Only two days ago, I closed down my classroom and said goodbye to students and colleagues at The Gateway School of Environmental Research and Technology, in Bronx, New York. As my students prepared for their state Regents exams, I flew home to Ohio for an evening with my family before heading down South.
Today I arrived in Miami and I was so surprised to see all the tall buildings in Miami. There are taller buildings, and more of them, than in Columbus, OH! How is this possible? Miami is on a beach so wouldn't it be impossible to build skyscrapers on sand? (Keep reading my logs for the answer to this quandary.)
I never thought there would be so many buildings in Miami!
This is the beginning of my two-week study visit to Costa Rica as a recipient of the Toyota International Teacher Program in conjugation with The Institute of International Education. So for the next two weeks I will be travelling with twenty-five other teachers who teach all over the United States. We will study the various climate zones in Costa Rica, learn about the education system, grasp and appreciate the many political and social issues Costa Ricans face as they work toward becoming a carbon neutral country, and develop curriculum to meet our students' needs. It's scary and exciting all at the same time. To think about the amount of information I'm going to try to absorb and synthesize over the next two weeks and then over the five weeks I'll spend in Barrow...it all makes my brain feel like lime jello. But it'll be an incredible learning experience--one that I hope to share with you.
Please ask questions you have about Costa Rica and Alaska. I can't wait to hear from you!