able to borrow the proper converters
in each hotel, I faced different problems. In the first hotel, I blew the fuses
three times. By the light of my iPad, I
called the front desk, and a man with
a ladder came to fix my power. Eventually, I worked out most of the bugs.
Midway through the trip, we had
planned to Skype, but with the combination of the time change, poor
internet connections, and power outages, it never happened. Echeverria
did email questions that I tried my
best to answer. I even found and photographed a snake charmer (see page
30, top left) to answer one question.
Returning Home
Upon my return, I was eager to visit
Echeverria’s third grade classroom.
I collected the books and keepsakes
I had brought home and culled my
photos to create a slide show. I dressed
in Indian garb and was reunited with
the class. They were very pleased to
see me and treated me like a special
friend. Just from reading my blogs, we
had forged a bond.
I had 300 slides in my stack, and the
time just flew by! The kids were so interested and asked good questions. It
was such fun to share what I had seen.
I think this experience inspired
the travel bug in the students. It was
obvious they enjoyed learning about
a culture and a lifestyle so different
from their own. They learned about
people who live with much less mate-
rial wealth than they have, a society
familiar with the threat of terrorism,
and a culture with vastly different
customs.
What do you think the kids took away
from this experience?
The kids were excited to learn about
another culture and made a connection with you and were anticipating
your blog as well as your return to the
classroom. I read them the book you
brought and built their knowledge on
some of the locations you were traveling to as well as the culture and people
of India. The kids loved to see your
trip and were proud that you chose
our class to visit. They enjoyed it when
I read them the blog, and they asked
engaging questions about it.
Was it worth using class time?
It did not take up much time at all,
and the students always asked about
you and wanted to make sure you
were safe. They knew you were safe
every time you updated your blog.
What would you do differently?
I would love for the students to
personally comment on your blog
next time. That would make it more
interactive for them and create a
unique experience.
What was the most memorable moment?
They enjoyed the slide show after you
returned because they felt like they
were actually there with you engaging in your adventure. Their reactions
when you walked in the room were
amazing. I did not tell them what
day you would visit because I wanted
them to be surprised, and they were.
It was a good experience for the
kids, Echeverria, and me. It took
a group of children to a place they
normally couldn’t go. It showed them
about the people and their customs in
a very personal way. They heard and
saw photos about the festival of Diwali, they were introduced to the custom
of arranged marriages, and they saw
how the Hindus honor their dead. It
made another part of the world come
alive. I can’t wait to take another class
on a far-off adventure!
—Nancy Casolaro is a consultant who founded
Luminarium ( www.luminariumlearning.com).
She is a former teacher and longtime content
developer who produced educational materials
for the Walt Disney Company for 27 years.
