The Diary of Magda (7days in the Netherlands)
1st day :We all left our towns and started travelling heading to Holland, full of enthusiasm and curiosity about the six days that we were waiting for months and now were so close. The trip was a little bit exhausting, but our happiness made it difficult to understand the we were tired.We landed to the Amsterdam’s airport and from the first moment, we were impressed bythe different but also beautiful city-buildings. We waited for the groups from all the countries to arrive and then the lovely teachers and some very friendly girls from Massluis came to pick us up and drive us to Massluis where the rest children and their families were waiting for us. The first connections between the children, participated in the program, started from the airport and continued in the bus, on our way to Massluis, and it was really nice meeting and start talking with children with the same ages but different cultures. At the end of the day, we talk a little bit with our hosts and in this we started to know them better.
2nd day : The next day we woke up, we ate our breakfast and we went to school with the bike. Cycling was fun and it gave us the opportunity to take a quick look at the, full of small rivers, town. We arrived at school, where we presented our projects and observed the other children’s interesting presentations. We also listened the adventure of a Syrian refugee, thought about what they have to deal with and we discussed about the refuges that we have in our country. After that, we all went to a restaurant to taste the delicious classic pancakes of Holland. At the afternoon we had a family festive dinner with our hosts’ families and we saw how the Dutch people celebrate the Santa Claus arrival.
3rd day :On Saturday, we have free time. We went to Delft, a graphic town near Massluis, where we have the luck to see the “Sinterklaas with the black petes” and to hear their songs.Not to mention this is the town of Veermer. We tasted typical Dutch foods and then we went back to Massluis where we have a one more family dinner at a local restaurant that was really fun and awesome.
4th day: This was the day that we visited Amsterdam. Without a doubt this day was one of the highlights of the hole program. We first went to Van Gogh’s Museum, where we were amazes by the beauty of the paintings of the famous artist. After that, we walked at the streets of the capital city, and we were so impressed by the wonderful buildings and the magic landscape.The finishing line of our walk in Amsterdam like a group was the Dam Square and then we have some free time to eat and visit the uncountable shops. We ended our day in Amsterdam with a magical boat tripto the canals of Amsterdam.
5th day :The next day we visited the other big city of Holland, Rotterdam. First of all, we went to the incredibly big “Erasmus bridge” and we took photos there. At the continue, we climbed to the “top of the world” the “Euromast” where we admired the Rotterdam from a huge height. Later we had some free time to see a little bit the imposing city with the new architecture’s buildings, the Cubic houses were incredible, and when we got back all together we went to the Erasmus statue where we took many photos. Later, we returned back to Massluis to get some rest and we went the hole group together to eat in a unique restaurant, where we have a really great time.
6th day:Our last day before the departure started with the finish of our projects about refugees and some speeches from teachers about the geography of the Netherlands and the tradition of «Sinterklaas with the black petes». When we finished all this stuff, we went back home to prepare some finger foods for the goodbye party. At the evening, we visited the school for one last time, for the goodbye party. We tasted our creations, we talked a lot, we laughed but basically, we danced too much listening to typical music from all the countries and trying to followw the real steps of the dances.
7th day:This was the day that none of us wanted to come. We had a very hard time in saying goodbye. We left Massluis and then we arrived at the airport where all the countries left except of us. We had some hours to spent in Amsterdam as we were waiting for our flight. We were excited for being there but also a little bit nostalgic about the adventure that came to an end some hours ago.
Summarising, it’s not too much to say that this program was one of our best experiences that we have ever had in our lives. Meeting children from all over the Europe, of the same age with you, discussing with them about serious topics and seeing how a family with a different culture lives their everyday life, isn’t an opportunity that we will ever have again and not many people have. We wouldn't be able although to feel any of these wonderful feelings of happiness and enthousiasm if we there weren’t those very kind and full of energy teachers, those friendly families and mainly all those loveable children, from all the countries , especially the hosts, that made us feel like home from the first time that we landed in Holland.
Thank all of you for all these incredible moments that I will remember for a lifetime!
