Don't Go!

Last week in class, we were discussing the attacks in Turkey and Belgium.  The students, many of whom live pretty sheltered lives, were trying to make sense of the terror attacks.  They had many questions:  Why people are willing to blow themselves up for a cause?  Why Turkey?  Why Belgium?  Are we (the US) next?  Are we safe?  There was a palpable sense of uncertainty amongst my students.

When the students learned that the attacks in Belgium happened at the airport, they couldn't fathom how it was possible given the amount of security that we experience at airports here in the US.  Then I explained that the bombs were detonated in the area before the security checkpoints, which led to a discussion on the belief that many Americans have a false sense of security in spite of the international terror attacks and our own experience with gun violence.

My collaborative teacher, Becky, spoke up and said how the discussion was making her nervous about flying. Then I said, "Think about me!  I am the one flying halfway around the world to the Philippines in June!"  Jake, a senior, spoke up and said, "Don't go!"  I asked him to clarify what he meant and he said if I didn't feel safe, then I shouldn't go on my trip.  I paused and thought for a minute about the advice I was being given by an 18-year-old.  Could it really be as simple as "Don't go?"

While in his eyes, it is that simple, in my eyes, it is so much more complex.  I told him that anytime I travel, I always have a little bit of fear about something happening, but I can't let that fear stop me from traveling!  The types of tragedies experienced by many people around the world on a daily basis are not too dissimilar from the gun violence that happens here in the US.  I discussed the San Bernadino shootings, the Uber driver shootings, and the church shooting in Charleston, SC.  All of the victims in those shootings were just going about their daily routines when they were tragically killed.  Violence does not recognize international borders; it can and does happen here in the US.

So my reply to Jake's "Don't go!" is that  I MUST go!  I must go to learn more and help myself and my students make sense of this world.

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, 

and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.  

Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things 
cannot be acquired 

by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

 -Mark Twain     

Filippino Food is Flippin' Fantastic!

On Friday, February 19, I enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Purple Patch in Washington, DC.  The owner was gracious and prepared a family-style dinner for my travel cohort that represents the cuisine of her mother, a native of the Philippines.  When it comes to trying new foods during travel, my best advice is to try everything; you may never get another chance.  Considering I am going to a country where fertilized duck egg (balut) is a common dish, it's brave of me to say try everything!

Grilled White Miso Chicken Wings 

Mama Alice's Lumpia - Fried Beef and Pork Spring Rolls with Banana Ketchup

Sizzling Sissig - Pork belly and shoulder sauteed with onion, vinegar, bird's eye chili, and lemon juice topped with an egg and served with jasmine rice

 Pancit Bihon - Thin rice noodles with carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, cabbage, long beans, and shiitake mushrooms

 Turon with Vanilla Ice Cream - Brown sugar soaked plantain wrapped in a lumpia wrapper

 Ube Ice Cream - Purple yam ice cream

 Biko - Sticky rice with coconut milk and brown sugar

P.S. I did promise my son I would try balut, if I had the opportunity! 

They are actually letting me do this?

I spent the weekend in Washington, DC at the Teachers for Global Classrooms Global Education Symposium 2016.  It was an amazing experience from beginning to end!  My nerves were starting to get the best of me before I left and I was asking myself many questions:
     "Can I really do this?"
     "Did they really pick me for this?"
     "Am I really going to be on a plane for 22+ hours?"
The more immediate question was "Am I really going to drive into DC by myself tomorrow?"  After reaching out to my best friend Emily, a fellow lover of travel, I realized that the answer to all of these questions was an emphatic "Yes!"

Mistakes I made during this trip:

• Using my built-in navigation! It may or may not have taken me several tries to get the hotel programmed in and begin my trip.
• I was so mesmerized by the thought of a tunnel (395 in DC) with an exit in the tunnel that I actually missed my exit.
• I pulled into the hotel wanting directions to the parking garage not realizing I was valeting my car.  I am embarrassed to admit that I might have forgotten to tip, too!  I did tip when my car was returned, but I was still confused about who to tip-the doorman or the valet.
• I went to check out my room and my key wasn't working, but then I realized I was at the wrong room!  Fortunately, that room was not occupied, yet. 
• I went through security at the Capitol Building with a wrist full of metal bracelets and I didn't get why the alarm is going off.  Thankfully, the guard was very patient with me.
• While on my tour of the Capitol Building, I was shushed by a security guard for briskly walking in my high heels to catch up with my group after I agreed to take a picture for two friends.  He did smile after the shush.
• I was at the Meet and Greet and I drop an appetizer on the floor within 10 minutes of being there.
• I forgot my phone charger and my hair gel at home!  Who does this?
• I went out to dinner with my travel group and spent all of my cash at dinner, not remembering that I had to pay for Uber to get back to the hotel.  Fortunately, my principal was there to help me out.
• I drank at Diet Mountain Dew at 9:00 pm and woke up with the worst headache in the world.

What I did right during this trip:

• I met an amazing group of people!
• I learned more about my International Field Experience.
• I ate delicious Filippino food at the Purple Patch.
• I got a much-needed dose of inspiration from Wangari Maathai's hummingbird video!
• I survived driving in DC and I got my Library of Congress library card.
• I learned that while I am not as well-traveled as many in my travel cohort, I am ready to take on the challenge of traveling to the Philippines in June.

It is important not to expect perfection in travel.  It's the mistakes that often make for the best stories!

Look Out World, Here I Come!

This is my first blog post on Perry's Perspectives on the World.  This blog is part of my fellowship for the Teachers for Global Classrooms program.  The TGC program is an intensive full-year program that focuses on Global Education through an 8-week online course, 3-day symposium, and a 3-week international field experience in education.  As I type that description, I am still amazed that I have the opportunity to be a part of such a phenomenal program, but wait my story doesn't start here!

So here goes my story...
It's around 3:00 pm on December 18, 2015, our last day before Winter Break and I have been patiently waiting for an email for several weeks concerning a trip of a lifetime.  One of my former students, Megan, has stopped by to visit me and we are just reminiscing about the fun times with the class of 2015.  Megan receives a phone call, so I check my email and there it is, the email I have been waiting for:  "IFE Notification."  I quickly click on the email and read "Your country of travel for the international field experience will be the Philippines."  WOW! The Philippines!  Megan and I hug, jump up and down, and maybe I even cry a little bit.  I cannot wait to tell my family and friend where I was going.  Never did I think that I would be so blessed to have the opportunity to travel the world doing what I love:  teaching and learning!

Wait, we have to back up the story a bit...
It's around 2:00 pm on June 11, 2015, the day of the 4th grade awards for my twins, Keegan and Kaitlin.  I am waiting for the kids to come into the cafeteria, when my phone alerts that I have an email.  Again, I have been patiently waiting since March to hear about an opportunity of a lifetime.  I look at the subject line and it reads "Notification of TGC Selection Status."  In my mind, I'm thinking, "OK. Here it is.  My rejection notice!  Considering that it took so long to get a reply, it must be bad news."  I click on the email.  I see the word "Congratulations!" Much to my surprise, I did it.  I took a risk, completed a lengthy application and it paid off!  I can barely contain my excitement.

Actually, let's go back to December 2014...
I am in my 16th year of teaching Contemporary World Studies and AP Human Geography.  I LOVE what I do and yes, I meant to shout!  I get to teach kids about the world around them and, in my little corner of Maryland, it is a world that most of them are not very familiar with other than what they see in the media.  The more I teach these 2 subjects, the more I realize that I need to see the world beyond books and movies.  While my students think I am an avid global traveller, the reality is that I have only been out of the country 3 times to 2 different places-Mexico and Grand Cayman.  I know that with more authentic global experiences, I can be a better teacher of AP HuG and CWS.  I had heard about the TGC program and I know that this is the year.  With my family's blessing, I am going for it!