The meaning behind the madness...

Salaam,

So the days are getting nearer and time is closing in on our adventure. When I first started working on this post (I have sat down to edit this particular one and finish it on several occasions but time is getting the better of me lately) there were 2 weeks to go until our departure date; now there is a just short of a week. I've been busy with school, work, internship, moving, yadda yadda. I have a handful of notes that I have collected this past month that I'm going to start pouring out here. Once I am in Jordan, I hope to be posting and adding photos daily.

I will be traveling with Dr. Gary Scudder, Coordinator of Social Sciences & History, Global Modules Guru, and professor at Champlain College, to Jordan this Sunday, October 21. The purpose of my involvement is providing publicity for the Global Module project that is being embedded into Champlain College's new CORE Division (more on that later) which will require a substantial amount of research. This semester, Gary is in the process of recruiting international classrooms to participate and commit to exchanging online dialogue (sort of a virtual classroom) with our students. This is an unprecedented activity and has been a great success thus far for us and the partnering international institutions. Part of my recruitment is to write a series of articles. ONE - about the development of the new CORE curriculum; TWO - The history and placement of Global Modules into the classroom and into the new CORE curriculum; THREE - my experiences in Jordan at the University of Jordan meeting the students and faculty on the other side of the exchange.

Needless to say, I am experiencing a myriad of emotions about the whole experience so far. I am thankful and honored to be a part of this, excited to travel and meet new people and see new things, nervous to go the Middle East for the obvious reasons, anxious about making the most of my time because of the short duration of the trip, and curious to explore my personal boundaries and abilities. I wouldn't be human if I didn't admit that the combination of these emotions are making me a bit queasy. I am thankful for the amount of support surrounding me, it's keeping my head above the water.

Off to the madness for now! Cheers!