100 Countries by 35

100 Countries by 35

Indescribable emotions come with writing this post. Once a dream that didn’t seem entirely possible has somehow become reality. So how did we get here?

Before starting this, I went back and reread the post I wrote when I reached 50 countries. You can find that here: https://www.passportenvy.net/2017/01/at-50-i-learned.html At that time, I felt like I had already seen so much of the world. I was in awe of its vastness — the landscapes, the cultures, the people. I thought I understood what travel meant.

Since that post, so much has changed… yet so little has.

Innovation Circle Grant

Excited to announce I have been named a Fund for Teachers Innovation Circle Grant recipient!!! My project proposal studied the rising issues in school aged anxiety and mental distress. I am honored that this grant will give me the opportunity to study mindfulness, yoga, and culture in Indonesia

, Singapore , and Malaysia . Once returning I will be meeting in groups to brainstorm with fellow grant recipients on ways to implement strategies to combat this issue facing schools.

Congrats to all of my fellow recipients:

https://www.facebook.com/share/DayJqWyaBcd1okSb/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Update: What an incredible and life changing experience. This opportunity came at the right time as I ended up facing some of the most anxiety ridden times of my life as my mom fought cancer. I also had an extremely challenging year with my classroom. The tools I learned in this grant helped create a better environment and help students manage stress and emotional breakdown. 

I ended the fellowship by presenting to other teachers across the country. My post fellowship report can be found here: https://fft.fundforteachers.org/fellowships/view-passport/MzUwOGZmdA==

Fund for Teachers 2022

 Today I was chosen as a 2022 Fund for Teachers Fellow and received a $5,000 grant to travel to South America for 20+ days this summer!

Fund for Teachers focuses on allowing teachers to create their own professional development so they can create innovative lessons for students and expand their knowledge as teachers. These grants are very competitive and require an extensive grant proposal.

While the proposal was many pages long, here is brief description: Document through video and photographs the diverse ecosystems in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil to create learning materials that enhance elementary science units and ignite student interest in cultural world knowledge.

Throughout my travels I will be using some pretty cool tech to video landforms, flora, fauna, and cultures in 360 so that they can later be converted into virtual reality field trips. Much of this will be while I am dressed as the Travelsaurus Rex!

I am honestly unable to express just how excited and proud I am of this project. The past 7 days have been so wonderful and meaningful to my career as a teacher. To be chosen means so much to me.

It shows that you should never give up - I had applied in the past and kept applying.

It shows that organizations are out there that care about teacher development and thinking outside of the box.

It shows the the sky is the limit!

I look forward to sharing my experience over the coming months. Follow The Travelsaurus Rex on Facebook and thetravelsaurusrex on Instagram to see trip updates!

Security- We have a T-Rex on the Mayan Ruins

Security - We have a T-Rex on the Ruins

Bright and early we started walking to the Copán Mayan Ruins. I did not research much of what I would be seeing on this trip so I had no idea what to expect. Entering the park we decided to pay for a guide named Tony - a man in his late 80s with an extensive knowledge on Mayan ruins. 

Walking down towards the ruins we could hear the macaws and see then flying over head. It was a spectacular sight. Just before getting to the actual ruins themselves there were around 40 macaws on branches, on the ground, and flying around. I was speechless seeing these beautiful creatures in the wild.

The ruins themself were ok at first. I was a bit disappointed not realizing the bigger ones were yet to come. The cool thing was that we were the only ones in the actual park. The biggest ruin in the area was a small pyramid that you could climb.

Perfect spot for the T-Rex photo. I nervously climbed up to the top and put the costume on. My group down below all started laughing and taking pictures. One of the guides even was taking photos and laughing with our tour guide.

All was well and I could cross off standing on Mayan ruins from the list. 

Moving further into the park I realized that the ruins got way bigger and more impressive. Excited I ran to the top of another area and proceeded to get ready to take the picture. That’s when I heard a security guard begin to whistle and clap his hands. Whoops! No big deal I put it away and walked back down. He was there waiting for me and proceeded to point at the costume, the radio, and a bunch of Spanish. 

Mai, Paul, and I tried to translate but all we could understand was that he wanted to take the costume and that security could see me on the cameras! Part of me wanted to stuff it in the bag and just walk away. He continued to insist that he had to take the costume since headquarters had seen it and no T-Rex costume were allowed. Actually none of us were even allowed to have backpacks but since we got there so early no one was working to tell us (common theme in Central America).

After some more translating, Fernando helping talk to the guard, and a bunch of awkward laughs we finally come to the agreement that they would confiscate the costume until I left the park!

The rest of the ruins were pretty amazing. The tree growing out of rubble looked almost unreal. Tony told us so much information it made my head spin. He also would get so excited to tell a funny joke but would forget halfway through. 

It was also so enjoyable to have some time in the park without a ton of people. By the time we finished and made our way out the crowds began to flock in. There were very few gringo tourists. Mostly everyone touring was from Latin America. 

Exiting the park I was able to get the T-Rex back in my possession and laugh about the fact I will probably be the only person to get away with something like that for a very long time! 

Honduras

Hola Honduras 

This morning was a 5 am departure to try to beat the traffic around Guatemala City. Today we would be crossing the border from Guatemala into Honduras and would take about 8 hours total. I slept for the first few hours and then watched through the window the rest. 

One thing I love about traveling overland is seeing life outside the cities and main spots. Stand littered the road selling fruits here and there. The occasional cow were be walking down the side of the road. Life here is most definitely more simple. 

Crossing the border was simple... maybe too simple? Passports and 20 quetzals each were collected on the bus. Fernando got off the bus and in a few minutes came back and said we were ready to go. We never had to get off, no guard ever looked at who we were, and no one stamped our passport out of Guatemala or into Honduras. After enduring hour long border patrols at time I was surprised and a little concerned. My happiness to not have to wait outweighed the concern.

We arrived to the hilly town of Copán earlier than expected. Walking around we found a delicious spot to eat lunch for a dollar each! I can not remember the name but it had the largest avocados wrapped in a tortilla with a bunch of meet. Yum!

The town itself was adorable and bright. Our hotel was situated at the top of a steep hill. Tuk Tuks zoomed up and down the cobble stone streets and men sat in parks all wearing cowboy hats. I can honestly say that Central America has not disappointed. I feel as if I am walking around in a textbook or a film. 

Nearby is a rescue bird center named Macaw mountain. Four of us got in a local tuk tuk for a 2km ride up and down the bumpy roads. Honestly, I think there is a three person safety limit but in this country anything goes when it comes to transportation. The ride was ridiculously fun. Isabela hung out of the front holding on for dear life.

Macaw mountain itself was a nice visit. They center rescues birds from owners who realize they can not take care of them or are injured. The center then works to release them in the wild. If the bird can not be rehabilitated then they keep them there to take care of for the rest of their life. I’m not going to lie I was so excited to get up close and personal with some gorgeous Macaws.

That evening we took a packed van ride about 45 minutes outside of the city into the jungle to a hot spring place. As we got further in I noticed less and less houses and more and more plants. Once we arrived we had to walk across a bride and through a tunnel. Then we got to the different types of springs. The higher up you go the hotter they get. The highest pool was so hot that you would get burned by touching it. 

We relaxed for ever in the pools! I loved sitting under a waterfall that massages your neck. The sun set and the jungle came alive with colored lamps. 

After that the locals cooked us a delicious barbecue. During dinner a chicken sat in a fence nearby trying to jump off. It became a joke because Robert from Finland wanted him to jump off so bad and even cheered him on. In the end he actually made the chicken get off the fence.

Tomorrow we will be seeing the ruins and I hope to get a T-Rex picture!

Joining the Group

After a long day of shopping and touring Hannah and I decided to chill out at the hostel before I needed to head out. To be honest I was nervous and regretting my decision to not take the route of just hostels instead I booked a “tour”. Since I only had a limited number of days I found a company that would book your transport and hotels for you while still having complete freedom. So I’m not exactly sure tour is the correct term. Basically I wouldn’t have to figure out the details but wouldn’t be stuck on a fully guided tour. We would still be taking local transport and doing all the typical backpacking stuff. I was excited yet nervous to meet the group. 

*I can fast forward and say I’m loving the people. I’m currently thinking back and writing this blog entry from El Salvador while laying in hammocks with my new friends Casie and Mai!

I grabbed my backpack and peacock Domingo and headed to the hotel where the group was meeting. It was getting dark and I wanted to get there before the sun went down. Once at El Carmen Hotel I noticed there was no group. The hotel staff said there was another group but they were not back and he believed they were traveling north and not to Honduras. I checked my documents and realized the hotel was actually at the opposite end of the city at El Carmen Suites! Whoops! I grabbed my stuff and took off.

When I got to the new hotel the group was there and cheered as I walked in 40 minutes late. The group is made up of 11 really well travelled people. Mostly everyone has been to 30+ countries and even a guy who has been to over 100! We kind of joked that you would have to be well travelled to want to come to these countries. With everything lately on the news dealing with caravans, gangs, civil unrest, and murders it makes is a little less travelled. But I’ll get into that more later.

That night we enjoyed a birthday celebration for Isabel, my new roommate, at a super cool restaurant. Walking in it looked like a library. Our leads Fernando and even gotten it decorated for her.

A group of us stayed out late while other watched from the rooftop lava flow and explode out of a nearby volcano! Early in the day I had seen the smoke coming out and asked a local if it was from volcanic activity. The local responded so casually that it was. For me it seemed like the coolest thing in the world but to them it is just everyday normal life!

Welcome to Guatemala

Welcome to Guatemala!

Needless to say once the plane landed and I made it to the shuttle everything was great. All of my worries and fears went way.

The airport itself was an adventure. Going through customs you have to fill out a for, and step up to a button. Once instructed, you press the button and it will turn green or red to decide whether they check your bags or not. Mine turned green! Later on I did find out from another travel that hers turned red. Whenever she went to have her bags scanned the security watching the monitor never looks up at the monitor at all and just waved her on.

Exiting the airport I was surrounded by a packed room filled with families waiting for their loved ones. People were holding flowers, toys, and balloons to greet their arrival. It was a pretty happy site. While waiting for the shuttle I went to a little cafe and ordered some French fries and a cappuccino but somehow ended up with some nachos instead. 

The shuttle from Guatemala City to Antigua was pretty uneventful. Minus the bus running into one of those yellow barrier poles. 

Tropicana Hostel was a paradise for backpackers and pretty centrally located. Relaxing by the pool I met Hannah and a few others. Since it as the Fourth of July they were having a trivia night on the roof top. The views of the city were fantastic. The mix of colorful building, lush plants, old buildings, and volcano backdrops make this city stunning. Our team one trivia and we spent the night exploring some of the Guatemalan nightlife.

The next morning Hannah and I had breakfast at "Y tu pina tambien" and highly recommend it to any traveler. The adorable shop served super fresh smoothies and food. The French toast was to die for.

We wanted to see a lot of the city so of course the first stop we made was the market. Antigua's market is a shoppers paradise. They sell everything you could ever need. One of my favorites were the men walking around carrying hundreds of phone charger cords.

They also have an artisans market filled with brightly color Guatemalan crafts. Here is where I fell in love with Domingo the Peacock and decided it would be a great idea to have to lug him around.

Antigua is known for a picturesque spot where an arch stands between colorful building with a volcano in the back. Obviously this was the perfect spot for a Dino picture!!!

I truly can say I loved everything about Antigua!