Our mobility to Delft in Holland 22-28 marsch 2015.

Participating students: Lova Skarin, Arabelle Hendrikson, Sabina Barringh, Evelina Larsson, Arvid Jantén och Alison Silveira. Writer: Evelina Larsson

Participating teachers: Tina Johansson och Helena Hibell

Sunday, March 22, we packed the last of our bags. Then it was time to come together at half past eight at the school, to head to the airport. In the car on the way to the airport we were very nervous it but released a little when we got to the airport. Once we were at the airport we waved goodbye to parents and checked in our bags. There were many thoughts flying around in our heads, we were very excited and looking forward to meet our host families. Thoughts about how the family looks and works, would they be nice or nasty? How are we going to sleep? Should we share a room with someone you barely know.

The week in Holland was very funny, we found the mass of stuff that was fun. We met many Dutch students who we got to know and got the chance to meet again during the Erasmus week in Sweden.
The schedule we had in Holland was filled with activities, it was something every day and many days were quite long to play dragged on. When we then came home to the host family we where very tired and did almost nothing.

It was funny to see how the Dutch school worked, it was very different comparing to Norgården. Delftland, as the school was called, it went almost twice as many students here. There were students everywhere who joked with each other and one of the Dutch teachers said they had quite a few samples during the time we were there which made it an even higher level.

Holland's school system was very different than ours. They do not have pre-school class- grade 9, but they have a completely different system. Tex in Holland you start school when they are three years old. In the Netherlands offered no food to students. Like we have here in Sweden. They must bring a packed lunch each day. Lunch box consisted of sandwiches, juice and something sweet like a cookie. It was very strange for us Swedish students who are accustomed to getting hot meals at school.

On Monday we came to school at 8:30 and had a technology lesson with all Erasmus students. In this lesson, we built robot brushes. We glued a battery on the brush and connected it to a motor which allowed the robot to move itself. When everyone had finished building their robots, there were different things you could do, you could have a speed test where you could see the robot who was fastest. One could even paint with the brush, dip it in the paint and letting it move itself on paper. 

Later in the afternoon went all students and teachers and for bowling. We split into two groups, one receiving the bowl while the other group rode around on a large scooter and had a little sightseeing in Delft. And after an hour we changed so that everyone got bowling and cycling. 

On Tuesday we went skating in a very large ice rink. It was just the Swedish students Turkish students and the basque  students who skated. The Dutch students were "on stage". Students had the chance to visit a workplace where they can learn about the profession they want when they are adults.
We Swedish pupils were clearly the best in skating. They were a bit funny to see the Turkish students wearing a pair of skates, they were much like Bambi on slippery ice.

After skating we went to The Hague  where we got the opportunity to shop and eat lunch. After that  we went to a museum that used to be an old prison. We walked  into the various cells and how they were living there. If you were rich and were more powerful you got a cell with a large bed and books to read while you were poor, you had to share the cell with 15 other prisoners.

On Wednesday we went to a big zoo. We saw all kinds of animals that you normally had not seen, like polar bears, penguins and rhinos.

After we had been at the Zoo all  students went back to school and had home economics lesson. Our task was to choose a fast food restaurant and a menu and make it useful. We got split up into several groups of three or four in each group, the goal was that it would be a student from each country so that they had to speak English. We had to write a prescription of the ingredients and how we would proceed to cook the food. It was actually, we Swedish students who had to take most of the responsibility and explain to the rest of the group about what is useful and what we should do.

On Thursday we had a sports day. The Dutch teachers had arranged many different sports that we had to do, an activity was to make the Twister, another was that you had to run through a "jungle". The jungle was like an inflatable bouncy castle, where there were various obstacles would take over and then rush back to their team. There was 5st different stations with different activities you did and at each station where the 10 minutes.

After the sports activities we had time, we ended about 11 o'clock and we would be at school again klockan18. When the clock struck 18, were all students, host families and teachers together to eat the food that we had arrived at on Wednesday. It was the teachers and some students who had prepared the food when we others had leisure. There was a lot of food to choose from and everything tasted very good.

 At half past nine in the Friday morning were all students at the school to take a bus to the Snow World. We could choose  snowboarding or skiing. We had, of course, the help of several instructors, they showed us how to do when you went snowboarding, and most important of all- how to get up if you fell. Most probably thought it was funny although it could easily fell and got wet in the butt.

Saturday was the last day in Holland. It was a little sad, but at the same time we could look forward  to coming back home to Sweden. We gathered at the Delft station 6:45 to take a direct train to the airport. Then it was time to say goodbye to the host families and  thanks for this week.

The week was really fun, we met new friends- not only from the Netherlands, the Basque country and Turkey but also we Swedish students came tighter together and became friends. It was a very exciting experience that we will not forget. If you get the chance to be involved in a similar project, we think you should take it.