Post-trip potluck

I hope everyone is readjusting to life back in the States! I for one am still out on the slopes of Vogel, so it’s been a little tough getting back into school.

There will be a post trip potluck dinner next Friday (3/18) from 6 – 8pm at the Fayen’s. Please bring an entrée to share. If you’d like to bring a dessert or drinks, let me know. Parents are encouraged to attend.

I will be showing a slideshow at the potluck. In addition, each trip participant will get a CD containing all of the pictures I took on the trip on. If you have pictures that you’d like me to include on the CD, either email them to me at josh@seamon.com (as long as they aren’t too large) or bring them to me on CD.

If everyone contributes $5 we can send STJ fleeces to Jurgen and Sandor. I would like to send out the fleeces on Monday after the potluck so please bring $5 to me by next Friday. If you’d like me to include anything else in the packages (cards, other gifts), make sure to bring the items to me before or at the meeting.

You can pick up directions to the Fayen's in my room (Severance 21) any time after school.

Back in the States

Unfortunately it really is true that all good things do come to an end. On 3/4 we woke up at 3am Slovenian time, checked out and picked up our bagged breakfasts, and were on the road by 4. We made it to the Ljubljana airport before any of the counters were even open, so we had about 45 minutes to wait before we could check in.

Everyone managed to get checked in okay and we had one last group photo before heading through Slovenian customs. Everyone said a sad good bye to Jurgen and Sandor. Hopefully we'll travel with them both again next year! Customs went okay, then we had another 45 minutes to wait before boarding.

Our flight into Frankfurt was short and smooth, but when we landed at 9:20 we realized our next flight was supposed to be boarding at 9:30. So, we raced across the airport, on a bus, then on foot through a very log terminal, to a tram, and them down another terminal... only to run into another seurity checkpoint with lots of people already in line. At this point we're kinda worried that we're not going to make the flight, so I ask one of the Lufthansa attendants if we should be worried. Her reply, "Oh no, it's okay to be late, the plane will wait for you." So, we waited.

After a very thorough search, we made it to the boarding line, only to have one more drama of two students temporarily 'losing' their boarding passes. But we made it on the plane and 7 hours later we were in Boston. All our bags appeard, we cleared customs and out coach bus was waiting for us when we got outside. We ended up making it back to St. Johnsbury right on time at 5pm. Let's hear it for amazing transportion!

Now that the trip is over, I'll be sortig through all the pictures I took and arranging a pot-luck dinner for sometime next week. Once I decide on a time and location, I'll post the information here and send it out in school.

I hope everyone is adjusting well to being back in the States!

Slovenia Day 4

We had another spectacular day on the slopes. 20 kids went up early with Jurgen and myself got to go up the lifts as the sun was cresting the Slovenian Alps. Wow. Mrs. Davis and Ms. Cote took a couple students to a nearby water park for the day and had a blast. Almost all the kids who Xcountry skied yesterday tried downhill today and loved it. We even got some back country runs in through many feet of powder. Truly amazing. We all met back up at 5 and just got done with our last dinner together. We presented Sandor, our driver, with a T-shirt with "Sandor is our Hero" on the front and the kids signatures on the back, and a Frisbee with "We love you Jurgen" on the back along with messages from the kids. It was a great dinner. We are now all heading out to our last meeting and to pack. We get up at 3 tomorrow, take off at 4 for Ljubljana for our 7:55 flight to Frankfurt. Then it is a 10:30 flight outta Frankfurt, which puts us into Boston at 12:30pm. Depending on how things move at Custom and how fast I find the bus, we should be back in STJ around 5 to 6pm.

Cya soon!

Slovenia Day 3

We had another amazing day on the slopes today. Very little wind and LOTS of sun meant the trails were smooth and the upper lifts were open. The view from 1,800 meters is STUNNING. Everyone skied today, either downhill or cross country. The Xcounty skiers were up on the lower Alpine trails having a blast. The Alpine skiers were enjoying the upper lifts and the discovery of a very nice jump that led into multiple feet of powder, which made for some excellent landings. We were on the sloped until 4 and then we caught the Gondola down with Jurgen and Sondor who skied with us all during the day! Everyone is now resting for dinner which is coming up soon. One more day on the slopes then off to Ljubljana, Frankfurt, the Boston.

Hope everyone is weathering the snow storm well! Cya soon!