Today in Holland, I attended school with my host. The best part about this was that we actually commuted to school using bicycles. Although it took us 25-30 minutes to arrive at school, the bike ride was such a great experience. I enjoyed feeling the wind rush through my hair and the adrenaline pump through me as I sped through the empty roads.

Moreover, in school, we had a class with all the students and their hosts. In this class, we learned about the geography of the Netherlands such as how erosion can be a problem and how the country builds land to expand it. After this class, the Gray Bee students were divided into groups of 3-4 students. Our job was to prepare a presentation about St. Benedict’s Prep. and to briefly talk about the United States and Newark. We then had to present it to different classes compiled with kids who were about 14 years old. I believe my group did an excellent job in demonstrating how great St. Benedict’s is. After the presentations, I attended my host’s class: Biology. Throughout my time in Biology, I did not understand a single word that was spoken because it was all said in Dutch. Overall, the best part about the classes in this school is that they only last for 50-minutes compared to our 80-minute classes. The other positive is that there are boys and girls in the classroom! Not just guys!

After school ended, several kids and I biked to a nearby mall. I was expecting to see a huge building filled with many apparel stores inside, but as soon as I arrived, I learned that I was wrong. The mall is about one story tall and inside there are markets, food services, and several, unpopular clothing stores from the United States.

Later, my host family and I went to have dinner at this delicious restaurant known as Brouwerij Hoop. The special thing about this restaurant, besides the fact that the food tasted great, was that right next to the restaurant was the beer brewing factory. My host parent gave me a tour of the area and even explained the process of beer brewing.

During the night, several kids and I gathered at a bowling alley. Here we had a great time. Overall, today was a great day. Can’t wait for what tomorrow has in store!