When your principal sends an email you should always read it. Back in January Ms. Barnette forwarded our faculty an opportunity about a travel grant. I immediately clicked on the link to see what it was all about. It sounded too good to be true.... really? The Hilton would let you CHOOSE where you wanted to travel in the world for 2-3 weeks this summer and give you $6,000 to do it?!!! The only catch was you had to choose a country where there was a Hilton and you had to answer a few questions and submit a couple of references.
To click on the same map I did to see the options (and do your own dreaming) go here:
http://www3.hilton.com/en/destinations/index.html?cid=OM,HH,Regional,MainRedirect.
Hmmmm.... everywhere sounded pretty good in the middle of January! However, I had already been to Japan, China, Jamaica, Mexico, Canada, Italy, and Switzerland. I needed to travel somewhere really different... somewhere where I could really grow as a person and as an educator. I also needed a place that aligned with the Common Core and Essential Standards so I could make meaningful collaborations with the other teachers in my school. Africa. Yep. That was the one. The one?!!! Africa is a whole continent and I realized all my life I have said. "I want to visit AFRICA", yet Africa is full of diversity and a whole lot of countries that have one or more Hiltons in them. It was time to do some research. I needed to see which countries I would be safest in and experience a vast amount of culture, art, schools, geography, and people in a short amount of time. This is really when my obsession that I MUST travel to Africa kicked in. Google was on fire as I gave myself mini lessons on the countries of Africa (at least the ones with a Hilton).
To click on the same map I did to see the options (and do your own dreaming) go here:
http://www3.hilton.com/en/destinations/index.html?cid=OM,HH,Regional,MainRedirect.
Hmmmm.... everywhere sounded pretty good in the middle of January! However, I had already been to Japan, China, Jamaica, Mexico, Canada, Italy, and Switzerland. I needed to travel somewhere really different... somewhere where I could really grow as a person and as an educator. I also needed a place that aligned with the Common Core and Essential Standards so I could make meaningful collaborations with the other teachers in my school. Africa. Yep. That was the one. The one?!!! Africa is a whole continent and I realized all my life I have said. "I want to visit AFRICA", yet Africa is full of diversity and a whole lot of countries that have one or more Hiltons in them. It was time to do some research. I needed to see which countries I would be safest in and experience a vast amount of culture, art, schools, geography, and people in a short amount of time. This is really when my obsession that I MUST travel to Africa kicked in. Google was on fire as I gave myself mini lessons on the countries of Africa (at least the ones with a Hilton).