During my trip I had sent the class postcards and updated them on things I had seen and place I’d been. In turn, the class learned about the countries I visited and formed groups to create reports on each country. The genious conceptwas the brain-child of my Aunt Bridget, er, Mrs. Gach.
So in November I went to Baldwin Elementary School to meet the students, share photos and stories and answer questions. I had two hours, but could have used twice the time – the kids had so many great questions!
And, to my surprise, Mrs. Gach had created a Where is Kellyboard complete with a world map to track my progress.
The postcards I sent were placed next to their location of origin and my movements (from my Where in Worldpage) were dated as well. So cool!
I had such a great time with the class! I had sent some Mongolian and Russian candy ahead of my visit and the reviews were quite mixed. Some kids loved the sweets, others thanks me, but said it was disgusting.
Some of the highlights for me:
– Do they have McDonald’s in Russia and if so what did you eat?
– Kids confusing Russia’s Lenin with John Lenin
– Everyone incessantly asked me about Mrs. Gach’s age
– The class’ fascination with Estonian folk stories, esp. those involving the devil.
I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to share my experiences (and maybe instill a curiosity for travel) with the class. A week later I got a round of letters and cards from each student. They were thoughtful, funny and a lovely surprise.
And to my surprise (yet again) I received another package of letters last week! The kids had done country reports, participated in a play and were about to have a Walk-a-Thon in which their class chose University of Oregon (my alma mater) as their theme. Go Ducks!
They knew that I had moved to DC and were brimming with questions about the city and life on the east coast. I could barely wait to write them back!
