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Published: June 15th 2011
Sixteen teachers all across the United States made their way to New York City on Saturday, June 11th to meet each other for the first time. Other than being friends on Facebook, we had never met, but we all shared one common interest, the love of travel. More importantly, we share a deep desire to bring the outside world to the students we teach and to the community we live in. It is my hope that anyone reading my blog over the next several weeks can learn a little more than before, appreciate a little more than before, and most importantly, accept a little more than before.
I was one of the lucky sixteen, in that I got to NYC early. I basically had eight hours to conquer the big apple before I was scheduled to meet everyone in the hotel lobby. I quickly dropped off my bags in my hotel room and headed for the subway. I walked around Times Square for a while before making my way to Little Italy for lunch. I had a nice plate of spaghetti and then headed for the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a cold, wet day so I only walked to the
first pier. I hear on a nice, clear day there is a view of the city that is unbelievable. Well, hopefully next time I'll get to see it. After walking on the bridge, I made my way up to the Bronx to see Yankee Stadium, but I only saw the outside. I saw tons of Yankee fans leaving the game, but I never made it into the stadium.
After a little more subway riding, it was time to meet my 15 new best friends. It was nice to finally put a face with the pictures I've been seeing. At that first meeting, I never thought I would remember everyone’s name, but it didn’t take long. Our group of 16 teachers bonded together quickly, and I believe that is because we are all elementary teachers who have the same calling on our lives to make a difference in the lives of children. Although we are all elementary teachers, we cover a variety of disciplines. We have Kindergarten teachers, drama teachers, art teachers, 6th grade history teachers, 4th grade teachers, and more. After trying to shake hands with everyone, we made our way to dinner which was at a Turkish restaurant.
After an amazing meal, we had a belly-dancer for entertainment.
The next day was spent at Columbia University listening to lectures on the cultures of Greece and Turkey. I will spare you all the details, but being on Columbia University’s campus was inspiring. Dinner that night was at a Greek restaurant and although we didn’t have a belly-dancer, we had a great time laughing and eating.
The last day in NYC was spent listening to one more lecture before we left for JFK airport. We are now in Greece and I will update this blog again soon.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Discovered your blog today.
Sounds like you are on an exciting adventure. It would cool if you could spend a month or two in Greece and Turkey after your time in NYC.