My dear friends, I hope you are all happy wherever you are! Before explaining everything about the culture links and others, let us talk about Me, Myself, and I!!! (not at all egocentric! J) You can also make a link with the Dutch culture even if it goes more about the school than the Dutch habits. I still do not have any pictures; I still need to buy myself a camera! I could not be happier than I am here. I still do not teach much but I give private lessons to some pupils who need help in English. (By the way, I was horrified because they had to study some vocabulary about “Religion” and I had to help them with it but they did not understand the words... not even in Dutch... (Words like “church of England”, “devotion”, “virtue”, ECT.) What I like about this internship is that there is something new every week. I never stop beeing surprised by their way of working! J For example, they do not have exams in June and August like us but they have their exams between February and March and then they can try again during April and May if they did not passed the first time. The exams are national so, except for the “little tests”, the teacher is not the one creating the exams. I realise that they never have English lessons (I said that already but it still surprises me). They have never ever ever had a lesson about vocabulary and they have never ever ever worked with a topic. It is just random reading, listening and speaking. For example, I did a lesson about the halal food and the next lesson I will give them will be about Henry VIII. Try to find a link between these subjects!!! J But their level is AWESOME! It is because most of the movies are in English with Dutch subtitles but it is also because they never get bored because the topics of the lessons always change. I really love it! Moreover, I can not explain the connexion that they have with their teachers! They are so closed but respectful at the same time. I guess it is also because we are in a village and not in a big city. If you go out (shopping, walking around, ECT) you will always meet one or two of your pupils. Their relations are much more “human”. The pupils are considered like “little” adults. To summarize that firts personal chapter, I am still really happy here and I have started to feel depressed about the idea of coming back home. (I have just realised that even when I write, I “talk” too much!) What can I say about the cultural differences? Firtsly, I have to admit that when I got here I experienced more of a “social clash” than a “cultural clash”! They spit out, they burp and they make dirty jokes (when we are eating!). So I was quite “traumatize” at the beginning but I guess I got used to it even if I will never do those things. Secondly, there are of course some cultural differences, however, not as many as we could think of. - Their food is really healthy! They eat a salad with every meal. There are always more than two vegetables served with the meal. - They are very religious. On Sunday, you really can NOT find an open place. It is the day of rest for everybody. - Their day ends quite early. They eat their supper around 6 P.M. but most of the time they have an activity organised afterwards (like fitness, sports, bowling, ECT.) - They all have their slices of bread for lunch. There are no big sandwiches or hot meals. - They never go the the theatre or the museum (there are no theatre or museum in the city) (but, here again, I think that it is more social than cultural). As I mentioned earlier, everything is different here even if it is not really in a cultural way. These differences are linked to the fact that they do not feel insecured like people who are living in a big city. The school is open until 23h during the week because of some meetings but anybody can enter. There are no gates. And it is the same during the day. I feel like I am part of a big family. They are all really nice to me. I wish you were all living the same experience. This internship is the best thing that could happen to me. I wish you all the best, Victoria