Global Teacher Prize Trip Report – Dubai - Day 1

With the long flight and the time change, I’m not quite sure where yesterday ended and today began, so I’ll pick up where I left off with yesterday’s post.

The flight was great. All of the things that I had heard about Emirates being a great airline were true.  Good service, decent food, comfy seats. It helped that the back of the plane was empty and Melissa and I both had our own rows to stretch out and sleep. I got about 6 decent hours of sleep, watched Bridge of Spies (really good movie), and felt pretty good when we landed around 2. It was cool to wake up, look out the window and see the desert mountains of Iran.

We got through passport control, baggage claim, and customs rather quickly, I hit the cashpoint/ATM to draw out some UAE Dirhams, and we hopped a cab to the Hilton Garden Inn at the Mall of the Emirates where I am staying for one night before moving to Atlantis the Palm.

It was exciting to see the Burj Khalifa off in the distance as we drove past.  Melissa and I both looked eagerly out the window to take in as much as we could on the drive.

As soon as we dropped off our bags, we headed out to explore.  First, we walked across the street to the Mall of the Emirates.  We went to Ski Dubai to see what it was all about, and noticed that there was a penguin encounter available. We bought tickets and got into our loaned jackets, pants, and boots. Our ticket was for 5PM, but the nice penguin guide allowed us to join the 4:30 group.  There were two short films, followed by a meeting with a Gentoo Penguin.  She was still in training, so we got to take pictures with her, but not touch her. There was also a cool window into the area with a pool and the other penguins that we could view from this first room.

From there we moved into a section where Wally, the King Penguin was waiting to meet us. After learning a bit about king penguins, each of us got to touch the different types of feathers on Wally, feel the oil from his preening gland that allows him to stay waterproof, and take some pictures.  

After that, we hopped in a taxi to the Dubai Mall.  By the time we arrived, we were both hungry, so we found a Middle Eastern restaurant that looked cool and ordered a few small plates.  The falafels were amazing, and the other food was very good.

From there, we went to check out the giant aquarium in the mall, which was 4 stories high and filled with sharks, stingrays, and all kinds of other fish.

Then, we went outside to catch the water fountain show outside the mall and at the base of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.  The show was short, but very cool.  The Burj was massive and so much more impressive up close than it was at a distance.  The fact that it stands somewhat alone makes it look even bigger.

After the show we walked around the outside of the Burj to explore a bit and then took a cab back to the Hilton so that Melissa could pick up her bags.  Being a gentleman, I was happy to ride with her to see her safely to the Atlantis (which looks amazing!) 

As I’m writing this post I got to talk to Lori for a few minutes before bed, and I did a live Skype call with Tanya Cunningham’s 5^th grade class back home to share some pictures and answer some of their questions. I had sent pictures and messages to several classes via Skype during the day. 

The wifi here at the Garden Inn has been wonky, so yesterday’s post and this post will have to go live tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I’m heading over to Atlantis to check in when I wake up.  I’m really looking forward to meeting some of the other Varkey Teacher Ambassadors, and spending some time learning and exploring with them. 

Global Teacher Prize Trip Report – Departure Day!

Wheels up for Dubai! I’m writing this post from somewhere between 36,000 and 41,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. Trying to make sure my students get what they need, presenting at PETE&C, media requests since being named a Top-10 Finalist, and my 40^th birthday have made life a little crazy. I just finished packing about 10 minutes before I walked out the door this morning.

I’m very excited, and a bit anxious about the unknown going forward. No matter what happens this week, I’m sure life will get a bit crazier for a while going forward. I still can’t believe all of this is real. I’m on a plane to Dubai. Wow. Out of all the incredible, inspirational, amazing teachers in the world, I got chosen as one of the Top 10. Double Wow. I’ve got a shot at winning the whole thing in 6 days. I can’t even wrap my head around that one. No matter what happens, the opportunity to meet all the other finalists and to expand my professional learning network to include some of the best teachers in the world will be the highlight of the trip. 

Since my wife, Lori, and my mother are coming into Dubai two days after me, I’m thrilled to be flying tonight with Melissa Morris, who was a Top-50 Finalist along with me for last year’s GTP. She made my day by bringing me a present of champagne flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans so we could celebrate. We met at the airport around 1:30 and had lunch in an Irish Pub. Before boarding the plane she bought some duty-free makeup and we shot a 5 clue challenge video to add to the website.

It was hard to leave the kids this morning. I wish I could be sharing this experience with them as well. I was so proud of Michael. When he was asked this week what I should bring him back from Dubai, he said, “Well, hopefully not anything made out of gold if the gold was gotten by slave labor. It would be ridiculous for me to be raising money to get kids out of slavery and then get something like that.” Socially conscious at 10 years old. When I dropped Abby off at the bus to school this morning, she asked me to read Enders Game while I was on the plane because she just finished it and thought I would like it.  I told her that I would only read it after she finishes The Martian, a book I’ve been begging her to read for months because I want someone to talk to about it.   

The Emirates A380 we’re on is incredible.  We ended up in our own row. Melissa and I are on the aisles and we have 2 empty seats between us.  That should make it easier to get some sleep on this overnight flight. We were both booked in full rows, but Melissa told the lady at check in that I was a big shot or something and talked her into giving us a row. Nice!

Dinner will be served in a bit, and then I’ll try and sleep as much as I can. It’s not like I’ve been sleeping much lately anyway. I don’t handle the unknown well. 

I’m going to do my best to post every night during the trip to share this experience with you all, and to keep a record for me to look back at one day. It’s going to be amazing. 

PAEMST Recognition Trip - Pre-trip Report

I can't believe that the PAEMST Recognition trip to Washington, DC is finally here.  My wife and I have a flight down tomorrow (Friday) after school.  Even though it's only a 4.5 hour drive, I didn't want to deal with traffic or driving late if I could avoid it.  My goal is to document the experience both for myself and for future winners and finalists who are looking for information.  Because of how busy the schedule is, this probably won't be my most eloquent writing, but I want to make sure I get as much info packed into these posts as possible.  Here are a few randomly ordered pre-trip thoughts, tid-bits, facts, and whatnot.

I'm not quite packed yet.  Anyone who knows me and/or has read my Adventures of a Cheap Overplanner with Kids blog knows that I am a firm believer in the carry-on only rule.  That's just not going to happen here.  I feel like I am bringing insane amounts of clothing, but I can't seem to get around bringing two suits, possibly another sport jacket, multiple ties, and casual items for the days before the official PAEMST events get started on Sunday night. Plus, I want to get a 12 mile long-run in on Sunday morning because the Scranton Half Marathon is only a month away.  I've got an awesome route planned out, but that means I need to bring running clothes and shoes.

 

Planned Running Tour of DC

As for questions that future winners may have about what the National Science Foundation pays for:

• We could have flown, driven, or taken a train.  All travel expenses are paid for winners and their guests (for those driving they will pay mileage up to the cost of a flight).
• We get a Per Diem allowance for food, which is adjusted for the meals that are included in the itinerary. 
• Transportation costs like taxis to/from the airport are reimbursed.
• The hotel is paid for the nights of the events.  Other nights before or after the trip are your responsibility.

We are flying down two days early and staying at a Hilton Garden Inn near the White House before switching to the Omni Shoreham, where NSF is putting us for the recognition events.  Lori and I are planning on sightseeing on Saturday, visiting the Museum of American History, possibly taking a tour of the monuments on Saturday evening, and going to Georgia Brown's for the Jazz brunch on Sunday morning before making our way to the Omni.  My cousin and his wife, who live between DC and Baltimore may meet us for brunch, which would be nice.

I'm pretty excited about the trip - especially about meeting the other winners.  We've gotten to know each other a bit through a Facebook group that many of us joined, and they seems like amazing people and teachers.  I am so honored and blessed to be among this group.

In order for students in my school (and a few other classes I've invited) to learn along with my on this trip, I've set up a Celly account.  I created a cell on that site that will allow me to post updates and pictures in real time and will allow students and classes to text message me in a controlled, moderated forum.  I'm excited to share the trip with students.  Hopefully there will be some good interaction, and I can spark some learning.

Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day.  I still have a few cool projects to wrap up before I leave.  In the morning I'm helping our 2nd grade gifted students shoot a green screen video with scenes from Japan behind them while they read the Haiku they wrote.  I also have a few things to take care of for EdCamp NEPA.  I'd like to get the letters to local school districts inviting their teachers mailed before I leave.  My mother-in-law will be staying with our kids while we're gone and has generously offered to shorten the pants on the suit I just bought before we leave for the airport.  

Hopefully I'll be able to get a post up tomorrow, but I'm not optimistic. We leave Scranton at 6:55, have a short stopover in Philly, and land at Reagan National at 10:00.  By the time we get to the hotel, I'll likely be spent.