One of the most wonderful surprises I had this fall was when one of my foreign exchange students from my first year of teaching asked on Facebook for my address. She told me she had something she needed to send me from a recent trip she had taken. My interest was peaked.
North Little Rock West Campus hosts a wide range of students from all over the world. I have had students from Brazil, from Hong Kong, from Germany, from Sweden, from Ireland, and Mexico. It is so much fun to have them in class, to hear them discuss their American adventures and views on the American culture in comparison to their own homeland, experiencing Washington DC in the fall, and also experiencing the holidays with us. They are not allowed to leave the country for the holidays nor are their relatives allowed to come over here to be with them as well. I am always in awe at how these young people can leave their comfort zones and travel thousands of miles away to a foreign country and leave their loved ones behind for such a long time. They certainly do get homesick, that's for sure.
My first year teaching, on top of all the craziness that that whole experience encompasses, I had a crew of foreign exchange students who were absolute sweethearts. Freda, Heidi, and Marie were all in my Drama 1 class. Being the brand new teacher, I decided to provide them the adventure of theatre history. We studied everything you could possibly imagine, including Asian theatre, Greek theatre, and the theatre of Elizabethan England. Looking back, it was probably too much but it was something within my comfort zone and so we went that avenue.
Marie informed me that she had a surprise to send me all the way from Germany this year. She had the chance to go and experience the GLOBE theatre firsthand and have an English adventure! She remembered my lecture on how the Globe was created and how theatre was created during the Elizabethan time period. She purchased a postcard from the Globe and decided to send it to her old Drama teacher. What a SWEET gesture!! She told me that while she was in The Globe Theatre, participating in a Shakespeare Workshop, she was thinking about my class and decided she would put a smile on my face and send me a few souvenirs!! What a WONDERFUL surprise!! And so thoughtful!!
She also included color photos of her role in her school play, "Spring Awakening" in which she had a large role. Loved hearing that she enjoys theatre so much and that in some small way, I had a part in that window opening for her to show her the possibilities of theatre. I am so proud of Marie! It is my sincerest hope that she keep going and traveling and experiencing more and more of what the arts are capable of in your lives, if you will allow it.
So very cool to have students report back and share their adventures with me. I can live vicariously through them and all their travels.
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