FAREWELL PARTY IS A BITTERSWEET DAY

Matt and Nanette Pride hosted our Farewell Party at their lovely home near Hartselle on Saturday, May 16.  The Pride's grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and everyone brought picnic fare to share.  We all had a great time but it was a bittersweet day because it was the last time many of us would see one another.

Oak, Alberto, Yuhang & Sebastian reminisce about the year

Enjoying a game of soccer

Fun on the trampoline

A game of cornhole

Watching television on the Pride's indoor/outdoor flat screen TV

We dig in

Zoe & Sebastian say good-bye

Group good-bye

CHATTONOOGA TRIP A LOT OF FUN

On April 18, we traveled to Chattanooga to spend the day with our CIEE friends from Tennessee.  We started the day with a lunch cruise on the Tennessee River which included a deluxe deli buffet. Next, we visit the world famous Tennessee Aquarium. After the aquarium, we had free time in downtown Chattanooga to enjoy the many restaurants, street vendors, shops, art galleries, and the walking bridge across the river to a riverside park and more shops.

SPRING IS THE TIME FOR PROMS

Khatia and Yuhang




Miko and George

Miko (right) and friends

Alberto and Oak with their dates

Sebastian and his date

Oak (left) and Alberto

Yehia and Lea

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.