My Cancelled Trip

It is cold and rainy in Bogota at this moment. My students have left for the day. I am here typing and dreaming. I am dreaming of Gorgona. Gorgona is an island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Colombia. Colegio Nueva Granada stresses learning outside of the classroom. So every class from 6th grade to 12th grade go on a week long field trip to some place in Colombia to learn about the community, flora, fauna, rituals, and so on. The juniors were supposed to go to Gorgona. Gorgona is an exotic island that was used as a sailors' prison and rest stop for merchant vessels back in the day of Captain Morgan and Charles Darwin. We were going to visit the island and see the prison, view the plants, dive in the ocean with migrating whales, and enjoy the beach, sun, and fun.

However, the juniors decided they did not want to go this year and opted to stay in Bogota for extra teaching. Yeah for me. So here I am with the 50 some odd students who are not traveling to the Amazon, Llanos, or Gorgona. The seniors are in the city doing social work. So that leaves these juniors sitting in my class wishing they were elsewhere. And I am wishing to be in Gorgona. Good times! My folks used to always say that their are lessons that one can only learn later in life. My juniors will most likely look back someday and realize they passed up a chance to see a beautiful part of the world.

Now it looks like the juniors are planning a skip day for Friday. So that means me in my classroom all by myself. Yeah!