Five days are left until my flight departs from Tampa International Airport. A lot of excitement comes with this trip, but with that excitement comes some nerves; nerves mainly to do with whether or not I will meet the weight limit at baggage check in and if I will be able to make an impact in five days in literacy with the first, second, and third graders I will be working with at Mount Airy.

I am not one who is foreign to the concept of travel, but packing a carry-on, personal bag, and checked bag with twenty-five pounds of school supplies included is a new concept to me. Lots of Space Bags, planning and revising outfit choices, and sitting on suitcases were used in this process. Never mind the fact that I have weighed my bag three times, I am notorious for meeting the weight limit within two to five ounces on the airport’s scale; and that is without twenty-five pounds of school supplies. We will see!

St. Petersburg College has prepared me with the necessary tools for providing students with a meaningful and intriguing learning experience. This, however, will be different from any classroom I have stepped into. The classrooms, the students, the teachers, and the expectations will be different. I am grateful for the creativity I know that I have running through my genes, as I know that this will come to use in the attempt to get the lessons to stick in their minds for not only the week that I am there, but for the long term when they look back at their career as a student.

I am so excited to get to know these children and to teach them a few things that I think would help them while they are reading and to really fall in love with literacy. So, aside from the nerves, I am thrilled to have this opportunity and know that it will only be the first of many international teaching experiences on which I embark on. I look forward to Saturday and I look forward to the smiles I will get to see during the five days I am in the classroom with the students I have the opportunity of working with.