IFEST A HUGE SUCCESS

On Saturday, we had a CIEE booth at iFest, a local university's annual international festival. Thanks to the hard work of my students, we received 17 host family leads for next year. YOU GUYS ARE ASESOME!!!! Here's a couple of pix of our booth.

KAYAKING ON THE ELK RIVER

On Saturday, September 8, five of us from Huntsville, met five CIEE folks from Tennessee for an afternoon of kayaking on the Elk River. We all had a great time!

Preparing to launch

Fun on the river

Yong on looking back

The weather was warm and sunny

Fadi catches on

Group shot after we leave the river

Fadi and Yong on the ride hope after an afternoon of kayaking

WELCOME PARTY

Monica Isper and William Hensley hosted the CIEE welcome party at their lovely lakeside home with a sparkling pool. Monica is an event planner and went all out. She is also from Brazil and recruited two of her Brazilian friends and their American husbands to host this year. Thank you, Monica!!

Monica Isper (right) with some of her Brazilian friends
including host mom Edina Pelletier (second from left).
Both families are hosting two girls.

Lavish dessert table greeted guests at the entered the home
The party had a patriotic theme.

Guys enjoy corn hole poolside

Girls enjoying the pool

Miguel from Spain surrounded by girls (he looks happy)

FAREWELL PARTY

The Switzer Family hosted the Farewell Party at their beauitiful home as they had the welcome party. With their sweeping yard, sparkling pool, basketball hoops and outdoor kitchen, they have the perfect place for a party. Everyone enjoyed swimming, visiting with one another, playing basketball and corn hole and of course the delicious food!

Chowin down

Host Gary Switzer with his granddaughter 

Hostess Faith Switzer (right) with Mary Powers and Rod Merritt

Shootin some hoops

Fun in the pool

Posing for a pic

CHATTANOOGA TRIP

On Saturday, April 28, we joined the Tennessee group in Chattanooga for a two hour lunch cruise on the Southern Belle Riverboat featuring prime rib and lemon chicken, the world famous Tennessee Aquarium and an IMAX movie called "The Wild Around Us" with a message that wifi isn't the only connection that matters! Perfect! After the movie, we had free time in downtown Chattanooga where everyone enjoyed dinner in one of the many nearby restaurants, street vendors, shops, art galleries, and a walking bridge across the river to a riverside park and more shops. 

Finishing up lunch on the riverboat

Relaxing on deck

Some of the students joined the captain on the bridge

Group in front of Aquarium

Walking bridge

View of Art Museum from walking bridge

ATLANTA TRIP

We left Huntsville at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 14 for a fun filled weekend in Atlanta. We stopped for breakfast on the way and had lunch at the Hard Rock Café in downtown Atlanta. After lunch, we visited the nearby World of Coca Cola and CNN World Headquarters. Then we drove to the Comfort Inn in Stone Mountain for a pizza party and swimming in the indoor pool. At 9:00 we watched the laser show projected on the side of Stone Mountain. We were supposed to spend Sunday at Six Flags Over Georgia but unfortunately we had to cancel due to heavy rain. At lease the kids were able to get in some more swimming Sunday morning before we left.

Outside World of Coca Cola

A toast!

Sampling coke in the tasting room where there were hundreds to choose from

Swimming

Kofi from Ghana

Ready for the laser show

CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVITY

We started the day by driving to Birmingham, a focal point of the Civil Rights Movement. There we had a program at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, site of a KKK bombing in 1963 during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement that killed four young girls, and a tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, a world-class museum focusing on the Civil Rights Movement in the South. After that we returned to Huntsville for a chili supper at the Powers’ and to watch the 2015 movie Selma, a film about one of the most important events of the movement.

Group pic in front of 16th Street Baptist Church

Bombingham!

The World is Watching!