Quest for a Story

• “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard.  
• “Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca.
• “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”  - Henry Miller

These quotes tossed me into the mix of educators seeking an opportunity to travel with Teachers for Global Classrooms to other nations, other schools, other cultures to become better equipped to prepare their students to join the journey towards global competence.  I embark tomorrow.  So much has occurred between the day that I used those quotes to explain my desire to go on this journey.  I actually could never have imagined the year's experiences that would flood my life with change: real, deep, permanent, nothing-will-ever -be-the-same change.  Yet, here I am.  Soft, moldable, in transit.  

Yes - I am in transit to the Philippines - to sunshine, rainforests, beaches, the city of smiles.  Look at this beautiful 5 star hotel that will welcome us to Manilla where we will meet with embassy officials, Philippine education officials, and teachers who have begun the journey to global competence through their own teacher exchange in the US:

Then I will travel to the "City of Smiles" - Bacolod City - for almost two weeks of immersion in their school system and cultural experiences.

I will work with a very friendly and hard working teacher named Donah at the Colegio San Agustin

http://www.csab.edu.ph/beta/

We will travel to the interior a bit to experience a hot springs and mountain resort one weekend and enjoy a beautiful white beach the next weekend:  

http://mambukal.negros-occ.gov.ph/

http://www.sipalay.com/

The Philippines is a perfect place to investigate my essential question for this trip:  How do our unique stories reflect and shape culture?  I am especially interested in stories that appear to have been lost or are threatened to extinction by the encroachment of the modern world or the popular world or the politically correct world.  Whose stories are vital to the depth of the world culture?  Whose unique voice must be preserved or reawakened for the depth of humanity to be represented in the global culture that is gradually engulfing every nook and cranny, crowded city, and isolated thorofare?  How can we preserve stories and not let the powerful overtake the weak?  How can we preserve diversity?

Dag Hammarskjold, the second Secretary General of the UN once said, "The longest journey is the journey inwards."  Of all the quotes that led me into this journey, this is the one that urges me through it.  I have a story.  It is as diverse as the family that nurtured me, places I've traveled, friends I cherish, choices I've survived, and treasures I have both found and lost.  My journey across the ocean will drive me closer to myself in that all important journey inward....