Students Take a Trip to Canada Here in The Hague

On Friday 17^th March Junior School Leidschenveen Student Ambassadors went to meet with Ambassador Nölke at the Canadian Embassy.

After having their ID checked they were all let in and were officially on foreign soils without leaving the Netherlands! Greeted warmly by Her Excellency Ms Sabine Nölke and her staff, the children started their meeting with home baked cakes and chocolate eggs!

They learned a lot about the work of the Canadian Embassy in the Netherlands and Canada too - such as Canada will celebrate being 150 years old this year! A special relationship exists between the Netherlands and Canada because Princess Margriet was born in Ottawa during the Second World War and many Canadian soldiers helped to liberate the Netherlands.

The Dutch tulip growers have designed a tulip to celebrate the 150 years of Canada and some of the 2,000 bulbs are planted in the Canadian Ambassador’s residence as well as in Canada.

When asked what skills do you need to be an ambassador? Ambassador Nölke replied:

“You need to be open-minded to new experiences and cultures. You gain this through real life experiences.” She added that attending an international school gives them a fantastic insight into the world and opportunities to learn and understand about other nations and cultures.

The visit was so inspiring, informative and “gezellig” that two of the student Ambassadors made up a rap for Canada while travelling back to school in the minibus, which they wrote down as soon as back in class!

Thank you to the Canadian Embassy for a fantastic opportunity and visit.