The Flying Dutch have concluded their first international experience to Europe. This Journal was written for the enjoyment of Hope soccer fans by members of the team. Our thanks to coaches Leigh Sears and Lindsey Engelsman for facilitating this communication.

A message of hope for the campaign again sectarianism and support of the local hospice came all the way from across the Atlantic.

Soccer squads from Hope College in Michigan came to Clydebank last week to help St. Margaret's Hospice with the "Say No to Sectarianism" campaign.

The wristbands, originally introduced by the Strathclyde Police, were given to hospices to sell in a bid to raise essential funds.

The special visitors targeted a number of places in Clydebank and the surrounding area with the green and blue bands urging everyone to support the cause. The wristbands carry an important message of tolerance and respect. The sale of the bands raised funds for the hospice.

Sister Rita, chief executive of St. Margaret's Hospice, said: "We are delighted with the support by our friends ofrom Hope College. Their help on Wednesday was invaluable and their enthusiasm came across when out meeting members of the public.

"The 'Say No to Secretarianism' is very important to St. Margaret's Hospice, both in terms of the message it sends and the essential funds it helps raise.

"We are very pleased with the public reaction and hope people continue to buy the bands in support of the hospice."

The men and women from the college's soccer squads popped in on Councillor Alistair Macdonald at West Dunbartonshire Council's headquarters, they met with firefighters in Bathgate and staff at the Edington Distillery in Drumchapel.

Sunday, August 7
by "The Elders" -- 2005 graduates Dawn Gillam, Cate Neidlinger, Steph Bylsma
So today was the last day in Europe; the last day before returning to the hustle and bustle of our busy lives. Today was our free day; we had the choice to either go into the city of Glasgow or head back to Loch Lomond for a scenic hike. The weather in Scotland was gorgeous today and a perfect day for a hike. But being the mature graduates that we are, we chose to tour the historical architecture the city of Glasgow has to offer: the cathedrals, the castles, and the monuments. But really, Glasgow doesn’t even have castles and we instead participated in the intense shopping that cover each and every street. What we learned: what you see in one store, you’ll see in all stores. Maybe we should have chosen the hike.

As a recap, the week has been a great way for us graduates to say so long to the girls. Within only one week we saw the most beautiful buildings, lands, and flowers; we shopped till we dropped; we shared the expected laughs; we played soccer among the most beautiful scenery, and we made lasting memories.

Saturday, August 6
by 2005 Captains -- Negen Masghati, Tess Scholz and Lauren Stieper
We had another early morning to play Hamilton FC. The game finished with a 1-1 tie, though we played quite well. Overall we are pleased with the way we played this tour and have learned a great deal not only about soccer and the way it is played in other countries, but also about our own style of play and our teammates as well.

After the game we had lunch in the quaint town of Largs, located between the water and the rolling hills, and then made our way to the town of Ayr to experience a professional football game between Ayr United and Dumbarton. For many it was the first professional football game they have ever seen, which made it a very worthwhile event. Finally after a long day of “football” we made our way back to the hotel for another great dinner, and now that the hard work is completed, the plans for the evening are to relax with the team and enjoy one of our last nights together in Scotland.

Friday, August 6
Flying Dutch in the international press -- read (P.S. - Hope College is still located in Holland, Michigan.)

Friday, August 6
by juniors Erica Pagorek of Munster, Ind. & Ashleigh McNeil of DeWitt, Mich.
Today we took a long, scenic journey to the home of the British Open, St. Andrews. On the way we drove through many small Scottish villages. We got to see the castle that William Wallace defended, a beautiful pale yellow stone structure. On the next hill was a monument dedicated to Wallace. The countryside was amazing with rolling hills, sheep, and quaint Scottish houses all the way to St. Andrews.

Once at the famous coastal city, we toured for a couple hours and visited many sites such as St. Andrews University, the Swilken Bridge on the 18th hole of the Old Course. A couple of us were risky enough to put our feet in the chilly North Sea. Luckily, through our visit we had gorgeous weather.

The day ended with a friendly match against a team from Newburgh. We came out a bit unlucky, but had the opportunity to play at a club that has existed for a little over 100 years. It was a smashing good time. Cheers!

Thursday, August 5
by senior Leah Dewitt of Holland & junior Kendall Aliber of Birmingham
In the wee hours of the morn, we headed to the city of Edinburgh. The first thing we did was explore our future home -- the Edinburgh Castle. There, we toured places such as the chapel, the crown jewels, and the prison.

Next we prowled the Edinburgh streets which are preparing for the world renowned Military Tatoo Festival. Battling the cool wind and rain, a common weather trend here, we took shelter in a variety of quaint restaurants and shops along the Royal Mile and Princes Street. We returned to the bus with stories of men in kilts and many shopping bags.

In the eve we traveled to the town of Bonnyrigg for our third international match, against the Whitehill Welfare Football Club. After a short warm-up and a flamboyant speech from the ref, we fought our way through a windy, slippery, chilly game. After a competitive match we ended up losing 2-1 -- the shopping must have caught up with us!

Then we departed for our hotel on our warm, dry double-decker bus with exhaustion in our bodies and happiness in our hearts.

Wednesday, August 3
The Glasgow, Scotland Evening Times writes about the team's community service project. Read

Wednesday, August 3
by sophomore Ellie Tresslar of Bloomington, Ind. and senior Linnae Klompmaker of Holland, Mich.
Today we started out our day by traveling to the central part of Glasgow to St. Margaret’s Hospice with the men’s team to take part in our service project for this trip. This was a great experience for all of us. We were assigned to a volunteer representative from St. Margaret’s Hospice who escorted us around the town raising awareness about sectarianism (differences between Catholics and Protestants). St. Margaret’s was the first hospice started in Scotland and just celebrated their 55th anniversary. They work mostly with terminally ill or long-term patients, and are beginning a new campaign to bridge gaps between different denominations. It was hugely successful, as a group we raised about $1800 for the St. Margaret’s cause.

After our trip to St. Margaret’s we boarded the bus to travel to Loch Lomond to tour the beautiful lake and the village of Luss. We saw Scottish cottages and beautiful gardens and many local people out and about the town.

After dinner at the Hotel we then loaded up the bus and headed out to play our second game on our international tour. The team we played was a Scottish team, Kilmarnock, who were ranked second in the Scottish premier league. This was one of the hardest games that we have faced as a team, but it was also one of the best games we have played. From the first whistle to start the game to the last to end the game, everyone had a smile on their face and seemed like they wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. That moment on the soccer field playing one of the best teams in Scotland was a perfect end to our day.

Tuesday, August 2
by sophomore Sarah Cochrane of Watertown, Wisc. and Erin Dargis of Geneva, Ill.
The day began with a little spot of tea and coffee over a luscious breakfast. Around nine in the morning we packed our belongings and loaded up the double decker bus (and a rather large rental van) and headed off toward Scotland. Our ride was scenic as we passed the pastures and hills of the countryside and gazed upon grazing sheep and goats. After three hours, the team caravan stopped at a quaint little stop where we enjoyed a snack and light shopping in the center.

We then continued north to Glasgow. Upon arriving at the Erskine Bridge Hotel, we checked into our rooms, got changed and went to practice. Traveling there and back was rather entertaining because our French coach driver, Michel, decided to engage us in his interest of Celine Dion’s music video… we may or may not have sung out loud.

Practice went well at a local school’s turf field and we got back in time to shower and go to dinner. Our meal was excellent; we had the choice between salmon, ham and tortellini. Immediately after, we loaded the bus and headed off to a team-building event at the Glasgow Climbing Center. The Climbing Center was a unique location –- set in the former sanctuary of a church. The staff of the Center was helpful and encouraging as we were challenged both mentally and physically. We learned a lot as a group about the importance of communication and trust. It was an enjoyable experience for all ability levels and we hope to do it again sometime soon. Overall, our day was pleasurable and a good start to our stay in Scotland.

Monday, August 1
by senior Stefanie Haba of Clarkston and junior Kristine Krcmar of LaGrange, Ill.
Today we went on a tour at the Old Trafford Stadium where Manchester United Football Club plays. The stadium is the second largest stadium in UK, seating 64,000 (when the renovations are completed there will be seating for 76,000). Every game is usually sold out. We learned that there aren’t any trashcans in the stadium because of fire hazard reasons, even though the stadium can be completely evacuated in eight minutes. The tour enabled us to see the locker rooms, players’ lounge, press area, and ofcourse the field. It was a great experience, we could only dream of playing at a stadium like this one.

Later in the day, we had our first friendly match against the Chester City Women’s Football Club. They were a very physical team, with players ranging from 18 to mid 30s. The game ended in a 2 to 2 tie - it was a good game for our first game back. After the game we joined them at their Sports Center for a social meet and greet with food and refreshments. Here we had an opportunity to talk to the women about soccer and England in general. We were really fortunate to have this opportunity, not only because we got to play soccer but also because we were further immersed into a different culture through this experience.

Sunday, July 31
by Kayla Fryczynski, sophomore from Petoskey, and Marie DePetris, senior from Troy
After waking up to another fully loaded breakfast buffet at our Hoole Hotel in Chester, England we took a bus into the hometown of the Beatles, Liverpool England. We spent the afternoon touring the city, visiting the Liverpool Cathedral, Albert Dock, many of the shops, the Yellow Submarine Tour Boat and the ever so famous Beatles museum!

We then came back to Hoole Hotel for a dinner of fine dining and prepared to go to a team-bonding session at 'Megabowl'! Our team took over the bowling alley with some astonishing victories. Not only did we conquer the lanes but Danny, Dean, Holly, Linnae, Julia and Erica won prizes for their outstanding performances. After we were done bowling we had two of our teammates enter into a 'bungee-bumping' competition. Tricia and Sarah represented the Americans competing against one English lass and Sarah took the victory by running over Tricia while the English lass was way behind. After dominating and leaving a lasting impression at the Megabowl for the Americans we got on the bus and arrived back to the hotel. In preparation for our first game, which is tomorrow, we plan to watch at movie and go to bed! Signing out this was Kayla and Marie- Cheerrio!