Why Travel?

It has always been my dream to travel as part of my career.  Many wonder why teaching would be my career of choice if traveling was so important to me.  First of all, there is no other career where you have two months a year for the freedom to travel.  Also, for what purpose does a person have to travel if not to bring something back to those they care about?  As I travel the world, I want to bring back information to my students.  I want to be able to tell them what life is like in other parts of the world, particularly how other people are learning and teaching.

I believe that education unites the world.  Everyone learns everyday and all countries have some form of formal education.   

I was lucky enough to have parents who cared as much about education, travel, and having adventures as much as I do.  My family is by no means affluent but have carefully decided the priorities for expenses.  We never cared about having the biggest house, the fanciest car, or the latest technology gizmo.  It was all about family, education, and travel.

We camped a lot during my childhood.  My older sister, younger sister, and parents would load up an old trailer and drive off to many different Florida locations.  We'd swim in the springs, learn about nature, and I learned to appreciate comfort, but not expect, comfort during travel.

As we grew older and after our move to North Carolina,  my mother wanted us to see more outside the United States.  Plane tickets and hotels were out of the question.  My mother did plenty of research and discovered cruising.  It seemed like a cost efficient way to see a few different countries within a week.  We stopped all other family vacations and began cruising every two years.

On these cruises, we tended to avoid the usual tourist haunts and preferred to go on island tours that were more educational.