Challenged by Korean Cultural and Social Differences

Last week I began sharing about my experience teaching English in a summer program in South Korea in 2006. The school was located near Seoul. I traveled there with some other American teachers. While we enjoyed working with our students, working with the administration had its challenges. One of the positive things for me at the school was their technology. I was teaching in a private school at that time, and our technology was not at a very high level.…

Malawi: Life in a Large School Compound

There are many reasons to travel. This trip to Malawi was not a trip as a tourist. Because of that II didn’t stay in the usual tourist type accommodations. Instead I stayed in a large walled in compound. The compound was originally built for American missionaries. However, there are none in the compound at this time. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not in use. In fact it’s a pretty busy place. The compound is probably about the size of a…

Malawi Travel; Whose Plan?

One of the first blog posts I wrote was entitled “Why Travel?” My purpose was to suggest that there are more reasons to travel than just the traditional idea of business or pleasure. However, after a recent trip to Malawi, I think I have found a variation of one of my reasons. See what you think. To understand my thinking you must understand that I am a teacher. I believe teaching is my calling and gifting. While I made my…

Why Travel? What Value Does Travel Have?

It seems that one of the common expectations of retirees is that they will travel. This expectation was evident when I was reading what my high school classmates from 50 years ago wrote in their current biographies. Traveling both past and future was a common theme. But why? What is the purpose or value of traveling? People travel for many reasons. A common reason is what many people call bucket list travel. These travelers are out to see or experience…