Graz 2024

  It's hard to believe the time has gone so quickly! Our last week is passing by faster than I'd like. Monday the weather did not cooperate with our planned swimming time so we chose to enjoy a movie. Inside Out 2 was a great way to spend the rainy, chilly afternoon. Tuesday we watched the Glockenspiel play. The whimsical characters danced after the clock struck 3. Then we enjoyed a small walk to the Grazer Laundhaus. The inner courtyard has truly beautiful Italian Renaissance architecture. I'm not so sure all the students appreciated the grandeur. But they willingly posed for photos.  We've spent the rest of this week preparing for the Abschiedsprogramm. This is our goodbye gift to our wonderful host families. I'll be sure to check their luggage before we leave to make sure no one tries to bring home a "new" sibling.  Lol!  What do you think the students liked the most so far? We leave tomorrow morning for a stop in Salzburg before heading to our hostel f

  This place deserves is own post. I, personally, have been on chocolate tours before. I've never been more impressed with the commitment to delicious chocolate from bean to bar. Mr. Zotter was even walking around the grounds today, picked up some litter, and stopped and spoke with people.  You start in a movie theater and learn how Zotter's contracts with many different countries to get bring the cacao to Austria. All of the beans are harvested in ways that promote the health of the land. Many are even sailed (wind power) instead of ships that use fuel.  You walk out and straight into the factory, but with walls protecting the chocolate from everyone's drool. Lol! You take a spoon and the you proceed to taste everything. Beans, milk, flavorings, white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate and not just all blended together. No... not here. You can taste the chocolate from Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Uganda, and Madagascar to name a few.  Then you realize that all of the food

  Your children are the best! The enthusiasm for cleaning up along the river was amazing! Not only are they smiling here, but you'll see the smiles at the end.  Acy finds all the nooks and crannies and makes sure the walking path is sauber. Oops! I mean clean.  Here Josie and Makayla find the underside of a bench that needed a thorough cleaning.  Who doesn't love to see Kaylee smile??? Sweet Josie and The Face.  😆 Elena took a moment to pose for the camera.  Catching Charles unaware is tough, but it was managed.  Here Giles and Acy attempt to blend into the surroundings so that everything is clean.  Who couldn't adore this group? They even managed to pick up an Austrian student who helped along the way. Be the good. Do the good.  COSA??? What could this be? It's the MOST hands-on science place I've ever been to! The students actually purposely stayed over an hour past time just to experience more.  Here students went head to head...literally. Almost all the student

Students learned how to create faux leather bags from the inner tubes of truck tires- cutting, sewing and riveting was involved- fun was had and a LOT of new vocabulary was learned! We've dubbed Josie with "The Face" for all pictures. She's always bubbly. Makayla's grin shows how much she enjoyed this activity.  I'm pretty sure all the kids enjoyed using this tool. New skills! Templates and concentration was needed to construct their items.  The kids really seemed to enjoy this interaction.  The Kunsthaus was a pretty cool looking building. The refer to it as "the friendly alien." It was even neater from the inside.  The art displayed was on the topic of labor and work. As an adult it was useful to reflect on the hours we spend not only on the stuff we get paid to do but the labor of living. It made for an unusual topic for most students who haven't worked a 40 hour or week job.