My love of travel is an integral part of my identity. My travel experiences inform my sense of self, my understanding of the larger world, my teaching interests and practice, and my writing and art. In fact, it is while I am traveling that I feel most creative, most able to see beyond the parameters of the familiar. As the child of immigrants from Pakistan, my earliest international travels took me to my parents' childhood homes where I got to spend time with extended family and old friends. To travel, regardless of age, was the norm, and it is no wonder that in my life I have had the great fortune to have visited more than 20 countries, from Panama to Myanmar, the Philippines to France, Turkey to Thailand, Spain to Saudi Arabia.
On behalf of my students and school community, I will forever be grateful to TGC, IREX, the U.S. Department of State, and Highland Park High School for affording me the opportunity to spend two much-too-short weeks in Senegal in April 2016 for my international field experience. Meeting and working with my host teacher, Mr. Mamadou Fall, in Nioro du Rip felt as if I was reconnecting with a childhood best friend. And on this page, I share some highlights of my TGC Senegal trip, as well as photographs from some of my other recent travels, including my week in Northern Ireland and Ireland where I attended the 2016 Narrative 4 Global Summit this past June. |