And We're Off...

Yesterday was a whirlwind with students arriving from all over the United States! By 6:00 PM we were all together - tired - but ready to explore the hostel's neighborhood. We learned where the grocery store and pharmacy were located and toured through Ooster Park before we had dinner and headed to bed. We were all exhausted!!!

The next day we had orientation at the CIEE office. We had a language lesson and we can all agree that Dutch is not an easy language to learn even though we tried so hard to gurgle out the sounds. 

Hallo! Ik ben Daniel. En jij? Wie ben jij? 

Students also had activities where they shared their perceptions of Amsterdam along with their goals for the program. 

After lunch we had a tram ride to the city center and had a lovely tour from Jan - a lifelong resident of Amsterdam - who shared a lot of history about the old and new Amsterdam. 

We headed back to the hostel for a lovely dinner of Thai Rice and chicken skewers. 

Now, students are enjoying free time by exploring the neighborhood, playing in the park, or hanging out in their rooms. 

It's been an exhilarating first day, but the best part is seeing the kids interact with each other and making new friends.

 They truly are wonderful young men and women!