Recent

As the old engine sputters to a halt, the air is empty of all noise except the squawking of a hornbill in the distance. The guide presses his finger to his lips, signaling that we should be silent, his face dead serious. We wait, ears pricked up anxiously anticipating whatever the guide has stopped for. We notice movement behind the bushes. The animal is enormous but surprisingly quiet. The grey...

Have you ever heard of Botswana before? If you asked that question to me a few months ago, I would not be able to give any good answer but “no.” I didn't even know about the existence of this country until I heard about this school. And now, I am in that country, with that school. Even before I actually arrived in Botswana, I had a lot of first time...

What is your role at TGS? We all wear many hats here at TGS, where we are lucky enough to grow and explore our own professional dimensions.  My personal hat collection includes jack-of-all-trades science teacher, human geography, curriculum development, and now academic coordination. Design thinking is all the buzz in education right now. How would you define design thinking for students/parents/educators? The Harvard Graduate School of Education defines design thinking...

Time goes by. I read one article. Scroll, scroll, scroll. I text people thousands of kilometers away from me. Scroll, scroll, scroll. I read another article just to make sure I have something to talk about tomorrow. Couple more scrolls, maybe I’m missing out on something. I must be. The world is changing so fast that this is the only chance I have of keeping up with it. I have...

A modern-day nomad is anyone who has to ask themselves where their travels begin and where they end, and what exactly counts as the whole soul-searching shebang, anyways? The thing about these collectors of cool things is that their routine is a lack of one. If that's so, what happens when they enter a highly structured environment that is direct and singular? I'm talking about what happens when they go...

When I found out my first country at THINK Global School was Botswana, I was slightly disappointed. You see, Gaborone is only a five-hour drive away from Johannesburg, South Africa, my city. Every other country on our list for the next three years seems exciting and exotic - Botswana, however, was just a few game drives across the border. I wasn't looking forward to game drives. I go on multiple...

The months leading up to my Botswana term were extremely nerve-racking. I'm an overthinker. I constantly think of the worst things that could happen. I thought way too much about showers, food, beds, wifi --  the whole camping situation in general. I cannot recall the exact moment my mindset changed, but it was somewhere around the first time I got on a bus with thirty other students my age for...

"Quiet!" screams Craig, our game drive guide, in a whispered tone. Seconds after, silence overcame the vehicle. The loud conversations turned into murmurs and eyes glistened with curiosity, looking here and there for even the smallest clue. The safari vehicle suddenly accelerated like a cheetah, the wind rushing onto our faces and sand filling our hair. I could feel the adrenaline rush through my body and why wouldn't it have?...

My time in Botswana began with traditional dancing, and dancing has followed me through tents and past campfires, kicking up dust and leaving flattened grass in its wake. During my time here, I have had two very distinct firsts with dancing: the first time I watched, and the first time I became a part of the whirlwind of stomping feet and rattling ankle bands. The first time I watched, I...