Another Adventure!

I haven't posted on this blog in ten years.  It is beyond my comprehension that it has been ten years since my life-changing experience through the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program.  Thankfully, I've had many travel opportunities since this time (they are over on this blog if you want to see more), but as far as traveling professionally, well, I haven't done a lot of that in a while.

I'm going to backtrack and give you a little more information about the Fulbright Program.  In the aftermath of WWII, Senator J. William Fulbright from Arkansas drafted legislation that would impact the world for years to come.  Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have participated and "are contributing to a more peaceful, equitable, prosperous, and just world" (Program Overview). The scholarship primarily funds students and educators to participate in international experiences that foster mutual understandings.

Ten years ago, I participated in the Fulbright Teacher Exchange.  For a year, I swapped lives with a teacher in England.  (If you've got the time, you're welcome to scroll back through this blog to learn more about that experience.)  We lived in one another's homes, drove each other's cars, used each other's cell phones (I loved telling telemarketers she wouldn't be back for a year!) and taught in one another's classrooms.  The experience taught me about another education system, new teaching techniques and a vast array of opportunities that continue to impact my daily life.  Teaching abroad also gave me strength and confidence that was earned through many, many hurdles, bumps, bruises and practical road blocks.  Plus, the opportunity provided me with life-long friends (we've rented a castle in Scotland together this summer for a reunion!).  

In the fall of 2021, I was granted another Fulbright Scholarship.  This one is very different from my first, but none the less life-changing and impactful.  The Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms provides educators with eye-opening, meaningful professional development along with a travel opportunity.  About sixty US educators spanning the country and the grade-levels joined together for a virtual class. Throughout the fall of 2021, I planned, taught and graded papers throughout the day, and came home to an engaging online classroom.  Throughout the semester, we learned about global education and found ways to best support our own students to become globally minded.  We were inundated with opportunities and resources (you can learn more on the website I've created) that my students have not only loved, but have greatly benefitted from.

Typically, with this grant, you participate in the class in the fall and travel in the spring.  But alas, COVID19 had everything backed up.  When I was granted this opportunity, I had no idea of exactly when or where I would be traveling.  My only hope was that I would be going to a country that I probably wouldn't choose on my own.  In December, I received an email while sitting at the staff table in the lunchroom.  My heart leapt with joy!  I would be traveling to Senegal in April!

Of course, it is never easy to leave my classroom.  Not only is it difficult to plan engaging lessons for two weeks, but I will miss my students!  They (thankfully) seem disappointed, too, that I will be gone for two weeks, but they are also eager to learn more about Senegal.  Excitedly, they are working on a "book" for me to take to share with Senegalese children about our life in Alabama.

So, after MONTHS of anticipation, the time is almost upon us!  How do I feel?  I am only anxious about checking everything off my list before I board the plane.  But once I follow the flight attendant's instructions and ensure that my seat is in its upright position, I am confident the only feeling I'll have is pure excitement.