Summer of ´11 - Extended Edition

This summer has really flown by! - and I´m using summer in the sense of the normal season plus our stretch October..... Technically, Summer vacation for the kids is already way shorter (6 weeks compared to 3 months stateside) but this summer (from end June to end September) has gone down in the history books for bad weather - like the third worst/wettest summer ever - that´s quite an accomplishment for a country known for it´s rain!

There was no possibility this year for a vacation in the sun (decided lack of both time and money), but towards the end of the school vacation in August, mom finally got a break and decided to book a long weekend and take Kev somewhere new.














Decision criteria:
1) Mom couldn't handle another(!)amusement park
2) Kev loves to travel by train, bus...anything other than the usual car
3) a city that had enough to hold mom's attention and still be interesting for little man

I was leaning towards London at first....right up until the time of the riots. Then it didn't seem like such a good idea. Also, London is always expensive. Even the roach motels go for 5 star prices in other cities. In eastern Europe, there were some good possibilities, but the travel time was sooo long, and the getaway budget didn't stretch to cover flights. We were down to car or train (or slow boat) when I saw an offer for 3 nights in Berlin for the price of 2.

In my years here in The Netherlands, I've been to quite a few cities in Germany, but not yet to Berlin. I was in Junior High when the Wall came down, and I remember the news footage from that time quite vividly. I'd also heard from almost anyone who had ever been how beautiful it was. While the historical significance of the city might be lost on Kev this time around, there is a beautiful zoo and many other sights that I knew he would appreciate after our trip to Paris earlier this year - 6 is NOT too young for culture!

So in the last lazy days of August, before football (soccer) and swimming lessons and school started back up, we headed off to have an adventure........

We went to the famous zoo, toured around the city for 2 days in an open top, hop on hop off bus with 15 stops around the city, ate in the 200 plus meter high tower and watched the sun go down, took our first border crossing 7 plus hour train trip (complete with iPad movies and lots of hands of Uno!), visited the the areas where the wall used to be and the remnants preserved today.....and had a great time!

The Swimming Journey

As almost everyone knows by now.....Kevin has been in swimming lessons since February of 2010. Every week, 45 minutes - except for 6 weeks in summer - for almost 1.5 years.

I´m trying, really trying to remember how I learned to swim. I know there was some kind of test, maybe through the local YMCA...but it didn´t make much of an impression on me mostly because it wasn´t a rite of passage, costly and time consuming process like it is here.

With so much time and money invested - In October 2010, we even added an extra week in the fall vacation, 2 hours per day for 3 days - and since February 2011 he´s had 2 lessons a week. My back of the napkin calculations show that to date, we´re at 75 hours of lessons - at a cost of nearly 900 euros!



Both Kevin´s dad I were cautiously hopeful that Kevin would be able to swim for his first exam and diploma before the 6 week summer vacation coming up at the end of July, that the extra lessons would pay off and free up his schedule - come fall he´ll already have football practice each week and games every Saturday - and perhaps even more importantly, no more floaties (water wings) when going to the swimming pool!

One week before the end of June, we got some great news - Kev was invited to take the exam for his A Diploma the following week! He had one last lesson on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday June 29th, he did the exam for his diploma.

As you might imagine after 1 1/2 years of lessons, they take the exam seriously here too. The exam took just over an hour to complete and looked like: (this is all the information that is on the back of the certificate):



Clothing Requirements

* Swimwear
* T-shirt, shirt or blouse with short sleeves, shorts or pants
* Shoes (plastic, leather and sports shoes are allowed)

DRESSED SWIMMING
1.1 From the starting block or 1-meter springboard leap into the water(completely submerged), then after surfacing
1.2 15 seconds treading water using arms and legs, followed by
1.3 12.5 meters breaststroke, on a line followed by a ½ turn to the longitudinal axis
1.4 12.5 meters backstroke, complete with test
1.5 Independently climb out of the water from the side of the pool.

Then, they take off the outerwear, and in just their swimsuits, they have to:

SWIMWEAR
2.1 From the side of the pool or starting block or enter the water with a jump (a shallow dive preferred), immediately followed by
2.2 orientate yourself underwater and swim underwater through a hole in a cloth hanging vertically in the water that is 3 meters from the start position and, after surfacing
2.3 Finishing the test with 50 meters breaststroke and
2.4 50 meters backstroke single(without using arms).

3.1 Optionally enter the water from the side or from in the water somersault off the wall, immediately followed by
3.2 10 seconds swimming under water, followed by a few meters breaststroke, and
3.3 5 seconds floating on your stomach, then a few meters breaststroke.

4.1 Pushing off the wall swimming under water for 10 seconds, then
4.2 Few meters backstroke, 10 seconds then floating on their backs, finishing with a few more meters backstroke.

5.1 From the starting block or side of the pool, enter the water with a jump or shallow dive, followed by 8 meters beginner front crawl.

6.1 From in the water, somersault off the wall, then 8 meters beginner backstroke.

7.1 Get into the pool from the side with a jump of choice, followed by
7.2 60 Seconds treading water using both arms and legs, including a full turn around in the water and repeating the action.

For all the test elements, the candidate must swim the named distances without interruption and without the candidate touching or searching for the pool bottom, wall or any supporting objects.

He passed, and we were all very proud of this accomplishment! After the summer break, he´s going to go for the ´´B´´ diploma, which should take only a couple of months of lessons. Fingers Crossed!