Would You Like To Go To Ukraine?

When I received the email in late September informing me there was an opportunity to travel to Ukraine as part of the International Research and Education Exchange (IREX), I was taken aback. When I applied the previous spring, I had expected to hear some details about whether I'd properly completed my application. No such feedback arrived and I was only able to keep the details straight at the back of my mind; my days went one as usual and I tried not to get hung up on whether I'd been chosen for the exchange or not. School started as usual in early September and I'd not heard, so figured I had not been chosen; afterall only 40 teachers nationwide are selected for travel to some possible two dozen countries. I figured I'd apply again for the following year.

Then the email came, out of the blue, and I was excited. I spoke to a couple colleagues that day at school and asked their thoughts. I had 24 hours to decide whether or not to travel to Ukraine in mid March. I went home that evening to ask my family's input. When my sixteen year old son responded with, "Dad, if you don't go, it will be the dumbest thing you've ever done," I knew I was going.

The next month was filled with anticipation as I prepared to head to Purdue University for an orientation. I would meet the Ukrainian teachers who had been posted in the U.S. for the past six weeks and ostensibly meet the teacher I would partner with in Ukraine.