Meeting the students' parents or grandparents

I have had the pleasure of meeting the parents or grandparents of 10 of my 52 students.  Which 10 students?

1. I met Joe and his grandfather when they toured Pepperdine during the Spring 2013 Malibu Reception for students who had been admitted to Pepperdine.  I could tell from their name tags that they have a German last name.  I tried to impress them with the one German sentence I know well: "Ich habe einen Hund." ("I have a dog.")

2. I met McKenna's parents and younger sister at a Pepperdine volleyball game in April 2014.  Prior to that, I met her brother at my home when he came as the date for one of my students for pho at my place.

3. I met Dylan's mom in the Waves Cafe this past summer.  Dylan's mom is an alumna of the Heidelberg Program and now works in the Admissions Office for Pepperdine.

4. I met Lauren's grandparents when they came to Heidelberg as part of their tour of Europe.  Her grandmother has sent me two sweet e-mails since that meeting. 

5. I met Jake's mother and young sister via FaceTime when I walked the hallways one evening to pass out freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.  Jake invited me to say hi to his mom, and I did.

6. I met Megan's parents via Skype on another evening when I again walked the hallways to pass out freshly baked muffins.  I had already met Megan's older brother, who participated in the Heidelberg Program during the Fall 2012 Semester.  Thus, meeting her parents meant I have met her entire nuclear family. 

7. I met Ben's mom via FaceTime or Skype on his cell phone when I entered the reception room to seek help with opening a can of coconut milk to make chicken curry.  While Ben attempted to open the can, I talked with his mom.

8. I met Zach's parents this past Thursday when they came to celebrate his birthday (October 17) at the end of their three-week tour in Europe.

                                   At Zach's request, I baked M &M cookies for his birthday.

9. I met Chris' parents yesterday in the breakfast room.  I invited them to my living room. Chris' parents had traveled to Prague and Vienna prior to coming to Heidelberg. Chris tells me that his parents missed our group by 2 hours in Vienna

10.  I kinda met Micah's parents through email.  Two years ago, her mom and dad separately sent me thoughtful emails related to my involvement with the 2012 - 2013 Heidelberg group.  This group included Micah's older brother.

I look forward to meeting more of the parents and grandparents of my students as the academic year progresses.