IB1's trip to the wild wild North

GRONINGEN AND THE WADDEN

When I heard about the trip, I was a little frightened and surprised. Frightened, because I was not used to staying far away from my home for such a long time. Surprised, because it was the first time I was going on a trip after only twenty-two days in a new school! Anyway, the latter emotion won me over and I chose to join in the fun (even though it was compulsory)!

I was very happy on the day before we left. In fact, I thought it would be a great opportunity to stay with my schoolmates, maybe to get to know one another better and to do something fun together. But by 9 p.m., happiness and curiosity had turned into panic and indecisiveness. I didn’t know what to take with me (even though it was clearly written on the handout we were given). Although my mother had prepared my suitcase, I continued wondering if I was going to have everything I needed with me. This was because I wasn’t used to packing for myself. As you could suppose, my night before the big day was restless. I was tormented by some thoughts about the things I could possibly have forgotten to pack and various ideas about what the trip would be like.

I guess that the theme of the trip was being in touch with nature, especially in the areas of Groningen and the Wadden. Our destination was not as far away as I thought as it took us about 5 hours to get there by bus. The journey was not boring because we could watch some nice movies. We also stopped once, which allowed us to play football, to eat and to simply have a rest.  As I mentioned previously, we stayed near Groningen, in a welcoming hostel called “Energiek”. It was made up of 2 floors and at the centre there was an open living area. It was also surrounded by lush vegetation and a river flowed opposite it. My room was very close to the entrance and I shared it with 4 of my classmates. They were not close friends, but it was cool nevertheless.

As I mentioned before, the theme of the trip was nature. In fact, we went canoeing as soon as we arrived. It was quite funny. The only problem we encountered was that the map of the river was so unclear that we got lost.  Then we saw a farm and asked the farmer for help. He was so kind that he offered us some shelter in a barn where they stored potatoes and gave us a bowl of hot mustard soup.

The second day, we were also in contact with nature, in two different ways. In the morning, we went to a seal rehabilitation center, where I became aware of the impact of pollution on seals, and in the afternoon we did the notorious hike across the Waddenzee at low tide. We had a lot of fun, because the soil was made up of slimy mud in some areas, and in others water reached our navels. People falling over and getting dirty were a common sight. We felt in harmony with nature. For this reason, I think it was my favourite activity. I learnt that it is important to appreciate simple things, such as a “trip” by canoe, the hospitality of some people, a walk outside or staying in a simple place like an hostel. I think it is also important to realize that we are all part of a group.

Finally, on the third day, we spent part of the day visiting the museum of modern art in Groningen: a very nice, unusual and colourful museum. After that, we spent the rest of the time eating or just preparing for our journey back. We arrived exhausted, but happy to have had a good time. Personally, I think that the trip was a good opportunity to break the ice with the people with whom I am going to spend most of the next 2 years.

By Paolo Marangio

See more pictures at Ms Kraaijeveld's wiki