Herfstvakantie is here!

Greetings!

I have safetly returned from London as well as Apeldoorn for the Rotex weekend. I am now back in Doetinchem, although things are not back to normal just yet...it's Herfstvakantie! My host family is off to Olso, Norway to visit their daughter who will be living there for 10 months and I am off to stay with my Rotary Counsellor and her family!

I had a really nice time in London with my exchange student friend, Jackie, who is also from Canada. This year she is staying in the city of Leeuwarden. We had an action packed week in London and did our best to see as many of the sights as possible. London is defiantely one expensive city, that is for sure! Especially when you compare it to the Canadian dollar...ahh, I don't even want to think about that! While we were in London we became masters of the tube and train systems, although in the beginning we did have a little difficulty! Who knew that you actually have to read the name on the side of the subway, instead of just hopping on the first subway that stops! Well, atleast we learned our lesson! It was really nice to be surrounded by english speakers and to see Canadian flags, stores and resturants. One evening we dinned at "The Maple Leaf". I am still not convinced the menu was really "Canadian Cusine", but atleast there were hockey jerseys on the walls. We also ate at "Subway", my first sub in almost three months. It was sure delicious! Well that is enough about food, now lets move on to the attractions. We visited the National Potrait Gallery, the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, the Tate Modern, the Canada House, Westminister Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, saw Wicked the musical at the Victoria Apollo Threate and witnessed the Charging of the Guards ceremony. My trip to London was definately time well spent.

Within hours arriving back in the Netherlands, Laramie, an American Exchange Student living in Groningen, came to visit me for the weekend. Friday evening was spent giving her the grand tour of Doetinchem. I pointed out to her what I notice everytime I bike into the city centre...it smells like doggie kibble! Why, I do not know. This remains a mystery to me! On saturday morning we made our way to Apeldoorn for the Rotex weekend. It was really nice to see all the other exchangers again and to hear about their adventures during the first few months. These last few days I have spoken way to much english, it will be nice when things settle down again so that I can really focus on my dutch!

I just want to say to everyone back home I miss you all very much! Things are going well for me here, but it is definitely not easy! There are days I miss home more than others, but I know if I try hard enough things will get better. To my fellow exchangers I love hearing from you all and I am looking forward to the day that we will be able to share our experiences with one another in person.

Much love,

Deirdre xoxo