This week I left home for the second time and ventured into the flattest place in the world! I arrived on Monday, flying from Bristol to Schriphol where I met my friend. We took the train back to his place in Den Haag, then went for a little tour around the city on the most common mode of transport in the Netherlands, bikes! It was a very pretty city. We got some sleep and the next day headed into Amsterdam where we wandered about, visiting Anne Frank's house and lots of other main tourist spots. In the afternoon I headed up to Friesland to meet my second friend!
After a good nights sleep in the tiny village of Nij Beets, we went out to the town of Sneek, which has a beautiful water gate and is also very typical of old Dutch towns. We spent a lot of time inside due to miserable weather. The next day we went to a nearby city of Drachten, where my friend used to go to school. We visited his school and his grandparents, who were very lovely even though we couldn't speak due to them knowing no English and me not being able to speak any Dutch. They gave me some Stroopwaffles which are delicious. Again a day of miserable weather. We spent the next day in Nij Beets having a little walk around and then doing a lot of studying in preparation for going back to UWCiM. On Saturday we ventured out to the city of Groningen, a beautiful city full of students. We visited the university and many other astounding buildings. Again, miserable weather. Then, before I knew it, we were heading back to Mostar.
My time in the Netherlands was really nice. I got to see bikes, canals, tulips, clogs and windmills but also a lot more. All of a sudden I'm back in my other home and its still maintaining a resounding atmosphere! And the weather is much better here :)
Sneek
Nij Beets
Amsterdam
Hey this is very strange, but this is the only way I can contact you, so ignore the irrelevance to the lovely Netherlands.
ReplyDeleteLast year I was awarded a part scholarship to UWC Maastricht, but was forced to turn it down to lack of funds. You can sympathise with that desperate feeling of needing to find money fast and when sponsors come through, it is a horrible feeling. However, I am re-applying again this year to my national committee, Australia. The problem with Australia is that they are rarely offered full scholarships, and when they are, they are often with catches like you have to be of Italian descent and so on (http://www.uwc.org.au/scholarships.html). The only possible scholarship I can apply for is LPC but I still need to raise money. It sounds cocky, but I know that I will be accepted (I was awarded one of two scholarships last year anyway!) but I cannot apply if I do not raise at least $7,000 Australian dollars in the next two months- I am desperate. The whole funding would cost $22,000, so about $12,000 each year. From experience, when I was trying to raise funds for Maastricht I had about two weeks and NO ONE was willing to help, no organisations or anything. I have been reading your blog every now and then for a while, and I enjoy what you write. I know that you raised enough money to fund your place at Mostar, so I was wondering if you have any ideas? Anyways to raise money quickly? My aim, like I said is $7,000 before applications close but even that seems tough. My name is Victoria Pengilley (victoriapengilley@hotmail.com) and please please please email me ASAP.
Thanks xx