Orientation in Washington D.C

We were excited to finally meet the Colin Family this week! We have been emailing one another for several months as we prepare to take over each other's jobs. Here in Washington we have the opportunity to talk in person and really share information about our schools and about living in Mexico and in California.
Two days before all the other Fulbright exchange teachers arrived, the teachers who are going to Mexico had the chance to meet with those coming from Mexico. Eight US teachers will be teaching all over Mexico, from Culiacan to Chiapas, while 11 Mexican teachers will be teaching in the U.S.. The teachers from Mexico have a wonderful command of English and all seem very well prepared to begin teaching in American schools. The U.S. teachers are confident that they will all be successful teaching English in Mexico as well.
On Tuesday night we had a special Welcome Dinner. As soon as the doors opened, all of "Team Mexico" made a mad dash to claim three tables for our group! One could feel the room humming with excitement as women in Saris and others in traditional dress streamed into the room. Flags from all of the eighteen countries sending and receiving Fulbright teachers lined one wall. Teachers are exchanging from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Ghana, Hungary, India, Latvia, Peru, Poland, Senegal, the Slovak Republic, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. It's quite inspiring being in a room full of people at the cusp of new adventures!
Today, Wednesday, we had a presentation by Harry Wong, who is a well-known trainer for new teachers. His talk made me think about how my classroom procedures and rules might need to
be tweaked for Mexican middle school students. I'm under the impression that students generally are well behaved in the classroom, so I'm curious to discover if this is the reality or not. We also had an interesting presentation from Fulbright Alumni who described some special projects that they have done. An American teacher in the northern dessert of Mexico took a group of her students to Maine in the winter! Another teacher in Peru led a group of American students in a service project where they painted a school and brought supplies for Peruvian children. The Fulbright Program is interested in teachers maximizing the exchange by extending its reach.
While I attended these presentations, Kermit had a few sessions to meet other spouses/partners accompanying the Fulbrighters. The kids have been enjoying "Camp Fulbright" while they play games, do crafts and make friends from all over the world. Jacob was telling funny stories about Edward from the UK and Sabine has made a friend from Wales.
Tomorrow will bring some more specific discussions on living and teaching in Mexico and then we'll finish our orientation with a dinner where the international teachers will do a cultural presentation of some sort. My kids will enjoy this, particularly if there is some dancing and singing!
For my running friends, you'll be interested to read that I've been running on the Mt. Vernon trail along the Potomac River. It's quite scenic and quite HUMID!