EF
tour (1999)
- 2 week educational tour
- Australia:
- Sydney
- Coffs Harbor
- Gold Coast
- Bundaberg
- Frasier Island
- Brisbane
- New Zealand
Semester at Sea
(2003)
A study abroad
opportunity through the University of Pittsburgh at the time, now the
program is through the University of Virginia. 75 different
college courses are offered. 650 college students from around the
world (most are from the US). It is a floating campus:
library, classrooms, computer lab, theater, union, 2 dinning halls,
pool, basketball/volleyball/soccer court, track, weight room, and plenty
more. You have all that you need on a ship full of college
students.
For 3.5 months you voyage around the world stopping in various
countries to explore, study, meet the people, tour, do service projects,
or whatever else you want to do.
On this voyage of a lifetime, you learn so much more than in a
traditional classroom. The countries themselves are our book, all
you have to do is open it and immerse yourself into the culture.
The difference is, this book comes to life! What you learn in the
classroom on the ship applies to what you are doing and experiencing in
the country. The world is our classroom and it is at our
fingertips!
You begin this voyage of a lifetime as an individual, you leave as
changed human with a new-found respect for the world, your eyes are
truly opened, and you understand the truth in the world. Your
dreams have now become realities. You are alive.
Voyage:
- Miami
- Bahamas
- Havana, Cuba
- University of Havana visit
- Learned how to salsa (learned is a loose word)
- Wandered Havana and visited with the locals
- Plenty of shopping in the markets
- Watched a Cuban baseball game
- Listened to Fidel Castro speak to us for 4.5 hours and
attended the party that he threw for us
- Salvador, Brazil
- Wandered Salvador, toured churches, and visited with locals
- Trekked through the Amazon Rain Forest (got bit by a
monkey!)
- Swam in the Amazon River
- Fished for Piranhas
- Played soccer with Brazilians
- Learned to dance from locals
- Watched the Bahia soccer team win (soccer games are intense
and wild!)
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Toured botanical gardens, museums, and a nature reserve
- Hiked Cape Point
- Swam with penguins!
- Jumped out of a perfectly good airplane (went skydiving)
- Hiked Table Mountain
- Taste tested
- Visited a township and a museum on the Apartheid
- Meandered around Cape Town eating, touring, and visiting
- Tanzania
- Safari - got to see giraffes, lionesses, elephants, zebra,
tons of birds, dik-diks, warthog, ostrich, water buffalo,
impala, gazelle, monkeys, and lots of other animals
- Camped with Maasai warriors as our guards killed a green
mamba!
- India
- Walked around Chennai risking our lives attempting to cross
the streets filled with zipping rickshaws (crossing the street
in India, Vietnam, or Cambodia should be a new Olympic sport!)
- Toured the Taj Mahal, New Delhi, Agra, and the Red Fort
- Sitting on the lawn and gazing at the Taj at
sundown is breathtaking and walking on the cool marble sends
shivers throughout your body
- Celebrated Holi in Varanasi (the sacred Hindu city) and
witnessed the pilgrimage rituals in the River Ganges
- Strolled around Saranath, the place where Buddha delivered
his first sermon
- Visited Mother Teresa's Orphanage in Chennai
- Vietnam/China/Thailand/Taiwan/Russia and any other place in SE
Asia was off limits due to SARS so we missed Vietnam and China, our
planned ports of call...so instead we wandered around the ocean for
2 weeks!
- Nagasaki, Japan
- Traveled to and hiked Mt. Aso (an active volcano)
- Stayed in a Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn)
- Ate cow tongue...yummy!
- Toured the Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum
- Busan, South Korea
- Flew to Je Ju Island (Korean Hawaiian islands)
- Rented a van and explored the island - museums, parks,
tourist traps, etc.
- Flew to Seoul and wandered the city
- If you ever need a self esteem boost, get over to South
Korea right away, the people will treat you like a movie star!
I don't know how many times people stopped to ask if they could
have a picture with us! It was great
- Osaka, Japan
- Explored Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto (shops and temples)
- Cheered on the Osaka Bulls as they played a baseball
game...Tuffy Rhoades (former Chicago Cubs player) tossed 2 baseballs
our way, I caught both!
- Seward, Alaska, USA!
- We increased the population by a quarter!
- Visited Exit Glacier and hiked the mountain
- Took a flying tour over Harding Ice field
- Victoria, Canada
- Enjoyed our last foreign port together with our friends that
have found a special place in our hearts...you really become a
family on an experience like this
- Deep sea fishing
- Seattle, Washington, USA
- Back to reality, our lives will forever be changed
- The memories, the mental pictures, the sounds, the sights,
the smells, the emotions, the physical feelings will always be
with us
Guatemala (2004)
- San Lucas Toliman Mission, Guatemala
- 2 week service project
- Reforestation project
- Housing project
- Park development project
- Medical missions
- Soybean project
- Service projects don't mean all work and no play
- Boat tour on Lake Atitlan with visits to several towns
- Cliff jumping
- Wandered around Antigua
- Local shop venders braided my hair, they thought it was
the funniest thing!
Backpacking Southeast Asia (2005)
- 1 month backing adventure throughout Southeast Asia with two
great friends Kyle Wiese and Cynthia Robertson
- Hong Kong, China (16 hour flight over the
North Pole)
- Shanghai, China (26 hour sleeper
train)
- Beijing, China (14 hour hard
seat train...met a student studying English, who served as a
translator for the arm wrestling contests and conversations)
- Guilin/Yangshuo
- Li River boat ride
- Biking to Moon cave
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- Nha Trang, Vietnam - beach time
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Ben Than Market
- Cu Chi Tunnels
- Chao Doc, Vietnam
- Phnom Penh
- Siem Reap
- Bangkok, Thailand - wandered
- Koh Phi Phi - beach time
Israel
(2006)
- 2 week journey throughout Israel
- Tel Aviv
- Jerusalem
- Bethlehem
- Bethany
- Masada
- Dead Sea/Qumran
- Jericho
- Jordan River
- Beit She'an
- Sea of Galilee/Capernaum/Tiberias
- Nazareth
- Cana
- Caesarea
People to People
~ British Isles (2007)
- 3 week experience through England, Ireland,
Scotland, and Wales
with 29 high school students and 2 wonderful co-leaders
- Visited with a member from the House of Lords
- Watched a musical, "Blood Brothers"
- Stayed with a British host family
- Pondered Stonehenge
- Toured many castles
- Bogged (mud wrestled)
- Tried my hand at Cricket
- Abseiled (repelled down a 70ft. castle)
- Whitewater rafted
- Looked for "Nessie" in Loch Ness
- Sheered a sheep in Scotland
- Searched for ghosts in the Edinburgh vaults
- Much more touristy things too!
People to
People ~ Australia (2008)
- 3 week run around Australia with 38 students and 4 fantastic
co-leaders
- Sydney (14 hour flight from LAX)
- Opera House
- Harbour Cruise
- Opal history lesson at Costello's
- Hyde Park Barracks
- Olympic Centre - went swimming in the Olympic complex!
- Vision Valley
- Canberra (National Capital)
- AIS - Australian Institute of Sport - government funded
to train world class athletes
- Parliament
- Sheep farm
- Darwin
- Northern Territory Capitol building
- Visited Darwin Middle School
- Northern Territory Museum
- Crocodylus Park - held a baby crocodile
- Kakadu National Park
- Nourlangie Rock - Aboriginal rock paintings
- East Alligator River boat ride and "salties"
(crocodiles) spotting (crocs taste like popcorn
chicken)
- Litchfield National Park
- Termite mound sanctuary (cathedral and magnetic)
- Wangi Falls
- Katherine
- Manyallaluk - Aboriginal community
- Skinned kangaroo tails (great meat to eat)
- Bushwalk - learned about the many uses of nature
- Ate green ants (lemon-lime tastiness)
- Spear throwing
- Traditional painting
- basket weaving
- Cairns
- Home stay
- Crystal Springs - nature area
- Rainforest walk
- Rainforestation and Aussie Hoedown
- Snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef
- Rafting through the rainforest
- Home Sweet Home - 32 hours after leaving Australia!
People to
People ~ Exploring Europe (2009)
Travel DC ~
Washington D.C. (2010) - 26 BVMS 8th graders
- 4 hour bonding bus ride to MSP
- American History Museum
- Monuments at night tour
- Natural History Museum (my favorite of the Smithsonians)
- Capitol Hill Tour
- National Archives
- Alexandria Ghost Tour
- Supreme Court
- Library of Congress
- Air and Space Museum
- Spy Museum
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Holocaust Museum (incredible)
- National Zoo
- Self-guided Tour of the National Mall at night
- Newseum (awesome)
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People to
People ~ Australia
(2010)
- 3 week run around Australia with 41 students and 4 great
co-leaders
- Sydney (13 hour flight from LAX)
- Opera House
- Harbor Cruise
- Opal history lesson
- Hyde Park Barracks - one of the best museums
- Olympic Centre - went swimming in the Olympic complex!
- Blue Mountains
- Repelled off a 200ft. rock face (it was intense)
- Canberra (National Capital)
- AIS - Australian Institute of Sport - government funded
to train world class athletes
- Parliament
- Meeting with a member of the Australian Capital
Territory Parliament (it is equivalent to our state
government)
- Sheep farm
- Darwin
- Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard walked out of
the hotel the same time we did
- Northern Territory Museum
- Crocodylus Park - held a baby crocodile
- Kakadu National Park
- Nourlangie Rock - Aboriginal rock paintings
- Ubirr Rock - Aboriginal rock paintings and a beautiful
sunset
- East Alligator River boat ride and "salties"
(crocodiles) spotting
- Litchfield National Park
- Termite mound sanctuary (cathedral and magnetic)
- Edith Falls and Florence Falls
- Katherine
- Manyallaluk - Aboriginal community
- Bushwalk - learned about the many uses of nature
- Ate green ants (lemon-lime tastiness)
- Spear throwing
- Traditional painting
- Basket weaving
- Played Rugby
- Ate kangaroo
- Cairns
- Home stay
- Rainforest walk
- Held Koalas, pet Kangaroos, threw boomerangs, and
enjoyed an Aussie Hoedown
- Sea walking and snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef
Turkish Culture Foundation ~
Turkey (2010) - a two week
study tour with 25 other teachers from around the U.S. (Washington,
California, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota) - what great
friends we became! Thank you so much TCF for providing this
opportunity for teachers to travel to Turkey and bring the
experience back to our classrooms!
- Hagia Sophia (built in 537 AD by Justinian as a Christian
church, then became a mosque under the Ottomans, and currently
is a museum)
- Bosporus Cruise
- Ebru (marbling painting - it is like magic) - incredibly
beautiful artwork
- Spice Bazaar (incredible aromas and color patterns)
- Topkapi Palace (Ottoman's Sultan's Royal Palace)
- Istanbul Archeological Museum
- Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
- Basilica Cisterns - two stone heads of Medusa are used to
support the columns that support the cistern
- Blue Mosque
- Hippodrome: Obelisk from Egypt 1500 BC, Serpentine
Column from Delphi 4th Cent. BC, and Constantine VII's pillar
used for chariot races
- Darussafaka School
- Aim: To change more children's lives through
education)
- An incredible private school reserved for low-income,
fatherless children. 200 students enter the 4th grade
and they continue through the 12th grade.
- Students are tested based on multiple intelligences,
emotional questions, and creativity.
- There is also an assisted living center that is part of
the campus for the elderly who need someone to care for
them.
- Visited BJK High School
- Visited the Turkish Cultural Foundation Office
- Visited a tile making facility in Iznik (famous tiles)
- Bursa Market (lots of silk)
- Shadow Theater performance (it is amazing how one person
can do the entire performance by himself)
- Space Camp - Turkey provides a space camp that is
affiliated with NASA!
- Ephesus - incredible ruins (the Great Library and
amphitheater especially) - this is the biblical city in
which Paul wrote the letter the Ephesians and John's letter
in Revelation
- Ephesus Archeological Museum
- Basilica of St. John
- Visited a village school
- Aphrodisias - Roman ruins of a temple complex devoted to
Aphrodite
- Pamukkale - hot springs and travertines (calcium
carbonate deposits)
- Rumi's Tomb and Museum
- Çatalhöyük- very impressive archaeological excavation
site of a 9000 year old settlement!
- Sultanhan Caravanserai (Silk Road post/shelter
- Saruhan Caravanserai and Whirling Dervishes ceremony
- Cappadocia - underground city, rock dwellings, pottery
presentation, fairy chimney sight seeing, and cave churches
- Hot Air Balloon ride over Cappadocia (one of the best
things I have ever experienced...everyone needs to do this)
- Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (founder of the
Turkish Republic...the greatest national hero) and Museum
- Anatolian Civilizations Museum - cuneiform, Çatalhöyük
artifacts, and the Epic of Gilgamesh relief carvings
- Meeting with the Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister for
the Americas
People to People 2011
- Ireland
- Wales
- England
- France
- Belgium
- The Netherlands
People to People 2012
- Italy
- Vatican City
- Monaco
- France
- Spain
Peru 2013 - 16 day backpacking adventure!
- 5-day hike up to Machu Picchu
- Camped out along the way
- Went zip lining (upside down a few
times too)
- Natural hot springs
- Explored Machu Picchu - the
architecture is amazing as they don't
use mortar (a glue type substance)
because earthquakes occur here. To
combat the earthquakes ruining the
structures, the Inca carved the rocks
perfectly and then inserted them
together so that there is no space
between them, kind of like a puzzle.
This allows for the shifting of the
stones when earthquakes do occur.
- We also hiked Huayana Picchu (the
iconic mountain behind Machu Picchu
city) - it was a beautiful view of the
topside and from behind the city.
The clouds made it all the more magical.
- We say tons of Incan ruins, circular terraces (these
were used to experiment with crops - the different
levels of terraces represented the different climates
throughout the Incan empire and as a result the people
could see which crops would grow at which
elevation/climate condition and then they could go out
and plant the right crops at the right locations), salt
flats, and so much more!
- We ate some good food - alpaca and guinea pig (this
is a delicacy in Peru) and some food I wasn't a big fan
of Ceviche (raw fish with lime). I'm not a fan of
raw fish, but you've got to try it.
- We watched several Peruvian/Andean/Incan dance shows
and enjoyed the beautiful music.
- Gazed at the beautiful frescos in the "Sistine
Chapel of the Americas"
- Visited the Uros, which are man made floating
islands out of reeds. These were built for
defensive purpose originally so the islanders could
escape enemies when they came. The islanders could
ship their island off from the shore and get to safety.
So amazing how they built these and live their life on
them. Everything is made out of the reeds (boats,
homes, towers, etc.). It is very touristy today,
but still incredible to see how they live.
- We did a homestay at Amantani - a wonderful
experience, even though we didn't know each other's
language. We still communicated through nonverbals
and a few Spanish words we could remember. Our
smiles and laughter communicated as well. Our
"mom" and "sister" dressed us up in traditional attire
and took us dancing for the night...we had a blast!
Some of our Peruvian dances turned into a little bit of
jitterbug since that is all I know!
- Our last island stop at Lake Titicaca was at
Taquille - here the men are the knitters and women do
the weaving. The men knit chullos (hats) that
represent whether they are single or married based on
the colors of the ball of yarn at the ends of their
chullos. The women where balls of yarn at the ends
of their shawls to represent their status.
- The rest of the adventure was spent relaxing,
wandering around, eating lots of good food, exploring
churches/monasteries, and other fun local places, along
with meeting all kinds of fun people!
People to People 2013 - Greece, Italy, and Vatican City
- Athens - Acropolis, Parthenon, Mars Hill, agora, and
lots of great food!
- Crete - Dikteon Caves (legendary birthplace of
Zeus), sea turtle restoration education, rode a donkey,
made Greek bread, learned about the olive oil making
process, learned three Greek dances, and enjoyed more
great food!
- Delphi - amazing history - this was considered the
"naval of the world" because it was the birthplace of
ideas within the Greek Empire and it was the legendary
site of the Oracle of Delphi...very interesting ruins.
- Olympia - so cool to run on the ancient Olympic race
track and to see where the Olympic flame is lit every
two years - so cool to think about the Olympics being
held here!
- Southern Italy - a service project and cheese making
- Sicily - explored cities by foot, hiked Mt. Etna
(2nd most active volcano in the world), learned two
Sicilian dances, had a pottery experience, enjoyed great
farmers markets, and enjoyed lots of gelato (I had 16
helpings of gelato in 19 days!)
- Pompeii - it is like a giant time capsule - a
volcanic explosion in 79 AD preserved the city and gives
us a glimpse into what life looked like in ancient Rome
- this place was so interesting.
- Rome - gotta love Rome!
- Colosseum - amazing to think they
could flood it to reinact naval battles.
There once was a canopy over top.
The games were broken into three parts
- Hunts in the morning
(brought in exotic
animals for people to
see for the first time
ever and then men hunted
the animals in the arena
- Executions during
lunch
- Gladiator games in
the afternoon - very few
gladiators actually
died. Gladiators
were either professional
fighters, slaves, or
POWS (the last two could
gain their freedom if
they made their owners
money). Thumbs up
mean the fighter lived,
while a thumb laid to
the side meant that they
died (to represent them
laying down dead).
Fighters only fought
about two times a year
as they had to train and
recover from injuries.
- What came to mind
right away with being in
here is the "Hunger
Games" - similar concept
- Roman Forum - center of activity
- Circus Maximus - horse and chariot
races
- Column of Trajan - outlined his
military campaigns
- National Monument of Victor Emanuel
II (the first unifying king of Italy),
also known as the "Alter to the
Fatherland" - it holds the tomb of the
unknown soldier and eternal flame
- Piazza Navona - used to be a
stadium, now houses fountains, a church,
and tons of shops, restaurants, street
performers, and artists
- Pantheon - a Roman temple that
housed the gods and goddesses, then was
converted to a Christian Church, and
today is a museum and holds the tomb of
the artist Raphael - the dome has a hole
in the roof called an oculus that allows
the sun to shine through!
- Trevi Fountain - beautiful
fountain...people throw coins in as part
of a legend
- 1 coin = return to
Rome
- 2 coins = find true
love
- 3 coins = marriage
- All the coins are
collected and given to
charity
- Spanish Steps - beautiful staircase
that connects the Spanish Embassy to a
church
- Catacombs - underground cemetery for
Christians - 500,000 people were buried
in the catacombs we went to.
Christians once worshiped in secret here
to escape the persecution and practice
their religion in community.
- Vatican City
- St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum, we met with
a priest, and met with a member of the Swiss Guard (the
body guards of the pope, kind of like the secret
service)
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