A month (and more) of adventure planning
Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at 06:28AM Adventure without risk is Disneyland.
Doug Coupland
The Blue Skunk will be quiet - or at least quieter - for the next couple of weeks. In an hour or so I head to the airport for a flight that goes Minneapolis-Seattle-Tokyo-Manila. That's right, I'm heading to the Philippines and I am excited.
I was last there in August of 1988 on trip* with my then 15-year-old daughter where we visited my brother and sister who were both stationed at the Subic naval station. I also met my future and current Philippina sister-in-law.
This fellow is a Bontoc rice god (or rice guard) on a basket that's been in my house since 1988.
A school in Subic asked me some months ago if I would be willing to do a two-day workshop with teachers on technology integration. "Of course," I foolishly replied, not realizing the size of challenge putting together such a long workshop. I pretty much bore myself by the time the weekend is over, so I was (am) a little worried about keeping such a long workshop engaging.
What I decided is to use the tools I've been advocating that classroom teachers use with their own students. Things like Edmodo, GoogleDocs, Poll Everywhere, Wallwisher, etc. I've divided the workshop into four parts with each part being 1/3 lecture/discussion, 1/3 application demo and sharing, and 1/3 small group or individual task work and reflection. Of course my goal is to have fun and learn something myself.
So for the past few weekends, I feel like I've been cramming for a big test, learning a lot programs that I probably should have learned months ago. We'll see who I can fool. Getting prepared for the educational adventure this trip entails.
The other part of the planning has been about being a tourist in this developing country. I'll have a day in Manila to see the 16th century Intramorous Spanish site before heading north to the school. After the workshops, I'll have about five days. I'm planning to use them to hike Mt. Pinatubo and then drive a rental car north to Bagio (5 hours from Subic), to Sagada (another 6 hours), then Banaue to see the rice terraces (another 4 hours). It'll be 12 hours back to Manila. But hey, I have five days - and a GPS that I hope works.
It is the rainy season:
So not only will driving be different, but possibly slick a well. (According to the Lonely Planet, hikes of Pinatubo are now required to be finished by early afternoon since tourists have died when their vehicles were washed off roads after a sudden deluge in the past.)
What the heck. The quote I want to start this post with but I couldn't find goes something like "The less the likelihood of survival the greater the adventure."
* She still refers to this trip as the "Worst Bathrooms in Asia Tour." China in 1988 was a bit rough.
Reader Comments (5)
Hi Doug,
My good friend Brandon Hoover is the tech director at ISM (Int'l School of Manila)! It doesn't sound like you have much time in Manila, but if you did, it might be fun to check out his school and their technology program.
Alicia
P.S. I'm looking forward to attending your workshop at the Illinois State Library Media Association annual conference!
Safe travels!
Perhaps this is the quote you are looking for? "The greater the limitations, the greater the adventure." Or, "Adventures are the mark of incompetence. The greater the mistakes, the greater the adventure, the more you learn."--Oliver Steeds
Have fun! Can't wait to see your photos when you return.
sandra
Thanks for the note, Alicia. Looking forward to ISLMA!
Doug
Thanks, J. Right now it is all I can do to survive the jetlag.
Doug
Hi Katie,
Those are good quotes, but not the one I was remembering. Thanks though.
Doug