Monthly Report 10: May

I will still skiing in the French Alps when May began. When I got home I was greeted by three lovely new editions to our family: three baby chicks. Though still un-named they've been a delightful additional presence in the house. 

As you all should know this month was also Mother's Day, which they also celebrate here. I was blessed with a double-mother's day! I helped my eldest host brother make my host mom a special breakfast. Then the two of us went off on a girls day to an orchid garden. The orchid garden had far more than just orchids however, and also had monkeys, flamingos, lemurs, giant catfish, a butterfly garden, and a parrot sanctuary. It was a wonderful little day. And, of course, I got to make a long phone will the momma #1, the amazed and blessed woman I could never replace.

The orchid garden wasn't the only little trip I made this month. My host mom enjoys traveling and is always enthusiastic about taking me to new places. Early in the month we saw the popular tourist town of Hoorn. It was a fishing village, and has a beautiful harbor. We walked the whole market and saw lots of great little shops.

May 21st (a Monday) was a national holiday. Because of this we were able to take another day trip. The holiday itself (Pinkster, short for pinksteren (pentecost)) is christian, but relatively unimportant. No one could even tell me the origins of the holiday without googling it first. All that seemed to matter was that no one had work.

Family friends of my host family own a sailboat (like, a 40ft boat) and we took to the waters for Pinkster. A lot of people in Lelystad own boats because the water is so accessible. We sailed across the Markermeer to the fishing village of Volendam. It took about 3 hours getting there and two hours back. Volendam had been on my bucketlist all year. I hadn't been yet because it's a bit of trip by train or car. It couldn't have been a more perfect day either. After the weather struggling to remain warm we finally got a steadily 75 degree day. Since then it's stayed pretty warm, and humid (though these past few days have returned to rain, relieving that burden). Volendam is filled with old Dutch houses with bright orange roofs and painted wood facades. They're small and push up against each other, creating narrow path ways and hidden back yards. We docked in the heart of the tourist center and bought some traditional fried cod bits for lunch (my preference over smoked eel or herring), followed up with immense sugar waffles (a street food that I will dearly miss). 

We got back late, but I still had time to call my brother and wish him a happy birthday. One of my favorite Dutch oddities is that when it's someone's birthday, you don't just congratulate/wish them a happy birthday, you congratulate their whole family. It really highlights how birthdays can be a family celebration.

I had my last day at the grade school this month. I wasn't sad to go, though some of the children definitively were. They kept asking why I had to leave and saying that it was a shame. That was also funny because they didn't seem to know where I was going back to. When my teacher asked the class where I was from I got answers such as Germany, Africa, England, and Asia. It was a beautiful day though, and we spent a lot of time outside searching for bugs. The class gave me a (non-collapsible) umbrella that all the kids had signed themselves. I also got a copy of the class picture. It was a cute day.

Last weekend was an organized exchange student event in Leeuwarden, one of the cultural capitals of Europe this year (the other being Malta). Because it is the cultural capital of 2018 there are a lot of events going on this year. The exchange students from my district met there to tour the city, visit the new M.C. Escher exhibit (Escher was born in Leeuwarden) and explore some of the cultural aspects of the city. It was another beautiful day, 80 degrees with a shining sun. The Escher exhibit was great. I've seen most of his famous geometrical prints before, but this exhibit had a lot of his landscapes. They were equally as beautiful if not as complex. We also had a great time exploring Leeuwarden's language park, which celebrates the bilingualism of Leeuwarden. Leeuwarden is in Friesland, which has it's own language: Frisian. Frisian is a dying language, so there is a lot of government support to keep it alive. The language park has many interactive art exhibits that celebrate language. You'll also find a café where you are invited to "leave your language behind". All of the staff are deaf or hearing impaired. You have to figure out how to order without your language. It was also in this park that I saw a man walking his pet rabbit on a leash. This white rabbit was huge, larger than some dogs. He also had his own stroller for when we got tired. 

We ended our visit to Leeuwarden by attending their small Pride festival. Another event awash with balloons that were filled with something a bit extra than helium. 

Language Café. The two heads represent the two languages of Friesland

I had a wonderful cultural moment this week when my host brother and his friends came over to make a space cake. We had to share the kitchen because it was my turn to cook dinner that night. It was just funny to me. One of my host brother's smokes weed regularly, and while his mother doesn't appreciate her son having an unhealthy habit, she doesn't protest so long as he keeps it outside of the house. Making a weed cake however, seemed like a step farther (even though there have been conversations about purchasing and keeping personal plants). It was so cool to see how casual and comfortable it was. Just like an "oh teenagers and their silly habits" sort of thing. My youngest brother was not allowed to participate with the rest of the family (I, of course, as a Rotary Exchange Student™, would never participate in such behavior), a decision which received quite the bit of opposition. For me it was just such a nice family moment. A different country where stigmas are different and things like weed are seen in the same light as drinking. 

The two Lelystad Rotary clubs threw a going away party for the 6 of us here. It was a barbecue, which happened to occur during a thunderstorm. Still, it was a really nice night. The 6 of us gave a small presentation about the ups and down of our year. We presented our clubs with framed photos of ourselves with a thank you message. They also gave us gifts (A pin of the logo of Lelystad, Dutch charm bracelets, etc.). We leave the 3rd of June on our two week Eurotour. Afterwards the first exchange student only has 5 days before he goes home. It was a bit emotional to address that we were almost at the end, but there is still a month left so no tears yet. 

Lelystad 6- Photo from local newspaper that we framed and gave to our clubs as a gift

The next day was a class barbecue, right on the water which meant swimming all day (though it did rain pretty hard at some points). It was a wonderful time hanging out with the whole class. They gave me a going away gift since it's the last class party I'll be able to attend. It was a bag of drop, a unique Dutch licorice that I wish you all could try.

I spent the last day of the month on another day trip with my host mom and my second eldest host brother. We took the train to Delft, which was a must see for me. Delft is beautiful. It's the only Dutch city I've seen where the canals have lily-pads and flowers growing in them. The bridges were all pretty low and I didn't seen any boats, so maybe the lilies like that it's still. We climbed the tower of the "New Church", the second highest church tower in the Netherlands. It was an incredibly narrow spiral staircase (only one so good luck beating the traffic coming from the other direction). But Delft was just as beautiful from above as from below, with orange roofs in every direction. I thought the city was just gorgeous, and calm too; small. We had some amazing ice cream (honestly it might have been gelato) before heading home too. 

More than ever this month I'm just feeling such a sense of being at home. Life here has become so comfortable for me. My friends, my family, Lelystad; it's all become so easy and familiar. I think that leaving is going to feel very strange. Of course I will be excited about going home, but I'll also be leaving home. That's a bit mind boggling. I am excited for next year and all of the things I have waiting for me, but I am also sad to be ending this year. Happy to return to one home, sad to be leaving the other.

Lelystad Central Station

Tomorrow I have my Rotary graduation ceremony (and a party with just my Dutch friends). The day after I leave for my two week bus tour of Europe (15 days, 5 countries). When I come back I'll only have two weeks before I head back to the States. Definitely sad to think about, but it's still a whole month away.