Eurotrip17: The Countdown is Almost Over

It is April 9th.

I just finished correcting a batch of tests and watching the Red Sox win against the Detroit Tigers.  Throughout the course of this weekend, I have slowly been putting things together for another school trip.  This one is Eurotrip17.  We leave on Wednesday evening.  Flying on Lufthansa, we depart for a total of 12 days (including travel days) into Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.  I've been fortunate enough to visit all of these countries before, but this doesn't make the trip any less exciting...in fact, I am more excited for it because I've been to so many of these places.  For some of you, this blog is nothing new.

For many, this will be your first time reading "Where in the World is Mr. Lavoie?" I've been writing it since April of 2013.  It has traveled with me on all of my student adventures and has made an appearance on a couple of my non-student tours.  It is a glimpse into what we have seen and into my thoughts.  My name is Richard Lavoie and I am a history teacher at Saugus High School.  Our students have been pretty lucky over the dozen years or so.  They've traveled to four continents, well over twenty countries, and have struggled with nearly as many languages.  They've eaten the strangest foods you can imagine, danced along with native music, and walked among ruins that are thousands of years old.  I haven't been on all of these trips, but I've learned from them all.  That is one of the reasons why I put this blog together...so that others can learn from our travels.  Mark Twain once said, "One Must Travel to Learn."  He traveled all over the US and he wrote about his experiences...sometimes he told his tales in fiction, but amidst it all, the audience could learn from his words even if they were sitting comfortably on their couch with one of his books.  When that quote was presented to me, it stuck.  It not only has become a motto for the trips I take, but it has become a constant reminder of why I go.

I try to start every student trip with a fresh post.  In some regards, it is a test run to make sure the program hasn't changed too drastically.  In others, it is a way for me to mentally prepare.  I will be attempting to write every night we are on tour.  The typical pattern has me sitting in a hotel lobby as the students attempt to go to bed.  I sit and reflect upon the day's adventure and try to piece together a narrative that not only recaps our exploits, but also examines a lesson that we can take with us.  My first hotel lobby was at the Glena House.  It was a small B&B-type hotel in the city of Killarney.  We had just learned about the Boston Marathon bombing.  The hotel staff locked the door and politely asked me to turn off the lights when I finished.  A few years later, in Belize, I sat in a darkened hotel lobby that had no windows and was infested with insects.  Typing away on the staff computer because the wifi was so weak, I struggled to fight off the many creepy-crawlies to meet my deadline.  Sometimes, the lobby doesn't work, like last year, when we were on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, or on our last visit to Prague, when there was no lobby, but every night, I sit, and think, and type.

I use this first blog to make sure that some features work the way they have in the past and to remind/inform my readers that although I've never missed a deadline, it is bound to happen sometime.  With that said, I want to try a couple of things tonight...before I hop back into the mound of tests that need correcting before we leave.  The first is a YouTube clip.  I'm hoping to take a few videos this year...and then to post them to YouTube.  If you don't know...our first stop is Budapest.  A popular song came our a couple years, click play and read along to the music.

Another feature is the Facebook Album.  When I first started the Blog, I tried using a different online photo album, but Facebook has become so popular and user friendly, that I can now create a public photo album.  Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156023851350760&type=1&l=83a2ab00ef.  There is only one picture now, but there will be more soon!!!  In addition to this album, I am going to try and go "Live" on Facebook a few times...depending on bandwidth.  If I can figure out when, then I will post times in advance.

As I try to wrap up tonight's post, I wanted to take a quick minute to explain a little bit about how I see the world.  For the past couple of years while on these trips, taking some time every night to write has really sharpened my perspective.  I try to see the world with purpose.  I try to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.  I try to find connections that remind me that our world isn't really that big,,,that scary...or that foreign.  I've made a lot of friends (travel acquaintances, really) while traveling.  From all over the world, these people have shown me that we are all more alike than different.  It is a message that we share at Saugus High School, among our student body, but it resonates into the rest of the world too.  I think that our purpose, while abroad, isn't that different than our purpose at home.  We should explore new places and meet new people, but we should do so with a smile on our faces and an open hand extended to the stranger.  We are about to head to places that many of our students no very little about, but when we return, even if the kids can't remember the name of a particular cathedral, they will remember the people they have met.  Even though the language will be difficult to understand, the people (and their culture) will not be...they will be more like us than we had considered.

For those who are new to the blog, don't worry, it's not all deep rooted posts about my world vision.  I try to include some jokes, great pictures, and a detailed recap of the places we've seen, the foods we've eaten, and the experiences we've enjoyed.  I hope that you will, through this blog, learn while we travel even if you are sitting comfortably on your couch.  Feel free to leave a comment as the trip progresses...it pleases me to know that the blog is working and that you are enjoying it (I hope you enjoy it).

Mr. Lavoie, Currently in Saugus...for the next few days.