How ANYONE Can Start SBL Instruction

      I began this list to help a colleague who was interested in beginning Standards-Based instruction, but didn't know where to begin.  These are, in my opinion, the most fundamental steps to implementing SBL.  The first few steps are the most important, but after that, phase things in gradually, as you are comfortable. Jumping into SBL all at once can be overwhelming for both the teacher and the student. SBL feels very new and may be uncomfortable, so it's important to introduce new ideas slowly. Ultimately, the student is at the center of all instruction, practice, and assessment: always do what's best for your students, and you can't go wrong. 

-         Find the “I Can” version of your course standards. Know them forward and backward. These should be your starting point for all instruction/activity/PBLs, and your endpoint for all assessment. There should be no instruction or work in your classroom that does not directly relate to the standards for your subject.

-          Give your students their own personal copy of the “I Can” standards. Read them together (or at least read the standards you will focus on for a particular unit/grading period). Make sure students understand them.
 

-          Have students self-assess on the standards you will address before you begin them in lessons. Have students self-assess at some point during the instructional unit, and again at the end of the instructional unit. This promotes understanding of the standard/expectation as well as student agency.

-          Use an objective, 60-100 grading scale with clear delineations for each level on the scale. Provide action steps for each level on the scale (e.g., 100% - I need to look at the next standard and move on; 90% - I need to re-read the standard to see what I’m missing and make an extra push; 80% - I’m struggling with this standard and I need to ask for help; 70% - I made an effort but I don’t get this standard at all and I need to arrange for one-on-one time with my teacher; 60% - I didn’t turn anything in to show I can do this standard, and I need to get my work in now!).

-          Set up a means of consistent communication with families that will hold you accountable (e.g., weekly parent newsletter through LiveGrades or email, paper newsletter sent home with students, commitment to individual contact every week, video update, whatever works for you and your students’ families).

-          Assessment MUST reflect students’ ability to perform the standards you’ve addressed. This means severely limiting or totally eliminating grades for homework and participation (these are behaviors, not proficiency. In a positive classroom focused on proficiency and students’ needs, negative behaviors will stop!).

-          Give students consistent, timely, written feedback with action steps for moving forward (e.g., “You’ve included the first three parts of the standard, but you didn’t show part four. Please add this information and turn in your work again for re-evaluation before next Thursday” is much more helpful than “Good!”).

-          Flexible, student-made deadlines. Tell students what you need them to do to demonstrate that they can perform the standard, then ask when they think they can have it done. If they set the deadline, they’re more likely to meet it.  If a student needs an extra day or two, let them have it. If a student is done early and wants to turn their work in early, let them do it, then direct them to the next step (don’t hold a strong student back from more learning!). Be reasonable, fair, and responsive to students’ needs.

-          Allow and encourage students to re-evaluate their skills any time until grades are due, as many times as they want, and replace their old score with their new one.  Remind students that they should read the feedback you’ve provided for them as well as the standard before they attempt to re-evaluate; this will save you a lot of time and it will help keep students focused on the standard being assessed. Grades are meant to be an indicator of what students can do right now, not what they did two months ago. Why hold an old grade against a student who has made progress? If they worked to improve their performance on a standard, their grade should reflect that growth.

-          Growth – a student may begin the grading period with a D and end it with an A. This should be expected, as students are here to learn and grow. A growth mindset allows students to move forward after doing poorly, because they know that mistakes are necessary for learning.

-          Emphasize process over product. If we put all of our effort into the process of learning/making/doing, students’ final products will naturally be better.  If we focus on the product, students never learn what it takes to learn/make/do things better. 

Collaboration!

Hola a todos,

I've been thinking about how we do activities in the Spanish classroom, and today (Friday, 4/27) seemed like the perfect day to think about it. Fifth and sixth grade are working on their Se Busca (Wanted) posters, and 7th grade are working on their preposition posters. Neither project is groupwork, but I want students to collaborate as they work on their individual assignments.

One thing I like a lot right now is how student desks are set up. We have six groups of four desks each, turned to make tables. With a configuration like that, students are forced to look at each other and I think they get into the habit of sharing ideas and information (mis estudiantes, am I right about that?). Even when they're working on individual assignments, they seem to be comfortable sharing books, handouts, supplies, and pointers for how to do things. I find that I'm repeating myself less because someone in the group has heard me and repeats what I've said for the other group members. So far, the groups seem to be keeping a pretty positive dynamic.

So the younger students are working on Se Busca posters. They make up an imaginary person (or flesh-eating animal, or space alien with tacos for hands, or whatever), they draw and color it, and then they write a detailed description of their character in Spanish that they will share with the class. It's a fun, visual way to get students to do a writing sample (most of them don't even consider it a writing assignment), and I'm always thrilled with students' imaginative ideas. This nine weeks, I've seen a number of mustachioed unicorns, two drawings that incorporate monocles, a one-eyed green farmer, a rainbow-haired ballerina, and a "man-eating flying squirrel with vampire teeth that sparkle" (Rico's words, not mine). Yes, to answer your question, my students know how to say unicorn, mustache, monocle, cyclops farmer, rainbows, flying squirrel, and sparkly in Spanish. And I didn't have to look up a single word. That's the scary part.

The cool thing about the Se Busca posters is that most kids really own the project. They take an idea and they run with it for two or three days. This group in particular, though, has been very group-oriented. When I walk through the room, I hear things like "I know where to find that word--look at your adjectives handout on the left-hand side," "I think you need a different verb," or "Wow that looks really cool, will you show me how to do that?" I love how they collaborate on the simplest tasks, making language learning easier for everyone. I'm not sure how we got to this stage of collaboration, but I have to figure out how to make it happen with every class! Fifth and sixth graders, if you're reading, you guys are awesome. Keep up the good work!

Seventh grade is working on preposition posters. The textbook we use pushes us through eight rather mundane prepositions as soon as we learn the verb estar ("to be," used for changing conditions such as location). As soon as the book presents the prepositions (under, on top of, beside, inside of, in front of, behind, close to, far from), it expects students to know all eight and it immediately moves on to other topics. Memorizing eight prepositions is an exercise in futility. They're very similar-sounding and memorization is boring to begin with. To make things a touch easier, I have students create a poster illustrating all eight prepositions using two objects of their choice. Students pick interesting object pairs, like a worm and an apple, a rock and a snail, a spider and a web, a brick and a spider, a penguin and a cookie, a dragon and a turtle. The girl who chose a rock and a snail drew a power drill in one of her illustrations. "It's for the snail to get inside the rock," she said. Brilliant.

The cool thing about the 7th grade class is that they're starting to feel like a team. They had a rough start to the semester, but from what I saw yesterday and today, they're learning to trust and rely on each other. That kind of trust and reliance is crucial in a language class--you learn language in order to communicate with others; you can't just sit around talking to yourself! We were able to joke around a little in class today and still reach our goal for the period. That felt great because sometimes I feel like I can't afford to joke around with them, or things will get out of hand and we won't get our goals done for the day. I can't wait for Monday, when they'll give their poster presentations and share their work with each other. That's my favorite part of this assignment, watching them talk about what they've done and laugh with each other.

I like walking through the class, seeing what students have chosen to work on, watching their decisions in action and listening to the learning conversations that happen. Certainly, silly things go on. When you put 20 13-year-olds together, silly things are destined to occur. My classroom is noisy. Between the student chatter and the Spanish-language music that I subject them to, my door is often shut in an effort to spare the rest of the school the insanity. When I see the kinds of ideas that students develop as they work together, I wonder why lecture and teacher-led instruction is the traditional method of education. I could never in a million years come up with the questions that my students ask--who am I to lecture them when I can't even predict the questions that they want answered? I like to give them the information they need to create something and then watch them create it.

Sometimes I think I might be having more fun than my students. Where else in the whole world could I speak Spanish all day long, guide students through the creative/language learning process, and then celebrate their achievements with them? The best part of my day is sitting at a table with students who are working hard at something and just talking to them about their work. They have so much to share, and they want to do and say everything in Spanish! They make my job easy.

Traveling with students

Several times in my very brief teaching career, I have had the opportunity to chaperon student trips. It might be a simple walk to the high school for 9th grade orientation, a day trip to the city to see a play and have lunch, or a weekend in D.C. with 120 eighth-graders, and one time, it was a week in Costa Rica. I always take that opportunity. Always.

If you're a teacher, you know that kids act completely differently in the classroom than they do outside of school. This phenomenon can be difficult for others to understand ("Yes ma'am, your son did say that word in my class. Yes ma'am, I understand he would never do that at home. I guess I just bring out the best in him."). If you're a student, you might not even notice that you act differently at school than you do at home. I love my students, and I love watching them grow and learn in my classroom. I also really love to take them out of the classroom and watch them experience the world first-hand.

This past weekend, I traveled with 80 eighth grade students and six other teachers to Washington, D.C. It's roughly six hours from our school, so we take charter buses and go for the weekend. This is the third year that I've gone with students on this trip, and I have to tell you about the kids. They were fabulous. They were perfect travelers: they paid attention to their surroundings, they were on time (even early!) to everything, they were observant, respectful, positive, they asked questions, they tried new things, and they made me proud.

The highlight of the trip for me was seeing D.C. through my students' eyes. Our first stop was the Okinawa monument, which has a clear view of the Washington monument. One boy came up to me, pointed at the Washington monument, pointed to the Okinawa monument, and just stood there for a minute. I couldn't figure out what he was doing until his friend said, "He's speechless because we're seeing stuff we've only seen in pictures, and now it's real." And that reaction was exactly what I had hoped for.

We took the kids to a ton of museums and they walked around in small groups. I loved walking through those museums and running into groups of students huddled around a display, reading the information card out loud and saying, "Cool!" or "I saw that in our science book," or "I never knew that!" When I suggested an exhibit, they actually went to it, and we talked about it afterwards on the bus. It made me giddy to hear "Yeah, that human bones exhibit was creepy, but really cool. Thanks for telling us about it," and "I saw that photography display you told me about. Those pictures were amazing!" More importantly, I heard a lot of those same conversations happening among students as they compared what they'd seen. Books are great and the internet is full of information, but there's nothing like seeing the world first-hand and discussing it with the people around you.

Once some of the newness wore off, students learned new and different lessons. Some students were waiting at a checkpoint for the rest of the group, and a stranger started talking to them. They didn't know how to react--they know better than to talk to strangers, but they had to meet with the rest of the group in that place in just a few minutes. It's important to note that where we come from, it's incredibly rude to ignore someone, so that option might not have crossed their minds. We learned, though, that it's okay to ignore strangers, that we should never share personal information with other people we don't know, and the best approach is to look for a teacher or adult we know so we're not stuck in an uncomfortable situation. The kids handled it really well.

Another lesson we learned (and one I suspect our students already knew) is that a sense of humor and a positive attitude will turn any trip into an amazing experience. Pablo fell on a stone bench while diving for a frisbee and got a nasty bruise. As soon as he realized he was okay, though, he started laughing. He was in pain for the next couple of days, but he still smiled about his awesome dive and he never once complained about how much his leg hurt. What could have been a serious accident was just a bump in the road (sorry, Pablo!). In general, everyone was upbeat and happy all the time. I heard several kids say, "This is the best trip ever!"

We also learned to take care of the people around us. Every adult on the trip had a group of 10 students, and we checked in with each other to make sure everyone was accounted for. My group of ten fabulous students became the duckies ("patitos" en español!), and I'm a little embarrassed to say that they were more responsible than I was! When the trip leader announced that students had to find their adult, my duckies immediately found each other, counted to be sure that everyone was there, and then waited for me. They watched out for each other, and when one came up missing, we found him immediately because there were ten of us looking instead of just one of us. And when I was tardy to the party, they waited for me while the other groups moved on. I also thought it was hilarious when they quacked to get my attention. ¡Gracias, patitos!

We learned to enjoy each others' company, too. While seeing the White House and the Washington Monument was great, we had a lot of down time, and we were never ever bored. Six hours on the bus flew by because of great conversation and some really, incredibly funny students. I laughed so hard my face hurt for two days. Adults, when was the last time you had a long, meaningful, funny conversation with a 14 year old? And 14 year olds, when was the last time you had a long, meaningful, funny conversation with an adult? If you learn to enjoy the people around you, it won't matter where you are--you'll always have a good time.

Conclusion: 8th graders are genuinely funny and interesting people. Seriously. I'm so very proud of the students on the trip, and I'm proud to say I work with some of the funniest, most interesting, and most thoughtful people I've ever met. Thank you, 8th graders, for being who you are.

Why backpacking?

Hola a todos,
Lots of people ask me how I travel alone to so many places, if I get lonely, why I choose to travel the way I do. I like to shove everything in a backpack and go for as long as I can, wherever I can. As much as I usually dislike cliche quotes, there's one quote in particular from Mark Twain that I enjoy:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
― Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad/Roughing It

Traveling, and especially backpacking, is a great way to open your mind to new ways of seeing the world around you. When I toss everything in a 20-pound hiking pack and go on a long bus ride to a tiny hostel somewhere in Latin America, I'm not trying to escape; I'm actually trying to get into the world. It's taken some time, but there are some general truths that I've discovered through this kind of travel.

Hostels are wonderful places. When you find a good one, it's like some kind of marvelous secret and you feel initiated into a special circle. When you stay in the same hostel for a few nights in a row, you get to know other people, the staff, the town. You become an insider, and you can sit around on the back patio talking politics or philosophy or comparing stories and feel like you belong to this place in this moment. You feel at home, like you are fulfilling a special niche in the backpacker ecosystem. You might be traveling alone, but you never feel alone.

The problem is leaving. When others leave, you are reminded that you are on your own, you may feel a little abandoned, and you have to start everything all over again. Creating instant camaraderie with strangers from all over the world is no small feat, but it gets easier with practice.

When you're the one leaving, you have the adrenaline rush that comes with new beginnings and new places, but you sense that you are leaving something behind. You forget to exchange email addresses, you leave things unsaid, you forget all your food in the refrigerator and your soap in the shower.

Backpacking is mobile existentialism. Backpackers are keenly aware that this moment in time will never exist again. The people whose paths cross here will never see each other again, the happy community we create out of nothing cannot last more than a few hours.

Perhaps that is what makes backpacking so special, the keen awareness of every passing moment. Other people don't live like this, other people take their lives for granted. Backpackers take nothing for granted, because what is here in this moment will never return, never repeat, never constitute part of reality again.

For me, backpacking is a refresher course on life. There are basic rules for backpacking that everyone should follow.
- always be friendly
- always clean up after yourself.
- share when you can
- make friends with everyone.
- trust and be trustworthy
- always have a sense of humor
- don't be attached to material things
- create community wherever you can
- go with the flow
- don't judge
- listen a lot

Backpacking is a way of life. It's an awareness of the human condition. It's finding joy in a clean shirt, sunshine, a piece of papaya that a German girl gives you at breakfast. It's cooking a meal with a room full of people from around the world and the simplicity of satisfying the need to eat to stay alive. It's finding common ground, sharing experiences, making friends. Backpacking makes you thankful for every time you laugh. You are thankful for a comfortable chair, a bottle full of water, a sharp kitchen knife, clean-smelling sheets, a new book, a shower.

You notice more details when you backpack. You notice how the fog touches just the tops of the coffee plants on a hillside while the sun is still shining. You notice what sidewalks are made out of in different countries, as well as their height, width, and slipperiness in rain. You notice the flavor of your tap water, the humidity in the air, the scent of different flowers.

Backpacking heightens the senses, creates community, opens dialogues, inspires reflection and personal responsibility, and reminds us what it means to be human, to live together in one place. That is why I backpack.

Reentry

In the last entry, we talked a little about what culture is. You can imagine how difficult it is to enter a new culture, understand it, and try to live in that new culture, but what happens when you return to your home culture? That's today's topic.

If you live in a different culture for a while (even just a month), you'll probably start to see the world from a different perspective. Once you get used to different ways of doing things, you may find yourself adopting those new ways as your own. When you reenter your own culture, you may experience what's known as reverse culture shock. Your home culture will seem strange. You may become frustrated because you've become accustomed to your new culture. You may wake up in your own bed and not know where you are. You may forget how to do things, or you may try to do things according to the rules of your new culture. This can be embarrassing.

I only spent a week in Panama, so I haven't had too much trouble reentering my culture here in the U.S. There were a couple of things though that I noticed today, and I've had lots of experience reentering my culture after spending lots of time in other cultures.

First, I had a hot shower, which is something I never had in Panama. It seemed really weird that the water actually got hot. Cold showers in Panama weren't a big deal. It was so hot and humid all the time that cold water felt great. The hot shower was amazing, because I have been freezing my butt off since my plane landed at 9:30 last night, in a very brisk 40º. I was used to the weather in Panama, which was 95º and very humid. Remember back in January, when 40º felt like summer? Not any more.

I started to turn the stove on this afternoon, but I couldn't find the matches. Wait, what? What do you need matches for? Stoves in Panama are not self-lighting; you have to turn on the gas and then light it with a match or a lighter. Since I had been cooking nearly every day in Panama, I just got into the habit of reaching for a match to light the stove. On the positive side, I don't have to worry about singeing my eyebrows off any more.

Those of you who had me in class today might have noticed that I was a little tired this afternoon (traveling for two days straight really takes it out of you). I went to the vending machine to look for something with caffeine. I pulled change out of my wallet, only to realize that I only had Panamanian coins! Panama uses U.S. bills and U.S. coins, but they also mint their own coins. Panamanian coins are in the same denomination as U.S. coins (one cent, five cents, ten cents, twenty-five cents, and a dollar coin which is quite popular), and they work in machines exactly the same as U.S. coins. The problem was that I only had dollar coins, and the machine didn't take them (I really love dollar coins, by the way, and I much prefer them to dollar bills--one of the things I love about other money systems). I had similar problems when I came home from Mexico; I had a pocket full of centavos, which didn't do me any good. I was really frustrated when I realized that I had become accustomed to a different money system.

In the same vein, even though Panama uses the same currency as the United States, there are some differences in how money is used. First, no one will accept anything bigger than a twenty dollar bill. In some places, people won't even accept bills that large. Second, you'll be expected to have exact change, or at least something close to exact change. In the U.S., no one expects you to have change, and most people have a jar somewhere in their house full of pennies. Spare change is often considered a nuisance. In addition, prices in other countries are round, and in the U.S. prices tend to end in .99. When I came back to the States, I bought a bottle of water in the airport that was $1.99. I stood at the counter, trying to dig up 99 cents, because I was used to making exact change for everything I bought. Needless to say, the woman at the counter was not happy, and the people behind me were a tad exasperated. I finally realized how absurd I was acting in my own culture, and I sheepishly handed over $2.

I've also had some trouble using English again. I spent a whole week speaking Spanish, and even though English is my first language, I find myself forgetting words, making mistakes, and mixing in lots of Spanish. When I came back from Mexico, I forgot the words for peach, watermelon, dust, and dish. In Panama, I had some trouble in the middle of the week trying to explain different kinds of foods to two Canadian girls I met. They asked me the difference between a batido and a licuado. A batido is made with ice, fresh fruit, milk, and sugar. It's not exactly a milkshake because it doesn't use ice cream, but it is cold and creamy and quite tasty. A licuado is similar, but with no milk. You can also ask for a licuado "natural," which is just fresh fruit and ice with no sugar. The problem is that I was looking for English words for both of these things--no English word exists for either one ("smoothie" is the closest thing, but it doesn't show the difference between a batido and a licuado, both of which are a bit thinner than a smoothie).

Then the Canadians and I decided it was empanada time. Empanadas are dough with some kind of filling that are then fried. They're a little different everywhere, and the ones we bought in Panama were made with a corn dough, which I'd never had before. There were several choices of fillings: queso, pollo, res, or bacalao (cheese, chicken, beef, or "bacalao"). I ordered bacalao; I love bacalao. The Canadians asked me what it was, and I couldn't remember the English word. It's a kind of fish, and I could describe it, but I couldn't remember the name of the fish at all. It's cod, by the way, that has been salted and dried, then reconstituted. It's really fabulous. Even if you can't remember what it's called in your first language.



Finally, I experienced something that I've experienced in a lot of other countries. I tend to stick out a lot when I travel in Latin America. I am very pale and I have very European facial features. People tend to look at me a lot. In addition, in some places it's customary for men to make comments to women in the street. That can be unnerving, but after a while you get used to it and it's not a big deal. The problem I had was that I had really become used to people staring at me, making eye contact, and making comments to me. When I came home, I went to the grocery store and I felt like everyone was being rude to me! No one made eye contact, no one looked at me, no one said anything to me. I felt like everyone was ignoring me. Their behavior was perfectly normal for our shared culture, but it was very strange for my new culture. I eventually got used to grocery store interactions again, but I've never forgotten the feeling of being out of place in my own culture.

The really cool thing about experiencing other cultures is that you often find new and exciting ways to do things. You might find that there are things about other cultures that you like so much that you begin to adopt those practices. That's exactly what's happened in my family. My brother and I speak Spanish to each other, despite the fact that we both learned the language as adults. We watch "El Clásico," a soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, every time it's on TV, and we eat tapas de jamón ibérico y manchego, a kind of food from Spain. Those are simple examples, but they are things that were definitely not part of our home culture.

The process of entering and experiencing a new culture, then returning to our home culture is difficult, but it's the kind of experience that helps us appreciate our own culture even more.

Culture

It's time to talk about culture. What does that word mean? Culture is hard to define, even for people who study it.

Often, when we think of the word "culture," we think about things we can see, touch, or hear--food, music, festivals and celebrations. But if that was it, culture would be much easier to understand, and those tangible things don't explain why people experience culture shock or misunderstandings when they go to a new place or meet new people.

It's often the case that we find it difficult to adapt to new places or new groups of people--even people from our own general culture sometimes have misunderstandings. Think of a time when you thought you knew what someone wanted, but it turned out that they wanted something quite different. That was probably a cultural misunderstanding, and it happens all the time--everyone's family has slightly different ways of doing things, just like people from different countries have different ways of doing things.

This "way of doing things" is a big part of the word "culture." In order to survive, every human needs the same basic necessities: food, clean water, clothing (yes, that's an arguable point, but we'll keep it on the list), shelter, and each other (we depend on each other whether we like it or not). How people go about getting these basic elements is one way of identifying culture. There are lots of views on what constitutes culture, but this way of talking about culture will do just fine for now; we'll look at some other ideas later. As long as you have food, clean water, clothing, shelter, and other humans, you'll be okay. How you organize all of that, though, is up to you and the society you belong to. Your method of obtaining and organizing these elements may be different from how I do it. And that's perfectly okay.

Food and Water
In our culture (assuming we share the same culture), we shop at the grocery store, or maybe we keep a garden to obtain food. Most of us have access to clean, running water on a regular basis. We may cook our meals or buy them already made from stores or restaurants. We may eat our food alone, with our families, or with friends. We can use food to celebrate major events that we consider important--holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, Spanish class parties (remember, our idea of what's important will be different from others' ideas). In some cultures, people use food to express love--that's why my grandma always tries to put more food on my plate. She loves me! I understand that's why she pushes more food on people, but others might find her behavior rude or uncomfortable. I can't imagine anyone turning down my grandma's chocolate zucchini brownies, though. They are made of magic.

Clothing
In our culture, clothing is not optional (just to make that clear!). Clothing isn't just to protect our bodies from the elements, but to make a statement about who we are. Even if you don't care a whole lot about your appearance, I bet you prefer certain colors to others, and I bet you prefer certain kinds of clothing to others. Whether you realize it or not, you make a statement about yourself every day with the clothing you choose (and most of us have the privilege of choice, as well, which says even more about our culture). How you care for your clothing is also telling--do you wash every piece of clothing every time you wear it, or are there some things you wear more than once before washing? Do you use a clothes dryer, or do you air dry your clothing? If you air dry your clothing, do you hang it where the neighborhood can see it, or do you have a more private place for drying your clothes?


Shelter
It's not just the building, but also who lives in it. Do you live with relatives or friends? Do you plan on moving out when you graduate from high school? Does your extended family live with you, or just your immediate family? Do you live in an apartment, above a business in town, in the country, or in a duplex? Is your roof flat or pitched? Do you have your own room or are you expected to share with others? Which room in your house is the most important room?

Everyone needs shelter, and different cultures have different ideas about how shelter should be made. In some parts of Latin America, for example, it's common for families to live in houses that are close together, and to have a fence or some kind of wall around their houses. It's also common to have a small yard or patio, and in warmer climates windows are left open all day to ventilate the house (so it may not be customary to have air conditioning).

Depending on the culture, it may be normal for many family members to live together--aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, children, cousins. It may be common for everyone to sleep in the same room. It may not be common to have beds or to use blankets. It's all a matter of custom and preference.

Building materials may be different, as well. Our region has 4 seasons, so we have to be prepared for snow as well as 90º heat--that means we try to build our houses to withstand many conditions. In other climates the cold is not a problem, so houses may not be insulated, or they may have tile floors to keep things cool.


Each Other
This is the most complicated element that humans need for survival, and the most difficult to understand. The relationships that we have with our families and friends may be incomprehensible to others--how we create, define, and maintain relationships is culture-specific.

What does it mean to be a friend? Is a friend just someone to pass the time with, or is a friend considered part of the family?

How we interact with others is a huge part of our culture--how we address them, work with them, rely on them, which language we use, how much personal information we share, and a million other factors.



These are the most basic elements of survival. It's no wonder, then, that we have trouble understanding others, even if they seem very similar to us. The most important elements of culture are the things we can't see: our thoughts, habits, customs. These are things that are difficult to explain, and when we meet other people whose thoughts, habits, and customs are different from ours, we may find that we unknowingly offend someone. Likewise, others may unknowingly offend us.

So, how do we avoid cultural misunderstandings? I'm so glad you asked. I've had a lot of experience with this, and I can honestly say that the best way to learn is not to be afraid to make mistakes. Still, there are ways to avoid mistakes and learn about others.

1. Keep an open mind. Remember, "different" isn't wrong, it's just different.

2. Be patient. Sometimes it takes a while for us to realize that we've made a mistake, or to figure out the solution to a sticky situation. It's worth your time to patiently work out the misunderstanding so you can use that new knowledge the next time something comes up.

3. Be polite but don't be afraid to say how you feel. Politeness will be different for everyone, but do your best to show courtesy to others. At the same time, don't be afraid to say what's troubling you--you can't fix a problem if you don't identify the problem. Open discussion may feel awkward at first (depending on your culture!), but if you really want to learn and know about people, be prepared for some awkward moments. It'll either get better or you'll get used to it. In my case, I'm just used to being awkward all the time--but I learn a lot!

4. Ask questions. If you don't ask, you'll never know. People will tell you if they aren't comfortable answering, and you can do the same.

5. Respect others' choices. Whether you agree with them or not, everyone makes decisions based on their culture (even if they're not aware that's what they're doing). Culture is one of the most important things humans have--it's our way of identifying ourselves and making sense of the world around us. So, when someone makes a decision or acts a certain way, they're doing it in accordance with whatever culture they identify with. That may not be your culture, and you may be puzzled by others' actions and attitudes. The good news is that no one's asking you to judge them, so you can relax and enjoy knowing people for who they are, rather than who you think they should be.

This is a lot to take in, especially if you've never thought about it before. Even if you never plan to interact with people from other cultures (good luck with that!), these ideas are useful. Like I wrote above, everyone does things just a little differently, and a little variety is wonderful. Understanding others will help you understand yourself, and that's what many people consider the point of being human: understanding who we are.

The Art of Waiting

If you are traveling, and particularly if you are backpacking, chances are you'll spend a lot of time waiting.

You'll wait in line to buy bus tickets, you'll wait on a bus in traffic, you'll wait to check in to a hostel, you'll wait for a flight, you'll wait when your flight is delayed.

There is an art to waiting. Some people are good at it. Some people aren't. Some people are used to it, and some are just naturally impatient. I like ot think that I'm a patient person, but even I have my limits. Here's how I make my life worthwhile when I have a long wait ahead of me (like my bus trip this week that took 16 hours...)

1.) Journaling
That's what I'm doing right now, in fact. As I write, it's 5:45 p.m. I left my hostel at 8 a.m. today, and I've been waiting on various buses, in ticket lines, and in traffic since then. I'm on a bus right now traveling from David to Panama City, and we've been sitting in traffic for the past three hours. So I know what I'm talking about.

Journaling is an excellent exercise that I recommend for any time, not just when you have nothing better to do. Journaling gives you the chance to organize your thoughts, reflect on your day, resolve issues, and it's just good therapy.

I journal all the time when I travel (maybe because I need a lot of therapy?). Journals are a great way to relive your travels, sometimes even better than photos, and you know how much I love photography.

2.) Reading
Maybe it's not your activity of choice, but it certainly does help to pass the time. Reading's good for you, too--it helps develop sustained associational thinking (i.e., you're forced to think deeply about stuff for a long time). There's nothing like a good story to keep you entertained when the screaming baby behind you makes you want to tear your ears off.

3.) Sleeping
I bet you didn't see that coming--what teacher encourages you to sleep when you could be reading, or studying Spanish, or doing mental math?

But seriously, this merits a mention. YOu shouldn't just sprawl out wherever you are and start snoring. If you find you must nap in a public place, such as a bus, a train station, the airport, the beach, or wherever, there are some things to keep in mind.

First, if you have a bus or train to catch, set an alarm. It would be rather sad to sleep through the departure you've waited so long for.

Next, keep in mind that you are in

public. Do not invade others' space, do not slump or sprawl about inappropriately. People will likely trip over you or just generally be disgusted with your lack of courtesy.

Finally and most importantly, always know where your stuff is. A friend of a friend once fell asleep on the beach in Brazil, and someone took everything--she had to borrow money for the bus ride home, and she had to ride that bus barefoot and in a bikini. Keep your passport and wallet on you at all times, preferably attached to your clothing somehow, and out of sight. If you've got your backpack with you, find a way to strap is on while you sleep. If you're in a place where you can lay down, you might put everything against a wall and curl around it. Check the floor first so you don't lay in anything unsavory.


You might think you'll never do any of the crazy stuff I've been describing, and you're probably right. Just in case, though, it's important to think through everything. If you think it's awful to sleep in a bus station, imagine waking up in that bus station and all your stuff is gone. Worse, no?

Ultimately, waiting won't kill you, and the more relaxed you are (and the less whining you do), the happier your life will be, no matter how long it takes to get where you're going.

6:15 p.m., still in traffic... I think it's time for a nap.


Other helpful hints:
- always have a bottle of water (you'll lose your place in line if you try to go buy water)
- don't rely on electronics to keep you entertained. You may be in a place where it is a very bad idea to flash electronics of any kind. Plus, your battery might die.
- I know I've said it before, but BYOTP. And hand sanitizer.
- Always take a jacket, even someplace warm. It can double as a pillow, or the AC might be turned way up, which is the case on Panamanian buses. You never know. 12 hours on a highly air conditioned bus can be miserable.