First Week of Classes

This is the entrance to InHolland University in Haarlem. It is actually known as a Hogeschool, which literally means highschool, but it's actually a sort of University with very practical, applied programs.


This is the main reception desk, when you first walk into the school. It reminds me of a giant peach. The school itself is actually pretty big, with about 4 or 5 levels, and lots of different sections. All the sections are given a letter of the alphabet, and then the rooms are numbered. It was pretty confusing the first day, finding where my lectures were.

We've already had our first week of classes. It turns out that I mostly only have lectures on Mondays and Tuesdays...the rest of the week is set aside for group projects. It seems like this program has a large focus on group-work.

The semester here is broken into 2 periods. The first period is to learn the tourism theory, and the second period is for the fieldwork in South Africa. This period, I have four classes with different lecturers. I have: Creative Promotions, Intercultural Communication, Research Design, and Tourism & Development Issues. I think the amount of schoolwork will be about the same as at Malaspina, but it's just structured differently.


This is one of the main streets in Haarlem...there's bikes EVERYWHERE. I'm still working on not getting hit. I think tomorrow I'm going to cave, and buy myself a bike at one of the local dealers. Although now that I think about it, I think everything closes on Sundays...


This cafe is right next to the Grote Markt (pronounced: HHHROE-tay market) which is a large square in the centre of Haarlem. Every Saturday and Monday vendors set up for market, in the square.


This is Sint Bavokerk (saint bavo's church) right next to the main square. It's the largest church in Haarlem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sint-Bavokerk


Yesterday, Jeroen took me to Zandvoort aan Zee (pronounced: ZAND-vort ahn ZAY) which literally means sand fort/castle by the sea. It's a city maybe 5-10 minutes west of Haarlem, which touches the ocean and includes the dunes. The dunes are large rolling hills near the ocean, which is the only bumpy part in the whole country. I think the reason people ride bikes here so much is because there's no such thing as an incline.

Right now, bars and pubs are being constructed on the beaches of Zandvoort. They are built every year directly on the sand, and this is a very popular party spot in the summer for tourists. Jeroen told me that Zandvoort is over-run by Germans in the summer haha.

These are more pictures that other people have taken of Zandvoort: http://photo.shoq.com/tag/zandvoort


This last picture was taken from our shared kitchen balcony last night. I'm not sure which church steeples those are off to the right.

Next week I'll post some pictures of my apartment to show everyone. Just think: Ikea.