The Best Exchange

At the moment I am sitting in my own room in Holland again. My last week in England has been great, but Saturday it was time to say goodbye.

Monday the last week of my exchange had started. This day I did not have any lessons, so I spent most of my time outside to work on my tan, because it was really sunny again. Tuesday was a busier day. I had economics, psychology and philosophy. During registration we made a group photo of our class outside. The day after, Sanny, Jop and I walked down to the Paddock (a massive grass field behind LOGS) during the big break. After registration Sanny and I together walked down High Street. We had a look in some shops and had our final piece of carrot cake at Costa. Thursday I realized that the end was near. Sanny, Jop and I all took our English flags to school and asked our friends to sign it. I had my last philosophy lesson and took a group photo at the end. At the end of the day I made my general science test from the Rijnlands. 

Friday our final day had arrived. It felt pretty weird walking to school for the last time, knowing that this would be the last day being a student at LOGS and having a LOGS timetable. For the LOGS people this was the last day before their half term holiday. It also was own clothes day again. In the morning I had my last economics, psychology and history lesson at LOGS. During the big break, Sanny, Jop and I said goodbye to Mr Blewitt and Ms Rosin and gave our ‘thank you’ presents. After our last registration, Jop and I went to Tesco supermarket to buy some food and drink. School finished at 3;30pm. Our farewell party was about to start. Sanny, Jop and I had decided to invite all year 10, 11, 12 and 13 people for our ‘last supper’ at the Paddock. There was plenty of food and drink and we did bring music speakers as well, ‘cause a party isn’t a party without music. We enjoyed our last couple of hours with our friends and finally, after lots of dramatic goodbye hugs, we left the Paddock. Together with Bessie, Jake and George I went out for my last dinner over here. They had dropped me at the Hughes family afterwards, where I had my last sleep in England.

Saturday, at lunch time, family Hughes had dropped me at the sports club, because they had made plans for that day quite a long time ago. Sanny was waiting for me and we watched the Ladies 4 playing their hockey match. Afterwards we hung around with the girls for a bit. At 3pm Sanny and I were being picked up by Geoff, Harvey’s dad. Before we set off to the airport we stopped at Harvey’s house to get Sanny’s luggage. By car we made our way to London Gatwick and said goodbye to the Waller family. At 6;40pm Sanny and I took the plane back to Holland, still not believing that our exchange was over. It was a quick flight and many people had come to get us from Schiphol.

Dear everyone, thank you so much for making this exchange so amazing. Gonna miss u all and will never forget you! We’ll see you back at the Summer Ball! LOVE XOXOXO MANON

Spring Vibes

Nooooo! I really don’t want to think about the fact that I am leaving this awesome place in only six nights! This has been my last weekend and my last school week will start tomorrow. LOGS people, do not make any plans for coming Friday, ‘cause the Dutchies will probably organize a farewell party!

The last days have been really good again. On Thursday, all year 12 people went on a trip to the University of Sussex after the fourth period. Unfortunately, Sanny, Jop and I were not allowed to join them, which meant that it was just the three of us at the Sixth Form House that afternoon. Sanny and I decided to go into town and look around in some shops. Because it was really hot outside we both got that lovely spring feeling and sat in LOGS’s garden afterwards.

Friday was a hot day as well. In the morning I had made my Latin test from the Rijnlands, which took me two full periods. During the big break many people went outside. Some year 12 people had created a human pyramid in the garden, which took some time but had a really cool result. After school Lucy and I set off to Brighton to go shopping (yes, again!). I bought a new pair of All Star shoes. Before we went back home we stopped at the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop, where I had the biggest bowl of ice cream I had eaten in my entire life.

On Saturday, Lucy and I had decided to go for a bike ride. I was quite scared to cycle on the other side of the road, but fortunately it went well. When we had found a nice place for our picnic we stopped and settled ourselves on a big grass field, where we listened to music on our iPad and ate plenty of food. We both left the field slightly tanned. At night Lucy’s parents went out for dinner with Bessie’s parents. Lucy, Katy and I stayed at home. Bessie came over and the four of us had dinner. Afterwards we watched the film It’s Complicated.

Today had been the day that everyone at LOGS had been looking forward to: LOGS 500 Festival at Glyndebourne Opera House. The performance started at 3pm. In the morning, Lucy, Paul and I went for a drive to Eastbourne. They showed me Beachy Head, a chalk headland east of the Seven Sisters from which you have a beautiful view over the channel between England and France. Paul had told me that Beachy Head is a famous place for people to commit suicide, so it was quite a bizarre place to be… When we arrived home we changed ourselves and sett off to Glyndebourne. We had plenty of time until the performance started, so we sat down in the beautiful gardens around the Opera House and had a picnic. At 3pm the show finally began. Mr Blewitt had reserved the best seats for Jop and me, in the middle of the front row. The opening song was amazing and great acts followed. During the interval Jop and I went backstage to have a chat with our friends. We wished everyone good luck and went back inside to see the second part of the performance, which was very good as well. I really enjoyed seeing all the kids singing, dancing and acting on stage.

I am going to enjoy every second of my last days at LOGS, ‘cause this exchange will never come back again!

Lucky Me

It is quite a strange feeling that I have been away from home a month already. If I hadn't had one week of extension, this would have been my last week at LOGS. I am having a great time here and fortunately I still have two more weeks to go.

Last week was a nice and sunny week. Friday after school the weekend had started and Lucy, Tom, Hannah and I set off to Brighton. First we walked through the lanes because Tom and Hannah needed to buy a Mother's Day present. After they had found one we went to Odeon Cinema to watch the Disney film John Carter 3D. It was a nice film with a weird end. When we came out of the cinema it was dark outside and we went for a walk on the boulevard. We thought it was a nice idea to go on the pier, but unfortunately it was closed. At Burger King we quickly had some supper and afterwards we made our way home again. Because Tom and Hannah were sleeping over we had put air mattresses in the living room and we watched the film Final Destination.

Saturday morning we had popcorn and Maltesers for breakfast (I know, very healthy). After Tom and Hannah had left, Lucy and I took the train to London. At London Victoria we caught the bus to Cambridge Town. We went to Cambridge Market, a really big market where they sell almost everything you can think of. Before we started looking at the stalls we had a Chinese lunch. When we finally had seen everything we wanted to see, we decided to leave. I left the market with a bag full of souvenirs (some people can expect a gift!).

Our next destination was Harrods, the famous, massive department store on Brompton Road, Knightsbridge. Lucy and I were wondering how long it would take us to check all the floors. We both were impressed and crazy about all the stuff from the famous brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, Ralph Lauren, Burberry etc. As 17 and 16-year-old girls we also had a look at the toy department with the cute Harrods teddy bears. In total we spent one and a half hours in the shop. By the underground we travelled back to Piccadilly Circus. There we met Lucy's father, who had spent his day at the Imperial War Museum. The three of us then went out for dinner. Afterwards we had a walk along the River Thames and saw London by night.

Yesterday I woke up late and noticed that the weather was lovely again. Lucy and I discussed our plans and we had decided to go to Brighton Pier. There we met Bessie and Jop. On the pier were quite a lot of food stalls and there was a funfair. Lucy, Bessie, Jop and I went in some attractions and had noodles for lunch. After we had left the pier we went shopping in the lanes. Lucy and Bessie showed us a shop called 'Choccywoccydoodah', a really cool shop in which everything is made of chocolate. We also went to Churchill Square, where I bought a T-shirt at Hollister.

  

Today was a normal school day again. I had philosophy and history. Wednesday I am playing a hockey match with a mixed boys and girls team. I do not have any plans for the rest of the week yet, but I am sure I will get some.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Last weekend were the best days of my exchange so far. This was my last weekend at the Telford’s family and we made it a good one.

Friday Tim and I both did not have any lessons in the afternoon, so we had left school after lunch and walked to Lewes Station. From there we took the train to Brighton. In Odeon Cinema we watched The Woman in Black, which was a very good and quite scary film. Before we got back to Lewes we had a drink at Caffè Nero (we just love that café) and walked through some of Brighton’s lanes. We almost got lost, but after a little while we had found our way to the station. After supper, Tim, Nick and I went to TGI night with their youth group at their church. There we had made two teams and we played some quizzes and games against each other.

Because I had not seen all of Brighton yet, Tim and I had decided to go back the day after. This time we took the bus and Evie and Ettie joined us. After a drink at Costa we went to the huge Churchill Square Shopping Centre. We had a look in a couple of shops, like Hollister, Topshop, H&M, Primark, Accessorize etc. and before we knew it was time to go back again. At home Tim and I quickly changed ourselves and at 6;30pm Matt came to pick us up. Maia was giving a house party that night and a lot of people were invited. We got to her house in Peacehaven and had a great time.

Surprisingly I did not have problems getting out of bed on Sunday. This was probably because I was really excited to go to London. After a quick breakfast, Tim, Nick and I took the train from Lewes Station to London Victoria. We had planned to go on a Big Bus Tour, a ride along the most famous places in London. When we had found the bus station we sat down on the second floor of the bus, with an open roof. We have driven through Oxford Street, along Madame Tussauds, the St Paul’s Cathedral and National Gallery, over the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge, along Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament and the Big Ben and many more places. I loved the view we had and I made some beautiful pictures.

After our bus tour we visited the Tower of London, a historic castle that has played a big role in English history. We saw the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and learned a lot about the Tudors. After lunch we stepped into a cruise boat and sailed over the River Thames. We sailed under some famous bridges, like the London Bridge, Blackfriars Railway Bridge and the Millennium Bridge and we passed the London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern and many more buildings.

Tim’s parents were also in London that day. We thought it was a nice idea to meet for dinner at Café Rouge (yes RLW people, that lovely restaurant where we had eaten during the London trip in second year) for Michell’s birthday and my farewell. We had a lovely dinner and it was a good end of the weekend.

Yesterday my fourth school week had started. After school I got back to Tim’s to collect my loads of luggage. Lucy, her sister Katy and her father Paul came to pick me up and I said goodbye to the Telford’s family. Lucy lives about 20 minutes away from school. She is in my year at LOGS and I also have hockey practice with her. When we arrived home she showed me her house, which is really nice. I met her mum called Linda and a cat is present in the house as well, named Fudge.

On the 25^th of March will be the LOGS 500 Festival at Glyndebourne Opera House. A group of students will open the show by singing two songs. Because the teachers know that I like singing they had suggested me to join the group. I thought this was a great idea and today I had a rehearsal with the group. When we were finished I had a little talk with the companion and discovered that if I was going to sing I should stay backstage during the whole show, so I could not watch it. Unfortunately this made me cancel my performance with the group, because I really do not want to miss the show. At night I had hockey practice again. It was the last training of the season.

Settled In

I wish the schooldays at the Rijnlands passed as fast as those at LOGS. I’m having a great time here and I barely realize that half of my exchange is already over. Last weekend was my second weekend in England, which I have spent at Tilly’s.

Friday after school Tilly and I were picked up by her parents, Kate and Jules. Both were very friendly and because Tilly had to go to work that night they had taken me out for a drink at Star Inn pub. Saturday Tilly and I woke up quite early and after breakfast we set off to Eastbourne. While her dad was having a reception at his old school we could go shopping. There were many nice clothing shops and when I noticed Primark a big smile appeared on my face. Of course we went in and because I am quite a shopaholic and very choosy, we stayed about an hour. When I am in this shop I usually walk anywhere and I do not leave until I’ve seen all the clothes, so I had said to Tilly that she should ring me if she had lost me. That’s what happened indeed, but I was about to pay and we met at the entrance. Unfortunately the weather was very bad, so we decided not to go and walk on the pier anymore. When we arrived home we unpacked our bags filled with clothes. After that we settled ourselves on the sofa and watched a film.

Sunday we went to the sports club. Tilly had to play a football match and when her team was about to go on the pitch they heard that it was cancelled because of the miserable weather. We drove home shivering and when we had arrived we put on some warm clothes. Tilly was having a baby shower of her boyfriend’s sister that afternoon, but because her water was broken she needed to go to the hospital and we stayed home. During supper we both were almost too tired to chew our food, so we went to bed straight afterwards.

Monday was a relaxing school day and afterwards I went home with Tim again. His Dutch is getting better day by day. After dinner he had showed me an episode of ‘Doctor Who’, a famous series in England which many children have grown up with.

Tuesday Sanny and I had lunch at Caffè Nero, together with Tim and James. At night I had hockey practice again. The day after it was ‘own clothes day’ at LOGS. We all were allowed to wear whatever we liked instead of our office clothes.

This morning, all year 12 and year 13 people came in nervous because they were getting some of their exam results. Most of them had done well. Furthermore it was a relaxing day. The weather was very nice and half of my lessons were cancelled, so I hung around at the Sixth Form House. For supper we had the typical English Fish & Chips meal. Afterwards Tim and I left to Lewes Little Theatre for his drama lesson, which I joined as well.

I’m looking forward to the weekend. This will be my last weekend with the Telford’s family. Monday I’ll move to Lucy Hughes’s house and her family will host me for the rest of my exchange. Tomorrow Tim and I are going to Brighton after lunch. We are going to the cinema to watch The Woman in Black, of which I’ve seen the stage play two years ago. Saturday Maia is giving a big party and Sanny, Jop and I are all invited. Sunday is where I am the most excited about, because Tim and I are probably going to London.

Still Alive

Another FAB week at school has passed. I am getting used to LOGS and I am actually starting to make some friends now. The Telford’s family is very nice and they take good care of me. Monday I heard that they had planned to go to the North of England this weekend a couple of months ago and that they couldn’t change the hotel booking anymore. They felt sorry for me but I said that I didn’t have any problems with it. Mr Blewitt would arrange a host family for me to stay with during the weekend.

Tuesday I wasn’t so tired anymore. After school, Sanny, Harvey, Maxwell and I went to the café of Harvey’s mum. Sanny is staying with Harvey. It was a very cozy café and we had a hot chocolate and a piece of cake. Afterwards we walked to the sports club where Sanny and I had hockey practice with Daisy, Amy, Gabbey, Bessie, Lucy, Phoebe, Katy, Rebecca and the rest of the team (I am sorry for still not remembering all your names).

Wednesday I heard I would be staying with Tilly Sherwood this weekend, a nice girl from year 13. After school I went to Caffè Nero with Tim and his family, where we had a nice hot drink. Tim had asked me if I wanted to teach him some Dutch. It took some time until he remembered some sentences and his accent is still hilarious, but now he always comes to me and asks ‘Hoe gaat het?’ and ‘Hoe was jouw dag?’ At night we watched the football match of England vs The Netherlands. Luckily the Netherlands had won.

Thursday, my favourite day (NOT), was a busy day. I had all subjects and only one free period. During my psychology lesson we talked about what we had been doing last lesson. We had been divided into groups and watched clips of car accidents all lesson. After each clip we had to estimate how fast the cars were going when they hit/smashed/contacted/bumped/collided each other. Guess what happened that afternoon? I experienced a car crash myself!

After school, Tim’s grandparents came to pick Nick and me up. Tim had planned to go and see his girlfriend. Before he left he had introduced me to his grand mum and granddad. They were also very friendly. I was sitting at the left back of the car and Nick was at the right back. We were about to enter the drive, actually the front of the car was already on the drive, when a police car (that was driving on the wrong side of the road) hit our car at the right back. The car turned round and moved a couple of metres. All airbags collapsed and the only think I could think about was getting out of the car. When the car had stopped moving Nick and I immediately got out. We were very shocked but fine and we realised that we were standing in our neighbour’s garden. We could see glass all over the road. Because a police car had hit us, the police were already there. Tim’s grandparents were also ok, but they were not able to get out of the car by themselves, so the ambulance came. After they had been taken out of the car we all needed our body and blood pressure to be checked and we gave our details to the police. Fortunately everyone was fine. Though the ambulance staff decided to take me to hospital to have a better look at my hips and my ribs. They said they weren’t worried about me but they wanted to be sure. Meanwhile Tim’s mum had been phoned and Tim had come home by bus. He and his brother came with me and we got to Eastbourne hospital by the ambulance car.

Tim, Nick and I had been waiting for 3 (!) hours until I finally could go in. Meanwhile Tim’s mum had arrived at the hospital. As they had expected, I hadn’t broken anything. They gave me some painkillers and said that the pain would disappear within a few days. After our visit to Eastbourne hospital we had dinner at McDonald’s to celebrate that we had been so lucky.

Friday we all slept out and went to school later. Because a LOGS bus passed by when Nick and I were standing next to the car and the ambulance arrived, everyone knew about the crash half an hour later. Everyone was pleased that we were all ok. After school I got home with Tilly. I met her parents and her little brother. Unfortunately Tilly had to go to work tonight, but her parents took me out to have a drink at a pub and afterwards we had dinner at home.
Tomorrow I won’t be playing hockey. Tilly and I are going to Eastbourne. She told me that there are shops and that there is a beautiful pier, so I am very excited about it.

What A Week!

I can’t believe that my first week in Lewes is already over. I’ve enjoyed every day so far. Christine and her family have been very good to Sanny and me and I loved staying here. School is fun and I have met a lot of nice people. LOGS is really different from the Rijnlands. Until the 11^th year the kids have to wear uniforms. The classes are smaller, there are a lot of boys and the days are longer. Also, a warm lunch is being served every day, so while you all in the Netherlands are eating squashed sandwiches, I’m having spaghetti, potatoes, broccoli, lasagne, fish, pancakes or something else warm.

Friday we were told about our host families for the coming two weeks. Mr Blewitt had decided for us. I would be staying with Tim Telford, a friendly guy who was actually the first boy I had met on my first day at school. He is in my economics, history and philosophy class, so I often follow him if I’m not sure where to go. After school Sanny and I walked down High Street to buy some bath stuff and afterwards we had a lovely drink and a piece of cake at Costa.  

Saturday morning Sanny and I said goodbye to Christine because she was leaving to her parents. After breakfast we did some washing and ironing and at 12 we set off to the sports club. We watched LOGS’s girls team playing their hockey match. After this I watched Sanny playing with Ladies 2 and when they had finished I played a match myself with Ms Webster’s team. Gabbey joined me and unfortunately we had lost with 3-2.

At 7pm Tim and his mum came to pick me up at Christine’s house. Sanny had already left. I said goodbye to Dominic, Rosie and Teddy and took my luggage. Tim is living outside Lewes in a town called Ringmer. From now on I’ll get lifted to school, all though I just got used to an early morning walk. Tim’s house is nice and he has a 14 year-old brother called Nick. His parents are very friendly, they are called Michell and Bill. And, how lovely, I’ve got two dogs again! Macy (beagle) and Ronny (labrador). There is also a cat in the house, Lotty. After dinner Tim and I watched a movie on his new 3D television.

Sunday was a sunny and relaxing day. Tim’s family took me out to have a typical English lunch at a pub. It was a very nice meal and I didn’t have to eat anything for the rest of the day. When we got back, Tim, Nick and I went for a walk with the dogs on the beautiful green hills. At night we went to a youth church where we sang. To be honest, this was the first time in my life I enjoyed going to the church. Again I have met many nice people.

I’m planning to do some Dutch work tomorrow, because of course I have to keep up with that as well. Let’s see what week 2 will bring!