Good times with our guests

These past two weeks have been a blast with our friends from Chile and Peru! There have been many activities which have given our guests a good feel for American life and life in Texas in particular. Here are some of the highlights of our current cultural and educational exchanges ..





Chili's with Chile

Our sisters took part in the Mass for the Feast of St. Angela

Our guest teachers congratulate Sr.Lois on her golden jubilee

Making friends at the Dallas Aquarium

Hello from Ft. Worth!!!

Our Chilean & Peruvian sisters - the whole group together!

Visiting the Meadows Museum at SMU

Ms. Betty gave us a class about her recent trip to Thailand

Interviews with Ms. Haley's class

Welcome Peruvian friends!!!

The excitement grew and grew on Saturday night as we waited at DFW Terminal D for the arrival of our Ursuline sisters from Peru. Finally, the group from Lima cleared customs and came out to a cheering crowd of host families from UA Dallas. It was a warm first encounter and the visiting students were soon on their way home for the weekend with their Dallas families. Now we have two fantastic groups with us - one from Chile and one from Peru. The students are all on summer vacation and are happy to be enjoying the (momentarily) mild winter here in Dallas. We look forward to two action-packed weeks with our South American sisters!   

Chileans enjoy life at UA and in Dallas

Since their arrival on Wednesday, our Chilean sisters have had a very busy schedule. They have attended classes at UA, toured the Cathedral downtown and visited the 6th Floor museum. They tell us that they are enjoying their host families and the excellent UA cafeteria food. They are looking forward to all of the upcoming activities including a service project, a visit to "Cow Town" and, of course, a few surprises!

Below are some happy photos from art class (fused glass) and from Journalism class ...

Welcome Chilean Sisters!

After weeks of anticipation, our Chilean sisters from Colegio Santa Ursula in Chile arrived today! After cheering their arrival at UA, our guests enjoyed a welcome reception and a tour of UA. We are very excited about spending the next two weeks together !!

Bienvenidas!!

UA host students greet their Chilean guests 

Elizabeth introduces her sisters from Chile 

No celebration is complete without a welcome cake! 

amor .... 

UA President, Gretchen Kane, welcomes our friends to Dallas! 

Fact finding in Belize

It's a new year and it's time to find some new opportunities for our UA students. So, this week, a small group of UA teachers and administrators is in Belize, scouting out the possibility of a summer mission trip for our students. Belize may be a poor country in terms of economics but, as you can see from the photo below, it is a place rich in tropical beauty and culture.

Our happy fact-finding group - Mr. Smith, Ms. Nipp, Ms. Miller & Ms. Redford

The Santa Familia Monastery where we stayed and where our students would stay during a Mission trip 

During our time in Belize, we have met with several local community members from churches and schools to see where we might be of service in the future. In particular, we think that the Bullet Tree Falls Roman Catholic School and the surrounding village would be a wonderful partner for us.

The Bullet Tree Falls School

Father Lorenzo and his dog, Blackie 

Community educators and friends after Mass - Ms. Redford knows everyone in Belize! 

When we return to Dallas later this week, we will share our findings with school administrators and we hope to announce more details about a summer mission trip at the end of January.

We look forward to returning to this beautiful place with our students!