Concessions Mania!

Saint Johns International School has a concession stand! It is run by the booster club a group of parents of kids in athletics The money raised is used to support the Athletic Department in any way they need. This year a new weather resistant computer and timing system has been purchased which will be used by the cross country and swim teams. Last year a large chunk was donated to the school wide campaign to put lights on the sportsfield. A Turn on the lights party is scheduled for 11 Dec.

The girls and I began volunteering as soon as we arrived, staffing the counter after school on Thursdays and extra shifts when needed. Molly and Charlotte have both gotten fairly proficient with the euro, making easy change, bagging popcorn and restocking drinks coolers.i am very proud of them, and grateful to the wonderful women who welcome their participation. These gals understand that they might need help, and are very sweet about it.

Well this week-for 3 wild days-StJ's is hosting the Boys Volleyball Tournament-called the ISST (international school sports tournament). 10 schools from all over Europe are in town to set and spike and those boys CAN EAT! The concession stand is open from 9-6ish and we prepare and serve "American Burgers", cheese burgers, hotdogs, chili dogs, bowl of chili, BBQ chicken sandwich, veggie wrap, frites, nuggets, cheese toasties(grilled chees!) and fresh baked cookies, along with candy,snack foods and drinks. School is on a break this week, so many volunteers are away and those left are volleyball mums. So we have stepped in to provide extra help! Shift on Thursday-10:30-5:15, followed by shopping to restock some items, Friday 8:30-5 with a break from 1-3, followed by shopping again! Saturday I report at 8:30 and we will see how it goes! Now you might think this sounds like drudgery but it is actually a blast! The volunteers have a great time laughing and talking while we fry and pop, and we get to meet the athletes and parents from other schools as they come to spend money. The moms from The American School in London love to visit because we sell wine and beer! After all this is Belgium! On Thursday they held a cocktail party upstairs on the roof terrace and were raving about how nice it was. They get a kick out of drinking at school I guess!! What a fun weekend hanging out at school, but I can tell you I'm not ready to go back to the Burger King job of my Highschool days-I'm beat!!

Mia, Lena.Amie,Molly and the Captain, Carrie, taking a break

Photo posted on school blog of our big seller "American cheeseburgers!"

Carrie decided to change our sandwich to a wrap, while the boosters president is in Zurich at the CC ISSTs. She called it "going rogue" ! A nervy move! 

Cross country-European Championship

We traveled to Baumholder Army base in Baumholder Germany on Saturday for the European Championship Meet for cross country. 12 or so schools were running, most of them schools on Army bases all around Europe. A couple of funny observations: the base looked exactly like the bases Jake was stationed at in the US-same beige/ugly barracks-different continent! Also, most everyone was American-makes sense since they are all US Army folk, but it was surreal, just like being at a meet in Michigan! Unfortunately the weather was just like MI too!  In spite of the prediction of 64 and sunny, the temp never rose above 45, with fog and a stiff wind blowing across the golf course where the meet was being held. And we were dressed for 64 and sunny. When I went to the portojohn after a couple of hours, I realized that my hands were so frozen that I couldn't unbutton my jeans! Yikes! The course was very hilly and times tended to be a bit slow. Danny had hoped to break 20, but ended up with a 20:40, a bit off his PR. He was pretty disappointed, but since he was running varsity, his score pushed his team into second place in the division! The girls team took first, with his teammates Kayla and Sophia taking first and second in the meet and making the all European team! Kayla also broke the course record--her fourth course record this year! Our day was long and not particularly thrilling, the drive each way was about 3:15, and on the way home we hit an accident that added 40 minutes. The  last meet, a big tournament for the international schools called ISST's, is in Zurich this year. We will not be attending so we were happy to travel to cheer on our Danny! Check out the photos!

Alex, Danny, Hidde, PJ and Issiah, with Sydney photobombing!

Coach Stephanie, the team, and Coach Matt

Poland, Holland, America, France, America!