The Plan

Dear all,

I've backpacked and slept in some pretty remote and far-flung places of the earth in my time, but not for 20 years! So, it is with great excitement that I anticipate getting down and dirty again, travelling, studying and trekking in French West Africa. In one of my French classes I focus on this area using different media to study colonization, immigration, integration and racism, as well as education, health, the implications of aid, and so on, with a view to breaking down stereotypes and encouraging students to think about attitudes and solutions to global challenges. I also organize immersion trips abroad for my students to enrich their global perspectives. I applied to my school, Greens Farms Academy, Westport, CT, for a travel grant to visit Senegal and Mali with a view to studying and immersing myself in the Senegalese and Malian cultures and to investigate the possibility of bringing my French students to Senegal in June 2011. I consider myself very fortunate to have been awarded a travel grant that will allow me to do this and am deeply appreciative of the opportunity. There it is! My first post made the day before I leave for 28 days in Senegal and Mali.

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