czwartek, 1 marca 2012

Hop to the water!

In Holland water is very common. All the canals, riwers, lakes and ponds, the sea... There's a lot of places to swim, but also to drown. This is why swimming lessons are obligatory in the land of windmills. Swimming pools are present in every single city, town or bigger village. Children who are at least 4 years old can already start the training. I remeber when I was in primary school, we also had swimming lessons once a week. However even in my most insane dreams I wouldn't ever think about jumping into the water... in clothes!

An acquaintance Polish woman, who lives in Holland for already a longer time, told me about her 8-year old daughter swimming fully dressed. I couldn't believe it, so I needed to verify this news. Maurice confirms. He even remembers swimming with dolls (as a drowning person) and some kind of hoops (??) which were supposed to play a role of a hole in the ice. 

Since 1985 there are three certificates called Zwem-ABC. Their aim is to prepare children for the dangerous situations with water, like falling into a canal, flood.  The last exam "C" certifies the ability to swim few meters wearing shoes, socks, trousers and... a jacket. I tried to imagine myself like that in a water and I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to move even the distance of 20 cm. That's just another proof, that Holland is well prepared to face the role of the contemporary Atlantis. 

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