Nicki in the States

Florida!

2008-03-12T16:26:00.007-04:00

So after my stay in New York City I went on to the Young Life All Staff Conference in Florida. We stayed at the Marriott in Orlando. So there I Finally saw Caroline en Miquel (YL Nederland) again. The first 3 days we had the International pre-conference with Young Life Staff who work outside the USA. During this pre-conference we heard all the different stories and testimonies from all over the world. This was nice and small, we knew almost everyone there. When the real Conference began, almost the whole hotel was filled with Young Life staff. Almost 4000 people, it was amazing. I met so many new people, I had a great time. Every day we had what we call club and that is what we also do at the Young Life summer camps. But this was club for adults. They did crazy skits and there was great music and amazing speakers. There were also some famous people, like Jeff Foxworthy, the host of 'Are You Smarter that a 5th. grader". Jeff Foxworthy is also a volunteer leader at a wyldlife club (that is young Life for middle school kids). Can you imagine having a celebrety as your Wyldlife leader? Jeff Foxworthy also gave a stand-up comedy show and he is famous for his Redneck jokes.
Everything was focused on having a good time and being refreshed. There were workshops and prayer meetings. On Thursday we had the day off and we could go to one of the many parks. We (Caroline, Miquel and me) went to Disney World and had a great time there. That evening after Club there was a concert by Nicole C. Mullen, a Christian singer.
Saturday night we had our last club and Jack Hanna (he is a famous wildlife conservationist who appears regularly on The Late Show with David Letterman) came with some of his animal friends, a snake, an armadillo and a mountain lion (puma). It was hilarious, especially when one of the guys volunteered his wife to carry the Python and the the snake rapped itself in between her legs and its tail poked out from behind her like she had a little pigs tail.

Christmas and New Years in New York City

2008-02-28T16:46:00.011-05:00

I am so sorry that it has been so long. Let me catch you up quickly.
So on December 19th I left for New York City to spend Christmas and New Years with my friend ZuShanna. On Christmas Eve day we went to a friend of hers who had invited a bunch of people over for brunch. Late that night we went to Zu's grandparents' where the whole family opened their presents. At first it took a while for everybody to get there and then suddenly people started handing out and opening up presents.
People were in various rooms letting others bring their presents to the person it was for. To me this didn't look like anything you see in all those American family Christmas movies they show every year. But that's OK! On Christmas Day, Zu, her boyfriend Keith and I opened up each others presents and that was a lot more fun that the night before.
On New Years Eve we went to the church Zu and Keith go to. That was a lot of fun, a big Choir, good songs and a good message. Afterwards we went back to Zu's place with a bunch of friends, we ordered Pizza, watched the ball drop on TV and I heard, what I thought was fire works, but according to my friends were gunshots. That is how Brooklyn celebrates the New Year!!!
While in New York, I also went to Central Park. It was a beautiful, but very cold day (F13/C-10). We also went to the Whitney Museum and Ice Skating in Bryant Park. As well, I had to get a dress for the formal dinner I was going to attend at the All Staff Conference. So with my friend Aisha I went to Macy's and practically put on every dress in the store that was on Sale. A bit to big, a bit to small, 'Oh sorry this one is not on sale'! So we decided to grab a bite to eat and take a little break. After resting up, we were roaming around the youth section and they had the cutest dresses there. So after putting on only one dress I was done! Now, why in the world didn't we start there?

Sinterklaas in Holland, Michigan, USA

2008-01-29T16:14:00.000-05:00

Yeah, first they buy a Christmas tree and then they have Sinterklaas. Ok things are a bit different here in the USA. And yes I am a bit behind too. So let me catch up. In the Netherlands we think Sinterklaas goes back to Spain on December 6th, but no that is not true. He goes to Holland, Michigan to visit all the "Dutch" children there on December 7th. He rides with his horse through town and at the end talks to the children. The children sing a Dutch Sinterklaas song for him and that's about it (you can watch the video on Youtube). Some families still celebrate Sinterklaas a little and so does my hostfamily. They put their wooden shoes in front of the chimney and get a Dutch chocolate letter from Sinterklaas.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree

2007-12-02T19:50:00.000-05:00

Christmastime sure starts early here in the USA. The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to get a Christmas tree. We went with the whole family and Josh and his friend from Texas. I didn't really know what the big deal was, until we got to the farm where we were going to get our tree. I was thinking :'Where are the trees?' Well, all the trees were still in the field. We all got on the wagon behind the tractor and went to the field. There we got a saw and when we found the tree we liked we were supposed to cut it down ourselves. So we walked around to look for the perfect tree. They wanted a big one and it had to be one of those Christmas tree kinds that smell like citrus fruits. I didn't know such a kind existed. So after walking around a bit, there it was, the perfect, tall, Christmas tree. So Eric and Josh started to cut it down. By that time the tractor was back with other customers and we took our tree and all got on the tractor. We rode back to the barn and there they rapped the tree up in a net and we got some hot chocolate and candy canes. The guys put the tree on top of the car and we were off, with our huge tree. When we got home, we all worked together to make sure it was standing straight.
The next day we finished the decorating and so it is all Christmassy here. Some Radio Stations are playing Christmas songs and we have had our first snow of the season. Christmas is here and in the Netherlands they are still waiting for Sinterklaas to leave. But he'll be going back to Spain after he has delivered all his gifts to the Dutch children on December fifth. So soon it will be Christmastime everywhere.

After Thanksgiving Shopping!

2007-11-29T13:33:00.000-05:00

So after thanksgiving apparently you HAVE to go shopping. They had told me about that weeks before thanksgiving. The stores have major sales and open at 4 or 5 am. People practically camp out in front of the stores the night before. I was thinking those Americans are crazy. But I guess I have to try and experience as much as I can while I am here. But I would only go and stand in line for something that I need and is worthwhile. So Carrie and I started looking at the ads for laptops and we found some very good deals. So I got up at 1.30 am, Carrie didn't go to bed at all. We put on our thermos and long johns, put on scarfs and hats and gloves and made some hot tea and coffee. We arrived at the store a little after 2 am and there were people with tents and the line was pretty long. But we stood in line and waited, because at 3 am the would start to hand out vouchers for all their sale items. So we waited and waited, but the only vouchers that got up to where we were in line, were for flat screen t.v.'s. At about 4 they were done with all the vouchers for laptops so we decided to go to an other store, this was more of an office supply store and would most likely not be too busy and Carrie had seen a laptop that she also liked. This store would open at 6 am so we had to wait an extra hour in the cold, but OK, we had already been waiting for a couple of hours. When we got there the line wasn't long at all and they started to hand out the vouchers for their sales just after we arrived. But of coarse the cheapest laptop was also gone before we could get one of the vouchers. There were other laptops that were on sale but they didn't hand out vouchers for those so we decided to wait and go get these. We were first in line by now, because the people who dit get vouchers had left, they could pick up their things later in the morning. At first I wasn't sure, but then I started to calculate the price in euros and they were still pretty cheap. That last half hour of waiting was the longest half hour ever. We had been out in the cold since 2 o'clock and we started to get really cold. Finally the doors opened and we went straight to the laptop aisle. So we asked about the laptop and Carrie and me were the first there, then the guy said: 'Oh, I think we only have 2 or 3 of those.' Isn't that weird, don't put it in your ads if you only have a few. But he went to get them and Carrie and I were the first ones so we got our laptops. Yes! Was it worth it? I don't know, but after all that waiting we didn't want to go home empty handed. In the Netherlands I wouldn't have been able to get this laptop for this price so, I guess it was worth it. But I am glad we don't have sales like that in the Netherlands, I don't think I will do something like that again. Unless the deal is really, really good, I mean I am Dutch, aren't I.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-27T19:32:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is one of those well known American Holidays and is celebrated every fourth Thursday in November and every second Monday in October in Canada. Thanksgiving started with the Pilgrims who had left from Delft Haven (the Netherlands) in July 1620. They made a stop in England and left Plymouth in September.They arrived in the New World, in what is now known as the state of Massachusetts, late November. They couldn't grow any crops anymore and they faced a very hard winter without fresh food. In that first winter half the people of the new colony died. But in the spring the local Indians taught them how to catch fish and grow corn. Without this help the would most likely not have survived. So after their first harvest in 1621, they held an Autumn celebration whit a lot of food and feasting and thanking God. They also invited the Indians who brought deer to roast and popcorn. This is the story of the first Thanksgiving, but earlier settlers in Virgina also had a yearly day of Thanksgiving, but it wasn't a real feast.
Now lets go back to the present. Last Thursday it was Thanksgiving day and first we went to church and after that we went to Rick's sisters' for thanksgiving dinner. We had all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes like Turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans and mashed potatoes. I really liked the stuffing and I remember tasting something like that before. For desert there was pumpkin pie, cherry pie and raspberry pie. After dinner some took naps, to let all that food settle a bit. I played pool and later we also played Guitar Hero (cool computer game). We also looked at all the ads for the after thanksgiving sales. Strange but true of coarse our stomachs told us that we needed food again at around 6 pm. So we got some of the leftovers out and some new dishes and ate a little more. This was a good first Thanksgiving for me.

Meet Dora!

2007-11-11T21:31:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, I would like you to meet Dora the Explorer('96 Ford Explorer). Yes, I finally got my own car, and what a car! She is big and beautiful and she had got a name, given to here by her former owner (after the Dora the Explorer cartoon). For the car freaks out there, she is a V8 All wheel drive, nice when the snow comes! I have had her now for a little over a week and it is good to be able to go out on my own. I don't have to depend on others anymore to take me places. OK, She still needs new tires and the wheels need to get aligned but we are going to take care of that this week. So from here I would like to thank everybody who helped me with getting me this ride! THANKS!!!

HALLOWEEN!!!

2007-11-05T19:38:00.001-05:00

Last week Wednesday it was Halloween. This is a pretty big thing here in the USA. The little kids love to go 'Trick or Treading'. Or is it just a Hallmark event? Any way on that day we went to school to be in the gym during the lunches and as you can see in the picture American kids love to dress up. During the first lunch I was asked to be a judge in the Halloween costume competition. A great way to meet kids! But it can be very hard. The kids all lined up in the back of the cafeteria and then walked by us judges. Each of the Judges were given 3 gift certificates to hand out to whomever we thought had the best costume. There was a really great transformer, but by the time I got to him one of the other judges had already given him a gift certificate. There was also a very cute flock of sheep with a cute Sheppard girl. But the were ten in all so one 5 dollar gift card didn't quite cut it. But I really liked the Charleston dress one of the girls was wearing, she was could have come straight out of one of those old 30's movie. And then there also were a lot of scary costumes, so one of my gift cards went to one of them, although I didn't really know what or who he was supposed to be. My last card I gave to a cute little penguin.

Later that day I was invited to a real Halloween party, and that meant I needed a costume as well. Well since being a real Dutch girl I decided to go as one too. My host mother Deb was a Dutch clog dancer when she was in high school so she had the costume. Of coarse it was too small for me now but nothing a few safety pins couldn't handle. The blouse was too small as well but I used one of my own, no one here would ever notice that it wasn't a real traditional one.
The Party turned out to be a bit boring. it was at the Grand Valley Campus and kids from the town would come to 'trick or treat'. But it started to rain so not that many came by. At nine Eric and Robin and I had to go to our Young Life New Leader Training and since it is at the campus we went in our costumes. There was one other person there in his costume, so we weren't the only ones. When I came in I told them all, that we still wear those clothes every day in the Netherlands, Yeah right!

Fall is the Theme!!!

2007-10-24T14:28:00.000-04:00

Yes, it has truly become fall. The weather has changed and so have the colors. Everywhere you can see trees changing there colors and leaves are starting to fall. People are taking out their fall decorations and there are PUMPKINS everywhere!
So last Saturday I decided to join my host brother Eric to go with him to a friends house to hang out with some of his college friends. Most of whom I had already met. So I was looking forward to see what 'wild things' college kids do on a Saturday night while the parents are away for the weekend. Well let me tell you..., carving pumpkins. We had six pumpkins and there were 12 of us. So we paired up and started carving our pumpkins, of coarse being with college kids, this couldn't be done without throwing some pumpkin guts around. Considering this being my first time carving pumpkins, I did pretty good. Except for a little slip of the knife which resulted in pinning parts of the pumpkin back on with some toothpicks. After we all were finished with carving our pumpkins, we lit the candles in them and we all gave our votes as to which pumpkin was the most beautiful one. In the picture the second from the left, with the pumpkin guts coming out of its mouth, was the winner. We gathered and cleaned some of the pumpkin seeds, put some salt on them and roasted them in the oven. The rest of the evening the guys played pool in the basement and us girls had us some 'good ole' girl talk.

How do you get a young dog to swim?

2007-10-14T11:10:00.001-04:00

The last couple of weeks I have been trying to get Buddy to swim. Josh and Eric had taken him sailing and dumped him in the water and according to the book, that is not what you should be doing. So I was afraid Buddy had gotten scared of swimming. So I took some dog treats and took him in the water and give him treats to go in deeper. But no matter what he would not go further then were he could still stand. He would even start to shiver if I kept the treat too far away from him, like he was really scarred. Last weekend it was really hot and we were all outside at the water front, so buddy would walk through the water as well. Now in that last week we had gotten company of 4 swans in the lake. And on this last Sunday they came pretty close to the house and Buddy got all worked up and excited about. He was barking at them and running back and forth in the water, and suddenly he was swimming. But then he swam back again, went in the water again and then, he just started swimming after them. The swans swam away and Buddy kept on swimming and swimming and I just went after him. He swam further and further and halfway across the lake the swans apparently had enough of this crazy dog and flew away to the next lake over. And there was Buddy in the middle of the lake not knowing what to do and where to go. I called Jenna who was kayaking and I tried to get buddy and take him to the closest shore. Rick and Eric had already taken the rowboat out and were on their way over. Buddy was pretty tired and I held on to the Kayak with buddy in my arms. When the rowboat arrived we put him in the boat and took him back to the house. And there he was sitting in the front of the boat all proud looking and still trying to see where those darn swans had gone off to!

Cell-ebration!

2007-10-09T13:18:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I got a call from one of the biology teachers I know. She asked me if I could come in to her class on Monday and help her out. She was having a Cell-ebration. What is a cell-ebration you must be thinking? ( If you are a Biology teacher this is a great thing to do in your classes) Well the students had to make a cell out of all edible things. So the cell had to have all it's parts in it, like a Nucleus and Mitochondria and Golgi apparatus and so on. It was great fun. The teacher brought some pop (soda) and then after they were graded, they could eat their cells. Now let me tell you some of them didn't look that edible, if you know what I mean. In every class there were also three awards to be won and some of the other teachers would come in and be the judges for those. The awards were for the most attractive one, the most accurate one and the most disgusting one. The students brought in things like cake and Jello puddings with frosting and different kinds of candy and cookies to represent the different parts of the cell. Some students went all out and even used potato chips, ketchup, macaroni, cheese, tomato's etc. So you get the picture of what some of the most Disgusting ones looked like.
So this was a fun day for me and it was a great way of meeting new kids.

Homecoming Week

2007-10-01T14:56:00.000-04:00

Last week was Homecoming week which is a real American tradition. The whole week they plan special things. Every day dress theme, like on pyjama day you could come to school in your PJ's, or dress up in Cape and Mask or as a Villain or a Super Hero. Not all students do it but some of them did dress up. So this years Homecoming theme was Super Hero and at the end of the week there is a Homecoming Football Game. There is a tailgater before the game and a parade of wagons made by each class in style with the Super Hero theme. After the Game they announce which wagon won, this year it were the Seniors with their Ninja Turtle wagon. I wonder if the Seniors always win, because I personally found that the Juniors' Spider man wagon was the best.
After the game they also announced the Homecoming King and Queen. Students vote for their King and Queen during the week. On Saturday they had the Homecoming dance and the dress code for that is formal and I think that is really cool. All the girls are dressed up in beautiful gowns and the guys in nice suits. with some of the YL JHS leaders we chaperoned at the Dance. There are also parents who chaperon, which is something that doesn't happen at a Dutch High school Dance. We served punch and helped out at what I call Baggage claim. They have a really nice system going here. all students could get a plastic bag with a number on it, to put their things in. the same number was written on their wrist. So at the end of the dance all the students came to collect their bag and we yelled out the numbers and ran to get the bags. it was great fun. Many of the girls had put their shoes in the bags and were dancing barefoot, probably because they started to hurt. so it was a fun and exciting week here in Jenison.

'Real' Dutch

2007-09-25T14:15:00.000-04:00

This Saturday I went to the town of Holland with Deb en Carrie. First we went to the Dutch bakery where we bought some bread and banket. We also drank coffee/tea with an Amandelbroodje. The size for the drinks were written in Dutch. The baker himself moved to America at the age of three, so he still spoke a little Dutch.
After that we went to downtown Holland and the farmers market. Downtown Holland is one shopping street and does have a Dutch feel to it because it is kind of 'Gezellig' (cozy).
Our final destination of the day was a visit to the Dutch Village. We didn't actually go in but we could go into the stores and got to see some of the 'klompendansen' (clog dancing). Here we also had a little lunch. Deb and Carrie got erwtensoep met roggebrood (pea soup and rye bread)and i had 2 kroketten with bread and mustard. It was great and I had to do it now, because they close October 1st.
At the village I was talking to the lady in the Dutch clothing and she tried to remember some of the Dutch things her grandmother used to say. at that moment some guy came in, started talking to the lady in Dutch, hoping she would have no clue of what he was saying. Then I started to talk back to him in Dutch and he was kind of surprised. He was from Aalsmeer, but he did have an American accent so he must have lived here for a long time.
So we had a very fun Dutch day and I also bought some Dutch pancake mix and Stroop (Dutch Syrup) so I can make real Dutch pancakes!
For more pictures of Holland go to the link 'More Pictures'.

Student Theatre!

2007-09-25T14:02:00.000-04:00

Last Friday some of us Leaders went to 'The festival of Plays', at JHS. This was a great evening in which students preformed scenes from plays and scenes they had written themselves. The first was a scene from Niel Simon's The Good Doctor, called The Seduction. It is about this man who seduces married women through their Husbands. It is very funny and the actors were really good. The finished with a scene from the Broadway Musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Which again was very funny and full of very good acting and singing. In the fall the will preform a play and at the end of the year they will preform the Musical Annie.

BOWLING!

2007-09-19T14:12:00.000-04:00

To start the YL season we had an all area bowling night on Monday. Kids and YL leaders from several high schools were there and it was a lot of fun.
Although I bowled a couple of times last year I still suck at it! I got 86 points and only had one strike, and no spares at all, that is really bad. But I still came in second in my group.
I think something like this could be a great idea for YL in the Netherlands, to start with a bowling night or playing pool.

Gym Supervising!

2007-09-19T13:52:00.000-04:00

Today we've been in the Gym of JHS for a week. Finally last week on Wednesday we could start the gym supervising. The Kids can come in to the Gymnasium during their lunch breaks and shoot some hoops or play a little volleyball. It is great fun. one of the games they play is Lightning. You all stand in a line and you have two balls. The first person shoots from the 3-point line, If you miss you go get your ball and try to get it in a soon as you can from any spot. You have to get in in before the person behind you gets it in, or else you are out. There are a few girls in the gym so I try to play with them and I've gotten to know about 7 girls now.
It is also good for me to play a little basketball, because I haven't been exercising as much as I used to back home. But the weather is better again, nice and warm, so I swam to the little island that is in the lake behind my house yesterday.
That is good practice because my host brother Eric and his friend Josh want to do the Lifeguard training so they can be lifeguards at a YL summer camp next summer. I'm thinking about Joining them Because that sounds like the best job to have at a summer camp. Both Josh and Eric swam to the Island on Sunday and I was spotting them in the kayak, to make sure they wouldn't drown. They were having a pretty hard time doing that, so I will be able to help them with their swimming technique and train with them.

Leadership weekend at Timberwolf

2007-09-10T17:53:00.000-04:00

This weekend I went to the YL Leadership weekend at Timberwolf Lake. Timberwolf Lake is Young Life's newest camp and it is in Michigan. About two hours north of Jenison.
All YL Leaders from two regions were there. It was a lot of fun, they did funny sketches and the clubs were also very interesting. One of the sketches included Dr. Phil and some guy named Joel Osteen, very funny, but you had to be there.

Saturday afternoon we had free time to do all the fun stuff they do at YL camps.
First I did the Zip Line, where you get hooked on to and then slide down and end in the water of the lake. There is also 'The Blob', which is a big air cushion where one person sits on the end of and then the next person jumps on the other end from about 12 feet (3,6 m) high, and than the first person goes flying up in the air and into the water. That part can be fun except I just flew straight in to the water and didn't go up at all. But before that, I had to jump on it to send the person in front of me flying, but when I landed on the blob I fell back and My neck got this whiplash effect and my neck is still a bit stiff today. So that was my first and probably the last time on 'the Blob'. After that I went on the rope swing and that gave me a big bruise on my wrist, but next time I will try that again, I guess.
The last thing I did that afternoon was Tubing. That was so much fun, I fell off twice and that wasn't really comfortable but still it was awesome.
So all in all I am a bit bruised in some places but it was worth it. I can't wait for the fall weekend we'll have at Timberwolf in November with the Highschool kids.

My first week at the school!

2007-09-10T17:29:00.000-04:00

Last week was the first week of school at Jenison high school. School started on Tuesday Sept 4th. With the team of YL Leaders we went to the school at 6.30 am. Yeah that was pretty early! we went to open the doors for students and welcome them back to school. You could see some of the students thinking "who are those people what are they doing?" Others were saying 'Hi' to us or just walked by, not saying anything. After opening the doors we went to have breakfast at Daryl's house with all the YL Leaders of Jenison middle and high school. I'm really starting to love those big pancake breakfasts with bacon and sausages and stuff like that.
Daryl and Joe and me went back to JHS for the Lunch breaks. We are supposed to be the Gym Supervisors. Kids can go in to the gym and play some basketball and volleyball. But there also needs to be a teacher present in the gym and as of yet they still don't have a teacher for one of the lunch breaks. So in the meantime we are standing in the hall talking to the kids and trying to get to know them.

Wednesday it was my Birthday and there was a YL Regional Staff Meeting, which took almost all day. But in the evening some of the leaders and people on the YL committee came to my B-DAY party. I had picked out a chocolate cake, which was a very good choice, if I say so myself.

On Thursday and Friday I also went to the school for the lunch breaks. On Friday I talked to an exchange student from the Philippines. So that was some nice level 2 contact work. (in YL, level 1 is being seen, level 2 is talking to kids, and level 3 is doing fun activities with them)

Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-10T15:27:00.000-04:00

My Second weekend in Michigan was Labor day weekend, I know I'm a bit late with posting this but I wanted to tell about it anyway. With my host family I went to their grandparents cottage in Northport. Northport is located at Grand Traverse Bay in the North of Michigan. It was Grandma's 70th. birthday and on Friday night the family organised a surprise dinner at the country club. After we got back from dinner they build a nice campfire in the backyard.
On Saturday morning I woke up early and took some pictures of the sunrise over Traverse Bay. Grandpa Prepared a big Breakfast with pancakes and bacon and sausages for the whole family. After breakfast I went for a swim in Travers Bay with one of the cousins. The water was much colder then the water in the little lake behind the house I live in, but it is very clear. After that we went to play tennis in Northport. My host sister Jenna players tennis so She is pretty good. I, om the other hand stink at this game. But I love to watch it so I better stick to that (I haven't seen anything of the US Open by the way, who can tell me the who the winners are?).
After lunch we went to Leland. Leland is a place where many tourists go in the summer. My host sister Carrie worked there in clothing store during the summer.
In the evening after dinner we went to play some beach volleyball. Luckily I'm better at volleyball then at tennis. Our team lost the first set, but with uncle Jim coaching us, we won the second and third set.
On Sunday we went to a cute little church in Northport, with the whole Kennedy family there it was pretty full, but in winter, when all the summer guests have left it must be only half full.
In the afternoon we went out on uncle Jim's speedboat and swam a little in the deeper water of Grand Traverse Bay, which was pretty cold.
On Monday after cleaning up, we went back home to Jenison.

My First American Football game!

2007-09-04T16:33:00.000-04:00

On Thursday night (Aug 30th) the Jenison High school Varsity Football team, The Wildcats, played their first home game. For me it was the first football game I've ever been to. We went with a couple of the YL leaders and met a lot of the kids that go to Jenison high school. So this was also my first real contact work for young Life.
Football games can take a long time, but when we arrived it was at the end of the second quarter, the other team was one point ahead of the Wildcats, but luckily in the end the Wildcats did win this game.

I took a lot of pictures with my regular camera, so it will take a while to get them developed but when I get them I will post some of them!

Young Life at GVSU

2007-09-04T15:50:00.000-04:00

Last week on Tuesday night (Aug. 28th) there was the first Young Life Club at Grand Valley State University (GVSU). A lot of students were there. Basically what they do at a night like that is sing some songs together, there was one song I actually knew and that was the theme song of the sitcom "Friends". After that they will do some funny game. First time they made 4 groups, each group had one person picked out to be the balloon man. we all got a lot of those small water balloons, the ones that are pretty hard to blow up. After we blew them up the balloon man had to put as many of those balloon in his clothes, the guy with most balloons won! Simple yet funny.
After that we sang an other song and than we split up in to smaller groups to discuss some questions they had handed out. Afterwards we were just hanging out and meeting new people.

My first weekend!

2007-08-27T10:54:00.000-04:00

On Thursday night I went to Grand Vally State University (GVSU) with Area Director Chris Theule-VanDam for a little concert. A couple of Young Life leaders were singing their own songs and playing Guitar. It was organised by some YL Leaders that do Young Life Club at the campus for the college students. That week all Freshmen students were moving in the dorms. It was great fun and I got to meet more of the other YL leaders in this area.

On Friday night Daryl took me to the first performance of the Jenison High School band. Joe, Josh and Andrea, other YL leaders on the Jenison team, were also there. Jenison has a real big band that preforms at the football games of the Wildcats (name of the Jenison HS Football team). They also participate in competitions. Just check out the video.

After that we went to the Castaway reunion of all the kids that went to the YL camp at Castaway this summer. We played some cards and Air Hockey and other games, had Ice cream and just hung out. We also gave some Ice cream to the two little kittens that were just outside. we don't know if they lived out there or were strays. We didn't see their mother but they were really cute. One of them looked a lot like my cat Ushi.

On Saturday I went to Kalamazoo with my Host family to Help move Carrie's (Daughter of the Kennedy's) things into her new home. She is going to Graduate School there.
On Sunday I went to Church with the Kennedy's. They go to a Christian Reformed Church, but that is not like any Christian Reformed Church (Chr. Gereformeerd) in the Netherlands. The have a band with singers and not an organ.
After Church we had a real American Lunch, Burgers from the Grill, with buns and Salad and Melons. Because the weather was so nice we went out on the lake with the rowboat and relaxed on the raft they have. We took Buddy the dog too, but it took him a while to relax. He is not too fond of the water.
Sunday night I went to Daryl's house were he had a reunion of a YL club he led a long time ago, so I got to meet some people who were in YL as teens and now are about my age. After that I babysat on Daryl's little girl Eliana, because he had to go to a wedding. But that wasn't too hard because she was really tired and went straight to sleep.

Well I guess that is everything for now. This afternoon I'll be going to the mall with Carrie and Jenna, so that will be fun. I'm going to get a sim card for my cell phone, so people will be able to contact me here.

(go to my flickr account for more pictures)

Pictures!

2007-08-24T11:18:00.000-04:00

Well I've finally managed to post some pictures and here are some more:

This is Buddy.

The House.

The lake behind the House, good for swimming and ice skating!

For more pictures go to my flickr account at flickr.com, I made a link to it on the side.

Pool Party!

2007-08-23T12:46:00.000-04:00

When I arrived here on Monday it was pretty cold and raining so that was like the weather back home. Tuesday was cloudy but warm and humid. Wednesday morning there was thunder and rain, but fortunately later in the day the clouds were gone,sun was up and the temperature was high as well. So all in all a great day for a pool party. At the pool party I met most of the other leaders that will be at Jenison High school. After we were done splashing around in the pool, The burgers and hot dogs were ready to be eaten.

Daryl (one of the area Directors of Young Life) and me had to leave the pool party a little early, to go to a committee meeting. The meeting was held at the Talsma's, right at lake Michigan. At that time there was a big storm coming in from the lake. We were all watching the bolts of lightning over the lake. It was a spectacular view.
When we drove back after the meeting, we could still see a lot of lighting on the horizon. So when I got back home after that I was really tired, still a bit jet lagged I guess. Now the sun is out again and it is really warm, I think I will go for a swim in the lake!

I was hoping to put in some pictures of the house and the lake, but that is not working yet so I'll try to do that later.

The Eagle has landed!

2007-08-21T12:29:00.000-04:00

After a smooth flight, passing over Iceland and Greenland (of which I couldn't see anything because I was sitting in the middle of the plain), I arrived in Chicago after only 8 and a half hours. When I arrived at Customs the officer told me that a B-2 visa is only for 6 months. But he went to ask a colleague and he came back and said that he couldn't authorise it. He showed me to an other office and gave my passport to an other officer. He told me to take a seat and wait until my name was called. So I was sitting there, with my Letter from Young Life, and preparing what to say to the next officer to make sure I would get permission to stay for a whole year. but then all of a sudden my name was called and I went up to the officer and he was putting some stamps in my passport then gave it back to me and said:'have a nice stay. So I asked him if I could stay for the whole year and he said I could so that was that. relieved I went on to wait for my luggage, and drop it of again and on to my next flight.

After waiting a long time and some delay I finally boarded the next plain that would take me to Grand Rapids. After only 32 minutes I arrived and was greeted by Chris Theule-VanDam from Young Life, my host mom, Deb and her daughter Jenna and also by two other board members of Young Life and their two little girls.

With my host family I went to my new House. It is a big house with a lake behind it and all around the lake there are big Houses. in the middle of the lake is a small island. My room is pretty big, a bit bigger than my room back home, with a build-in-closet. When we got there We had dinner, my sixth meal of that day and a then we talked a little, before I finnaly went to bed. It had been a very long day.

This morning I unpacked everything, called home, had some pancakes for breakfast with my host brother Eric and hostsister Jenna. So that is it for now!

Saying Goodbye!

2007-08-19T11:49:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is D-Day! Packing for one year wasn't easy. My first suitcase was packed quickly and weighs exactly 50 pounds (23 Kg). The second bag, a backpacker rucksack, wasn't quite big enough, so I put it all in an other bigger bag. It fits..., but it weighs about 63 pounds, (29 Kg)! My hand luggage is the maximum size allowed and also weighs a lot. With a cute smile I'll explain I will be staying for a whole year and that I really only packed necessities! But let's just hope and pray for the best.

Also before I go I want to thank everyone who came to my goodbye party last Friday and everyone else who wished me a great time over the past few days. It was great to see you all before I go. If any of you want to come and visit, just let me know and I'll make sure you will have a place to stay.
But no goodbyes here, because you can all join me throughout the year by reading this blog. So for now I'll just say:"C-Ya!"

Only one week untill D-Day!

2007-08-13T11:38:00.000-04:00

Next week I'll finally be on my way. I'll be spending one year in the U.S.A., in the State of Michigan to be exact. I will be a member of a Young Life Youth leaders team and I will be in training with them to learn all about Young Life, what they do and how they do it.
Young Life is a non-denominational, Christian, non-profit organization that is committed to introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. If you want to know more about Young Life go to their websites: http://www.younglife.org/ and/or http://www.young-life.nl/.

Right now I'm busy making this blog and figuring out what to take with me and what not. It is hard to put one year into two suitcases with a maximum weight of 50 pounds each (23kg). Especially when winters can be long and cold in Michigan, I have to make sure to bring enough warm clothing.
But the countdown has begun and I am very exited about this adventure. I hope you will all join me by reading this blog. I will post messages, pictures and videos during my stay in the U.S.A. It would also be very great when you readers, post comments and let me know what's happening in your part of the world! So don't be shy!