My first blog post

This is the first time that I’ve ever even considered blogging, but it is a requirement of the TGC program (Teachers for Global Classrooms) that is sending me to the Philippines, so here we go. I hope that people will come along for the ride. If you know me and travelling, you know it will be a somewhat comical adventure, usually at my own expense. As I get close to leaving, I’m experiencing a variety of thoughts, and emotions. I am proud of myself for being accepted into this program, for having completed the most difficult (and most worthwhile) course of my professional career. I’m also excited, worried, and anxious. Here’s why:

I’m excited to be going to a country that I’ve never visited before and, to be honest, hadn’t really given much thought to visiting. When I received my placement, admittedly, I was a little disappointed. The other destinations were: Morocco, Senegal, Colombia, India and Indonesia. If I had to rank which of these countries I was most keen to visit, the Philippines would have ranked #4. But then something really cool happened; I announced to my students and on Facebook that I was going to spend the summer in the Philippines and Filipinos came out of the woodwork. Students that I haven’t spoken to in a decade or more began contacting me to ask where exactly I was going. I began receiving emails from family members of students who were in the Philippines. Did I need someone to pick me up at the airport? Did I want someone to show me around? “I have an aunt and uncle in Iloilo, they want you to come over for dinner.” I even had a good friend tell me that he told his Filipino Uber driver that I was going to the Philippines and he gave my friend his phone number to pass along to me, in case I had any questions. My current students made a video for me and the other teachers to try to teach us some Tagalog and let is know what we were in for. Frankly, I was overwhelmed by the pride and excitement that these people had for their homeland. My disappointment (I don’t know if that’s really the word I’m looking for) was immediately replaced with an excitement that’s hard to put into words. I want to see where all of this love comes from.

I’m a little worried. Over the past few weeks the Philippines has been in the news for all the familiar reasons that we in America hear about other countries. Their president, much like our own, seems to like to say things without considering the consequences of his words. A rebel insurrection in the southern islands has led to a declaration of martial law, and a highly publicized casino robbery in Manila was front page news a couple of weeks ago. This has prompted more than half of our cohort to abandon the trip. I think the reason why I didn’t abandon are twofold. First, see the previous paragraph. My excitement has been able to beat back much of my trepidation. Also, there is never an ideal time to visit another country, and I have experienced this kind of pre-departure bad news in other countries that I’ve gone to. I visited Spain only one week after the Atocha Train Station bombing. Prior to visiting Thailand, a country known as the Land of Smiling Faces, the Thai people took to the streets and burned several city blocks of Bangkok in clashes with the government. It seems like there’s always something going down just before I visit a country. Maybe there’s just always something going down and the only time that I look is just before I visit.

Finally, I’m anxious. My American partner bailed on me, leaving me as the sole representative to my filipino counterpart. If you know me at all, you know that I am not usually one to be overly social, especially with new people. In addition to my teaching duties, I am scheduled to meet with varying levels of school administrators, government agencies, school community, etc. This has caused a significant increase in my anxiety level. My anxiety was allayed by the fact that I knew someone else would be there with me. Now it’s just me. I really don’t want to make an ass of myself. I don’t think that I will, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling this way.

Regardless of how I’m feeling, 72 hours from now, I’ll be on my way towards this great adventure. I got my shots, tried to learn a little Tagalog (which I later learned they don’t speak in Iloilo) and have tried to prepare myself for what lies ahead. I hope you’ll join me for the ride.