On Friday afternoon, a group of eleven students and staff left campus for a personal development outing to Cesky Krumlov, the World Heritage City just 40 minutes from the Townshend campus. After walking through the medieval streets of the old city, we had dinner at a cozy traditional restaurant, and then quickly made our way to the Cesky Krumlov Synagogue for the Shabbat service. Last year, the Synagogue was re-opened after 75 years, though the instrumental efforts of Townshend’s own Primary teacher, Krista Coyan. Each month she invites the Townshend family to join in the service, and for many of us, these visits have been our first experience of a Jewish service. After the service, the participants went down to a small cafe and enjoyed the company of new friends in singing traditional Jewish songs. The evening was organized by teachers Manar Hassan and Sepehr Taheri, and the bus ride was filled with laughter.
