CLUB PROFILE

v Official club name: The Friendship Force of Zeeland

v Closest major airport:

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: approximately 2 hours by car, and good railway connections (2-1/2 hrs) to Middelburg. When traveling by train look for the destination “Vlissingen Intercity”. You can buy tickets in the arrival hall from a ticket machine or at the Railway desk. Ask for a group ticket.

Brussels Airport: approximately 2 hours by car, difficult railway connections,

v Cost of transportation between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and our city

v (based on 20 people):

by bus: € 1000,00

v by train: Approximately € 27,10 per person (one way). A group ticket is cheaper. Look for more information on the web : www.ns.nl/reisplanner-v2/index.shtml?language=en , you can find there the train schedule and fare in formation. When traveling by train look for the destination “Vlissingen Intercity”. You can buy tickets in the Airport arrival hall from a ticket machine or at the Railway desk. Ask for a group ticket. The train station is 1 floor down. There no reservations possible in the train.

by private car: if hosts meet the Ambassadors at the airport : costs of fuel.

v The maximum number of Ambassadors our club can host is 12,

v About the club:

The club was started in 1986. The total number of members is approximately 30, We are situated in the southwest of Holland in the estuary of Scheldt River close to the Belgium border and the North Sea. Since 1986 we have been active in incoming and outgoing exchanges. We have had the pleasure of hosting FF-friends from Japan, USA, England, Wales, Brazil, Australia and many other countries. On outgoing exchanges among others we have visited Wales, Japan, New Zealand, USA and many more.

The first exchange we hosted was a group from Atlanta. A real test for us because there were 42 ( ! ) Ambassadors coming. We are proud to say that over the years altogether we have hosted 22 groups from 10 different countries. Through these exchanges we have met many people with whom a lot of us still are in touch even after many years.

E-mail turns out to be a wonderful means to keep in touch ! When hosting we are able to welcome about 12 Ambassadors. This depends of course on the fact how many singles or couples come.

v About the region:

The province of Zeeland ( Zealand : sea – land) is the second smallest province of the Netherlands. From East to West it is less than 100 kilometers, from North to South it is less than 80 kilometers. The population is about 380.000 As can be seen on the map the province consists of a number of, what used to be, islands, but now are interconnected by bridges and dams. These connections were made within the framework of the so-called “Delta-plan” after the calamity of the floods in 1953. The capitol of the province is the city of Middelburg. A very old city with a number of buildings dating back to the year 1100 and even earlier. A large number of houses and buildings date from the 16th and 17th century and are under the protection of the National Trust. The whole area is below sea-level, except some small areas where there are dunes, mainly in the western part of the province. Consequently the whole province has to be protected by dikes. There is a splendid .pdf file available on our website called: “Everything you should now about Zeeland province” courtesy Zeeland Province legislators, here is the link: http://www.friendshipforcezeeland.nl/downloads/everything.pdf

About our climate:

Our country is for a large part bordered by the North Sea on the West side. The temperatures of the sea-water is largely influenced by the so called Gulfstream originating in the tropical area of the western part of the Atlantic. This relatively warm water makes our climate very mild. In the summer the temperatures are between 15º and 24º C during the day. Winters are also mild, especially in our province, if it freezes at all it usually is only a few degrees below zero and usually just for a very short period. Statistically the months of May and June are known to be the sunniest months of the year.

v About the exchanges:

We have different ED’s for every exchange, There is an ED support group organizing the activities. Primary goal of every exchange of course is to make friends. Every exchange is not to be longer than one week. In this week we do our utmost to make our guests feel at home. During the week we try to make a program which reflects the wishes of our guests. Part of the program is organized for the group as a whole, part is guests and hosts only. If there are special wishes from the guests we try to meet them if possible. Those members who are not hosting are always invited to join in the program . In many cases they help as a so-called day-host.

Our slogan: different colors - one rainbow!