Diss in The Netherlands
On Thursday 30th November six students from year 10 travelled to the Netherlands to participate in a project encompassing many nations and young people across Europe. The theme of the project was Cultural Identity and Tolerance.
The Diss representatives were Ethan Everson- Germany (10MB), Bobby Greathead (10MB), Eleanor Budds (10MB), Emily Darrall (10LP), Naimh Somers (10EW) and Mary Rice (10EW.)
Students stayed in the Dutch city of Maassluis or surrounding farmland called Maasland and this is also where they attended school on two days.
Students were placed with host families to provide a full cultural experience from continental breakfast in the morning to Sinterklaas.
As a brief overview of the scheme, the first day was spent at the school after a brisk cycle. In the morning, all countries representatives presented elements of their culture, for example students from Slovakia wore traditional clothing and shared information about the culture of folk dancing in rural areas of Slovakia. Students from Diss described British values and the significance of these ideas like impartial courts and freedom of speech in a modern nation.
Before Lunch,a harrowing account was given by a Syrian Refugee now living in the Netherlands. It was humbling to hear the suffering of this individual and his perseverance to discover a better life.
Finally, groups produced a short video about how refugees are thought of and treated in a specific country. These were uploaded to the Erasmus Youtube channel. It was a great collaborative experience to discuss this humanitarian issue with other European country members.
The next day was a personal day for individual students to discover more about Dutch culture and to get to spend time with the host families.
Meanwhile the Dutch festival of Sinterklaas was underway which was a fascinating experience for a foreigner and also controversial. It involvesSinterklaas arriving from the Pyrenees accompanied byZwartePetes, or Black Petes. These are people who smear their faces black and act as the equivalent to Father Christmas’s elves. Christmas as we know it is still celebrated in the Netherlands, however, it is nowhere near as prominent. Sinterklaas Day is December 5th. Children leave out shoes to be filled with sweets by the morning. Families gather and open ‘Surprises’ which are often personal in design to the receiver. For example if someone in the family was a keen horse-rider they might receive a horse shaped surprise. They are accompanied by a poem offering clues on how to open the surprise or about the receiver and are nearly always humorous. Sometimes they are extreme and have been known to be made out of wood or concrete.
After the personal day students visited Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The first destination was the Van Gogh museum containing influential, famous pieces such as The Yellow House and the Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette.
The following four hours were spent exploring the city independently in small groups. Amsterdam had a unique antiquated feel and was composed of a winding maze of canals and bridges lined with coffee shops. Bikes were to be seen everywhere, the popular mode of transport. By the end of the trip we were all experienced cyclists.
The day concluded with a boat trip along the canals observing a spectacular light show exploring the application of light in art. The highlights included a holographic jellyfish floating in the night sky and a tunnel of pulsating light under a bridge.
The last city trip was to Rotterdam. All students on the program visited the Erasmus Bridge for a photograph as the exchange program is named after the same man as the bridge. Later on a statue of Erasmus outside St. Lauren’s church was seen also. Erasmus was a notable humanist scholar in the Renaissance period in the Netherlands.
The highlight of Rotterdam was ascending the Euromast, an 185m pillar extending into the sky of Holland. On a clear day apparently it is possible to see Antwerp from the viewing platform.
A bizarre symbol of architecture in Rotterdam is the Cube Houses, a collection of tilted cube shaped houses painted yellow. These iconic buildings are actually for residential use.
The city was devastated in World War II and due to this felt very young with the sculptures on every street and modern architecture dominating the skyline. All of us had four hours to explore the city.
On the final day after a last cycle to school in Maassluiswe finished presentations and then listened to a talk by a Dutch teacher on the history of Sinterklaas and then all of us engaged in a discussion revolving around the problem of racism in the tradition.
Overall it was an exceptional insight into different cultures in Europe and a unique experience on communication and collaboration with other nations, a critical part of global citizenship.
