The grade level system in the Netherlands is a bit different than it is in America. Instead of everyone going to school kindergarten though twelfth grade, once a student reaches high school they get to choose what to study. Vocational-type schools are for people preparing to enter the workforce (as I understand). The other choice, HAVO schools, are for those who want to persue higher education - university, grad school etc. Twickel is a HAVO school, so there will be more diverse classes to choose from.
Overall I'm really, really excited. It's kind of odd getting to know all of this so soon because generally with AFS a student might not even have a family until days before they leave, much less know what school they're going to. It does leave even more to worry about, though. At Homer High, we've always had really nice exchange students. Vicki, Oscar, and Panda last year and Nick, Mob, and Siina this year have been great to have around. However, there always seems to be a boundary between exchange students and permanent ones. I can totally understand that, because they tend to stick together. But I really want to be engaged at my new school, and not feel like an outsider to the best of my ability... maybe it's asking for too much, but we'll see! I think that improving my Dutch skills will end up making all the difference.
If you want to check out my school site, here's the link. It's all in Dutch but if you go to the link on the left-hand bar that says 'Fotoreportages' there are some links to online photo albums showing students on field trips and stuff...
http://www.sgtwickel.nl/website/index.php?ModuleSet=2
