Thank You!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to my most amazing cohort of educators -- the first ever TGC Sene-Group (the Sene-Gals and the Sene-Guys) -- who made my international field experience in Senegal beyond amazing, enriching, inspiring, and fun; to the wonderful IREX-Senegal facilitators, Ms. Sarah Bever and Ms. Dieynabou Barry, and to everyone else at IREX, for putting together a most wonderful program for us; to the loving Ms. Rokhaya Diop, our in-country liaison, for taking such great care of us there, and to all the Senegalese educators who spend time with us in Dakar prior to our school experiences; to my partner teacher, Mr. Frank Newman, of Spokane, Washington, for being a joy to learn and travel with; to Mr. Mamadou Fall and the Fall family (Maimouna, Fatima, and little Abdulaiye, as well Mr. Fall's aunt and her family) for opening up your classrooms, home, and hearts to Frank and me; to all the great teachers, administrators, and students at Lycée Maba Diakhou Ba, especially Mr. Seck, Mr. Niang, and Mr. Diouf; to the good people of Nioro du Rip, for their warmth, kindness, and sense of humor; to all the good people at the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, and Ambassador James Zumwalt; to my always inspired and inspiring students, colleagues, and community at Highland Park High School for their support for and interest in my TGC work; to Township High School District 113, for their ongoing support; to my co-teacher Ms. Lindsey Choy and my colleague Ms. Anne Isaacson, who so adeptly covered for me while I was in Senegal; and to my parents for instilling a love of travel, learning, and life in me from the earliest days of my life. And, finally, and most deeply, to my wife, Hina, who proved, once again, that she's superhuman, becoming, in another one of my absences, a single mom to our beautiful infant son Zayan, all the while working full time: thank for pushing me to pursue this opportunity, for sharing in its joys, and for being willing to, once again, sacrifice your own sleep, rest, and fun to allow me to be gone/preoccupied for so many extended periods of time.
The Sene-Group on our last night in Senegal, feeling a touch more Senegalese having spent two wonderful weeks here, and while sporting some beautiful Senegalese garb.
|
The Sene-Group at the beginning of our trip, celebrating Senegalese Independence Day, April 4th, at Charles de Gaulle International while waiting for our flight to Dakar.
|