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With a belly full of mariposas I'm off for the adventure of a life time. Don't worry, I've packed my backpack with the essentials;


- a thirst for adventure, to insure that all goals are met
- no limits, to try new things and find the beauty in each
- passion for culture, to experience being me in another world
- a sponge, to soak up every second
- creativity, to help me navigate any interesting situations
- and of course, one best friend, to laugh, cry, and smile with every step of the way.


See you on the flip side


xoxo


B

Hey friends,

A colleague of mine from my non-profit organization Music. Is. For. Everyone. Society just shared this video with me. While it may not directly relate to TAB, it shows just how beautiful the world is, and that music transcends all barriers. If this child was able to create this drum set from scattered parts, think of what he could do for the world. I am truly inspired by this child, and my passion for education and music is stronger than ever.

If you don't have any plans Saturday night the 21st of January, come out the the Cantos Music Foundation in Calgary at 6:30 pm, for M.I.F.E.S annual fundraising Gala.

Me llamo Bryndan, y tu?

Ola mi amigos!

Bryndan here.  Welcome to my blog! I hope this will be a window into my experiences with my partner in crime, Brianne Gruber.    Participating in TAB was one of the fundamental reasons I chose to complete my after Education degree at the University of Calgary. I look forward to sharing all of my wonderful Spanish experiences with you all!

In order to fully understand, you need to know what you know. To complete;


 Assignment Two: Inquiry Project: Documented Pedagogical Travel Logs

Part 1: Preparing for your TAB experience,

 Here is a little slice of what I know of how I got here, participating in Teaching Across Borders, Barcelona, Spain.

The premise of my Biography of Learning 2 from last semester was “Why do I learn?” In addition to the many amazing teachers, and school based experiences that filled the pages of my portfolio, there were two experiences that I feel have marked my life more than anything: the six weeks I spent traveling through Greece, (the place of my family’s heritage) after my first year of university: and this past summer traveling and doing aid work in Guatemala.

            Prior to traveling throughout Greece, I was 19, pursuing my music degree at Concordia University College of Alberta in Edmonton, my home town, enjoying this new ‘thing’ called post secondary education, and growing up in ways I could not have predicted. However, I needed somewhere larger: somewhere that I could have an influence on, that I could contribute to. I needed to see the world through the world’s eyes. That summer I packed my back-pack, and set off to experience a new world. While exploring my family’s village, Doliana, I found family I had no idea I had, and a culture with a rich history that I now feel so blessed to be a part of. While I was in Greece I learned a lot about myself. However, I learned even more when I came home. I experienced culture shock upon returning to Edmonton, and I was quite upset with many features of our western life style. I found I had a choice to make: to be angry, or to be proactive. I chose to be proactive and share my experiences with those around me.  What I believed to be important had completely shifted.

            The second experience abroad that I feel has completely re-shaped my life was my time spent in Guatemala, summer 2010. When I was 15, my mother and I made a promise to each other to do a Habitat for Humanity build together. We chose Guatemala as it was the first place she backpacked through when she was only a year older than I. Two days after my June convocation we set out for the adventure that absolutely confirmed that I need to be a teacher, and that education needs people like me.

     

            Just a few weeks before we departed for Guatemala, the country was hit with the disastrous Tropical Storm Agatha, and the eruption of previously ‘dormant’ Pacaya volcano.  We were not even sure if we were going to be able to go, as the airport in Guatemala City had been closed for days due to the thick blanket of volcanic ash. Fortunately the airport re-opened a few days before our flight. Upon arriving in Guatemala City, we took a shuttle bus directly to Antigua – the old capital – where we did a home stay with a local family while studying Spanish at Tecun Uman Spanish School. We met up with one of our Habitat for Humanity team leaders, Tim Fisher, who was also studying at the school. It was through Tim that I met one of the most amazing individuals that I’ve ever known, David Kiblinger..

             David was in Antigua during the storm and the volcanic eruption and experienced first hand the aftermath of the mudslides. As a result, he began gathering whomever he could to go to Ciudad Vieja, a town nearby Antigua where many homes had been devastated. My mother and I leapt at the opportunity to go and help these people. David, Tim, my Mom and I, bought gumboots at the local market, took the local ‘chicken bus’ and arrived in a place that has forever changed my life. These homes were filled often over 10 feet deep with mud. Every single material possession, gone, buried in mud, or washed away. I do not have accurate words to describe the sheer devastation, so I’ve included several photographs.

            We met other traveling volunteers as we spent hours shoveling mud into pails and wheelbarrows to move the mud up to street level to be carried away by dumptrucks. What was truly amazing and inspiring was the morale of the local people. Everyone was determined and smiling as they worked. The children were always helping. The girls went to school in the mornings and came home to shovel in the afternoon and the boys vice versa. Despite the language barrier, we were truly welcomed and accepted by the local people. About halfway through my first afternoon spent in the mud, I had an emotional breakdown in front of my mother. I just cried and explained that these people, who have so little, are truly remarkable.  I felt that if what had happened to them, happened to me, I wouldn’t be strong enough to recover from it. I wanted to give that family all of the money that I had on me, but I knew that I couldn’t. I was so upset by the entire situation, so we did what we knew we were capable of. We continued to shovel in the afternoon after Spanish lessons, and wrote emails to our friends and family in the evenings. In one week we raised over $2500.00 American.

            With the help of David and his ‘house mother’ (the woman whose home he was staying in, who was also a principle in the local school district) we put together ~200 aid packages including; eggs, flour, grains, toilet paper, soap, diapers for those with babies and other necessities, and distributed them to the families in crisis. We donated the rest of the money to a local charity, Mayan Families that specializes in water filtration systems, building schools and sending children to school. As an aspiring teacher, the fact that 53.5% of indigenous youth age 15-19 have not completed primary education and by age 16 only 25% of indigenous girls are in school, is utterly heart breaking.          

      Following our time spent in Antigua and Ciudad Vieja, we met up with our Habitat for Humanity team in Guatemala City and continued to our build site located in Jutiapa. Within our team I now have 18 life–long friends. Every person on this team was an inspiration, and it was reassuring after our time spent in the mud, that there are other amazing people out there who are committed to making a difference. We worked as a team in conjunction with the locals to do what felt like building something from nothing. With the most basic materials: cinderblock, rebar, wire, and cement; and the most rudimentary tools, we cut, tied and laid the better half of two homes that will withstand the seismic environment that is Guatemala.

            Coming home from this experience I was surprised that the culture shock I encountered was actually positive. I wasn’t angry about the injustices in our world. I was simply ready to do what I could to change the way I live.  The majority of the world does not have safe drinking water flowing from its taps, so the fact that North American society lives on bottled water disgusts me. While I have never been a ‘bottled water drinker,’ my boyfriend grew up in a family of them. He received a Brita Filter from me immediately upon my return, and no longer drinks bottled water. My family now supports an elementary student, a jr. high student, and a high school student, in their school studies and life aspirations through Mayan Families. In collaboration with four of my colleagues I am a founder of Music Is For Everyone Society, a registered non-profit society that enriches the lives of under privileged children through scholarships in music education. 

      I truly believe that my time spent immersed in other cultures has been the highlight and most influential aspect of what I view as my education. I want to be a person who can inspire young people to take action, and I believe I have the passion and skills to evoke change.

If you look back to the beginning of this written explanation, I began with “Why to I learn?”

“I learn because the world is rich, and I can’t imagine not knowing it.”

In preparation for my TAB experience I’ve studied Spanish through Continuing Education at the University of Calgary, to improve my rudimentary language skills. Brianne and I have studied numerous travel books from Lonely Planet to Frommer’s. We have Google’d upon Google’s. But what I’ve found to be the most valuable have been my correspondence with our partner teacher Elisa Sanz, and our miraculous new friend Pia. Barcelona is in Catalonia province, and therefore it is bilingual. This may prove to be an obstacle Brianne and I must overcome.

I feel like I could write you a list of things we have read about our temporary homeland. Where we need to be careful, when we can be more laid back. However, I feel that the purpose of travel, and when I say travel I mean pure, take no prisoners, jumping with both feet, kind of cultural digestion, is experienced when you step off the pages of the guidebooks, and dance in the mystery of a new place. I feel my past experiences will provide me with the guidance to play safe, while allowing me to pursue my love of our magical world.

So stay tuned if you dare.

“The world is Rich, and I can’t Imagine not Knowing It” - Bryndan