales possible and for helping us to do as many fun things as we could in three days. ​
Aiden Mitchell
​4/19/17
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I was woken up by the vibrations of Rahiq pounding on the door, as usual. Like every normal school day, I got out of bed at about 7:30. Only today was no normal school day. Today, we we are having our first day at a school not only out of our country, but almost half way across the world. I got dressed and came downstairs to find a warm melted “Tosti” sitting on my plate (a tosti is pretty much a toaster grilled cheese sandwich). I was staying with a Bangal family; so of course they always had their own little twist on things. Next to the sandwich was a small puddle of “Curry Ketchup”. Not my cup of tea but I still slurped up the whole thing.

After breakfast we grabbed our bags, headed out the door, hopped on our bikes, and were on our way. As we biked to school, I started to fall in love with the city of Dordrecht. The cobblestone roads, the countless trees, the bridges over rivers, lakes, and ponds. Ponds that were full of fish, frogs, and lily pads, all these wonders just on their daily path to school. When we arrived at the school the search began. The search for a spot to park your bike. Not only does Dalton have less than half the amount of kids we do, but it has 10 times the amount of spots to park your bikes, and they were all in use.

We walked inside to see a school that looked vaguely similar to Bayside High from Saved by the Bell. My partner Rahiq walked me to class where I met up with all of my teachers and classmates. We talked about our previous days spent here and what we thought of the school so far. We then attempted to log onto the computer for the whole period. We figured it out the last two minutes of class. Not much was able to be done in those two minutes. The bell rang and we headed over to Ms.de Hoon’s classroom. In her class she attempted to teach us a few easy dutch phrases such as “Ik ben” which means “I am”. After we learned a few more phrases, we combined them to have a short conversation with Ms. De Hoon. At the end, we asked for a stroopwafel and she delivered.

We then met back up with our partners. THey took us down stairs to a smaller room that wasn’t as busy as the cafeteria. I met a few of our partners friends and they all seemed very nice. Break ended and we attended some of our partners classes. One in english, the rest in Dutch. The English class was lots of fun! We learned all about rhetorical devices. We were then instructed to make a persuasive paragraph using rhetorical devices in a scenario they created. My group was Ragib, Rens, David, and I and our scenario was to convince the teacher to postpone the test. Ours was mostly a joke but we made sure to include at least 3-4 rhetorical devices. After English,  I went with my partner to the rest of his classes which were in Dutch. In those classes I just conversed with some of the English speaking Dutch students. Overall the school day was a lot of fun. After school, we met back up in Ms. de Hoon’s classroom. She gave us pamphlets which were an itinerary of what we were going to do later in the Dordrecht city center. Only problem was that it was all in Dutch. They claimed this was because they wanted our Dutch partners to translate it to us, but really, they just didn’t feel like translating it themselves. They gave a little speech to our dutch partners and then we were off.

We hopped on our bikes and started our journey to the city center. About twenty minutes later we arrived. When we got there Mrs. Spurlock and Connor were there waiting for us. Connor didn’t have a partner so we let him tag along. He didn’t have a bike so he hopped on the back of Eline’s. We took a picture in front of all the designated spots the teachers had assigned for us and learned a little bit of history about each one. After we followed the directions from our teachers we had freetime downtown. We met up with Alex and the rest of her group and walked around to all the different shops and stores. Rahiq and Eline bought us fifty poffertjes to share. Poffertjes are practically little pancakes coated in butter and powdered sugar. We approved. After we downed every last one of those I went to a little food shack and bought 3 lumpia. When we were walking around we came across a fountain. It looked wet and cold but I was anonymously offered twenty dollars to run through it, so of course I did. I took off my shirt, sprinted through, and collected my well earned money. That was practically the end of our night. We all split ways and headed home.

 I ate the dinner Mrs. Ullah prepared for us then went straight to bed. I didn’t get much sleep the nights before this one so I passed right out. I could not wait to see what was in store for the day ahead of us.
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Loren Boggs
​4/18/17
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In the morning we woke up very early and went to the train station.  When we arrived, we said our goodbyes to the dutch students and their families. It was a heartbreaking moment for everyone; we had all grown so close to one another and truley loved each and every student for who they were.  I soon learned that it was quite hard to go from seeing someone all the time, to not seeing them at all and not knowing if you will ever even see them again. In the midst of all this sadness, we managed to board the train; we had finally started our journey to Wales, where we would make new friends and meet family.

The flight to Wales was only an hour and a half. It is crazy to think that in Europe you can fly for that short amount of time and be in another country. This is very different from the U.S., where you have to fly a little over 3 hours just to go from Los Angeles to Mexico. Everything is so close together in Europe, where as in the U.S. most things are very far apart from one another.  After the short flight, we got off of the plane and were greeted by Annie, Eryl, Lucy, Rodrey, and Gabs. Annie is my great aunt. She planned everything for the trip to Wales along with the help of Eryl. Lucy, Rodrey, and Gabs are my second cousins who we have not seen in over 7 years. It was fantastic to finally see people who really cared about us. The drive to our hotel took about an hour and the scenery along the way was magnificent. Wales is very green all year long because it rains there during every season. This is much different from where we come from. In Merced, we have our set seasons; it mostly rains in the winter and it is very dry and hot during the summer. This means that Merced is only green for a short period of time until it gets hot again and the green grass turns brown. We met up at the hotel with the others and Annie and Eryl led us to a market just down the street.  The markets in both Wales and Holland are also very different from the ones in Merced. The markets that we have contain a lot of processed foods and a small variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. In Welsh and Dutch markets, however, there are many fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, and pastries showed in display cases. After visiting the market we all took taxis to the beach where Annie met us with a traditional welsh meal of fish and chips. After spending some time at the beach, Annie’s friend took everyone to Klyne Gardens, where we walked around for about an hour. We were lucky that we came when we did because all of the flowers were blooming and the water was running continuously down the waterfalls. Klyne Gardens was a magnificent sight with beauty beyond compare. When we were finished, we walked a short distance to a lady name Stephanie’s house, where we were greeted by 6 of Annie’s close Welsh friends. These friends had prepared for us a Welsh play, which we all watched while sitting on the floor and drinking squash. Squash is a fruit flavored concentrate that you add water to. We do not have squash in America which is quite depressing because it tastes so good. We sat in Stephanie's house till late at night listening to welsh stories and learning welsh songs. They taught us how to sing the welsh national anthem. It is very hard to sing their national anthem, but the 6 of them sang it with great might. It was truly beautiful. After we were done singing, Stephanie’s mother, who is 95 years old and going blind, played piano for us, while Annie sang along. Welsh people have a lot of talent; many of them can sing, and act, and play musical instruments. The whole night was a lot of fun. We rode home that night with a couple of Annie's friends. They were so kind and they wished us much happiness throughout the duration of our trip. When we arrived to the hotel we went to our rooms and stayed up late talking about how fun our day had been and how excited were for the next day.
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This trip is coming to a close, and while I might be forgetting the little things that occurred throughout this week, I will never forget the lessons that this trip has taught me. The two most important things that I have learned is how to deal with certain personalities and how to become a friend to people who have very different interests than you. I appreciate that I was able to go on this trip and I hope to continue the friendships that I have made throughout this program.

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​David Sanchez
​4/17/17

Today was the first time several American students were going to experience a European school. I was really excited to see the similarities and differences that both of our schools had. The time to wake up was around the same time that I wake in America to catch the bus. Here in the Netherlands they to go to school by bus or by car.  The one thing that I found strange was that the students here rode their bicycles to and from school. Were the weather is very cold when they go to school. Luckily for me my Dutch partner only lives five minutes away from the school so I didn’t have ride for a  long time. I was grateful that when we arrived to school I didn’t have an accident or cause any traffic because of the tempo that I was going. When we arrived to school I was amazed on how many bikes there were and it looked the exact same as the picture that Mrs. de Hoon showed the teachers at El Capitan. I got little tour of the ground level from my partner, then found the rest of the American and Dutch students in the program.

We then all went to the classroom that we were assigned to go every morning for the rest of the week when class began. There Naomi and Eva two of the Dutch students were extremely generous to give us a tour of the entire building.  After taking the tour of the amazing building we met of up with our partner and had English. The English class here is quite similar compared to mine in the U.S., but their class schedule was strange. Here they don’t have the same classes everyday, they have it every other day. Their breaks are longer than ours but lunch is shorter. When I went into their regular classes the teacher was speaking in Dutch so I had a difficult time to follow along with the lesson. The Dutch students that were in my classes would giggle because of the look of confusion on our faces when hearing the lesson being taught in Dutch.

On the final hour of class which would our eight period we all met up in the Dutch teacher’s classroom that was in charge of the program. She gave us each a small packet and split us into three different groups with tasks in an random order as the other groups. After explaining what our jobs were, we had to Dordrecht Center and go to famous placed there and provide an picture to show proof that we were there. While there in the center the weather there was Bipolar. When we got there it was cloudy and windy. Five minutes later it started to rain, then two minutes passed by and it started to hail. The sun started to come out to shine over the city. We went to the last location on our list we went to some of the stores there to take a look around. The stores there all close at six in the afternoon, so we decided to leave and head back home. On our way home it started to rain again and this time it was rain harder than before. To get home we had to go down a slope that leads into a tunnel. When going down the slope I had slipped and scraped my hand on the wall.
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After getting back on the bike, we went on our way back to school to then get home. Just before we got home it started to hail again and my glasses fogged up and I couldn’t see what was in front of me. Luckily I didn’t crash into anything and arrived unharmed and nothing was broken. The clothes that I wore was soaked from the rain. After changing we had dinner which was fantastic and different to I normally would eat back home. Rens’s parents wanted to take me see some Windmills and take some pictures. I took some really nice pictures of the landscape and of the sun setting. We got back home it as late but I found it strange that there was sit sunlight when in California it would be dark. It was windy and had some hot chocolate to get warm. When we got comfortable they turned on the television to watch a soccer game. When we turn on the T.V the team that we wanted to win scored and we were really happy. After time passed the other team scored and won. By the time the game was over it was late and I went to get ready for bed.
My first experience to a different lifestyle on going to school and life was very exciting for me to witness and say that I’ve experienced it. I am grateful for the having the opportunity to join the Dutch Fulbright program and travel to Europe. Also to travel with an great group of students and to be with them for the week and get to know them even more.

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Morgan Kirby
April 22,2017
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Our last day in Holland was spent at school with our partners. Their school is a lot smaller than El Capitan and is all indoors. Unlike American high schools, they do not have sports teams connected to their school and instead they play with different club teams around the city. However, they do have PE lessons at school once a week which we were able to attend today. I played tennis with my exchange partner, Eline. Eline led the class and taught us some basic tennis skills since she has been playing since she was younger. A Dutch student who has played the sport before often leads the class in the activities. Some of the other American students participated in dance, hockey, and rugby. I learned that the Dutch students sign up for a new class every four weeks and the classes offered changed. Imko, a Dutch exchange partner, said that when the classes are posted all of the students rush to sign up because they only have a short time to do so and everyone wants the best ones.

Their school schedule resembles more of a college setting. The first classes begin at 8:30 and the last class ends at 4:20. There are 10 class periods offered every day but the Dutch students vary in which hours they have class or not. It is not uncommon to have a few classes in the morning, a break, and then more classes in the afternoon. Some Dutch students are even lucky enough to not have class in the morning and then get to sleep in a little bit. The classes the Dutch students go to change daily giving them a different schedule every day of the week. This allows for time between classes to relax and catch up with friends or finish some homework. Another difference to American schools is that when a teacher is sick, class is canceled instead of a substitute teacher coming to fill in. Classes are typically filled with about 25 students. This small class size allows for effective learning for students. The teachers use different methods of teaching in order to help the students understand the topic. In geography class the teacher did a lecture and the students listened and took notes while in English class the teacher gave the students a speech and had the students work together in groups to analyze and search for rhetorical devices in the writing.

We also had our farewell dinner and movie night on Thursday evening. We spent the night reminiscing about the Dutch students trip to the United States and reliving our more recent memories of the American students here in The Netherlands. All of the students were paired up together to create a short movie highlighting our favorite parts of our trip, the differences between American and Dutch food, and then one additional topic that varied between the groups. My group had the topic of “What I love about America/Holland”. Our movie included clips of Yosemite, which was the Dutch students favorite part, and tulip fields and the city of Dordrecht, which was mine and David’s favorite part. We included videos of our meals, what we did over the weekend in Holland, and videos from our trip to Rotterdam and Dordrecht City Center.  Another group’s topic was the differences in transportation in California and Dordrecht and showed clips of the busy roads and parking lots of the US and the crowded bike paths in Dordrecht. A difference between American schools and schools in Holland is how we have parking lots for our cars and they have parking lots for bicycles. There are rows and rows of bikes filling the bike racks outside instead of rows of cars.

 After the farewell dinner the students all went back home to pack their bags and get ready to depart for Whales the following day. Many of us are sad to leave our Dutch partners and families but we make promises to visit one another again.

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Haison Nguyen
April 20. 2017
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Daily Life in the Netherlands
Today is Wednesday, April 19, 2017. It was the first day I could finally sleep in. I was able to wake up at 9:00 am and I think that helped with my jet lag. The past few days I continued to fall asleep during the day because I did not realize the jet lag hit me so hard. Jose’s house was much different than mine because of the fact that he had so many stairs. My house is only one story, but Jose’s home contained four or five flights of stairs. I guess that is pretty normal in the Netherlands, but in America the homes are usually either just one or two stories. Anyways, it was my second day of school with my Dutch partner. His school was called Stedelijk Dalton Lyceum, and that was also extremely different from my school. For example, they had a whole parking lot just for bikes, which is the opposite of what we have. Secondly, the school also does not have any school sports, so the closest sports recreation center is about five minutes away by bike. Lastly, their school consisted of six different years. This means that students there ranged from twelve to sixteen years old.

My first class today was theater. I was extremely nervous because there was only Loren, Aliyah, and myself. In theater class, we met the teacher Mr. De Bruin, and he split us up into groups. Luckily, Loren and Aliyah were paired up together while I was paired up with a girl named Fleur. Our assignment was that I had to sell her a pencil for two euros. The point of the little play was to use different methods to get people to do what you want. These methods included arguing, threatening, begging, bribery, and more. We did about two more plays using the same type of methods, but were placed in different situations.
After theater class, it was time for the Q&A by the Dutch kids. I sat with Loren and we met up with two different sets of Dutch children. They all asked the same questions such as, “How do you like America?” or “What do you think of Donald Trump?” Through this Q&A, I realized how different our culture was compared to the Netherlands. They have LOTS of more bikes and the weather is rather bipolar at times. The country is extremely small and it only takes about two and a half hours to reach another country. All the Dutch children that interviewed us were extremely kind and it was fun to talk to them. I recognized some of them from the theater class and they waved “hi” at me. The Q&A did not last as long as I thought it would and it was already time for lunch.

Later was geography. The class was full of first year students and we studied tectonic plates. Afterwards there was a short question and answer from the kids. They asked about what you could probably guess: Donald Trump. Finally, school ended and I went to go play soccer. Jose, Rens, David, and I travelled to a little field where we did a two on two. We also did free kicks and went on the playground. We stayed there for about half an hour, but had to leave because it was almost time for Eline’s party. Another difference I found between the Netherlands and the United States is the amount of soccer fields there are. Since soccer is the most popular in Europe (the whole world while we are at it), it would make sense that there are multiple soccer fields in each city. Soccer is probably the fourth or fifth most popular sport in the U.S., hence why there are not as many soccer fields.
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The party at Eline’s house was a potluck style and Jose made some chicken satay. When we arrived at the party, I showed up in a pair of clogs because “I had to stunt” on some people (I also got two dollars from David). To clarify, clogs are Dutch wooden shoes that are larger than normal. The ones I wore was yellow with tiny red flowers where the laces would be. At the party, I ate so much food I felt as if I could explode. There was chicken satay, salmon sandwiches, chocolate eggs, pasta, and tons more. I had an awesome time there and it was a night to remember. We played multiple games and watched the FC Barcelona game against Juventus. I wished they came back from their 0-3 deficit, but sadly the game ended in a draw. Besides that event, we all had a wonderful time. Both the Dutch and American students bonded more than ever and now they are like a family to me. I will truly miss them when we leave and I could only hope I can see them again in the future.

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  Bryce Boggs
April 19,2017
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Today was our trip to Rotterdam. I was excited for this trip because it gave me another chance to see a Dutch city before we left to Wales. Luckily, we did not have to be at the train station until 11 am, so I got to sleep in a little longer than I have the past couple of days. After I was done getting ready this morning, my host family surprised me with a traditional Easter breakfast spread. There was a lot of meats, cheeses, breads, fruits, and spreads laid out on the table as well as sweets. It looked very good and tasted even better. My favorite thing I tried was a meat spread, which turned out to be raw meat. After finding out that it was raw cow meat, it didn't look quite as appetizing. Many of the foods they eat here are very different to the food we eat in America. The food item that I have noticed the most is the use of bread or pastry in every meal.


After breakfast, Melle and I left his house and walked to the station. It was about a 10 minute walk but in my mind it felt like 45 because of how tired I was mentally and physically. Once at the train station, we checked and in and then caught a bus, which then took us to the outskirts of Rotterdam. After we arrived at our first destination, we then took the train into the city. Something that is different here in the Netherlands is the use of development of public transportation. It seems like nearly everyone uses public transportation. But it also more practical here because of how close the cities are to one another.

After we arrived, we all filed out and began our walk into the city. We started our tour by going to the see the Kubushuizen, or the cubed homes. They were very impressive and I had trouble figuring out where one room ended and the next started. We then went into De Markthal, or the market hall. This was my favorite part of the day. The building itself looked like a giant upside down horse shoe. The walls on the inside were painting to look like berries and flowers. The market was massive and it seemed like every type of food was being sold. There were many colorful displays of donuts, cookies, cheeses, raw meats, raw fish and fried foods. I decided to try a Kinder Bueno gelato, which was basically a Nutella flavored gelato. It was very good and I wish I would have asked for two scoops instead of one. We were allowed to roam the market for an hour or so and even though we had a lot of time there, it did not seem like enough because of the size of the market. After roaming for a while, a large group of the Dutch and American students went to the level under the market, where a supermarket was to look at Dutch foods and snacks. I bought various cookies, candy bars, sprinkles, stroopwafels and other candies at this super market. My favorite thing I bought was one kind of every Milka Bar I saw.

When our hour was up, we met outside and continued walking through the city until we reached the Verwoeste Stad, or the ruined city sculpture. While at first this statue looked odd to me, I came to realize that it was actually quite meaningful because of the story behind it. The statue was made to represent the city itself after it had been bombed by Germany. It really represented how the city had to rebuild itself afterward. It was quite sad, and the statue reflected that.

 After looking at the statue and hearing the history, we were given free time in the city with our partners for the day. We went to the main shopping center and looked at a variety of skate boarding, trendy clothing and very odd shops. One of the main differences I noticed in American shops and Dutch shops was that the Dutch shops were much more clean and structured than American shops. After awhile, we walked back to the statue to see the other shops on that side of town and to make our dinner reservation at a place called Happy Italy. I found some really nice tourist shops on this part of town and bought some gifts for my friends and teachers back home. My favorite thing I bought was a Dutch-themed blue and white snow globe. Originally, I was going to give it as a gift, but I liked it so much that I decided to keep it for myself.

After shopping for a little while, we walked towards a different part of the city, where Happy Italy was. Once we were all seated, we were given menus (some in Dutch and some in English) and our drink orders were taken. After ordering our pizza, it only took about 5-10 minutes for it to come back to our tables, which was amazing because of how hungry I was. I ordered a four cheese pizza and Melle ordered a pizza with truffle sauce, mushrooms and Italian ham. The pizza itself was bigger than my face and was larger than I expected considering how little it cost. It was also very delicious and if I ever come back to Rotterdam, I will go back to Happy Italy for a meal. After we were done eating, we had to speed walk to the theater to catch our movie. We had to walk very fast but none of us minded because it was cold and windy. The main difference I noticed between American theaters and Dutch theaters is that you have to pay on a machine and also choose where you sit. We decided to see the new King Kong movie and while I enjoyed it, it was very hard for me to stay awake because of how tired I was.

After the movie, we walked back to the train station and arrived back at the outskirts of Rotterdam, where we then had to take a 45 minute bus ride back to Dordrecht. When we finally arrived home, I was so tired that I went straight to bed. Overall, our trip to Rotterdam was amazing  and something I'll never forget

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Alex Gueorguieva

Today we went to Rotterdam and explored the city. Rotterdam is the second largest city in the Netherlands and about half an hour drive from Dordrecht. We all met at the train station this morning and were planning to take the train into town. Instead, we ended up having to take the bus to another station and then taking the train to Rotterdam because there was maintenance on the rails.

When we arrived at Rotterdam we saw the Cubic Houses which are houses where people live but designed like cubes. They looked similar to the house on top of one of the buildings at UC San Diego. After this, we went to the Markthal which is a building full of many vendors selling a variety of food. We tried krokets, poffertjes, and hutspot. My favorite were the poffertjes, or miny Dutch pancakes. Next we went to the Maritiem museum. There was a cool statue in front of the museum commemorating the bombing of Rotterdam at the beginning of the Second World War. Most of Rotterdam was destroyed during the bombings and had to be completely rebuilt after the war.

While some of us went to the museum, others went downtown and did some souvenir shopping. Then we all met up again and had dinner at a really tasty Italian restaurant. After this we went to the movies and watched Kong in 3D. The movie itself was in English but there were Dutch subtitles. It was a really great day filled with fun and many memories, we all loved Rotterdam and can't wait to see more of Holland!
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​Mrs.Conley's

​4/13/17
​Harvard and the Global Classroom
On the Harvard application, it specifically asks for world experience. It doesn’t ask has your student been on a website or watched a youtube video to experience another culture nor does it ask if they have done community service across the city; instead it asks what kind of world experience does your student have. For some that may mean a family vacation to another country with their parents for others it may mean a hop over the border to work on an orphanage for a week nothing that is truly life changing or culturally exposing for either side of the experience. What Harvard and many other Universities are looking for is an experience that will take the student into their adulthood something that will impact them not only emotionally but in every aspect of their ideology. Life Changing. What does this mean, how does a student get this experience. They need to make a connection with someone in another culture through a distance, get a chance to bring them into their American world to teach them what it is really like to be American then go, with a better understanding of each other, and immerse themselves into a completely new culture for a period. Tina Spurlock and Elma de Hoon have created such an environment. Students begin the communication process early in the school year by communicating through a global classroom platform via google and begin the process of creating a cultural diversity video among a group. They explore all aspect of who they are as individuals as well as group members by the time the first exchange occurs.
A program that has been going on for 8 years has proven to have life changing effects. Harvard worthy. More students should have the opportunity to be a part of a program like this. The long-term career foundations it sets for students are something businesses cannot teach but will pay for. The tolerance and understanding of other cultures necessary to run an international company is worth every dollar to a company and a university willing to give out scholarships. Global education is the way of the future and in our backyard Mrs. Spurlock and Mrs. de Hoon have been well ahead of the curve. Now it is time for our Merced community to get behind them so our students have the opportunity to achieve the greatness we know they can.


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​Is Global Citizenship Important?
Tina Spurlock
​4/11/17

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April 24-28 is Global Leadership Week. If you teach, what kind of a global educator are you? What do you know about global education? According to the U.S. Department of State, the ability to succeed in almost any career today depends on a person’s ability to understand the world around them. As an educator, I have been a hardy advocate for the preparedness of students as global thinkers and agents of change. Over the past 15 years, I have watched education change. Recently, I have also watched the concept of global education sprout and begin a growth that has become more than a trend but a pathway to student success, global competency, and some much needed cultural tolerance. I am proud to say that I was an early advocate. My goal has always been to create a global pathway for students. A pathway similar to an arts pathway or a biotech pathway.

Whether students travel by way of an exchange or immerse themselves in an online experience, they become globally aware and this can be an academic and vocational game changer for many students. Elma de Hoon and I have been diligently (and mainly without much understanding from our administrators and district offices) building an exchange program that has changed the perspectives of many students and their parents. Contrary to popular beliefs, we spend our own monies to insure our programs remain and continue to grow. We get no financial support from anyone. And yet, we have helped create over 300+ young globally minded citizens and we are still counting. On Friday, a group of 15 ECHS students will be heading to Dordrecht, the Netherlands. If a student is studying with our project they are learning how to adapt to different circumstances, work with different global players, and (maybe) practice a new language. They are learning that we all have stereotypes, misconceptions about cultures, and are victims of prejudice and bias. All of us. Dutch and American students go into our exchange program to learn about another culture and ultimately they learn more about who they are and what they believe. Thinking globally has that impact on people.

Over the years, I have marveled at the depth and scope of the curriculum in the Netherlands. From the teaching of Latin and Greek, to the embedding of the Dalton Hour. This dalton hour is quite interesting because it allows students to discover a passion. Inspired by an American educator, Helen Parkhurst, it allows students an hour a week to do anything: check out a guitar and play it, spend time with a counselor, work with a science teacher, or even rehearse a scene for a theatre class. I have learned and observed so many wonderful and transformative things while in Holland. Stedelijk Dalton Lyceum is a wonderful school. Every year, it is full of gracious hosts and it is also the place of dedicated teachers and administrators. Not to mention, a group of amazing students. During the past 10-15 years, while we in the United States tested our students beyond compare, burned them out, and stifled their critical thinking and creativity; the Dutch were fostering thought, creating global citizens, incorporating the arts, and teaching global tolerance like no other.

I retell a story often to my peers. The story goes like this…
In 2009, the first year of our Dutch Fulbright Exchange, I took a group of students and we presented at the MUHSD board meeting. I remember an administrator and board member ( who will remain nameless) conversing, “ Oh” one said, “How wonderful for the kids, what a “nice travel” program but there really isn't anything to learn from the Dutch Educational System. What are their scores? Do they use explicit direct instruction? Oh, they have that vocational piece but that could never happen here”. I remember feeling a little deflated and quite surprised. First, I was shocked by the arrogance of their verbal exchange. Secondly, I was saddened by the inaccuracy of the statement between to educated professionals. I wanted to shout, “We have so much to learn from the Dutch. We have so much to learn from the world!.Our American educational system is testing the students to death!” But, I didn’t yell. I did not react. Instead, I withdrew to my classroom. I had big plans. I saw a plethora of wonderful things to replicate and share with my own students.


Over the years, I kept my thoughts to myself and continued to learn. I implemented strategies and ideas that I learned from the Dutch educators into my classroom. I brought my students up to a higher standard. I kept the art. I fostered their creativity. I helped them find a passion in their educational pursuits. Or at least, I tried. As policy makers in the United States mandated more testing, more testing prep, and more quantitative data, I hoped for a day when things would change.

Fast-forward to 2017, Mrs. de Hoon and I are in year 8 of our Fulbright inspired program. We continue to advocate for relevant experiences and rigorous academics for our students and we also look for opportunities for more global experiences for them. We work to see the whole student and work with them to meet their potential. Good teaching is good teaching whether you are in the United States or Holland. I am happy with the small changes in U.S. Education even if it has been snail-like and piecemeal. I guess the policy makers are seeing the light. Maybe. My fingers are crossed. I am still advocating for more innovations and global pathways. Mrs. de Hoon and I still give up our spring breaks, engage our own time and energies to make this program available for our students. We have been successful and persistent. We have learned too that constructing your own personal or professional pathway can be historically challenging. As we enter into the time of Passover, I am reminded of a quote by the Hebrew sage, Hillel the Elder. I keep pondering his question, If not now, then when? When will we in American education fully embrace innovative changes and commit to creating true and authentic global pathways and experiences for ALL our students and teachers?

​I guess I cannot remain silent about it any longer.




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2016-2017 Blogs Schedule

4/11/2017

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Get Ready for our Travel Blogs:
Saturday 4/15: Guest Blogger-Mrs. Tina Phillips Spurlock
Sunday 4/16: Guest Blogger-Mrs. Kimberly Acheson Conley
Monday 4/17: Bryce Boggs and Alex Gueorguieva
Tuesday 4/18: David Sanchez and Aiden Mitchell 
Wednesday 4/19: Haison Nguyen and Taylor Conley 
Thursday 4/20: Morgan Kirby 
Friday 4/21: Loren Boggs 
Saturday 4/22: Dillen Ngo 
Sunday 4/23: Aliyah Moreno
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2015-2016 Blogs

3/23/2016

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Mrs. Enriquez
Sunday, April 3, 2016

Amsterdam, Netherlands

On our last day in Amsterdam, we had the opportunity to do several amazing things.  We were moved by the visit to the Anne Frank House.  We were inspired by Van Gogh masterpieces and we enjoyed the beauty of Amsterdam on a Canal Cruise.
Despite the 1.5 hours that we had to wait in line to get into Anne Frank’s house, the experience was moving.  Standing in the house, I tried to picture the 8 persons that lived in this small home.  The struggles that they faced as they tried to make no sound, always keeping the curtains closed, along with rationing their food in order to stay alive.  They were trapped in this place with the hope that one day, they could be viewed as people again.   It is difficult to comprehend how so many people were put through so much suffering just because of their religious beliefs.  It makes me wonder what went through the minds of the perpetrators and the bystanders.   What was going on during that time that allowed so many people to let this happen?  It makes me wonder if it can happen again. It made me think about how I treat the people around me.  Do I treat all people the same or do I treat them differently based on preconceived ideas?  Do I categorize people?  Am I teaching my children to love and respect all humans?    
The visit to the Van Gogh was inspiring.  His artwork shows that he valued the simplicity of the peasant life. His use of color makes his work be vibrant and  lively.  He influenced many artists during his time and still today.  I loved his paintings.  I wanted to paint like he did, but since I don’t have his abilities, I purchased a coloring book.  Maybe one day, I will have time to sit and color my Van Gogh coloring book.  
We finished the day with a canal cruise.  It was the perfect day for a canal cruise.  The sun was out, the wind was gone and our legs were exhausted, we walked more than 11 miles the day before.  We sat in the back of the boat where we could feel the warm sun rays on our face.  The views were splendid.  It was nice to see what others do on a Sunday afternoon in Amsterdam.  We saw families on their boats, people sitting on the edge of the canal taking in the sun and the sights.  It was a delight to see the architecture of the building, the different kinds of boats that were on the canals, the whipping trees filled with yellow blossoms, and the ducks and geese that were also enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  I gave me time to take it all in.

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Saturday, April 2
​ Caroline May

    Walking at 6 am in the morning to catch the tram, to get to the train station, to catch a train to get to Paris was very eventful. In a city like Amsterdam, you need to be aware of the zombies that are still out early in the morning.  Two very interesting  guys were stumbling their way to us as we were waiting for the tram. The guys started to speak in another language to us and then one of the guys started to hit and spit on the other one. The tram came and we got to the train station and we ate breakfast. We got onto the train and took a 3 hour ride to Paris. Riding through the different cities was a new experience because we got to see the different types of architecture in the buildings in the different towns.
     While in  the train,  I thought about all the miraculous things that we would get to see in Paris. Eating a crepe was one of the things going through my head while thinking about Paris. Arriving to the city and getting off the train was very odd because waiting there were about 10 police.
Once we got out of the train station,  we are walking to a church, the church's name is Sacre le Coeur. Walking through the sidewalks of Paris, was different then I thought. It wasn't like the movies, it wasn't glamourous, there was a lot of people trying to get money, or offering to give us stuff, it was kind of dirty but the actual city was very beautiful.
    We got to the church it was big and beautiful. The view from the church was cool too. Going inside the church was very interesting, the way it was built was beautiful. The stained glass windows and the pillars was what stood out to me most. After the church,  we walked to the Arc du Triomphe. That was really cool to see. Walking through Paris was really amazing to see because of the architecture and the history behind each building. We all also stopped for crepes, those were so good! We all got bananas and nutella. I walked on the bridge with all the locks and it was interesting to see how many locks were there. We actually got to walk on a lot of bridges, they were beautifully made with golds.
    We got to see the Eiffel Tower it was even more spectacular to see in person than in a picture. After that we walked to the Notre Dame, that was such a beautiful building. We got to walk around and buy souvenirs. Seeing all the different types vendors trying to sell us stuff was amazing to see because we do not have people like that in Merced. When the police would come they would pack up as fast as they can and run away and slowly come back once the police leave. The police were also cool to see because they would ride around on horse. When we were done with that we went back on the train to go back to Amsterdam.
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Friday, April 1
Emily Bennett

​So today was kind of emotional, today we left our Dutch partners and went to Paris. Although Amsterdam was a lot of fun I couldn't help but thinking how much more fun it would be with Mitzy. We went and saw the city, enjoyed extremely long walks, and got great hamburgers. While we were in Dordrecht we got to hang out with our partners in the city center and it was a lot of fun. Our partners went took us to a Dutch supermarket and got us all the things we need for our flight. We were all dreading the moment we had to say goodbye. As the time grew nearer we started walking to the train station, thinking of all the great memories we had. While we were walking up the stairs Spurlock tripped on her bag and fell we were all hugging your partners and crying so no one took a picture, but it was hilarious. As we walked into the gates to prepare for boarding our partners got so sad that they actually logged into the gate so they could come and watch us leave. We were all crying because they were waving from outside the train for us to leave while knowing that we would probably never see them again. The friendships and the memories we've made throughout this week have changed all of our lives in one way or another and I feel very grateful for this opportunity. While it was challenging, tiring, and stressful it was also one of the best out of country experiences I've had in my life. While that is only 18 years I know that this will be one of the best that I will have because I had it with friends and I got the opportunity to make new ones while being in an educational environment. 

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Thursday, March 31: Bryanna Ybarra

Today was a very interesting day. It all started off at 7:00 when I woke up like any other day here in Dordrecht but what made this day interesting was the fact that it was my last full day here in town and with my host family. Eva and I made our way to school. We meet with Emma and Madison. We biked through the jungle of car and bikes. Somehow we made it out alive. There we embarked a hectic morning, I don't know if it was because we realized that this was our last day in town, the videos, or both. But we all we’re on high stress mode. Spurlock calmed us down and we proceeded to work on our movies. After checking our movie and giving us the ok Eva, Emma, Madison, and I made our way to the supermarket where they began to pick out food for us. After we headed to Eva's for a quick pit stop. We ate and talked before heading over to helenia’s partners house for a small get together. We played this game which is similar to sorry and like monopoly showed the true side of some friends. It was getting very intense, it was every man for themselves as we began to fight for title of winner. Eva and I played for about three rounds before we had to go. It was time to meet Dexter, my other partner, family. I was very nervous, I didn't know what to expect and me being me I'm very bad at socializing thankfully Eva was going and she's very good at talking. Only his mom was there at the time. We began to talk and tried some Indonesian food as we waited for the others. Later that night we had our farewell dinner. The farewell dinner was nice, we all came together and bonded. It was nice, we got to see everyone's experience from California to here in Dordrecht all in a short amount of time. It was amazing to think that in just a short amount of time we bonded so close. I spent less than a week at Eva's house and I already feel as if I’ve known her for years. Her mom and dad are amazing. They made sure that I had everything I needed and more. Dexter’s family even though I only met them once and for maybe an hour felt like family too. It is cool to think that in the end I have two families that have welcomed me to their home and back. At the end of the day I realized that this will be my last full day in Dordrecht, my last bike ride, my last dinner, and the last time i’ll be sleeping on the air mattress that can't seem to hold in air. But they turned into sweet memories that will always be remembered and if you're ever in the area there's a place to stay.
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Amber Vang
March 30, 2016

It is the fourth day since I’ve been in the Netherlands. It is the second day I will be going to school. The school is called Stedelijk Dalton Lyceum. The school is similar to El Capitán in a way, because it has more than one level. So yes, stairs are involved. On the first day of school, I recorded a vlog for my friends back home. They all said the school was very mind-blowing. The cafeteria looks very colorful, which is different than El Capitan’s cafeteria. Our cafeteria is black, white, and grey. Also, the entrance hallway of the school has the ground and poles painted. There is art hanging on the walls, which were done by students at the school. What really fascinated me was the bike racks. I’ve never seen so many bikes before! The bathrooms are very clean and full of luxury. I will admit I did not know which bathroom to go into, due to the signs on the bathroom doors. What I found super interesting was the pictures of El Capitan back in 2014 on the walls upstairs. I remember when the Dutch kids came when I was a freshman. Never would I have thought, I would be in the program.

Today, Annika remarkably woke me up at 6 am. I stayed in bed for about thirty minutes. Then I got up to wash my face, brush my teeth, get dressed, and head downstairs for breakfast. Once I got downstairs, I ate bread with nutella and milk. Swen and Kariann (Annika’s siblings) were getting ready to bike to school. After they left, Annika and I relaxed for a while before walking to the bus stop. Once we started walking to the bus stop, I felt like I was a plastic bag drifting through the wind. It’s about a ten minute walk, so I was blowing in the wind for about ten minutes. It was so bleak that I had my gloves covering my face when I was walking. It’s about a twenty-five bus ride to school. Then, we walked about five minutes to school from the bus stop.

The school day started with Geography, which is an eighty minute class. CRAZY, am I right?! In Geography, we looked at an atlas and tried to match the places on a paper. I met some very nice girls in that class. One of the girls looked like the main character in “Me before You.” I showed her the trailer of the movie and she laughed. Our next class was biology. In biology, we looked at skulls from a dog, cat, and humans. After that, we had a lunch break for about thirty minutes. Then, we went to English class. This class was by far my favorite part of the day. I sat with the sweetest girls ever. In the beginning, we played a game answering questions about ourselves. After the game, we read a few excerpts from Shakespeare. After, we had a packet to work on. But, the girls and I were just talking about California. The girls asked if I was a cheerleader, and I said I used to be one. Their faces lit up like candles, it was the cutest thing ever. It’s funny that they think cheerleading is the best thing ever, but not many people believe it’s a sport in the US. They also asked me about prom, so I showed them my prom dress. The girls were astounded, and my phone got passed around on one side of the room. I also showed them my promposal and they thought it was the sweetest thing ever. Lastly, we exchanged instagrams and snapchats. Making those friends was the highlight of my day.



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Madison Weed
Tuesday,
  March 29, 2015

Today, I was awoken around 7:15 by my alarm on my phone.  I was thinking whether on not I should stay awake or fall back asleep. I decided to get up,  I finished getting ready and went down two flights of stairs. I meet my host family in the kitchen. Mrs. Klaasse had a warm croissants freshly made for me. I had forgotten that I would have to ride my bike to school. Next thing, I know I hear Emma telling me that it is time to get our bikes. Around 7:50 am,  Emma and I grabbed our bags and bikes and were off to school. She told me that it would be about a 15 minute bike ride;although we were waiting for Eva and Bryana for about 6 minutes in the cold. After they arrived at our meeting place, we hopped back on our bikes and were on our way. On our way to school I had to make big decisions like whether or not it is better to hit a car or to get hit by a car. Emma told me that it was just best to stay away from the cars. When we finally arrived at school I was so surprised when I say all of the different bikes that kids use to get to school. We then locked up our bikes and went into the room so see Mrs. Spurlock and the other students.

Once school has started, we were told to go and get a tour or Stedelijk Dalton Lyceum from our Dutch partners. Emma and I thought that it would be cool if we would partner up with Amber, Annika, Helaina, Liselot, Eva and Bryana to see their classes as well. We all went around the school and were invited to walk inside and observe the drama class. After we left the drama class, we went to the music class where Helaina was amazed by all of the instruments. You can tell she wanted to pick up the bass and play it. When the school started all the Americans and our Dutch partners stayed in the computer room and learned how to speak some words in Dutch. We had break after and had Stroopwafels.  After we had 4 more classes but I feel like Latin was my favorite. In Latin class, the teacher was showing us pictures about a story about Icarus. Icarus is about a boy and his father that were farmers and the boy, Icarus,  wants to make wings to fly away. Icarus made wings and his dad told him not to go too high or the wax keeping him feathers together would melt. He didn’t listen to his father and went too high and the wings melted and he fell to his death. We also learned that people in Dordrecht are called sheep heads because in the middle age people used to have to pay taxes on sheep ; so they tried to sneak in the sheep by dressing it up as a little boy. Of course, they got caught because the sheep started to make non human noises.

After school we all went to the city center to record videos in front of the popular places for the farewell videos we are showing on Thursday night. We rode our bikes all day today and all over town. After we were done with the videos, we had hot chocolate and cake or scones at coffeelicious with Joy, Emma, Eva, Bryana and Dexter. When Emma and I  got home her mom made us spaghetti and we ate dinner as a family. Now, we are just hanging out in her room with Tim and playing music doing homework and talking. All I have to say is this is an amazing opportunity and I feel like I am  hanging out with my best friend and having a sleepover.

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Saturday, March 26, 2016
Taylor Conley
  

      Run, run. That was the first thing I was thinking. The second,  I hope that Mrs. Spurlock doesn't kill me for being late to baggage check- in. Thankfully, we made it. After getting our luggage checked, we all said our goodbyes to our families  and went through our security check. Because we arrived at the airport early, getting through security was easy. When we all found each other and had a quick head count,  we searched the airport for our gate number. Checking the time and making sure, we would make our connecting flight, Mrs. Enriquez told us that we had only an hour and a half until we needed to board our plane to Seattle. From Seattle, we were scheduled to fly to Amsterdam. So, we all got comfortable and waited out the pre-boarding period. 
The worst thing a traveler can hear is that their plane is delayed. After hearing the news, Mrs. Enriquez told us that we would not be able to make the connecting flight we had booked to Amsterdam. Slowly, we received  information that the plane we were going to take was having mechanical problems. As the time to board came closer, the boarding time became shorter and shorter. Until it came to the point  where we thought we might actually make our connecting flight. We finally got the okay to board our first flight. We only had a two hour flight but it was stressful the entire time. We wondering and hoping that we would make our connecting flight.

     When we finally arrived at  the airport, we ran as fast as we could to our connecting gate. As we were getting on the tram, to get to our next airplane, we all heard " I can't find it".
Looking around I realized, Connor couldn't find his passport (sorry, Connor we have to). When the time finally came to catch our connecting flight, we prayed. We also sprinted up four flights of stairs to our boarding station. When the first of  the runners arrived at the departing gate,we found out that our plane had departed without us! Big sigh. Sitting around trying to figure out what to do, Connor was trying to find his passport. While Mrs. Enriquez and Mrs. Spurlock were trying to find another flight to Amsterdam.

    After a while Connor, Emily, and I all went back to the area where we first came off the plane. We retraced our steps to see if anyone had found his passport. We got to a certain spot in the airport, the underside a huge kiosk, it was there we found a very nice lady and Connor’s passport. As we began walking back to Mrs. Spurlock to tell her  that we had found Connor's passport; we also found out that the next flight to Amsterdam was scheduled for the next day. So, we went to the Red Lion Inn, a hotel, and stayed the night. Delta airline paid for our hotel rooms because it was their fault that we missed our connecting flight. We only had two students to a room and I stayed with Caroline.  It was fun. Metzli, Emily and myself got in the hot tub to try and relax after the stressful day. When I went back to my room, I was finally able to have a full night's sleep and be prepared for an extremely busy unexpected travel day.

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Sunday, March 29, 2016
​Metztli Enriquez

     My lovely Sunday started off in an airplane, where I sat next to Caroline and watched movies for the 10 hour flight from Seattle to Amsterdam. The flight was pretty fun and felt very short due to the great movies Delta, the airline we used, offered. Caroline and I watched a lot of movies and hope to watch more together on our way home. Finally, around 9 AM, we arrived at the airport where a lot of people were running due to their very tight connecting  flights. As a group, we went to  pick up our luggage and after that I was able to meet Gina, who I've missed a lot. I also met her great parents who are very kind to welcome me into their home. Gina’s father drove us to their home which is beautiful with an artistic and lively touch. While there, we ate some food which was very new to me. I ate from a loaf  of bread that was sliced in half with some butter, strawberries and chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag) which honestly was probably the best breakfast I had ever had in my entire life! After that, I had some time to just freshen up a little bit and then we very quickly drove to our first excursion. It was a popular place; a castle. As soon as I got into the car, I fell asleep and didn't want to wake up at all; it was horrible. I got out of the car, all drowsy, and was immediately woken up by the extremely violent wind and light rain drops. We took a very detailed tour of the castle.

      Kasteel De Haar Utrecht, the castle I visited was enormous with extremely detailed ceilings and beautiful tapestries. After a while, I will be honest, I was falling asleep. We went and drank some hot chocolate inside of a little café which was actually a storage container that was converted into a small restaurant. Quickly after the warm hot chocolate, we went home and I took an amazing four hour nap which really helped me overcome my jet lag because I didn't sleep at all during the 10 hour flight!  After my amazing nap, Gina woke me up so that I could meet her brother and his lovely girlfriend. They are probably the nicest people I have met yet. We had a great time as we ate ham, asparagus with some weird gray sauce, baked potatoes and some dinner rolls for our Easter dinner.  My favorite part of the day was probably watching “Netherlands Idol” because I was able to watch horrible singers who thought they were great make  fools of themselves. Gina’s family and I were having a great time watching the “Netherlands Idol” and then Gina's brother's girlfriend noticed she knew one of the contestants on the show. Before going to sleep, Gina and I went for a small walk which could of ended up deadly if it wasn't for Gina. She had to lead me  out of the way of multiple speeding bicyclists and cars. I survived!!!

     Overall, Gina’s family is pretty amazing and very welcoming. I appreciate everything they have done for me and all the love they have offered. It's only the first day with my family and I have enjoyed it a lot. Hopefully, the days to come will be even better.


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Monday, March 30, 2016
Helaina Schisnewski

​     After a long flight yesterday, I was excited to see my host family and to see my partner, Liselot. As ECHS students were moving through the airport to get our suitcases, we saw all of the Dutch students and their parents through the windows. We walked out of the baggage hall with excitement and saw all of our families holding posters and greeting us with big hugs. It was such an honor to meet the De Kruif family. Right away Liselot’s sister, Annabel, gave me a big hug and introduced herself. Mrs. De Kruif also gave me a big hug and she offered to carry my suitcase for me. As we are leaving the airport Liselot and her sister told me that it was raining outside and that it would be smart to put on some socks, otherwise I would get wet and cold from the rain. After I put on my socks, we started walking to our car. I realized that their airport had more stores in it than the Merced Mall!!

      On our way home from Amsterdam to Dordrecht, I took a little nap. I was so tired from the air flight that as soon as I got into the car I fell asleep. When we finally arrived at Liselot’s house it was an hour later. As we entered Liselot's home, I was welcomed by her father. We all went inside and had an Easter brunch. I ate a freshly made croissant with white cheese in it. I was the best croissant that I have ever had. After my brunch with my family, I was shown the room that I would be staying in. After I unpacked all of my clothes, I was told that I could take a nap. I took an hour nap and  Liselot woke me up and told me that we were going to go on a bike ride. First, they tested me to make sure that I knew how to ride a bike. After I passed the test and proved that I could ride a bike, we were all on our way to see the windmills in Kinderdijk. They told me that on our way to see the mills we would have to take a waterbus.

      When riding the waterbus, I was able to see a brief part of the whole city of Dordrecht. I honestly think that it was one of the prettiest places I have ever been! As we arrived at the mills, we went inside one of the mills that was made into a museum. We learned about how the millers and their families lived in the mills. As we were leaving the mills, we ran into the Van Es family. We waited for Breanna and Ava to come out from the mills so we could talk and hang out. When they came out, all of the parents insisted on taking pictures of all of us. It felt like we were in a photo shoot.

     We then decided that we wanted to go home and sleep.
Today, Liselot woke me up around 9:30 and told me that breakfast is almost ready. After I was completely finished getting ready, I went downstairs to have breakfast with my family. Once again , I decided I would like to have the croissant with some tea. After breakfast Mrs. De Kruif drove us to the central train station which we would take to Den Haag Centraal (The Hague Central Station).

​     From there we walked all around Den Hague. We were able to walk into the Binnenhof where we were able to take lots of pictures. We also took a group picture. Next, we went to the Noordeinde Palace, where the King works. Then we went to an art museum where we were able to see a panoramic painting by the famous painter Hendrik Willem Mesdag. The painting was 14 meters high (45 feet high) and 120 meters in circumference (393 feet in circumference). After seeing the painting, we decided to view the real Scheveningen.  W
e went to the beach where Eva, Bryana, Madison, Emma, Annika, Amber, Liselot and I went to eat at the Big Bell. After we were finished eating , we ran to the beach to take a quick picture because we would be back in time to get on the tram to Den Haag. When we were there, we all went shopping at Primark. We were told to be back my 16:15(4:15). We got to the train station early so all the girls went to Starbuck's inside the station. I got the caramel Frappuccino. Next thing we know, we were late;so we had to run to the train. We all caught our breath when we were on the train back to the central station in Dordrecht. As we said our goodbyes, Liselot and I walked to her mom’s car and drove home. When we got home we all played a board game and ate dinner.
    
      Overall, it was a wonderful day with lots of great memories.

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Mrs.Spurlock
Friday, March 25,2016

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As I write this blog entry, I am sitting at home readying myself for my annual spring break trip to Dordrecht, the Netherlands. On the television, CNN is broadcasting the violent scenes from the Brussels Airport bombings, and I am imagining fearful travelers and students abroad briskly canceling their flights, hotel rooms or changing their spring break travel plans to avoid Europe. Fear is a great weapon. However, the reality is, there is a greater chance of being struck by lightning than being attacked or even killed by a terrorist. According to the United States State Department, the number of Americans killed overseas as a result of a terrorist attacks from 2001-2016 is less than 400. The State Department has just issued a travel warning throughout Europe:

“The State Department alerts U.S. citizens to potential risks
of travel to and throughout Europe following several terrorist
attacks, including the March 22 attacks in Brussels claimed by
ISIL.Terrorist groups continue to plan near-term attacks throughout
Europe, targeting sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants,
and transportation. This Travel Alert expires on June 20, 2016
U.S. citizens should exercise vigilance when in public places or
using mass transportation. Be aware of immediate surroundings
and avoid crowded places. Exercise particular caution during religious
holidays and at large festivals or events."

      Travelers (especially traveling teachers or students) should not ignore the travel warnings, or drastically change their travel plans. Irrational fears should not prevent individuals from traveling and studying abroad. For many years, I have traveled with students as part of my Dutch American Exchange Project. With my program, my students and I have traveled to Paris, Prague, Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, and even, Brussels. We have had many adventures. A lot of laughs and a few tense moments. I can vividly recall the interruption of a peaceful dawn in Barcelona, when I received a phone call from a parent telling me Osama bin Laden had been killed by the U.S. Navy Seals. In just a few hours, we were to be boarding a flight home. I remember speaking to the students and assuring them that everything would be okay. Reminding them to not be afraid. The reality is they were afraid and all I could do was model for them the positive behavior that I wanted them to possess.

       Just the day before, they had finished their “big test”, I had walked them down to the Rambla and given them two hours alone as a group and their test was to find their way back to the hotel. We had been walking the route all weekend but there was something very important about them doing it alone. Fear is a very powerful weapon when you are not allowed to confront it and overcome it. As I had anticipated the students all made it back in record time, and the smiles of satisfaction on their faces were priceless. The “big test” has become a rite of passage for all my traveling students. That and being allowed to refer to me as “tspur” after successful completing the task. Over the years, I have learned many lessons from my students and one of those lessons is that the experimental act of traveling is one of the things that helps students grow and mature. It creates confidence and gives them power. I will never allow fear to be used as a weapon against my students or myself.

     As my attention returns to the talking heads on CNN, I have the presence of mind to turn off the news. I think for a minute about the beautiful families in Brussels, America, Paris, and throughout the world that are forever changed by terrorist acts and then I realize I can let fear cripple my spirit or I can chose to accept fear for what it is and move past it.

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Angelica's Blog

4/12/2015

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Today I woke up at around 7:15 and went downstairs to eat breakfast at 7:30. After breakfast, everyone grouped up around a table in the breakfast area to plan out our last day in London. It was really hot in there (at least to me it was) and it took a while for us to make a plan. Eventually, we all made our way out to take a picture in Abbey Road. It was the furthest out, so we decided to start there and work our way down to the other places. We got to the train station to set off to our trip. We successfully made it through one train, but we were expected to get on more than one. Once we got off our first train, we all huddled up near a map of all the stops that every train would stop. It was there that Mrs. Spurlock had the great idea to have the students find the way to each tourist attraction. Sara started to figure out a way to get to Abbey Road first, so it was her job to figure out a way to get there. Since I was her partner, I had to help as well. I was more than happy to help, but to be honest, I am pretty sure that I was absolutely useless. Sara had it all together. I just kind of followed behind her. Jordan tried to take the reins a couple of times, but he eventually figured out that his time to take control would be soon, so he backed off a little bit. After taking another train and walking about a mile and a half, we made it to Abbey Road. We all took pictures like the Beatles had done for their album. As a fan of the Beatles, I really appreciated what we were doing; it meant a lot to me. A lot of people were there to take pictures as well. It was interesting to see groups of people just pause for a photo in the middle of the street. I felt really bad for the people who lived around that area and had to pass through the famous Abby Road. After everyone took a picture to their liking in the middle of the street, it was time to go to the Covent Garden. It was finally time for Jordan to shine and he was delighted to be in charge. DJ had to help him, but Jordan didn't really need it. DJ helped as best as he could. We made it to the Covent Garden, which was just a marketplace filled with shops and street acts. It had a lot of diversity in it, so there was plenty of things to keep everyone occupied. We were let loose for about two hours to do whatever we liked. In those two hours, Sara, Jordan, DJ, and I all ate and shopped in two stores. I spent a LOT of money there, but I couldn't help it. I really enjoyed getting things for my family. From there, we went to the Golden Globe. We made a long journey there from the Covent Garden. There was a lot of walking involved to the point where I couldn't really feel my legs hurting anymore. We finally got to the Globe thanks to Jacob, only to find out that we needed tickets to actually get in. That had everyone wanting to take a bus to our next destination: the Buckingham Palace. So after Mrs. Spurlock, Jordan, and I went to the globe gift shop, Hailey and Alyssa lead the way to the bus stop to go to the Palace. This is where it got interesting. We all made our way onto the bus exhausted and thankful to be sitting down. I sat down near a window so that I can see London as we drove to the Buckingham Palace. What I saw instead was far more interesting. As the bus started to drive off, I saw Jacob outside with a straight face waving goodbye to us. Everyone started to freak out. All the students were telling Mrs. Jones (Jacob’s partner) and Mrs. Spurlock that we had left Jacob. At first they didn't believe us, but eventually Mrs. Spurlock called Jacob and told him to take a cab to the Palace. What had happened was Jacob forgot his bus ticket on the windowsill of his hotel room. That one mistake cost him ten pounds. He was under control the whole time. He didn't freak out at all. So I guess in a way that if someone in our group were to be left behind, we were lucky that it was Jacob because he stayed calm and collected the whole time. After all that drama, we met up at Buckingham Palace. It was beautiful and big. After everyone took pictures in front of the Palace, we all made our way to the Green park. We sat there for about ten minutes resting and we also got ice cream. From there, Jordan and Mrs. Spurlock lead us to the National Gallery because we had time to kill before going to Cleopatra's Needle. After a long walk and two three trains later, we made it to the Gallery. Jordan, Sara, and I looked around and sat down for a bit. All the art was beautiful and I was happy that we stopped by the Gallery. From there, we went to a place to eat called Garfunkel. The food was nice and everyone had a good time. We all got to realize the DJ had a funny new laugh and paying the bill for a big group of people was stressful. We probably spent fifteen minutes figuring out who pays what. We finally made it out of there alive and made our way to Cleopatra's Needle. It was night time by now so London was especially beautiful. We got to the Needle and it was beautiful. Everything was lit up, and it was next to the London eye (which was also lit up). It was amazing. After that, we all went back to the hotel. We probably walked the most that day so everyone was very tired. Overall, the last day in London was eventful and nice. I really enjoyed this trip.
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Jordan's Blog

4/11/2015

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If I could look back at my past self and tell myself that tomorrow was going to be just as tiring, I would have laughed at that future phantasm and said “No way!”. But it was. Today was almost as exhausting, but with a better end result. Accomplishment. After today, I feel like I achieved the most out of a day compared to the rest of this week.

It started out earlier than the rest of the week, definitely. I was downstairs and ready to tackle the day by 7:30 in the morning. I also managed to make one of the hotel workers give me an angry look by trying to jump over a rope and making it fall over and make a loud noise. But it’s not like that’s important at all. After breakfast, I learned to better navigate subway stations in London, which I’m sure is relatable to almost any other underground tram station in any other major city. On and sit, and stay and wait, and up and out, and walk and on. The cycle repeated. The London Tube is basically an underground city as vast as the one above it, and one that has a completely different vibe than the normal city a few meters up. It took a lot of getting used to, but now I think I have more confidence to be out on my own in a big city, which is something I want to depend on when I get older. It’s great to learn life lessons that will become useful when you’re older.

Aside from the complicated London Tube, we saw a huge amount of attractions in the city. My favorite thing today was definitely the London Tower. There was so much history, and so much to be seen there; it was incredible. We got to witness the Crown Jewels, some torture and execution locations, as well as the Armory for the Old English Army. I had a very immaculate epiphany whilst standing at the execution site of Anne Boleyn. It made me realize that where I was standing had major historical relevance, and that there are just people walking past it. After having that revelation, it made me stop for a moment and actually take in my surroundings even more.

After the city of London, I faced one of my fears. I had to ride in a boat across the River Thames. It’s better to do that, than to keep hiding from something. Even though I didn’t exactly embrace it either, I just kind of stayed to myself in the center of the boat without looking over the edge. That was enough for me. Today was all about life lessons, and that was definitely one of them.

After our tours of London, we ate at a  fancy yet inexpensive restaurant before taking the London Tube back to the hotel. Again, the struggle through the day was worth the end result.

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Dejian's Blog

4/10/2015

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So today was an extremely interesting and eventful day. It was also kind of emotional due to the fact that I had to say goodbye to my partner and his family. It was sad becuase we had bonded incredibilty well. I awoke only slightly fatigued and already packed so I had a relatively good start.  I went downstairs made myself a protein shake and slowly began to dread the moment in which I had to say my farewells.  Eventually, I gave a hearty uplifting hug and goodbyee to Wessel’s siblings ,Anouk and Twan, who I now consider my own kin. I said my goodbyes before we left to school just in case I did not have an oppurtunity at a later moment. Then we packed my suitcase into Mr. Van Twist’s vehicle and cycled to school. We arrived at the school and sat down at a table with all the other exchange partners and as soon as Laura said she was going to the train station, Wessel got up and rushed to find his teacher so he could come with me to the train station. The rest of the group than went outside, I met up with Wessel and I gave a warm and hearty goodbye hug to Michelle and Robrecht. I told them it wasn’t a goodbye and I would eventually return at a later date. Everyone than went to the train station and gave an emotional goodbye, I even choked up a bit. We then went in and waited on the train, the train arrived and I slept most of the way to Brussels where we then boarded another train and cleared U.K. customs and I slept once again on the way to England.

Once we arrived at England, we exchanged currency and then went outside to take a taxi to the hotel. It was an interesting ride and once we arrived at the hotel we checked in and had a disscussion about ground rules. We then went upstairs checked all our stuff in and took a well needed 30 minute rest. We then met up again downstairs, walked to the end of the pier and took the Emirates air tram to the O2 arena. The O2 arena was extremely large and interesting, there were tons of quotes carved into the tiles outside the arena which dealt with the Prime Meridian. We then entered the O2 and were given 2 hours to walk around and eat, I had an entire pizza to myself with the rest of the group and we then walked around the O2 arena and looked at shops. We then walked outside and took the Emirates air tram back to the hotel, but first we stopped at a Tesco and picked up some needed supplies. I then went to the lycamobile shop across the street to attempt to have my cellphone fixed. I then crossed the street back to the ibis hotel and went upstairs to my room in order to have some much needed rest for such an eventful day.

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Alyssa's Blog

4/9/2015

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In the morning we woke up and ate breakfast. I had a grilled cheese type thing, I'm not quite sure what they would call it. After getting prepared for the day we had to go to PE. Since Laura has dance for PE, it was actually quite exciting. We were all able to learn a dance with the Dutch students. Since I'm a cheerleader, I felt right in place while learning this dance. After PE we had to go to school and get ready to learn! During the day we went to a couple classes, but the fun part of the school day was working on the memory wall. The memory wall is a cool thing where we can put pictures of memories from our trip. Each american student was able to print and post pictures of them and their partners. The wall turned out great and now for the next year people in Dordrecht will be able to see pictures from the amazing time we had there. 
After school we went home and ate some soup. Laura's mom's tomato soup has become my new obsession. 
Later we went to the farewell dinner. We ate delicious Chinese food and listened to people give their speeches. Us Americans had to give a speech in dutch which was sort of difficult. Also the dutch students who traveled to America earlier this year said some words on their experience in America. At this farewell dinner we saw some of the dutch students who had traveled to America last year. It was nice seeing them and being able to reconnect on old memories of the previous year. During this time we took lots of pictures (of course). 
After the farewell dinner Laura's family took me out to get some ice cream. The place we went to was really delicious and we could chose 3 flavors in one cup! On the way home from the ice cream place we were all singing loudly to the radio and having so much fun. When we arrived home I had to pack and get ready for the next day. I'm so excited for London, but sad to leave Dordrecht.


Sent from my iPhone
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Haley's Blog

4/8/2015

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This morning was kind of rough. Jet lag hit pretty hard and I slept in a bit too late. But it's all good. I got dressed and did my make up(typical girl things as they say). Then I went to have my "typical dutch breakfast. After breakfast we went by bike to Noa's school. Once school started we had a 2 hour Greek lesson. It was pretty interesting. I remember learning about it way back in Freshman year, like that's a long time ago. Then we had a normal school break but you know it's always longer than the ones at El Cap. After break we had an art lesson where we had to draw portraits of each other. I had to draw Jacob and it actually came out okay! Then we had Q&A sessions with different class levels. All the students I talked to were super nice and hilarious. I even talked to 12 year old kids who were SOOO sweet!! After the Q&A we got to go home early because of Noa's schedule. After school she took me to the supermarket that they usually go to, it's nothing like back home. I saw lays chips though! something an American would be amazed by as she said.  After the supermarket we went home and got ready for our night in Rotterdam. An American day is so much more boring than a Dutch day, they do so many more things than us in a day it's crazy. Once we arrived in Rotterdam Noa and her mom took me to the Markthal (Market Hall). It was unlike anything I've ever seen before. It was a huge building filled with different food carts and on the sides of the hall were apartments. It was great! I had a version of frozen yogurt and kind of tasted like the tart froyo! After dessert we had Turkish pizza, dessert before dinner (my favorite). It was the best thing I've ever tasted compared to stroopwafels. It had a great sauce on a tortilla like bread, then they heat cheese on it, put a salad type of topping on it and a garlic and spicy sauce. After we ate we walked around the shops which I could tell were a lot nicer and cleaner than the stores back home. We then headed for the movies. After the movies which the theater was huge we went to go see her dad play korfbal. It was pretty cool but I didn't really understand it. Her dad was pretty good as I could tell. We stayed there until 9:30pm. We then headed home to finish up some homework and then we are heading to sleep. This is one of the best experiences I have ever had. Thanks for reading my day in the Netherlands blog!:)
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Sara's Blog

4/7/2015

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Hey everyone! 
Today was our first day of going to school at Stedelijke Dalton Lyceum. My partner and I took the bus this morning from 's-Gravendeel and got to school around 8:15. First we got a tour of the campus from our partners and then met the principle of the school. The school was pretty confusing compared to our campuses in Merced. Then we had our Dutch lesson where learned how to say "Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening," how to say what we would like, and how to say "thank you" and "good bye." Although I may not remember these by heart, I'll have them handy with me for now on. After Dutch, I had math class with my partner, where I basically just sat quietly because everything was in Dutch. We had a free period where I was able to some homework and talk with some other students. Then business and marketing class and the lunch period. 
After school, we traveled to Old City Center in Dordrecht to see the many old building they have. We were able to go inside the church and see some beautiful stain glass windows and other architectural details. It's very cool to see the old buildings because there aren't really anything like them in the US. 

Once back home we went out to dinner for some different fried foods. We got french fries and fried sausages and meatballs. It was interesting but tasted pretty good. When we were done we cycled to Jumbo, the local supermarket and bought some Dutch foods I've been told I need to try. Now we are back at home watching tv to end our day. I think all in all it was an exciting and fun day.
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Jacob's Blog

4/6/2015

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Hello everyone!
Today we met up with the rest of the students and their partners, as well as some students from the previous year, at the school. We left on a bus and drove for awhile until we got to Kinderdijk, the largest collection of windmills in the Netherlands. There were about 12 windmills  that were very close to the road so everyone took pictures with them in the background. We then went to the Madurodam, a miniature replication of all the major spots in the Netherlands which also housed miniature people and cars and such. Afterwards, we traveled to the Hague where we saw the parliamentary buildings and we also went shopping. My favorite store there was called Primark and it's my favorite because everything in there was extremely cheap. I was able to buy two pairs of shoes, two shirts, and a sweater for about $32.
I'm looking forward to seeing what all else the Netherlands has in store for us and enjoying the Dutch culture
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