emmasen 023

16Sep08

A very full day filled with pleasant activities.

In the morning, visited a primary school that also has some pupils with learning difficulties: Breda Openbare De Vlier. De Vlier means an elderbush. It caters to children from 4 to 12y. The younger children learn a lot through play and active learning. You can see waterplay in the classroom, and a girl playing 'cooking'.

Then we visited a Care Farm: De Klein Hoave. Klein means small (so - Calvin Klein means Little Calvin) Hoave means farm. The owner has 2 children (now adults) with special needs. He developed the idea to cater to workers with special education needs on the farm. He kept the idea cozy so that it will not be commercialized. I bought 5 free-range eggs and some pots of honey. The owner gave us a pumpkin each. We had a really sumptuous lunch in the barn - the homemade pumpkin soup was superb.

Then in the evening, we made our way to our Netherlands Emmasen Programme Convenor's house. Dr Jacqueline van Swet had so graciously invited the cohort to dinner! We were amazed at her hospitality. (We have decided to have a potbless evening to invite her and another lecturer-coordinator for our dinner treat). She is an excellent cook - and singlehandedly prepared so much yummy food for 21 of us. Her husband treated us to raw herring, coated with onion bits, and washed down with a small cup of whisky! I tried half a herring and really enjoyed it. Later we had special coffee made from a pewter percolator. On TV we saw Queen Beatrix announcing the government's plans for the year. Praise GOD for an enriching day.