Week 18 – Personal

This week was filled with different emotions for me.   I was excited because two of my best friends were coming to visit but I was also feeling very sad because this week was my last week in my placement school.  On my last day of placement I got to spend the full day having fun with my class.  I got to take part in their physical education lesson and help them practice for their upcoming musical.  For the last hour of the day Olli and I got to throw a party for our children and just as we were about to leave our class presented us with a pillow case that they had all decorated and signed.  To be honest I was so sad to be leaving my class , I had tears in my eyes but was doing a good job of holding them back until I seen some of the children crying and then I just let it all out.  Even though there was a language barrier at the beginning I think my relationship with the children grew stronger because we did have to try and use different methods to communicate.  Although it was my “last day” I am planning to go and return to see my class again when they are doing their musical so I will get to see them for one last time before I go home.

After an emotional beginning to the week it eventually came to the day for me to travel to Eindhoven to collect Rukaya and Shonagh from the airport.   I cannot explain to you how excited I was to see them again.  On the train every minute felt like an hour and I couldn’t even sit still because I was filled with so much excitement.  I eventually got to Eindhoven and waited very impatiently for them to arrive.  I then received the long awaited phone call to tell me that they had arrived in the train station and I set off to find them.  When I first seen them I couldn’t do anything else but laugh because it was so weird to see them two of them here in The Netherlands after not seeing them for four months.  During the week Darren, Sarah and I had started to plan some activities for the girls to do while they were here and I don’t think they even got time to speak

Rukaya and Shonagh hanging with Bob

before I was filling them in on all the plans.  When we returned back to Vossenveld the rest of the evening was spent introducing them to our new friends and translating Shonagh’s Derry accent into understandable English (I never realised it but that girl can talk so fast) Rukaya on the other hand had taken on our advice of speaking slowly and everyone could understand her. On Saturday we brought them to Amsterdam where we visited Madame Tussauds, The Ice bar, The Heineken Experience, The Flower Market and Anne Frank’s house.  It was a busy day but filled with fun and laughter. 

In the Rainforest

The day I was looking forward to the most was Sunday.  For my birthday one of the girl’s here on Erasmus bought me a ticket to go to Burger’s zoo in Arnhem and Sunday was the day that I would eventually get to go.  I could not believe how amazing the zoo was, it was like no other zoo I had ever been to.  The zoo was split into many different areas including the rainforest, the bush, the desert, the ocean and the safari.  We all were literally like a group of kids running from one animal to the next in compete awe of what we were seeing.  it was an experience I will never forget and it was spent with the best type of company, my friends. 

After our fun filled weekend we went to the lake on Monday to sit and relax. I couldn’t believe that on Tuesday that the girls would be returning back home to Ireland and I wish they could have stayed for a few more days because they fitted right in with all our Erasmus gang.  It really was a weekend to remember and I am so thankful for Rukaya and Shonagh for coming over and visiting us.  As Chares Swindon (2013) states “I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for those friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it; friends make life a lot more fun”

At the Shark tank

References

Charles Swindon (2013) Charles Swindon Quotes Available at : http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5139.Charles_R_Swindoll