Open H.O.F. August 2016

The idea to open our doors to guests from far and near in summertime has been with us for quite some years now. Ever since we have visited one unschooling family who had people from all over the world come and go, offer workshops, exchange information and spend time together throughout a whole month we have wanted to introduce something like this: An open space full of possibilities and the freedom to explore and learn.
So when Steffie Mohsennia asked us two years ago if we could host a TENHE (The European Network of Home Educators) meeting this summer to discuss the current state of affairs in the various countries, exchange background stories and experiences and update information on the TENHE page, we were more than happy and willing to organize this European gathering. Unfortunately though only two families have accepted our invitation for the beginning of August. Honestly I have been a little disappointed, but at the same time also elated. I was tired from all the events that we have organized in the months before, exhausted from the creative summer camp on our premises a few weeks ago, overwhelmed by the new community settings at MITANANDA H.O.F. and in general stressed out by the construction site going on here and the many people to take care of, feed, wash, clean for
Not surprisingly the universe knew we weren’t fit for a big show again. So in the end it turned out to be just the right thing at the right time: We had a constant coming and going of unschooling families from all over the world, combined with Helpers (from HelpX and WorkAway) staying with us who are also interested in the concept of unschooling. Our first Helper family (they have two kids age 3 and 6) turned out to be a big blessing since they are currently helping us with our homepage and the finalizing of the apartment our new H.O.F.-mates moved into a month ago. We are very excited about the homepage, as you can see, we are finally getting our stuff together and getting organized! A huge THANK YOU to Franziska and Fred for their help and patience!
Getting back to the topic: What we had envisioned as a big work-play-fun event at MITANANDA H.O.F. turned out to be just that, only different. Instead of hosting ten or more families for a big organized gathering with catering and such, we let go of expectations, disappointments and plans and decided to go with the flow. Suddenly more and more families contacted us and spontaneously came by to spend a few days with us.
The first ones to show up were Thorsten and Nedua from unschoolingeurope.org. We had met them at the big summer meeting for Austrian unschoolers a few weeks ago and had been in contact over Facebook for quite a while before. They arrived with their camper van and immediately blended in. Out of the blue they asked me if we would be willing to participate in their project of filming European unschooling families for their blog. While the kids had fun playing Nedua and I did a relaxed and fun interview – I am more than curious how this movie will turn out!
Shortly after Thorsten and his family had left Katy, Patrick and their daughter from Luxembourg showed up. Once again they stayed in their van, using our facilities for cooking or simply sharing our meals. It was amazing to witness how the children got along without a common language, playing and having a great time and getting really creative inventing new games not needing any words. We enjoyed inspiring talks and a beautiful picknick up “at the top of the world” aka “The world’s biggest grape “ with delicious cakes. I enjoyed the first sour dough cake of my life!
After Katy and family had left for Croatia another German family joined us. Jordi, Walter and their two children are currently travelling throughout Europe, sometimes HelpX-ing, sometimes camping, looking to meet like-minded people and make new friends. Right away the girls once again connected, playing dress-up and organizing a show and a puppet theatre all by themselves, tickets and rehearsals plus lots of giggles included. Even the boys joined in to entertain the audience throughout the break with dances and tricks. What a joy to witness the self directed and motivated capacities of such a varied, mixed age group of young people having a great time.
While Jordi and family were still here our good old friend Nathalie came to visit with her four children. Especially the girls loved to have them here to show them around and play day in and out. Together we went to Gamlitz to explore Motorik Park and enjoy another picknick. This time we finished a ten kilo watermelon in one go! We also managed to break our own record of squeezing people around our dinner table: 19 big and small people were delighted by Walter’s pancake making skills. I was thankful somebody was helping me with all the chopping in the kitchen while Jordi was building origami swans and cute paper boxes with the children. When the rain finally stopped they all went out and built damns in the river and created housing for dwarfs with rocks, twigs and leaves.
Finally Nathalie and Jordi plus families left on the same day, leaving us feeling lonely at being just ten people. Luckily Bea, Sascha, Sam and Pauline came back home from Vienna shortly after to make us feel complete again. (I was already afraid I would have to get the smaller pots out…) It’s amazing how quickly we have turned into one big, loud (and yes, messy) family in such a short period of time. Aeneas adores Pauline and cannot let her go to sleep without having to kiss her at least twice. Even Tamino is enchanted with her and is getting along with Sam beautifully…up to the point where he is even sharing his precious Spicy Noodles with him.
For next year we will definitely repeat the experience of the Open H.O.F. weeks. I am grateful for all the new things we have learned, for the wonderful food, talks and laughter we have shared and the connections we have made.
See you in 2017 for  Open H.O.F. at MITANANDA H.O.F.!