My Weekend in Holland

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Here's basically my thoughts on Holland and Amsterdam:

1. Going here made me feel, indeed, like a world traveler. It is very different when you finally go to a country where your language is not the primary one being spoken. Even though, yes, most of the dutch know English - there is still a bit of that "outsider" feeling which is probably what some of my students either go through, or have gone through having English as their second language.

2. My brother is right - they do serve pancakes 24/7 and they are awesome. I tried the bacon and cheese one and it was great. Also, the frittes, or in America, French Fries, were awesome. In this case, Pulp Fiction was right, they do like to cover them in mayonnaise. I, however, went for the curry sauce myself and they were awesome. The cheese place I visited was also awesome, as they had samples out of everything they had. I bought a gift box with three cheeses that are vacuumed packed, so they should keep till I get back to the states.

3. I met a teacher there and we discussed different ways of engaging students who may be shy and don't speak the language. He gave me a good idea of a social game he plays with them where each student holds up a number that they can't see - the number represents their "rank" in society. They then treat each kid according to the status they are presenting to the others. The only word they are required to say is, "hello," but they say it to each other based on the social status they represent. It was a neat idea and I thought it could help me when I work with students on some of the other material in class, like Jekyll and Hyde and all of it's hardcore Victorianism.

4. It was nice to be in another city and get to see more of Europe, but I am very glad to be back in London.

Now it's off to find some grub.

Cheers!

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