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Mexico

“Students of the World”

“The world is the true classroom. The most rewarding and important type of learning is through experience, seeing something with your own eyes.” -Jack Hanna

Eight days ago, we set off for Mexico with lots of luggage, but we also carried along goals, hopes, and expectations. Today we are returning home with our even-fuller luggage having achieved those goals, having fulfilled those hopes, and having exceeded even our highest expectations. 

This morning after breakfast, we sat outside under a bright blue sky in our group circle with our talking partners to debrief about our journey. We celebrated personal accomplishments and nodded vigorously when one person was able to vocalize another’s unspoken thoughts and emotions. Each of us had some collective highlights (we saw a whale breach!) and some personal take-aways. But we all have plans for ways to implement what we have learned into our classrooms, schools, community, and even our own backyards. There were moments of laughter and there were moments of tears. That’s usually the case when your colleagues become more than just colleagues- they become your friends. They become your people. When we get back to the Raleigh airport we will go our separate ways, but we will all be changed by our experiences in Mexico.

To all those who have followed our online journey, we thank you. To our loved ones who supported us leaving the nest to take this journey, we appreciate you and rejoice in returning home to you. To the sponsors who made this learning experience possible, we are grateful for you. To our guides and conservation partners in the United States and Mexico, we commend your efforts. And most of all, to the students reading this, we encourage you. We encourage you to get out there and be curious. We encourage you to ask questions and to seek answers. We encourage you to explore the near and the far. We encourage you to discover the great outdoors, to look up at the night sky, to gaze at birds in flight, to document what you see whether that be a small butterfly or an enormous whale.  Because there is much yet to be discovered and so much still be to understood. All of us, young and old, are students of the world. 

“Traveling– it leaves you speechless and turns you into a storyteller.” – Idn Buttata

Thank you for allowing us to tell our story.

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