A small beam of light pushes its way through the curtains and onto my face. I curl deeper in to the bed and wrap the comforter around me. I close my eyes and try to fall back to sleep, but the rhythmic stream of nuts plopping onto the tin roof above me steels my focus; like the ticking of a clock or someone tapping a finger. I surrender and get up quietly, as not to wake Julien up. My feet skitter across the floor to the back door. I drag open the white curtains and look out into the Australian forest, or what they like to call ‘the bush’. We thought after 10 months we might find it difficult settling back into western life, but boy how easy it is: the toilet paper, the hot water, the bathtubs, the air conditioning, the wifi. And the grocery stores. Our first day here, you could find all 4 of us just wandering in awe at all the bread, cheese, and processed goods. I think we spent about an hour “looking for some snacks.”
My phone buzzes. I walk away from the back door to the counter where my phone lies to read my awaiting email. It is from one of my students, Mushhaf. Her last email, all written in the subject box, asked how I was doing. I read:
Wow I also have a wonderful holiday…my friend and I was going to the my home and we spend the day very happy…and we don’t forget to take the picture for a good experience…Happy New Year…can you told me about the place that you was vacation in there miss…
I close out of the email, making a mental note to respond later. Since arriving in Australia I have gotten many emails and messages from students eagerly awaiting to hear about our latest travels. I am sure to post up Instagram photos of the beaches, different foods and drinks, and animals to hold them over before I arrive back with magazines, travel pamphlets, and maps.
I scroll through unread emails that have gotten overlooked during our travel days and notice one from another student, Salsa:
Merry Christmas Mrs. Emily and Mr. Julien [stream of emojis]
I am touched by this message. I respond back and wish her a good school holiday as well and share with her the different animals we were able to see (to her disappointment, no koalas).
The interconnectivity of our world today still baffles me daily. Through our many means of communication I was able to share, almost instantly, my experience with my kids. This purely leisure trip for us ended up being a [much more engaging] way for me to teach my students about this new land; this place they have not yet experienced. Since arriving here in Indonesia these kiddies of mine have also had the opportunity to communicate with different classrooms and people across America. These little messages and videos are so impactful and inspiring. Although my kids might not fully grasp it yet, they are becoming more aware of the world and its interconnectedness just by sitting in our classroom; a room with no lights, no fire alarms, no telephones, no projectors, no televisions or computers (except for my own) or wifi; just us. They are becoming global citizens and they don’t even realize it.
Global Citizen (n) a way of living that recognizes our world is an increasingly complex web of connections and interdependencies. One in which our choices and actions may have repercussions for people and communities locally, nationally or internationally
Tanah- ground
This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week one: Global Citizenship.
themilcents 
I love the fact that I feel interconnected with your community. I feel like I know your students, from our conversations. You make the world seem like a community, to me. It feels so much smaller because of your travels.
I love you
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