The last day

I'm going home today. Yesterday was technically day 6. Everyone in the group did presentations sharing the ideas we would like to implement when we go back to our schools. The common theme in the presentations was that we would like to build on what exists already in our schools.

My plan is to incorporate the ideas from the seminar into our professional development programme. I don't think it's wise to try implement anything at this point without a conversation with the teachers I work with about their ideas about a global vision for the school. Given the history and status of my school I think there's a lot that's been done before whether its had a global vision or not. I'm mostly interested to hear their ideas about what kind of global vision does our school need.

At the end of a trip there's always a bitter-sweet sense of excitement and bleakness. I'm bleak because it's the end of a trip that's been filled with ideas and meeting new people. I'm excited to go home and see my life with new eyes. One of the words used for the theme of the trip was refreshment: intellectual refreshment that can influence the work we do in various ways. I do feel refreshed after two weeks in a foreign country that doesn't feel foreign. I have been able to reconnect with friends I haven't seen in years and met people whose paths I hope to cross again.

My home for the past week.