Saturday, February 27 - Jolly Ol' England

After having dodged snowstorms, ice pellets and freezing rain in Canada, we were very happy to arrive in London just behind our initial schedule by only about 2 hours - quite a feat considering what we had to go through to get here! We had a lovely tour guide and driver who took advantage of every second we had to show us as much as possible of the numerous sites of London, including Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, and Westminister Cathedral. We even had time to try out some fish and chips while experiencing the sites and sounds of Trafalgar Square.

That evening we arrived in Amsterdam. Having 25 Canadians, walking through the streets of Amsterdam in the heart of a Saturday evening, being led by their two Dutch hosts, can be a very interesting experience. Students were constantly mesmerized by the buildings, people and activity all around them. Meanwhile, tagging along behind, with eyes wide open, was Mr. Hayward who was constantly calling out, "Keep your eyes open for the cars. Bike! Don't forget to look both ways for trolleys. Bike! Make sure you leave a space for people to get past us. Bike!" We did get to our hotel after having dodged bikes, trolleys, bikes, cars, bikes, and people for about 40 minutes. It was then an interesting site to watch students assist each other with luggage as they snaked up the very narrow hallways to their rooms, which in some cases were five floors above them. Like the true troopers they were, however, they stuck to the task at hand and got ready for a well deserved good night's sleep, knowing that they had experienced another day of success representing their Miramichi community and their proud country of Canada. As one flight attendant noted as we were leaving our flight to Heathrow, "I want to know where those students are from because they are the most well behaved and respectful students I have ever had the honor to serve on an airplane." What better words could one use to sum up our first day in Europe!