The last weeks in Indiana

Even though the past few months have been full of different experiences, our main work here has been to complete an inquiry project which has required a lot of hard work. I’ve been focusing on differentiated instruction and teaching groups of students who are at various readiness levels. Especially in the last weeks of the semester we were busy finishing up and submitting our projects, completing questionnaires, and writing reports. The last official week of our program culminated in our inquiry project presentations and graduation festivities where representatives from Indiana University, the Fulbright Program and the Department of State handed us certificates as the official end of our program. It was impressive to listen to everyone's presentations and hear more closely what everyone had achieved and developed over the semester: friendship programs for special education children in India, ways to help deaf students in Botswana, just to name a few.

It was also a week of farewell events. We went to thank our host teachers at the local high school, had a farewell dinner with the amazing CIEDR staff who have done everything possible to make our stay here memorable. On our very last night we got the chance to perform and sing a song, partly in nine different languages, at a local pub here in Bloomington as a goodbye. As the 17 of us have been living so closely and shared the same hallway, we have spent a lot of time together and often also sung songs in someone's apartment - mostly thanks to our two talented guitar players. We will definitely be remembered for the tunes that echoed at the Evermann Apartments on many nights. 

It wasn't easy to say goodbye to all these people. Not at all. It’s hard to describe what a great privilege it has been to participate in this program, see different parts of the country and learn, meet wonderful local people, and share this Fulbright experience so closely with sixteen amazing teachers from around the world. This blog just scratches the surface of these past few months. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the people I met along my journey in Indiana and around the country. I can't thank enough all the schools that I got to visit, all the teachers who so warmly welcomed me into their classrooms. I am truly grateful to the Fulbright Program and Indiana University for making this all possible.

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles."