Thursday, August 11, 2016

Learning environment, why I preferred Drenthe than Amsterdam


Dutch summer school gave us two venues-options; Amsterdam and Drenthe (as of now).If a person is first-timer coming to the Netherlands, s/he may prefer Amsterdam. Usually, the big and globally famous city attracts people. It has many night life options too...


My husband and I preferred Drenthe over Amsterdam because simply we wanted to be away from the big city. We assumed Drenthe gives us space to enjoy nature. Once I arrived the place, I appreciated more than I imagined.

The venue for the summer school is not the training center. This is a recreation facility with accommodation, called Vakantiepark Het Timmerholt (the park). It is located in a bit isolated place where is 10-15 mins distant by car from the nearest station, Beilan.

During summer, green color is vivid. In the morning, I could hear birds twittering. In the rainy day, I could see a squirrel searching something in the garden. 


Facility of Vakantiepark
It is true to it's name, it is very wide, affords to have ponds, small park with play equipment. Users including me can enjoy various activities. In the park, there are numerous houses where students stay.

The picture below is the house. It is like a townhouse. One building composes several houses. We were assigned in one of these.



Inside house
We share kitchen, bathroom and living room. For 4 people, it was spacious enough. My husband and I were assigned in one room. It was very considerable. Each room has door to keep its privacy even though the room door does not have key.

(c) blc Dutch summer school

In my case, I was mixed with male students because I was with my husband. Usually, male and female are assigned not in the same house.

You cannot choose the place unless you participate this summer camp as a group. Regarding the room assignment, the school considers age group and so on.

Shared bathroom
Shared kitchen, living room
Kitchen 
There is a refrigerator, gas stove, microwave oven, an electronic pod, a coffee maker, pans, pods, utensils,a knife, and a chopping board so on.
Basically, you do not need to bring extra thing to stay here. It is good enough!

But take note, knife here is not sharp enough and a glass chopping board is not so usable. If you want to chop groceries a lot, you might be stressed of using them.



Living space option!
There are two options; you share with others or you rend the private space. The private space costs 40 euros per day. I did not go for this option. Then, my husband and I were assigned in the one house with other two students.

Washing clothes
There is a laundry place near the reception. Using washing machine costs 3 euros and dryer costs 4 euros. If you want to use this, you can purchase the laundry card, 20 euro. If you do not consume all 20 euro, according to the receptionist, the remaining balance will be refunded. 
So, we do not need to bring many clothes. 


Activities
There are several activity-options. Biking, tennis, golf, canoe, swimming, bingo game and so on. Except swimming in the "small shore", these activities cost you some amount.
So, in the vacant time, we can enjoy one of these.

Well, I wrote several options, but my husband and I enjoyed the most strolling around the place after dinner. We simply appreciated the nature by doing so.
small beach :) 

Make sure the bike has both lights, front and back and they are functioning. Summer in Netherlands is long. Sunset is around 9-10 pm. Most likely, you may not bike after sunset. But there was the case going to a bar/restaurant in the nearest town and coming back very late.
Then, a bike needs light. It avoids traffic accident and avoid to pay penalty! Police penalizes you if you do not have bike lights.

colorful rental bike, 38 euro/week
Restaurant 
There is a restaurant inside the accommodation. If you are tired of cooking, then here would be another option.
Of course, in the town, there are several look-nice restaurant.

By the way, I have never dined in the Netherlands. Then, this time, I finally experienced eat-out, it was pancake house as a part of class activities.




So far, my experience in Drenthe was good. If my friends think of taking Dutch summer class, I may recommend Drenthe option.

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Other articles - Dutch summer school 2016 - 

1. Why I need to learn Dutch?
9. Class activity-Communicate in Dutch with local people: going to the Pancake house
12. Preparation-MUST do! before joining Dutch summer school
14. Epilogue:  After the camp - what remains

These are my view and experience...therefore, if you want to know more about the school, please visit the official website>> blc language course website
Tel: +31-648074618
Mail: study@dutchsummerschool.nl

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