Some postcards made by my class during the 'Tourism' topic!
I am a Geography teacher in a secondary school, here in the UK. I mention my travels, and the experiences I have had on them, a fair bit in my lessons, whenever it is relevant to do so. Occasionally a student will suggest I am "always going on about my holidays"; bragging about my trips to other countries, cultures and environments. As I aim to do in my posts on this blog, I am very conscious that I do not tell my students these travel stories as a way of showing off either a) my wealth (which for any prospective golddiggers out there, is pretty small, by the way) or b) to somehow seem to beat someone else's equally exciting travel experiences into submission with my heavily stamped passport. I tell the students my money does not go on attending expensive Premiership Football matches, buying Playstation and XBox games, boozing every weekend in Leeds city centre or a fast car. I save my hard-earned pennies to spend on travel. As previous readers are well aware, I hunt down the cheapest flight possible within a time I am free to travel to ensure that I get the best value for money from my journeys and take as many as possible within the holidays I have. Like the readers here, I want to inspire the students I teach to travel when they are older. To take themselves off on journeys that make them more rounded individuals; exposed to all the amazing sights and experiences this magnificent world has to offer, as well as a developing awareness of the world's problems and what impact we humans have on the planet and the environments in which we live. My 'Henry Rollin's post' a few week's back highlights this. To travel is not to just simply get a better understanding of the world, but I believe it is vital in helping you understand yourself better. It is this that philosophy I am trying to get across to the students I teach.
As 'The Rough Guide to a Lonely Planet' reaches almost 1000 page views, I want to thank all the visitors to my rather self-indulgent travel blog, but hope that it has and will continue to prove to be a great source of help, advice and inspiration to all visitors.
