IUHPFL Graz 2023: June 2023

Site magazine/farewell show planning, lessons, and a visit to VinziDorf Graz

We started Thursday with more time for students to work on their magazine page and to prepare for our farewell show.

After that, we had lessons about Mozartkugeln (Mozart chocolate balls), Riegersburg and the Zotter Chocolate Factory (our destinations on Friday's field trip), and VinziDorf (our destination after classes today).

Here students are trying Mozartkugeln (Mozart chocolate balls) after learning about their history, their ingredients, and how they're made.

Here we are discussing tomorrow's destinations for our field trip and what students need to make sure to bring.

Then we had lunch, and some students learned a new card game from Sofiya.

In Austria, you have to separate your trash, so we have 4 different trash cans in our classrooms. Here you can see one of our students separating the trash from her lunch.

After lunch, we learned more about our Community Engagement activity that we would be doing this afternoon. Students found out yesterday that we would be visiting a community for men who have had problems with homelessness mostly due to alcohol usage. The VinziDorf (Vinzi Village) is a place where these men can live (with very low rent) and find a community of support.

Next, we headed to VinziDorf. It took us about 15 minutes by tram to get to our destination. Of course, some students needed to fill up their water bottles, so we got their favorite water, what they call "Straßewasser," which literally translates to street water. :)

Once we arrived at VinziDorf, the director of the community invited us into their common room where she gave us additional information about the organization. We learned that the VinziDorf in Graz has been open 30 years and has enough space for 38 men. (These men have experienced homelessness, often due to struggles with alcohol.) The men are housed in construction containers, which have been converted into bedrooms. These containers are divided in half so that each man has his own separate space with his own door. The bathroom facilities are shared. VinziDorf is financed in the following way: 70% donations, 30% contributions for the city/state, and 20% from the low rent that residents pay. The rent is a percentage of the resident's income.

The director gave us a tour of the property, and one resident was kind enough to let us see his living space.

Then the director took us to their cemetery. Because many of these men will stay at VinziDorf for the rest of their lives, they have plots within a local cemetery where the residents can be buried. VinzoDorf also organizes a funeral for their residents who pass away.