July 15th to 17th: Traveling to, and arriving in, Bengaluru (Bangalore)

Tuesday afternoon - I got on a plane from Logan, flew to Dulles where I joined up with the other teachers and one of our guides, Desiree, and headed to Frankfurt, Germany.  (Just in time for some airport World Cup shopping....my boys are both big Germany fans, so didn't have a choice).

From Frankfurt we headed to Bengaluru - I have to say this is the longest single airplane trip I've ever done - it's not necessarily the highlight of the trip...but so worth it!  Here’s a map of our general route from D.C. to Frankfurt to Bengaluru:

We arrived in Bengaluru at 1:00 a.m. on Thursday (3:30 p.m. on Wednesday on Cape Cod – I really have to plan out my communications with home - I've woken more than one person up since I arrived....)

The customs process took over an hour, followed by an hour-and-a-half drive from the airport to the Lemontree Hotel.  We finally got to our rooms around 4:00 a.m., where I promptly fell asleep.

My next post will describe the first two days here - it's been exciting, overwhelming and exhausting - all rolled up into one - but mostly exciting...  Stay tuned!  

We're Off!

July 15, 2014

Wow - it's hard to believe that the time has come!  Today is the day that I leave Cape Cod and begin making my way halfway around the world....

At 2:00 p.m. I fly from Logan to Dulles, where I meet up with the other 11 teachers in my cohort and our guide - our journey begins!  From Dulles to Frankfort and from Frankfort to Bangalore, where we will be immersed for four days in the culture and history of India.  From there, six pairs of teachers disperse to other parts of the country and what a big country it is!

Cheri and I will be headed to Kottayam in the state of Kerala on the southwest shores of the country.  So far, I have heard it referred to by those "in the know" as being "God's country."  It's a place of beauty and nature, so I am doubly excited - our host teacher, Pyarailal Ramakrishnan, teaches physics at SMV Higher Secondary School. He has already been simply amazing, setting up our hotel when we couldn't find them on the web and planning an agenda that is going to take our breath away.  I'm planning to hold off on sleeping until I return to the States - so much to see, so little time....

It's going to take some time to get there!  We will be arriving in Bangalore sometime around 1:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. They're about 10 hours ahead of Massachusetts, so it will only be about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, but a long time nonetheless!

And yes, I have a nervous stomach - I don't know if it's the anti-malarial meds (which I started yesterday on the advice of my travel doctor), or sheer excitement, or a combination of both.

Well, this is it - my new, actually first, blog.  As always, I learn to do new things only when forced to do so.  Luckily, I am constantly jumping into things without recognizing the new tasks that I will be responsible for, and consequently am always learning.  It's nerve-wracking but effective...

My latest adventure has to do with an application that I sent in last year to the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program - I wanted to participate in a year long professional development opportunity they offered to secondary teachers in the United States.   Teachers for Global Classrooms Program
And I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of 72 participants for the 2014 fellowship sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered through IREX.  IREX is an organization that bills itself as, "an international nonprofit organization providing thought leadership and innovative programs to promote positive lasting change globally."  To learn more about the program, follow this link:

And am I lucky - there were six countries that I could have been selected to travel to, along with 11 of the other recipients.  And all of the countries will be amazing and remain on my (ridiculously long!) life list. But my cohort is going to be traveling in July and August to the beautiful and diverse land of India.

So I went to Flicker to find an iconic picture that represents India, and found this unusual wide angle shot of the Taj Mahal taken by Maurio Peddis.  I can't wait to take photographs of my own!

* Disclaimer:  This blog is not an official U.S. Department of State blog. The views and information presented are the grantee’s own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.