Winter shock for Philippa Stiphout – I'm having a great time in Nederland so far. Everybody is doing so much to make me feel welcome, so I’m very thankful. Stiphout is a very pretty place and also very different to Perth, Australia. I never ride a bike in Australia so that was my first challenge. I have improved a lot though and getting used to other things like traffic on the opposite side. I start school here on Monday and am really looking forward to that. I am trying my best to learn Dutch quickly and cant wait until I can speak to everybody properly. I also want to start Latin dancing here and help my host sisters with scouts. The weather is also very different in Perth. 35-40 degrees is not strange for me, but the winters here will be a shock. Thanks all once again.

With love from Philippa