Austin, just say the word and people around the country light up. We’re known as a progressive “green” city with lots of trees, rivers, and parks. We’re the capital of Texas and also the home of the University of Texas, as well as several other well-respected colleges and universities (Huston-Tillotson, St. Edwards, Concordia Lutheran) and high tech companies such as Dell, Samsung and AMD.  We’re located in the heart of the hill country, with rolling plains east of us and hilly “west Texas” type terrain to our west. Austin is the unofficial “live music capital” of the world.  Austin is a beautiful city, the state capital, one of the most progressive cities in Texas.

Our students stay with families from several different Presbyterian Churches (Covenant Presbyterian & Central Presbyterian, and sometimes hosts from other churches as well), some in town, and some more rural. We spend time with the families, we want you to get to know your hosts and form life-long friendships with them, and they with you. 

We try to gear our activities for all ages- your Austin coordinators have children from older elementary through high school, as do some of the other hosts, so we do activities that will work for young to older. Most hosts have pets, many of them indoor animals (dogs and cats.)

Activities on our tentative schedule for this year:  We will go to a party at Jack Mountain Longhorn Ranch, where we will learn to square dance, have a barbecue and take a hayride to the top of Jack Mountain, take a docent tour of the State Capitol,  tour the Bob Bullock History of Texas Museum and see a movie about Texas, go to President Johnson’s ranch in Johnson City,  spend a day in San Antonio on the River Walk & shopping at El Mercado & eating at Mi Tierra,  have some lunches or dinners at some nice homes with great hosts,  see the Zilker "Christmas Tree" and have our “International Dinner” night, where students and hosts prepare food that is typical of their country or heritage, and students entertain with stories, dance, songs and other presentations about  their home countries. Students will have several days off with their host families, so they can build a friendship. We believe this is a “bridge building” peace program, and we want our guests and hosts to get to know each other well.

Students are invited to attend church with your family, as part of learning about our culture, but you are not required to attend should you not feel comfortable doing so. We are not here to proselytize you, just to open our homes and hearts to share with you.

Austin was founded in the middle 1800’s and has an interesting and colorful history. Our population is about 1/3 Latino, but we also have a growing Asian community, and also a large Hindu population. There is a strong Germanic influence in the Hill Country, too. Our weather tends to be mild, but can be quite  cold around Christmas.  We encourage you to bring ‘layered’ clothing, that way, you can adjust you dress to the temperature.  Austin is a very casual place and you won’t need dress clothes other than for church.

For this program, students need to arrive on the starting date, and not leave until at least Jan. 1, so that they don’t miss out on any of the fun! You are encouraged to arrive before 8:00 PM  and not to leave before 10 AM if possible. 

We ask that students bring their own spending money. Usually when we eat out, everyone pays for his or her own food.

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Some websites to learn more about where we went are:
www.austin.about.com/cs/tours/p/vt_dt_capitol.htm
www.armadillobazaar.com/
www.cpcaustin.org
www.manosdecristo.org/
www.amoa.org
www.thestoryoftexas.com/
www.nps.gov/lyjo/
www.covenant.org
www.emilyann.org/trailoflights.htm

 

Program Size	10 students
Program Type	Home Stay
Accommodations	Singles and Married Couples
Dress	A warm coat, raincoat, umbrella, bathing suit
Suggested cash for optional personal expenses	For souvenirs and special eat out meals.
Program Dates	December 17, 2011 to January 2, 2012
Airport	Austin Bergstrom International Airport
Train Depot	Austin (AMTRAK)
Bus Depot	Austin
Driving Directions	On request
Weather Forecast	Can be in the 40-50’s or 30-40’s or much warmer
Local Attractions	University of Texas, State Capitol, Bob Bullock History of Texas Museum, Blanton Museum, Museum of Art, Mexe-Arte Museum, 6th Street music spots, Zilker Christmas Tree and ‘Trail of Lights’ free concerts, shopping, President Lyndon B Johnson’s ranch, and much more.