After our morning class we got on a bus to the Isle of Purbeck to view the Old Harry Rocks. The bus was really cool because it had an open second floor. It's awesome to be above all the traffic and to have a good view. To get to the Isle of Purbeck we had to take the ferry, which takes a decade to go back and forth. We hiked ±2 km to the rocks where we posed for a group picture. The thing with group photos is that there is always one person who looks off. It's always the question whom you're going to sacrifice, it's often me. Some girls take posing way too serious and almost risk their lifes while standing on the cliffside with, of course, a duckface. It looks so awful. Some thought it was a good idea to wear a dress and evening shoes when you're going to hike to a cliff, great thinking guys. Walking with high heels is not one of my talents so I did respect those who were walking, well more like stumbling, on their heels over the rocks. The group leader gave us the choice to A) go back for a drink or B) hike further to the top of the Rocks to view Swange Bay. Fei, Alina, Paco, Spanish girl and I took option B and hiked to the top. You can drink anytime, anywhere but viewing Swange Bay is like an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The view was definitely worth it. We had only one hour to get to the top and back to the group so Paco thought it was a good idea to take a shortcut. Believe me... there is no shortcut. We walked through fields, wheat, bushes. We climbed over fences and crossed places we weren't allowed to cross. I'd be lying if I said it was no fun because it was. I like being lost and trying to find your way back with no GPS/WiFi or other devices whats however. We found our way back eventually after a long... long walk. The bus ride back was as every other ride in England: terrifying. Not only two little boys where screaming like they were being killed; the bus driver was planning on killing every bush he could find in his way. And again I feared my life. I didn't die but many branches did during that ride. After dinner we went to see the fireworks at the Bournemouth Pier. We sat on the beach while we watched the sky being lit up by many colors. We felt infinite at that time. We went to our usual spot, the park, later that evening.
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It was quite amazing to see the differences between the students from all around the world. Morning breezes, birds chirping... alarm ringing. Okay, only an alarm ringing. We had to get up at 8 am to attend our first school day. School during your vacation. Vacation, noun, a deserved break after school NOT meant to be school. I asked myself what the hell I was thinking. We met at 9 with multiple staff leaders who send us down the road to a little church. There we handed in our ID and were we guided to a table, where other people were sitting. After a little welcome speech we had to make our 'big test' which determined your level of english. We also had to fill in a questionnaire and I absolutely love those (please note that this is absolutely not the case). They always ask you creative questions like 'what is your name and where do you live?'. Amazing right? We were forced to talk, seriously almost forced, to the students at our table. I awkwardly talked with an Italian guy in front of my called Dario, he was funny and we had a good laugh about a girl who answered 'Bournemouth' to the following question: 'What is the name of the country west to England?' Okay it's wrong to laugh at people but we couldn't help it. The boy next to me didn't seem really talk-able... so I left him alone. It was quite amazing to see the differences between the students from all around the world. From the way they dress to the way they talk, some look just so different than you. After the test we had to listen for 1,5h to a speech, a terribly long speech. Surprisingly no one had fallen asleep and after the 1,5h we were released to find some lunch. I paid way too much for a panini but it was great (it had to be because it almost cost 5 euros) . Around 2 pm were taken on a short tour to Bournemouth, nothing more then we already saw from the walk yesterday. To close the introduction we had some drinks and biscuits at a little 'bar' (it's hard to describe it that way because it was basically just a place to sit, nothing more) near the Lower Gardens. We decided to go to Tesco to buy some food in case of emergency. A elderly spanish woman joined us. Food is quite the same as in Holland, they do like to pack everything in way too much plastic (try to find a bag of chips without being split up in many other tiny bags, that's almost impossible). We had 1,5h left after our grocery shopping so we went to the park (near the balloon) to enjoy the weather. We had to be back at 5 pm to collect our results from the test earlier. Believe me, that it was not easy because there were students blocking the entire hall while being way too nervous for their results. When I finally managed to squeeze through I found out that I was in the black shift (1st week morning lessons) 7A (level 7, pre-advanced) in SPQ ( St. Peters Quarter, the new-build school in the town center). Unfortunately my travels companions (Fei, Megan, Evelien) where in different levels/shifts/schools. That turned out great afterwards. To celebrate our beginning of your school/vacation we went to Flirt, a tiny bar owned by two gay's. They have the most delicious smoothies you'll ever find. They are, as you may expect, quite expensive. It's exiting and perhaps adventures Day one: First time flying, first time in England, first time alone. A lot of firsts on one day. The best word to describe this all? Awkward. One hundred percent awkward. Coming out of your comfort zone and being literally dropped in a new environment is not to be called scary. It's exiting and perhaps adventures. So let me tell you about all this. The best moment to start; saying our goodbyes to our family and entering our airplane. Before you get on you'll have to show your ID to every person they can think of to make sure that you are you. I'm always wondering if someone will finally find out that I'm not Estelle Bouter but some kind of fugitive. Joking. You do get stared at like if you're carrying a bomb and about to kill every inhabitant of Amsterdam. Which is my plan actually. So when you finally passed every security level and you walked almost 5 km you can finally go to the shops. Yes! Tax free shopping! Now I can finally buy lots of stuff for a normal price! Well you'll get cheated on. The prices are just as high as in any other shop in your country. That was a bummer. After the huge shop disappointment we could finally enter our airplane. It was small and I wondered how people with claustrophobia'll ever survive it. The view from the airplane, when you're in the air and you feel like you are so big comparing to the small world, is truly moving though. You realize that you are so so so small which is quite disturbing and frighting. It was approximately an one hour flight. Why do the stewardesses even bother trying to sell some food and coffee. We won't starf during that one hour of our life... When we landed we were finally released from our small seats and we could finally wait (again waiting..yay) for our transfer. To get in an English car is really tempting and tricky. Their wheel is on the other side so we, of course, managed to make a fool of ourselves while trying to get in the car on the right side. English drivers. Oh god english drivers are frighting. Every second that you are in their car you'll think that you're going to die. Seriously. The host family welcomed us in a slightly British way; detached. Don't get me wrong; they were quite friendly and they offered to take us on a ride to see Bournemouth. Which we gladly attended, which was also a mistake because for the second time that day I thought I was going to die. I have to say that I've never feared my life so much before. Every car ride is better called a death ride. No surprise that you hear almost every second a sirene go off. We unpacked and went on a short walk with Marijke, the youngest daughter of the family, to see the shops that were around the corner. After that we went on our own walk to the town center. We went to the pier and walked across the gardens. Our feet started to hurt so we went back 'home' for dinner. Dinner consisted of corn. A lovely way to get each-other to know because eating corn is not only hard but also tricky; before you realize you're almost drowning your neighbor in corn-juice by taking a bite. We closed it off with a sweet treat: donuts! Before we went to bed we played card games with Marijke. She knew lots of games to play and they were fun and time-killing. We were devastated so we went to bed and slept tightly. |
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