Mrs. Keisha Rathbone & Ms. Allie Grainda
Madison County & Kannapolis City Schools 

“Our group of forty-five teachers arrived at De Ceuvel, a sustainable, closed-loop incubator that hosts a thriving community of creative and social enterprises. We met three of their volunteer leaders and split into three groups. One group went to learn about composting, one group went to learn about their greenhouse process, and our group went on a city safari tour. 

The city safari was led by Anke. Anke led us through a mindfulness exercise where we used our five senses to become more aware of our surroundings and nature growing in an urban environment. We were also taught about broadleaf plantain and mugwort, and the medicinal benefits of both. We ate some of the mugwort which tasted like bubblegum to some and Christmas trees to others. 

After this, Anke led us around the property, which was an old shipyard that is now a creative space for artists and their studios. De Ceuvel recycles houseboats and uses all recycled materials to build these studios, making the entire space sustainable. The most valuable takeaway from this particular tour was to challenge ourselves and others (students) to pause and take in the calmness of nature and to coexist peacefully with nature. Anke also emphasized the importance of fostering curiosity for all living things and to allow room for all living things to grow. 

Afterwards, we were dropped off near the Albert Cuyp Market where we ate a variety of foods from all over the world. We started off with vegetable dumplings, then ate Turkish flatbread. We then enjoyed a Greek pita bread with falafel and Poffertjes (Dutch mini pancakes). While eating our way through the market, we explored the local vendors and made a few purchases.  After the market, we met up with the entire group again at the Van Gogh Museum. We learned about the life of Vincent Van Gogh and the evolution of his art over the course of his life. It was wonderful to experience this level of artwork in person and see some original artwork by Van Gogh. 

We then made our way to our final reflection spot and farewell dinner at D’vijff Vlieghen. At our reflection, we dug deeper into the observations of the Dutch people, culture, systems, and more. We had in-depth conversations with our fellow teachers and were also asked to write an elevator pitch that could be used when discussing the program when we return. Dinner consisted of a fabulous celery soup, followed by either a choice of chicken or fish. We ended the meal with a variety of Dutch delights. 

Thank you to the Mariam and Robert Hayes Charitable Trust and Terry Van Duyn Global Teacher Fellowship for sponsoring us and making this opportunity to the Netherlands possible. We are forever changed by this amazing program!”