There was a marching band competition in the Amish town of Arthur, Illinois on the first Saturday the students were here. Many of the MacArthur host students are in their band, and Ryan's in the SDHS Redcoats marching band.
In the photo on the left, Hagen clowns around with "Bennie", Brit and Suzie. Are we having fun yet?
One of the highlights of Amish country includes shopping for baked goods. We made a stop at the Outlet Mall just outside of Arthur for fresh cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pies and homemade breads. Here is also where I taught Hagen the meaning of the phrase "photo op".
The Decatur Sister Cities Committee hosted a reception for the students and their host families on Sunday October 18th. "Herald & Review" journalist Bob Fallstrom is shown in the photo on the left conducting an interview for an article he would be writing. Hagen told us that he'd like to be a journalist... so "Bob" became an instant hero.
 It has become customary for visiting students to present books in their native language to the local library. After presenting their books to the Decatur library the students were given a tour... including the computer area. Here Immo Birnbaum is loading the homepage for their school into the computer.
Gymnasium Meckelfeld's Homepage
 The students were honored by Mayor Terry Howley during a City Council Meeting. Mayor Howley presented each of the guest with certificates naming them "Honorary Citizens of Decatur".
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There was a marching band competition in the Amish town of Arthur, Illinois on the first Saturday the students were here. Many of the MacArthur host students are in their band, and Ryan's in the SDHS Redcoats marching band.
Kristin was able to make it back from Iowa State University in Ames for one of the weekends that Hagen was with us. We don't have a cat anymore... but that doesn't keep the strays from wandering into the yard in search of a handout.
