OUR FINAL GET TOGETHER

We had our farewell party at the lovely lake house of Keely and Peter Kurth on May 17 on beautiful Smith Lake.  It was definitely worth the drive (and in several cases getting lost)! The Kurth's place is awesome!  Peter took us on a lake excursion on their pontoon boat and the kids had a blast swimming and jumping into the water from their two story deck. Some of the boys enjoyed a lively game of basketball.  Kelly made a poster with photos of things we've done together over the past 10 months and everyone was able to take the photos they wanted at the end of the party.  Rachel, who does our Facebook page, made CDs for everyone highlighting the year for everyone as well.  The food was great and we all had a wonderful time.  It's hard to believe the program year is almost over!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

JPII Graduation Party

Seven exchange students will graduate from John Paul II Catholic High school this month.  To honor their accomplishment we had a party at a local restaurant on May 12.  Each student received a specially designed tee-shirt and certificate and shared funny JPII stories and their college plans.  The graduates' baby pictures were displayed at the party and everyone had fun trying to guess who was who!



Jim congratulates Yiyang



Group enjoys one another's company during dinner 

Each student received a certificate with his/her baby and graduation pictures



K cheers for a fellow student

 




TRIP TO BIRMINGHAM TO SEE CIVIL RIGHTS SITES

A small group -- Jim, Timo, Jinsung and Jinuk --  traveled to Birmingham on Saturday, May 3 to see some of the city's Civil Rights sites. We started out with a program at the 16th Street Baptist Church, site of a KKK bombing that killed 4 black girls in September, 1963, during the peak of the Civil Rights movement.  Next we toured the Civil Rights Institute, a museum focusing on the Civil Rights movement in Alabama, and we finished up the day with a visit to Vulcan Park atop Red Mountain with a panoramic view of the city.  We had lunch at Rojo's and we highly recommend it.