Shalom, Shalom, you say goodbye, I say hello. Aloha, ahoi (Slovak). I wonder how many languages have the same greeting for hello and goodbye. Anyway, I love wishing people peace as a greeting...We've just arrived back from Israel, a bit weary and tired; it's good to be back to our own place! Ken and I feel like we're a little bit pathetic...starting with our first trip abroad (Honeymoon in Mexico), after a week we were ready to be home (to set up
our home and to start new life together); then trip two, ten days in Costa Rica, circa 2008--similar experience, by day seven we were ready to be home with our dogs. Fast forward to 2013--where for the past four years we've been fortunate to travel almost every other month. We are so blessed to be somewhat centrally located that we can experience firsthand so many cultures while we are here (honestly though, I love our school environment where there are 52 cultures coinciding and thriving. It would be nice if world leaders could learn from our students.) I love our international nights at school where you can see students and their families sharing their culture, I just wish that it could be for longer than one evening!
Another thing that teaching internationally has allowed us is to be personally connected to the places we travel through our students. It's so much more meaningful to visit a place know a kid or a family from there (and sometimes it explains some of their intricacies as well!) For me the craziest thing about traveling is that personal connection--sometimes seeing my high school textbooks come to life in the most tangible of ways, listening to the sounds (language, music) of the place, and of course tasting the
food. Now, travel with children adds a whole other element--but, it's one that we wouldn't change for anything! There is one thing for certain, traveling with kids
ALWAYS allows for something to be left for
next time. I truly do hope that there are next times in our travels. On our flight home there was an article on the Top 20 things to do in Vienna. I was happy (and a little surprised to see) that over the two Chrsitmases we spent there we'd visited and done almost everything, just not in detail :) plus toured the Chocolate Museum that is well deserving of being in the Top 20 Viennese--I loved their artwork made of different kinds of chocolate...I digress.
If you've been keeping up on random blog writings, you may recall that Rawly is well over his 50th flight, we've become a little more discerning in our "adventures". First of all, direct flights and correctly timed flights (AKA corresponding with nap time) are worth the extra scrilla, we prefer to not be in a rush to leave and to have a bit of time to relax when we return before going back to work. So for Israel, we chose a Saturday flight departing around 2pm returning Thursday also with a 2pm departure from Tel Aviv. Day five Ken said, okay, I'm ready to be home now (shh, don't tell him I wrote about that!) Yep, that's right, we're short-winded travelers. In my head, the thought of traveling is so appealing, but underneath it all, we're a couple of homebodies...perhaps we could be traveling homebodies (that would match my concrete random personality). Over breakfast today we met a man (originally from near Sweet Home, OR...such a small world after all) who is a professor of religion and culture. He leads a group of his students every year or other year for a semester abroad where they spend most of their time in Israel, and a few weeks Jordan and Turkey. I thought that sounded like a pretty sweet gig and asked if I could be a student.
Shalom, Shalom, you say goodbye, I say hello. Aloha, ahoi (Slovak). I wonder how many languages have the same greeting for hello and goodbye. Anyway, I love wishing people peace as a greeting...We've just arrived back from Israel, a bit weary and tired; it's good to be back to our own place! Ken and I feel like we're a little bit pathetic...starting with our first trip abroad (Honeymoon in Mexico), after a week we were ready to be home (to set up our home and to start new life together); then trip two, ten days in Costa Rica, circa 2008--similar experience, by day seven we were ready to be home with our dogs. Fast forward to 2013--where for the past four years we've been fortunate to travel almost every other month. We are so blessed to be somewhat centrally located that we can experience firsthand so many cultures while we are here (honestly though, I love our school environment where there are 52 cultures coinciding and thriving. It would be nice if world leaders could learn from our students.) I love our international nights at school where you can see students and their families sharing their culture, I just wish that it could be for longer than one evening!
Another thing that teaching internationally has allowed us is to be personally connected to the places we travel through our students. It's so much more meaningful to visit a place know a kid or a family from there (and sometimes it explains some of their intricacies as well!) For me the craziest thing about traveling is that personal connection--sometimes seeing my high school textbooks come to life in the most tangible of ways, listening to the sounds (language, music) of the place, and of course tasting the food. Now, travel with children adds a whole other element--but, it's one that we wouldn't change for anything! There is one thing for certain, traveling with kids ALWAYS allows for something to be left for next time. I truly do hope that there are next times in our travels. On our flight home there was an article on the Top 20 things to do in Vienna. I was happy (and a little surprised to see) that over the two Chrsitmases we spent there we'd visited and done almost everything, just not in detail :) plus toured the Chocolate Museum that is well deserving of being in the Top 20 Viennese--I loved their artwork made of different kinds of chocolate...I digress.
If you've been keeping up on random blog writings, you may recall that Rawly is well over his 50th flight, we've become a little more discerning in our "adventures". First of all, direct flights and correctly timed flights (AKA corresponding with nap time) are worth the extra scrilla, we prefer to not be in a rush to leave and to have a bit of time to relax when we return before going back to work. So for Israel, we chose a Saturday flight departing around 2pm returning Thursday also with a 2pm departure from Tel Aviv. Day five Ken said, okay, I'm ready to be home now (shh, don't tell him I wrote about that!) Yep, that's right, we're short-winded travelers. In my head, the thought of traveling is so appealing, but underneath it all, we're a couple of homebodies...perhaps we could be traveling homebodies (that would match my concrete random personality). Over breakfast today we met a man (originally from near Sweet Home, OR...such a small world after all) who is a professor of religion and culture. He leads a group of his students every year or other year for a semester abroad where they spend most of their time in Israel, and a few weeks Jordan and Turkey. I thought that sounded like a pretty sweet gig and asked if I could be a student.
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