FUN-FILLED WEEKEND IN ATLANTA

The last weekend in March we joined CIEE students, local coordinators and host families from all over the southeast in Atlanta for an action packed weekend of fun.  Friday night we enjoyed dinner at the downtown Atlanta Hard Rock Café.  Saturday we toured CNN World Headquarters, the World of Coca Cola and Stone Mountain.  At Stone Mountain we rode an aerial tram to the top and watched a laser show projected against the side of the granite mountain after dark.  Then we spent the entire day on Sunday at Six Flags Over Georgia.  There were over 70 of us altogether and we had a great time.



Waiting for our table at Hard Rock Café



Can you find the Alabama students?

We pose for a picture at a CNN news desk

Alabama students and Mimi from Nigeria (second from right) at CNN

 

Alabama students in downtown Atlanta

Waiting for the laser show at Stone Mountain

Students at Six Flags

Students at Six Flags

BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS TOUR

On March 7, we traveled to Birmingham, one of the main hubs of activity during the Civil Rights movement in Alabama, for a day long activity focusing on the movement and its dramatic impact on the United States, particularly the South.  We were joined by students and their local coordinator from the Montgomery area, as well as Alix Kreder from the CIEE national office who was in Alabama on a site visit. The day included a program at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, site of a KKK bombing in 1963 in which four little girls were killed, the Civil Rights Institute, a museum focusing on the movement in Alabama, and a memorial park located in the heart of the historically black neighborhood where locals and nationally known figures like Martin Luther King planned marches, sit-ins and other activities for the movement. The day concluded when we went to see Selma, a recently released feature film chronicling Bloody Sunday and the voter rights marches from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.

Alix (top left) and the students in front of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church

Students in from of Civil Rights Institute

Special exhibit at the Institute

Student enjoy lunch with Alix, top right


Scene from Selma (1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery)

 



WE HAD A GREAT TIME IN GATLINBURG!!

Mary and Jim took Lea, Sophie, Zoe, Lisa, Yehia, George, Yuhang, Oak and Alberto to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to spend a fun-filled weekend with students, local coordinators and host families from Chattanooga, Knoxville and Atlanta.  Activities included skiing, skating, visiting attractions and enjoying the hotel's heated indoor/outdoor pool and hot tub.  With almost 50 exchange students, we all had a ball.

Zoe and Lea on the ice



Yehia and Lisa on the ice



Sophie on the ice

Students toss a football in the indoor pool

Sophie and Lisa enjoy the indoor pool

Students relax in the hot tub

The ski slope

Some kids snow tubed (left)

George take a ski lesson

Yuhang, Lisa and Yehia pose for a picture

We head down the mountain on the aerial tram after a day of fun in the snow

GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY

Several of our students participated in a Government Activity on January 8.  We had roundtable discussions with staff members of Congressman Mo Brooks Huntsville office as well as Tommy Battle, the Mayor of Huntsville.  We also attended a Huntsville City Council meeting at which the local CIEE students were recognized with a presentation of certificates from the Council.

CIEE CHRISTMAS PARTY

 

Kelly and Rod Merritt hosted the annual CIEE Christmas party on December 6, and everyone had a great time.  All the students brought a dish (many made recipes from their home country) and the food was delicious.  Kelly made personalized Christmas ornaments for each of the students which were displayed on a CIEE Christmas tree.  We played Dirty Santa and card games and just had a good time visiting with one another.

CHRISTMAS CHARITIES YEAR ROUND

In November, several CIEE students and host family members sorted non-perishable food items for Christmas Charities Year Round.  This was in preparation for assembling Christmas dinners for needy families in the area.  Everyone had a great time as we worked for a good cause.

CIEE FRIENDS FROM AROUND THE REGION SPEND THE WEEKEND IN HUNTSVILLE

CIEE students, host families and local coordinators from several cities in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama came to Huntsville last weekend to see some of what our area has to offer.  With more than 70 CIEE friends in town, we had an awesome time.  On Saturday, we started out at the US Space & Rocket Center, Alabama's top attraction.  Most of the research that put the first man on the move took place right here in Huntsville.  Next, we went to the Huntsville Botanical Garden, home of the southeast's largest butterfly house, and enjoyed the warm fall day in one of the area's most beautiful settings.  We finished off the day at a teen block party on the square where we enjoyed live music, dancing and games geared for a teenage audience.  Sunday, we traveled a few miles outside Huntsville to Cathedral Caverns, where we had a two-hour tour of one of America's biggest and most beautiful caves.

Part of the group pose for a photo in front of the Space Center

Some of the students rode Space Shot for an experience
similar to blasting off in a rocket

 

We enjoyed Hidden Universe, an Imax movie that explores
the far reaches of the universe

Some of the boys at the at the Botanical Garden

Students explore the Butterfly House

 

Students enjoy themselves at the teen block party

 

One of the acts was an pair of awesome street dancers who performed to Christian music

Students enjoying dinner in a pizza place, one of several restaurants on the square

After touring Cathedral Caverns, students pose in front of the entrance to the cave,
one of the largest cave entrances in the world