Brett & Megan

I pay as much attention to the fortunes in cookies as astrology predictions. I’m glad these free sources of ‘entertainment’ provide jobs for all those English majors who weren’t sure what they were going to do after college. And though recently, some very good fortune came my way, I’m still not giving any credit to those plastic strips of paper that ruin an otherwise good cookie (am I the only who actually likes the cookie).

The big news – I’m going to China!! Oh yeah, and I’m going totally FREE. And I will be taking 4 of my high school students with me for FREE, too. Why? I was accepted as one of several teachers for part of Discovery Student Adventures pilot program. Discovery is getting into the student travel business – but in a way that I believe will blow away the competition. They are putting together student travel ‘adventures’ in which students truly get to experience the full culture and wonders of the world in the same way the Discovery Channel brings the world into your living room. Check out www.discoverystudentadventures.com. If these trips are anything like my experience with Discovery, they will be top-notch.

While they are already starting to take teacher applications for 2010, they needed a few teachers to volunteer to pilot three trips this year – for FREE. They had over 160 middle & high school teachers apply to go on 3 pilot trips to Australia, South Africa and China. We had to do an online application and a phone interview. They selected 3 teachers for each trip (9 total) and I was one of the 3 they chose to lead students to China.

During the trip, we will take a Tai-Chi lesson from a master, visit the Temple of Heaven, see the Olympic stadium and ‘water cube’ from the 2008 Olympics, & meet Chinese Olympians training for 2012. We will also be doing some service in a couple places including a visit to a Chinese orphanage where we will read to the children in English. Throughout the trip the students will be engaged in learning activities and be sharing their experience via blogging, twitter, video, etc.. I’m already putting together some lesson plans. It’s pretty darn exciting.

Megan came home just as I was on the phone with Discovery finding out I had been picked. When she overheard my conversation she started jumping up & down. We were really excited. Then it quickly dawned on me that she would be 8 months pregnant in the hottest part of summer alone with our crappy window air conditioner that only works if you sit right in front of it (in which you then freeze and have to move to a warm spot). But my blessed wife had already given me the green light when I applied. She said “this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you have to take it!”. I think I have the coolest spouse on the planet.

I’ll be sending updates for all the avid bmharvey.com readers while I’m halfway around the world – after I learn to type on a Cantonese keyboard.