Again?
“Would you do it again?” That question comes up now and then, and my answer is always, “Yes, I will do it again.” There is […]
Amazon Fast
Thirty-seven orders in six months. Thirty-seven things I could not live without. $1851.16 spent with a swipe of my thumb. That’s what I discovered while […]
Budgeting for A Year Abroad
So how much does it cost to travel abroad for a year? I’ve had that question from just a few people but I think many […]
Where I’m From and Where I’m Going: Highlights from NCSS
I spent three full days at the National Council for the Social Studies annual conference in San Francisco. It was my first NCSS conference and […]
How to Take a Year Off and Live Your Dreams
“He must be rich.” One of my students said this to his parent about my ability to travel the world, but I suspect this student […]
Miss You
The texts usually come during the night. I wake to see “Miss you, teacher” on my screen from students at Mae Ra Moe refugee camp […]
93
93 blog posts, 184 student poems published, many thousands of miles traveled, 8 countries visited, nearly 20,000 photos taken, hundreds of students taught, and many […]
Nine Days in Laos: Students and Novices
During my time volunteering at Big Brother Mouse, I learned so much about the lives of the students who went there to practice their English. […]
Nine Days in Laos: Big Brother Mouse
I chose Laos over Myanmar for my last country on this year-long trip, mostly because of what I learned while at the Karen refugee camp […]
UXO
I parked my bicycle next to a row of bombs pointing toward the sky. It didn’t seem strange at first, but after a year of […]
Mae Ra Moe: Where I'm From
This is the final post in my series about the Mae Ra Moe refugee camp where I taught for three weeks. I taught autobiographical poetry […]
Mae Ra Moe: School Life
My main focus during my three weeks at the Mae Ra Moe refugee camp was to teach English at two different schools. Education There are […]
Mae Ra Moe: The Karen People
The Karen people are an ethnic group from eastern Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. Many live in Karen State in Myanmar. They have their own language, […]
Mae Ra Moe: Camp Life
I’ve written dozens of pages about my three weeks at the Mae Ra Moe refugee camp, thinking I would use it for a series of […]
Reentry
I don’t know what I’m going to write about in this post. I have no ideas, just a few random, disconnected thoughts. But I feel […]
I can see clearly now . . .
Relieved Fourteen days. Every blink was a reminder that I felt like I had sand in my eyes. Every sign and every face was a […]