Den Bosch

This week was a busy one. Monday and Tuesday I had to get ahead of the game so that I could afford to be at camp with the first year students for the rest of the week. On Tuesday I bought a bunch of tools from our friend Tyson, who will be leaving on a bike trip from here to Thailand. He won't be coming back, so that is a bit sad for us.

The first day of the camp went well in Den Bosch. We went to an interesting museum, took a boat tour of the canals, and saw the cathedral. Teachers got to hang out at a nice cafe, and the school picked up the tab. It was very relaxed and the students enjoyed it.

After the city tour we spent two nights at a typical Dutch camp. Sleeping arrangements involved bunk beds, most with about four kids per room, but one had 31. Ouch. Certainly smelled funny in there by the end of our trip.

Thursday was about sports, climbing, and other outdoor adventures. I thought the courses were rather limited, but I guess it was good for 12 year olds who come from a flat country. We teachers didn't have to do much because some older students came along to run the operations. Unfortunately this made it tricky to know when to step in, so often times teachers (myself included) could have done a bit more.

Friday had bad weather, so we didn't go to the beach, but returned to school early. I was happy with that. I would really like to make some furniture this weekend if the weather is nice like yesterday, but we had too much other stuff to do yesterday. Hopefully the skies will clear...

The creepy 'monster museum'....

...sculptures of characters from the painter Hieronymus Bosch. 

Drain spout on the canal tour.

The iconic 'Bossche Bol' - filled with whipped creme and native to Den Bosch.

The eye of the cathedral.

The sun came out for a few minutes!

Climbing Dutch style.

The ropes course.