Exchange programme J.P.Thijsse College - St.

Stanislaus High school

April 2016. Report by Wouter Bregman (Coordinator Eumind JPThijsse
College)
Arrival
April 16, 2016 a group of students from St. Stanislaus College, Mumbai, and two accompanying teachers
arrived in Holland for an exchange visit with the Dutch school the Jac. P. Thijsse College in Castricum.
The plane arrived right on time and when the group came through customs they were greeted by an
enthusiastic Dutch group of students and their parents. It took no time for everyone to get acquainted an
soon everybody was talking to each other as if they were old friends. The rest of the day was spent
relaxing, although the Indian contingency said they were not jet-lagged at all even though the time
difference was 41/2 hours behind (a side note: everybody woke up at 4 oclock Dutch time, wondering
where they were). Most host families took the students to some local sites just to get them adjusted to
the cold in Holland. Churches, abbeys and, of course, the Dunes were visited.

Second Day
The next day was a bit more adventurous for some pupils. A couple of students visited a famous island
off the coast of North Holland, called Texel. They had a great time visiting a seal sanctuary and seeing
the changing Dutch landscape. They had to travel to the island by ferry, which was an adventure in itself.
The rest of the Indian students visited local museums like The Zaense Schans, a museum which
shows our constant struggle with (rising) water and shows how the local Dutch chocolate and biscuit
factory, Verkade, became famous all over the world.
Later that day we all met up in one of the host families garden, where we had a barbecue and could
relate all our experiences of the first days and first impressions to each other. A recurring topic was the
fact that it was so cold in Holland, but everybody seemed to have been enjoying themselves
tremendously (a side note: a difference of 20 degrees Celcius less can seriously affect you.
Everyone enjoyed the brilliant barbecue, providing food from all over the world, and the fact that the
students were able to play football outside in the street. They all enjoyed the big trampoline in the garden
of the De By family.

School Visit
On the Monday the principal of the Jac. P. Thijsse College, Mrs Christine Hylkema, welcomed
everyone to the school. As it happened a school from America was visiting the Netherlands and the Jac.
P. Thijsse College at the same time. So, this turned out to be a truly amazing international week.
After the welcoming words by the principal, the students were given a tour of our well-equipped school.
After the tour the students followed some classes. The first one was conducted by one of the geography
teachers, Mr Paul van Son, who explained the position of the Netherlands in the world and the fact that
Holland is under sea level. He explained that if it was not for the dunes we would be standing knee deep
in rising water.
After this communal class the American students and the Indian group split up. The Indian students were
introduced to some Dutch sports in a Physical Education class, conducted by an enthusiastic PE
teacher, Miss Silvia van Tunen. The students were active throughout the lesson, and that was necessary
because they were feeling the cold again.

Following the PE lesson the students were introduced to the Dutch culture and language in a lesson
called Dutch for Dummies. They learnt about kaas (cheese), hagelslag (chocolate for on bread),
poffertjes (miniature pancakes), zoute haring (raw salted herring), drop (liqourice) and some Dutch
customs like the celebration of Sint- Nicolaas (Sinterklaas) on the fifth of December and the organ
grinders in the street and the fact that we have to live with so much water all around us.
After this class the children were introduced to Vincent van Gogh, a famous Dutch painter, in an inspiring
Art class. It was made clear to the children what his paintings looked like by actively painting themselves.
Without any prior knowledge the students came pretty close to the original paintings. This would all
become apparent when the students visited the Van Gogh museum the next day.
After the classes had finished each and everyone went home to spend an evening with their host
families.

Visiting Amsterdam
On Tuesday 19 April a trip to Amsterdam was planned. The city was seen from a canal boat. First we
travelled to the capital of Holland by train, which interesting. Holland has a lot of canals, and some
people live on them in house boats. We visited the Van Gogh museum and the children had a great time
seeing what they thought of the paintings themselves and what they had learnt the previous day. We
then took a small tour of the city (The Begijnhof, one of Amsterdams oldest inner courts with a convent
in it, was visited). At the end of the tour we visited a cheese shop. Apparently the Dutch cheese was very
popular, and some students bought cheese to take home. Hopefully it tasted just as nice at home as it
did in Amsterdam.
After a long day in Amsterdam we travelled home by train and the students went back to their host
families. A grand day was had by all.

Educational programme

Besides the educational programme which was organized on Monday, another educational programme
was arranged for Wednesday. The history teacher Mr Ben Vriesema described the German occupation
of Holland during the Second World War (1939-19450 in a lively history class. The students had to
actively think about what was said and had to put their thoughts on paper using phrases mentioned in
the teachers story. The enthusiastic teacher made the students think of why people wage wars and are
aggressive towards others. The teacher also briefly addressed the many Indian soldiers who had fought
in that terrible war.

After that introduction to the Second World War we travelled through the dunes of Castricum where we
viewed some remains of things which had been used during the war and had been left behind. All this
was done by bike, which the Indian students thought was wonderful. Travelling by bike through a flat
country side is a lot of fun. The fact that this form of transport is not without its perils, was duly noted.
Some minor bruises and cuts were sustained, but luckily nobody had to go to hospital. However, all the
Indian students now know that cycling is not a task to be taken lightly. You have to pay attention to all
the other persons on the road, and that you have to stick to certain rules to prevent accidents.
After a hectic day everybody went home to relax.

More knowledge acquired

On Thursday a trip to an organic dairy farm was on the agenda. At the farm the farmer explained
everything about his work involving the cows themselves like milking and feeding them and about
working in an environmentally friendly and organic and ecological way.
The next visit was to a visitors centre explaining everything about purifying water and the dunes and its
resources. After an interesting tour and an excellent explanation we celebrated the birthday of one of the
Indian students.
After all this the students went home to prepare for the evening programme. A couple of bowling lanes
were booked at the bowling alley in Heiloo, a small town close to Castricum. It was amazing to see the
students competing with each other in this competitive sport.

Cheese market
On the last day of the visit we went to the famous Alkmaar cheese market. At this market huge round
cheeses are shown and carried around on planks and sold to the highest bidder. This market always
attracts lots of visitors and the atmosphere is always, to use a Dutch phrase, gezellig. It was cozy,
comfortable and friendly and everybody had a great time.
After the cheese market we were shown around Alkmaar by another history teacher Mr Theo van
Heese. He told us everything about the history and the plights and tribulations of the people of Alkmaar again the fight against the ever threat of rising water and other religions was mentioned.
The afternoon was spent shopping and it looked as if everyone had a great time. The meeting point at
the end of the afternoon was, I am sorry to reveal, the McDonalds restaurant in Alkmaar. This place was
chosen because it is quite central and cant be missed as it is the only one in the city.

At the end of the day everybody went home to pack and get ready for the trip back.

Final Day
On Saturday we all met at Schiphol to say our farewells and goodbyes. It was quite emotional on both
sides. Each and every one had had a marvelous time. A trip that will be forever embedded in everyones
memory. Some of the Indian students did not want to go back home this might have had something to
do with the fact that they still had to go to school for one week, whereas the Dutch students had a twoweek holiday.
This trip was memorable to say the least. Despite the weather we did explain it could get even colder
in the Netherlands, when canals freeze over the exchange was a success. Thanks to all the teachers
involved, the incredibly resilient host families and, of course, the commitment shown by the students.
They were all attentive and cooperative.
You have seen the best of Holland . The dunes, the beach, organic farming and the blooming bulb fields
all of which are an integral part of the Dutch society. Cycling was an interesting experience, although not
without hazards. A lot of cheese, hagelslag, poffertjes, and stroopwafels were devoured as if the children
had never seen food before. Dutch food may be called bland, but was to everybodys taste. The host
families have all been commendable and deserve a lot of credit for their commitment and accompanying
the students.
Hopefully we will all meet each other safe and sound in December and have a similar experience. The
foundations for a successful trip have been laid.

When you feel great, dare to help someone else to feel great too. Steve Maraboli

Visiting teachers Pramila Gonsalves and Pritisha Murzello (right)

Coordinator JPThijsse College, Wouter Bregman and his wife with the Indian colleagues