Michael Dirksen

I'm not sure if i'll be attending the reunion. I'm planning for a trip to Lynden for next year. But I will keep you posted and I'd like to know what's been going on in your lives. I'll sure use this site to stay informed. Feel free to send me an email anytime. Hope you're all doing well and keep in touch.

For those of you who are wondering what's become of me after LCHS. When I returned to the Netherlands in 1990, my parents picked up their stuff to go and work in Indonesia for a couple of years. I stayed at home, going to pre-college and later on to college to study marketing and economics. When my parents got back they moved to Poland for 5 years one year later. In that time I finished college and started working. In 1999 I visited Bellingham, Lynden and my former host family Dick, Jenny en Wendell Bosch. After returning from that trip I worked abroad in South-Africa. By the turn of the millenium I met my wife Sylvie. Soon after we moved to the South of the Netherlands, in Breda where we got married in 2004. As you can see we have to beautiful children. The last two years I work at the local hospital, which is one of the biggest in Holland, as a project manager. Traveling is still in my blood, so I hope to visit Lynden in 2011 when the four of us will tour around the western states and I can finally show my family my old high school.

As one of the first exchange students at the age of 16, I had a great time at LCHS. Not a day goes by where I get reminded of the times I spent in Bellingham and Lynden. One of my weirdest memories is where I got stuck at the border on a field trip to Vancouver because I forgot my passport. I guess I considered myself 100% American already. Despite telling mr. Kredit not to report me as a foreigner, border patrol picked me out by my European looks and strange accent and I had to stay behind all by my lonesome for a few hours until someone from administration came for me. And I remember my farewell speech for the whole student body. I got nervous and ran short on words, thanking some people 4 times over and others none. Well, if I missed your name, thanks again for a great year.