Lizzy van Beilen part of school, community
The world is brought closer together – as well as right to our doorstep – through the addition of foreign exchange students who attend classes for a school year. This year, there is one such student – Lizzy van Beilen of the Netherlands – attending Mountain Lake Christian (MLC).
She is in the United States through Ayusa, a high school exchange program sponsored by the United States Department of State as well as the program, Travel Active, coordinated by her home country.
Following is the opportunity to meet Lizzy:
Name: Liz “Lizzy” van Beilen.
Age: 17 (Will turn 18 next March 29).
Grade: 12.
Sponsoring organization: AYUSA in the United States and Travel Active in The Netherlands.
Home city/Home country: Leeuwarden, the Netherlands.
Host city: Mountain Lake.
Home parents/siblings: Dad and mom, Harald and Annelies van Beilen and brother, 14-year-old Hugo.
Host parents/siblings: Host dad and mom, Steve and Cheryl Dick and sister at home, Danica, 16.
Hobbies: Dancing, running, watching movies and shopping with friends.
School/community activities you will participate in while in America: “Cross country and I would like to be a cheerleader, but there is no organizational group.”
Compare your home school to schools in America: “The whole school system is different here.” The Netherlands has eight years of grammar school (grades 1-8), with six of those years counting as learning years. Then students have secondary school – seven levels that are based on grades and take four, five or six years. Lizzy completed the second-hardest level, which took her five years.
Tell us about your home city/country and how it is same/different as compared to the host city in which you are living: “I am from a city of 100,000 people, so that is really different compared to Mountain Lake’s population of 2,000. In the Netherlands, I used to go on bike almost everywhere, unless it was really far away. Here, people travel everywhere by car. I think those are the biggest differences.” Leeuwarden is the capital city of the province of Friesland, and is located in the northern part of the country.
Have you visited America before? If so, where – and do you have a favorite spot; if not, where would you like to visit?: “No, but I did visit New York City just before I came to be with my host family in Mountain Lake. I loved the city. I really would like to see some big cities like Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. And, I really would want to do a road trip through the United States and just see everything!” Lizzy’s parents and brother plan a visit to the United States – and more specifically Mountain Lake – towards the end of this school year.
How do you view America and/or its citizens: “I love it! Everyone is so nice and friendly. I am really enjoying my time here so far!”
What do you want Americans to know/remember about your home city?: “Probably that there are many places to know about and visit in my home country, but I really love the atmosphere in Amsterdam. It has typical Dutch houses and the shopping is great! We also have beautiful fields of tulips. And . . . no . . . we do not wear wooden Dutch shoes.”
