ANECDOTES

Almere’s just a modern city. These kind of city’s with strange buildings, strange forms and usually, grey’s and brown’s colors. When we don’t stay in Amsterdam, we always walk among the buildings of the city mall, in Almere, called “Winkelcentrum City Mall”. The entire cities have just a mall, so we stay at this one making shops and these kind of things.

At first I can’t see anything more than this modern architecture that I say, a lot of shops, a parking for a bikes, and finally, a big lake, creating in my retina the image of a great modernist organism, and these one was fantastic.

But mi anecdote comes now. This mall has just two “faces”, the first one, these modern shops and coffees, etc. But when some friends and I goes at the upstairs of one big shop, at the balcony of this, I can see the second face, the green face.

This city mall, have a little secret, an awesome vision of a little gardens, on the roofs of the buildings and shops. Just a like little gardens in houses, but in the roofs of the city mall. I was surprised, cause you can stay there, taking a drink and looking at these fantastic mirage.

So my anecdote is reflected in this, this surprise that I had to see this small green oasis. To finally, say that was like these small thinks in our lives, just only to enjoy it.

Arnau

When I was at home with my partner, Kim, she thought that it was nice to gone with bicycles to see the tulips in front of her house. In the morning it was raining so some parts of the way to visit the tulips were damp. At the beginning the way was wonderful, beautiful landscape, sun, miles...But when we arrived to the way which had land, my bicycle stopped because of the mud in the road and I had to go down and walked to tulips carrying my bicycle, so my new boots were wet. Kim and I started to laugh and I can’t carry my bicycle well, so I fell into a puddle. We tried to clean our boots in the grass but it was impossible.
When we had to go back to her house, her mum clean our bicycles with a hose and we had to clean our boots because her mum don’t want that we gone into the house with mud.

Aina Mínguez

On Wednesday, we went to Baken Park Lyceum to have classes there and to make a newspaper. My friends and I had finished the newspaper workshop earlier than the others, so we went out the school to have lunch. Aina, Paula and me went to the toilet, and when we went back, nobody was outside. We looked at the schedule and went to the room written down there, but it was wrong. We walked through the school's corridors during fifteen minutes, we were lost. Then, we sat down in front of the lockers (where we could appreciate the wide mathematic knowledge of the school shown in the photograph) and phoned Sampons to find out where everybody was. The bad news were that our newspaper had won and we had missed the awards.

Àger

It happened on 27^th Friday. I was doing the survival when I had to jump on a floating surface similar to a hamburger. I had seen some people falling into the water, so I was a little bit scared of falling too. Àger, who jumped just before me, fell in the first try. I was praying to god not to fall into the water, at least not in the first try. I jumped and I thought I jumped well, but then the hamburger began to shake and I fell immediately into the water. The water was extremely freezing! It was difficult to breathe and to swim. Eventually, Milan helped me an Àger to leave the water.  I needed a shower to remove the mud. It was funny but a little bit nasty.

Ivan


A day at Aquamundo…

The first complete day we stayed at Holland, almost everyone went to visit Amsterdam, but my partner, his friends, their partners and me, went to a place called Aquamundo, which is a very big swimming pool, with toboggans, and jumps, very similar to Illa Fantasía, but indoor.

We wasted the whole day there, except Marc, his partner and his friends, who came very very late, because they had gone bed late because of the party (we arrived to the place about at 11 am, and then, we called them, but they were already sleeping). I met some very nice Dutch people and two more Czech people. They were all very nice and they did forget my friends, who I couldn’t see during a whole day.

Finally, this day I met my partner’s father, who I hadn’t been able to see until this day because the day we arrived he was at Belgium, and I went with the family to a restaurant-ship, were the food on there was a type of creppes but called pancakes.
Daniel 

The "tilted buildings"

During the exchange we went to Amsterdam in many times. I like that city and I want to go again in the future. But it was a strange thing about the old buildings, generally in which are in front of the river: They are inclined outwards. The first time I saw it I thought it was only in some buildings, but during the exchange and the times I went to Amsterdam I saw many buildings with this strange characteristic. Finally when we went to the "Amsterdam History Museum" I mentioned that to Ager and she asked that to Loreno. Then he asked that to our guide and told us the answer.

It is basically for the muddy ground. Holland in its origins was covered in seawater, and now the terrain is like the sea ground. When this buildings were built, the builders put iron stakes inside to fix it. But with the pass of time, the muddy ground changes and the stakes change too, tilting the buildings.

But not all the buildings are accidentally tilted. Some buildings are tilted to reduce the dampness (avoiding some of the rain).

Adrià

 My anecdote

The last day we had a good time in the Netherlands, exactly in Amsterdam.

I was with two friends in a street, and we wanted to cross the road to go inside a cheese shop, as I wanted to buy some cheeses. My Dutch partner said to me the first time we went to Amsterdam, that this city is very crowded, and we had to take cared of the bikes and some cars.

You had to be very careful, because the bicycles for example, they had a fast speed and they were not very careful. This time we went to cross fast, and one of my friends had a hit with a man, that he was riding his bicycle.

My friend was not hurt; it was only a small scare. My friend asked the man if he had damage, but he replied that he did not, and he repeated again and again, the lamp that was on the bike was broken, and it cost a lot of money.

After this, a man who saw what had happened, asked to my friend if she was good, I think this man was friendly (not as the other).
Mary.

The first night we were a group of Spanish home from a Dutch.
That night was expected FCB vs. Madrid when we came to receive us at the door.
We left the bike outside in the hall with all the others and walked inside , we grabbed our coats and made us remove shoes.
My anecdote is not explain that happened in that football player but in any home around the world had to remove the shoes.
In Holland always go barefoot inside the house , my partner´s house was carpeted and they did not wear shoes.
Not only left the shoes at the door but all the jackets were hung on hangers and do not step to the room.
What most struck me was that didn't only his friends left their shoes but the Spanish also got used to being without shoes at home.

Raquel