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Why Vietnam?

Location: Incheon International Airport, Seoul, South Korea

A lot of people have asked me, “Why Vietnam?!” Some people have asked with sincere tones of curiosity while others have asked quite venomously. I’ve had people remark, “That is one part of the world I would never go to!” “Only a bunch of brown people living in poverty there, who wants to see that?” “Remember what happened the last time Americans were in Vietnam?!” Some people have even just remarked with, “Ewww gross.” “You’re crazy!” Sadly, all of these remarks have been made by fellow teachers. I believe that this is extremely problematic. To be a teacher who does right by their students, we must have tolerance, acceptance, and understanding in the different cultural and historical perspectives that exist in our world. All of these comments go against that grain and needed mindset.

I’m journeying to Vietnam because the opportunity presented itself to me. My best friend is doing a summer externship with a major patent law firm centered in Hanoi, Vietnam this summer. He invited me to visit him, providing me with a place to stay and everything! I jumped upon this opportunity gladly. Throughout my life and travels, I have not yet been to Asia.

Presently, I teach both 7th and 8th grade social studies. 7th grade social studies in Indiana is centered on Eastern World History and Geography. Many of the standards that I teach are focused on Southeast Asia, the Vietnam War, the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism in the region, etc. Honestly, I feel that I do not have adequate knowledge to be teaching those standards. My knowledge on these topics is not much more than the information the textbook provides. Compared to the units I’ve created on other parts of the world that I’ve been to, have studied, and am knowledgeable on, I felt my unit on Southeast Asia was an injustice to my students. Going to Vietnam this summer was my chance to learn and grow, not just for myself but as an educator. I will have so much to share after my experiences to incorporate in my instruction.

Although this sounds whack, a part of myself believes it is a part of my destiny to travel to Vietnam this summer. This past winter, I was planning to make this summer productive and meaningful, and to grow in my profession. I did much research on travel professional development opportunities for teachers. During my research, through social media, I found a Facebook page devoted to summer teacher travel professional development. One member of the Facebook group posted an entire excel spreadsheet with fellowship opportunities organized. I looked through the entire list and applied towards every opportunity I qualified for. Through all of that time and hard work applying towards these, I was awarded two different summer fellowships for teachers this summer. One is in San Diego, California and the other is in New Orleans, Louisiana. Both are all expense paid! The fellowship in San Diego is for 2 weeks and is actually centered on the Vietnam War. What a coincidence?! Everyday, I will be on the USS Midway aircraft carrier listening to prestiged academics who focus their research on the Vietnam War. I will also be working closely with other educators to design classroom curriculum on Vietnam. Both my experiences in Vietnam and San Diego will be so great for me as I design my class curriculum for next year.

I’m so excited to begin this awesome journey and to document all that I have learned. I can’t wait to share not only on this blog but with my future students as well! Ultimately, I can’t wait to continue working towards becoming the best teacher I can be and that my future students need me to be.

#vietnam #teachertraveler

June 2017: Vietnam

Hanoi, Saigon, Ha Long Bay, and more.

Stay posted!

#vietnam #teachertraveler

Christmas in Puerto Rico 2015

First time visiting the island I have always heard about my whole life. The land of sky blue waters. Spent two weeks with distant family in Puerto Rico, reconnecting to my Boricua heritage. Stayed with a cousin of mine in Arecibo. Visited other relatives in Lares, where my family is acclaimed for being a part of the famous Grito de Lares, Puerto Rico’s revolution for independence from Spain. Visited sites where my family name is honored, and visited other historical places I have heard about my whole life from my grandparents who left the island for economic reasons in the 1960s.

Some photos from my recent trip to the Rio Valley Grande Valley, Texas.

Spent a four day weekend celebrating my great grandmothers 104th birthday in Weslaco, Texas. Explored my Tejana heritage, seeing my family’s land and property along the U.S.-Mexican border. Witnessed how my Mexican-American heritage was influenced by the Texan Revolution, Mexican-American War, and current immigration issues. Even walked across the bridge separating the infamous border, and witnessed the immediate drastic change across the border in regards to poverty. Great experience to share with my students on how many Mexican-American families, such as mine are affected in regards to the border.

Traveling outside of Ireland (May 25-June 4)

Scotland: Spent a week across the British Isles touring all around Scotland. Spent 2-3 days in Edinburgh and then toured the Isle of Skye and Northern Highlands. Beautiful hikes, museums, Scotch tastings, and finding the Loch Ness monster.

England: Spent another week outside of London, England residing with my aunt and her husband. Enjoyed beautiful museums, performances, restaurants, pubs, long drives in the English countryside, and toured more of London.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my experiences in Ireland, have not been the easiest. I have had my share of ups and downs, but through it all I have learned a lot, and I believe ultimately that I have been successfully during my journey here. Although my blog is focused on how my perspectives have changed historically through travel and how that influences me as a teacher, in this post I plan to focus on how my professional perspective has changed and how that has had me ultimately grow as a person.

A few weeks ago the most exhilarating professional success of this week was being told that I was the best student teacher that one of my supervisory teacher’s has ever had. After delivering a lesson, I asked him if he had any critiques for me to improve on; and he replied, “Honestly, Mariah, you are so impressive; it is phenomenal. You are always so prepared and come up with engaging activities for the students. You have all of them interested, which is hard for this age group. I have had many student teachers both from Ireland and from America, and you are by far the best one I have ever had.” This was so significant to me because it let me know that all my hard work is paying off; it makes me feel like I am achieving my mission of making history engaging and relevant for the students.

This past week, the most significant professional success I had was while I asked another cooperating teacher if they would not mind writing me a letter of recommendation. The teacher responded ecstatically, telling me that they would love to write me a letter and be a reference. She told me I was the best American student teacher that she has ever had. She said the other American student teachers never had good classroom management, never had any initiative, etc. But I proved the opposite and that she appreciated all my assistance. Her statement not only meant a lot to me but it also provided me some background context to maybe why I was not initially accepted at the school, especially if previous American student teachers did not make a good impression. I am glad to have proven otherwise.

My hard work and initiative had paid off. Today was my last day teaching at St. Flannan’s College and it honestly was extremely hard for me to say goodbye. Although I was greeted with a cold welcome, I received such a warm farewell from all staff and students. My day began in the staff room today and the principal was there with a special message for me. She made a speech about how much her school has appreciated me and how much everyone has loved me and will miss me. She presented me with a gift and card as well. I received other cards and gifts from other staff members as well. All the classes I taught the students created homemade cards. One class gifted me with a necklace. Another class gifted me with a standing ovation when I walked in the classroom, then presenting me with my card. Students hugged me and cried telling me that they would miss me and that they didn’t want me to return to America. All of this was truly so unexpected and amazing. Ultimately, I am so glad that I persevered in Ireland and that I maintained a positive mindset. No matter what obstacles are thrown in my future teaching career, I was always remember this journey, and that life is what you make of it!

Ireland, Go Raibh Maith Agat! (Thank you in Gaelic)

Youth in Ireland

As a part of the study abroad program I am enrolled in, to have this opportunity to travel to Ireland, one of my requirements is to immerse myself in my community through a greater service learning project. The idea of this project has intimidated me but I am truly grateful for all the opportunities it has opened up for me in my Irish community.

For my service-learning project I volunteered for the Clare Youth Services Clare Youth Centre in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. The Clare Youth Centre is a space for youth ages 14-18 to hang out and engage in activities that have them involved in the greater community. At the Clare Youth Centre, I volunteered at their annual exposition event and then every Saturday in the Youth Space Café. It took me some time, in Ireland, to figure out how I wanted to get involved in the community. At first, when I asked people about how I could volunteer, I was told of this lengthy process, where I would need to have a criminal check, etc. and that to volunteer I needed to be a citizen of the country. Although these comments initially discouraged me, I made sure to keep asking around for suggestions. I asked my host, Brid, if she had any suggestions, and she told me about the Youth Centre and then another organization called Clare Care. Clare Care assists those with needs in the community. These could include emotional, physical, dependencies, etc. Next, I talked to fellow colleagues at St. Flannan’s College, the school where I am currently placed. Many of the teachers were negative towards the Youth Centre. They discouraged me to volunteer there. They remarked, that those students were rough around the edges and troubled. I replied, that I would not mind that, but the teachers persisted to be negative.

On Mondays, my last class ends at noon. I told myself that after school, I would research more about the two organizations and call both of them about volunteer opportunities. I researched both using the Internet, and both seemed like great ways to get involved with the greater community outside of school. First, I called Clare Care. However, every time that I called, I received an answering machine. I decided then to call the Clare Youth Service phone number. Immediately, the receptionist answered my call and told me to stop on by later in the afternoon. Because I had the rest of the afternoon free, I walked to the centre and submitted an application. Later that afternoon, I received a call about the status of my application and was told someone named Patrick would call me later in the week about volunteer opportunities.

Two days later, I received a call from Patrick on my Irish cell phone. I was not able to immediately answer his first two phone calls, because it was during school hours. My first attempt to return the call, I received his voicemail, but the second time I returned his call I finally reached ahold of him. Once I got ahold of him, he asked me if I would like to volunteer at the Clare Youth Service Expo on the upcoming Saturday. I replied, “of course!” I asked for clarifications on the time and the date, and was told to meet at the Centre at noon that Saturday and somebody would direct me.

That Saturday, I arrived at the Centre at noon and was met by another worker named Eamon. He was with a few of the students who attend the Centre. He told me to follow him as we walked to another building in the downtown district. The students were all wearing health masks at the time too. I had no idea what was going on, where I was going, and/or what I would be doing. When we got to the place where we were going in town, the Ennis Community Centre, I was introduced to other workers as a new volunteer. I greeted them and asked them what they needed me to assist them with during the day. They really had no idea where to put me or have me do. Eventually I was told that I could run a cupcake stand with another volunteer.

As I mentioned, I facilitated a cupcake stand with another volunteer. At the cupcake stand, community members could come to the stand and have a cupcake for free, as long as they decorated it themselves. We provided them with plain cupcake buns, frosting, sprinkles, candies, etc. to decorate their cupcakes. The cupcake stand was very successful. Many people enjoyed decorating the cupcakes for themselves. Many youth invited their classmates to come to the community centre and engage with the activities going on. Other activities going on were ping-pong, battle of the bands, pin decorating, face painting, and a barbecue.

This first day volunteering with the Clare Youth Service, I got to see what the Clare Youth Centre is all about. I got to see many of the activities it has students do there and how it reaches out to the wider community. Although, I did not have all my exact questions answered with specifics, I got to see a bigger idea of what the centre represents. Everyone involved with the Clare Youth Service was very friendly with me, despite not knowing what to do with me. I decided to make myself as useful as I could be, staying to tear everything down, etc. My first day volunteering at with Clare Youth Services, I put in over 5 hours of service. However, I knew I would be back to put in more time, because I enjoyed feeling like I was truly becoming a part of the Ennis community. After my first day volunteering with Clare Youth Service, I continued to text the worker Patrick, who invited me to the centre every Saturday. Every Saturday, I attended the centre’s Youth Café, supervising and being a mentor to students who attended. In the café, there is an endless supply of coffee, tea, sweets, etc. The rules are that one has to make it themselves and clean up after themselves. The café also has a stereo, chalkboard for random creative expression, and television, along with couches to congregate. Students attend on the weekends to see other classmates and feel a part of something. Usually for 1 hour, students engage in a community activity, like designing political posters encouraging youth to vote in the community, then can relax by watching a scary movie, listening to music together, etc. The centre also has a gymnasium, art gallery, and a music-recording studio for youth to engage in as well.

I feel that I was most definitely and adequately prepared to find a service-learning project in my host community from my pre-service work in Bloomington. I felt that finding a way to get involved was no greater a challenge than finding a way to get involved in the United States. It just takes some initiative and bravery. Opportunities will not present themselves, one must actively seek them. It can be scary, especially putting oneself out there in an unfamiliar place.

The Clare Youth Service is a part of the greater organization Youth Work Ireland. Clare Youth Service was founded in 1969. It exists to serve and represent the youth (ages 12 – 25) of County Clare, Ireland. The organization provides education and training; organizes and supports youth clubs, projects, and other local community endeavors; serves as a guidance befriending and listening to youth as well. The organization is the voice of all of County Clare, Ireland’s young people, serving as a resource for all youth to reach their fullest potential. The Clare Youth Service provides youth information, youth clubs, youth projects, community employment, mainline and disadvantaged youth work, community and youth training, and summer camps as well.

The Clare Youth Service is needed in the community because it serves as the representative voice of the community’s youth. It makes sure that their interests are heard and acknowledged. Youth are the community’s future. This space makes sure to let youth know that they are valued and not seen as a lesser object. Their minds, creativity, and discovery are encouraged. Even youth who come from disadvantaged backgrounds are welcome. In no way does the space serve to hinder individuals but as a way to help them prosper. Often times, with school, students feel demeaned and undervalued, subjected to academics and discipline. Facilities and spaces such as the Clare Youth Service are their to encourage young minds in other pursuits and create productive citizens for tomorrow.

Reflecting on myself and the youth at the Clare Youth Service, I did not notice much difference between them and myself. Although I am a young adult, it was not long ago that I was a teenager. I am only twenty-two years of age. I engage in many of the same social media platforms these youth also use, I watch the same videos on YouTube and/or Netflix, listen to a lot of the same musical genres, etc. I have just graduated from Indiana University, a space where creativity is nurtured and encouraged, a space where some of the most unique places in Indiana and the greater United States thrive because of youth culture. I chose Indiana University, because I wanted to be in space where my creativity was encouraged and where it could grow. Just like many of the youth here attend the Youth Centre. Here, youth are accepted for who they are. They do not feel like they cannot be themselves. There are plenty of outlets for creative expression, such as the music studio, art gallery, etc. No genre/style is discouraged. As I mentioned earlier, many of my colleagues at St. Flannan’s College frowned upon the youth at the centre, labeling them as troubled. Volunteering at the centre, I grew to disagree with this stereotype. At first site of the centre, one may see a group of teenagers smoking cigarettes outside the vincinity, using profanity, and listening to very heavy music; but they have just as much genius and talents as other students too. They should not be condemned for not fitting a pre-made mold.

Overall, my time volunteering at the Clare Youth Service greatly impacted my time here in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. It is indescribable how much it positively impacted my experience. Before volunteering at the Clare Youth Service, I felt lost and without a place in my host community. It allowed me to feel like I was learning more about my community and becoming a part of it, instead of being a random nobody. I also believe this experience was significant to me, because I was involved in similar organizations during my youth. In my teenage years, I was involved in extracurricular programs for teens at the local Y.M.C.A. These programs at the Y.M.C.A. also aimed to create a safe space for teenagers to socialize while being productive in their community. These programs gave me the early leadership positions that shaped the rest of my high school and college career. It allowed me to become a mover and shaker in my community, outside of school programs. In a way, I felt like I was giving back, even though this was a different organization, and in another country. Despite that fact though, I am still glad I got to shape all young minds in the community. I feel like I learned a lot from my time at the Youth Centre. I learned that with youth, you must give a lot of room for creative opportunity, to have students feel engaged. In my classroom regarding curriculum and interactions with students, I will always make sure that I believe in all of my students and encourage all of their talents. I want all my students to feel engaged. I do not want to condemn a troublesome student as not worth it. They are always worth it, as long as we allow those students to feel proud of whom they are, and showcase their uniqueness and talents. I saw and was reminded of this success at the Clare Youth Service and it is what I will carry with me in my future interactions with youth.

#clare youth centre ennis ireland

Reclaiming Irish Heritage

Recently, I chaperoned a 2 day student trip to the Aran Islands, which are 3 islands off the West Coast of Ireland. The purpose of this trip was to have the students immerse in their traditional Irish heritage. This trip to the Aran Islands was so significant because its shows the traditional Irish culture. The students were taken on this field trip as a part of their Irish class curriculum. Much of Ireland’s history has been altered by its previous colonial history with Britain. In the early 1900s, many Irish citizens no longer spoke Irish. Many only spoke English. When Ireland received independence it wanted to reclaim its traditions and heritage. On the Aran Islands, as I mentioned, Irish is the civilians’ first language; all road signs, etc. are written in Irish. The way of life is traditional Irish farming. It serves as a destination to remind the Irish of there roots untainted by British colonization.

Traditional homes and farming lifestyle on Inis Orr in the Aran Islands.

Throughout my time in Ireland, I have noticed heavily the promotion of the language and history. My school was awarded for being the best school in the nation to teach the Irish language. When the President of Ireland visited my school many weeks ago, his entire speech was in the Irish language. Street signs are written in Irish and then translated into English text below. The biggest sports watched here are the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) games. The GAA was founded during the Irish independence movement, and is a league of sports for traditional Irish games such as hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, rounders, and handball.

Students participating in a traditional Hurling match.

When conversing with another teacher, she told me that she grew up in a traditional part of Ireland, with Irish as her first language. She confessed that she never has much opportunity to speak in Irish, and it felt wonderful for her to do so. She said it is in all of us and once it is released it feels like I am my true self. In many ways, Ireland has not felt different from the U.S., but during my experience here, I got to witness how the Irish culture is truly a part of the people here and is something unique to them that they are proud of, especially after having to hide it for some many centuries under colonial rule.

Ever since Irish independence, the Republic of Ireland has been promoting use of Irish culture in language, sports, music, etc. to establish and identify separate from British colonization. Through these efforts, more people are speaking Irish daily and more people are involved in Irish culture through arts and sports, having the culture that was once almost extinct under British colonization, become revitalized.

Observing how much the Irish culture is promoted, it made me wonder how much of American history and culture is based from retaliation of British colonialism as well. First things that come to mind is our word choice and spelling. The importance of American literature and how it expresses the American character, our architectural choices, even music, and the development of Webster’s Dictionary. American history would be severely altered if it never received independence from Britain. With teaching about the American Revolution in my future classroom, thinking of these examples, a possible professional thing that I can do in my future classroom is have my students engage in a brainstorming activity where they have to imagine what the U.S. would be like if we never received independence from Great Britain. How would our history be different, how would our culture be different, etc.? This type of activity could make students aware of what makes American values uniquely American.

Photos from Aran Islands:

Chaperoned an overnight field trip with staff and students to the Aran Islands, specifically Inis Orr. Purpose of the trip was for students to immerse in the Irish language, for it is the only language spoken on these islands off the coast of Ireland. It is about a 30 minute boat ride from the main island. A great way to immerse in their Irish heritage. The educational system in Ireland places great focus on reclaiming Irish heritage after many years of British occupation.

Photos of my students as they respond and write back letters to students in Indiana that I delivered to them. Great way to connect my American students to Irish students! Students in their letters had to describe their home’s geography, history, and culture.

Proactive Energy

I want to apologize to anyone who stumbles upon this blog who hoped that I would write more about my daily life here in Ireland. I have been writing, but I have kept my thoughts privately, as I am still trying to process my thoughts to perfect expressing them publicly.

My life here in Ireland the first month has been a rollercoaster, to say the least. I have had so many ups and downs. I can’t even make sense truly how I have been feeling, which has made me want to avoid my emotions all together.

To start, I have had a harder time adjusting to life in Ireland, than what I initially anticipated. I have traveled numerous times before, so I thought that I would know what to expect. I am used to culture shock and overcoming difficult situations, conditions, etc. In Ireland, I have faced nothing like the culture shock I faced in Ghana and Cuba. Sometimes, I don’t even feel like I am in another country. The way of life here is so similar to life in the U.S. I feel like I am only in a different city within the U.S. Everyone here is attached to their smartphones, everyone has a car, same appliances, appearances, etc. However, even though the conveniences of technology are so available, it is a challenge not to be sucked in by it, especially when you are feeling socially rejected. People have been ignoring me, not including me, and I could easily distract myself from the reality by watching a new series on Netflix but I did NOT travel thousand of miles across the Atlantic to do that! I came here to immerse myself despite how challenging. I will continue being proactive no matter how many trials and errors.

I mentioned being ignored most of the time. I will share with you one of my horrific first experiences in Ireland and how I have overcome it and made my experiences much better.

When I arrived here at the school in Ireland on my first day, I quickly learned that they completely forgot about my arrival. They were not prepared for me. After I met with the principal, she had the secretary guide me to the staff room to wait for the vice principal who would give me my time table, tell me about my classes, supervisory teachers, and give me a tour around the school. He met with me briefly and then told me he would return shortly after he quickly attended to a special needs student. I waited and waited, for hours, and he never returned. I ended up waiting in the staff room from 11:00 am until 4:25 pm. It felt truly mortifying. I felt like I was on display in the staff room with everyone noticing me but no one approaching me. I felt so degraded that it took all the fibers within me not to cry. Eventually, a teacher asked me why I was there and I told her my purpose and my subject areas and she graciously offered to allow me to be a part of her classroom. A part of me did fear going, in case the vice principal returned, but I decided to shadow her classroom anyways. After I observed her classroom, I returned back to the staff room and continued to wait some more.

Eventually, the end of the day arrived. I didn’t know what to do. I decided to go to the office and tell them my uncertainties. They put me in contact again with the vice principal who told me blatantly that he didn’t have time for me and to come back tomorrow. I arrived the next day, went to the office, was told to wait in the staff room, and waited another 3 hours before he finally had time to assist me. Again, while I waited, I felt roasted with humiliation. Finally, when he approached me, he barely said anything to me, and just told me to follow another teacher until they figured out what to do with me. Now, I was feeling like a burden/bother to everyone.

Later, I learned that the President of Ireland was planning to visit the school that week and make a speech, and all the staff was stressed about this. Although the school did know about my arrival since September, I realized that I cannot focus on the negativity, because I have 3 months left in Ireland. I need to rewire this energy and make the MOST of my experience here. Things have started to become better little by little. Like I stated earlier, I have had to be proactive though to make things better. Things wouldn’t have changed on their own. I’ll describe some actions I have made to make make my situation much better.

Thank you cards: Although a lot of people ignored me, anyone who was helpful, even in the slightest way, I wrote them a thank you card. I even wrote one to the vice principal. Writing these thank you cards, made me analyze the positive things, rather than focus on the obvious negatives. It helped me to redirect my energy. It was also very helpful to my relationships at the school too. Every person I wrote a card for was surprised and grateful. The staff became more inclined to include me, inviting me out for drinks, movies, dinner, to chaperone field trips, etc!

Planning ahead: After observing a few classes, I started to design potential lesson plans I could use in those classes. I made all of the lesson materials as well. I presented these ideas to my supervisory teachers and they immediately began to grant more responsibilities to me. One of my supervisory teachers, that same day, allowed me to start teaching his classes and completely take over his classroom. He no longer feels that he needs to “supervise” me and lets me manage his classroom independently. I believe that preplanning showed the teachers that I am creative, thoughtful, and knowledgable.

Wearing a name-tag: To be taken seriously professionally and to be remembered, I also began wearing a professional name tag I received from my university a long time ago. I learned people were not addressing me because they had forgotten my name. Students and staff quickly learned my name and I was now being properly introduced professionally as well.

Stepping out of my comfort zone: I have made myself go to a coffee shop and become a regular to feel a part of the an environment. The owner has been one of the friendliest people to me in town. I also learned about other community events from this establishment as well and have gone to become more immersed. I also have begun volunteering for a youth group organization, to become more involved extracurricularly with youth in my community. It has also allowed me to establish professional rapport with others in the community too.

An article published in the Clare Champion about the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, visit to St. Flannan’s College. St. Flannan’s College is the school that I am student teaching at here in Ireland. How crazy is this, my first week of student teaching in Ireland, the president of Ireland visits the school? Unimaginable but an amazing experience! I will write more about it in another post!

#St. Flannan's College #Ennis #county clare #Ireland #student teaching #indiana university #global gateway program