Flight from Newark and Amsterdam

Hello parents.
I apologize for the lack of news but we have been running around like crazy and the internet in the hotels are very expensive. After a long journey to the Netherlands filled with flight delays, missed connections and lost luggage, we made it. Due to many of our delays, we were unable to complete our itinerary for Tuesday but since many of the delegates and leaders were tired, it was nice to be able to sleep at our hotel.
Wednesday was started with a delicious breakfast, an early workout by some of the boys and then heading off to Amsterdam from our hotel in Rotterdam. While there, we went on a beautiful tour by boat along the canals of Amsterdam. We saw many sites such as the Anne Frank house and many historic buildings. It was a nice way to start the day as the delgates got to sit and have their cameras ready for the ideal photos.
After an interesting yet tasty lunch called Hodgepodge, which is comprised of a meatball, mashed potatos and carrots, we made our way over to the Diamond Museum where the delgates learned how diamonds are made and then even got to try on some expensive diamonds; some worth hudreds of thousands of dollars!!!!!!!! The girls were in their elements trying on the rings!
Next, we went to Anne Franks house for a very sobering and retrospective look at her time in hiding with her family from the Nazis. The delegation leaders and staff of the museum were all very impressed with how mature the students acted during their walk through the house. While waiting for the other groups to finish their tour, I got to talk to many of the students about how the felt while walking through and experiencing what Anne and her family went through. The words chilling, haunting, and sad were mentioned but also the words brave and courgeous were uttered as well. Our delegates showed amazing compassion and sympathy during such a moving experience.
After a babecue dinner where the students got to cook their own meals (dont worry no one got injured) we headed back for some free time and early bed time since we must leave the hotel early to head to Brussels. More to come as well as some great pictures!!!