Final reflections on London...

Me on the London Eye

For my spring semester of 2022 at DMACC, I travelled with a group of 18 students to London, England with DMACC's Study Abroad program. Danielle Galien of Criminal Justice joined me, as we had close to the amount of students signed up that is required to add a second instructor. DMACC works with the American Institute for Foreign Study to create a program that includes a number of day trips around the UK and a course called British Life and Culture, which was taught by the wonderful British instructor Nicole D'Amato Moody. A DMACC instructor does the grading and assignments part of the BLC course, and Nicole provides lectures and field trips meant to teach students about the culture and history of the United Kingdom. In addition, I taught courses in humanities, literature and writing including Creative Writing, while Danielle taught Criminal Justice courses including Scientific Investigation. 

cemetery north London

I'm not one to dwell too much on my own mortality, but in the wake of the pandemic, and as I skid ever more quickly toward 50, I've found myself considering how I want to spent what might be, given my particular medical situation, the last few years of my life. My husband and I chose careers as public servants because we wanted to make a difference in our community, and following the recent unpleasantness, we saw some of our fears materializing a lot sooner than we thought they would, namely the fear that though we are working more and harder than ever before, we aren't impacting the people we serve as much as we want. I started to question whether I wasn't stagnating, or even regressing as a teacher and writer as I had never done before. Teachers always worry to some degree that they are the ones failing, whether their students are failing or not, but recently I felt especially discouraged, and especially concerned that I would spend my last couple of decades as a kind of automaton and gatekeeper, and not the mentor and thinker I want to be. My decision to go to London with students was in response to that terrible, terrible feeling.

monument to the London fire

I would never have been brave or mature enough to travel overseas to study when I was the age of these students, but as an adult this was the opportunity for growth I needed - and grow I did. After these two months, I felt the joy and satisfaction from teaching I hadn't felt since Covid-19 hit us. I had the chance to see students face challenges and overcome them, to watch them as they got a view of the world from a different perspective and embraced the unfamiliar. Part of the satisfaction came from a break in the usual teaching format...you can't teach this semester the way you would teach at home, that's for sure. I saw that I could adapt quickly, not only to my new surroundings, but to new subject matter and styles of learning. Certainly a main advantage was having smaller classes...I can't stress enough what a difference that makes. I actually felt like I knew my young scholars, which made it easier to connect with them and meet their needs. Instead of sitting at a computer grading for six hours every day, I was exploring the world with students at my side. I felt like a leader for the first time in a long time.

the Thames as seen from Skygarden

What the DMACC London Study Abroad program offers for both students and instructors is an opportunity for growth and learning that doesn't always feel possible within the system in which we work and study together. I feel like a writer again, and whatever happens as the college presses on in the wake of Covid, I know I have taken a step forward as a scholar and teacher. The students will have discovered a lot about themselves, including that they can be courageous, wise, and adventurous members of a team. Whatever classes they took, they learned exponentially more than a typical semester would allow...at community college or elsewhere.

St. Paul's Cathedral

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to come home, but I've also experienced something of a hangover in returning to the Wild West after being in the big town. Already I find myself dreaming about London buildings, about Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square and Kensington. I know I won't find anything like the Portobello Road market here, and I probably won't go to a play again - maybe ever - and that makes me deeply sad. However, I also appreciate those things I have here that I wouldn't have in the UK, and that's a kind of growth too.

Saint Mary Abbots Kensington

I will probably remember these 18 students more than I remember any other students I've taught (with the exception of one or two...looking at you Kristen and Savannah). Usually I don't find myself feeling lonesome for a student once a semester ends, no matter how well they write or how smart they are. But I miss them already, all of them: Trae, Angelica, Maddy, Grace, Jackson, Landon, Corinne, Charlotte, Zizzy, Ashley, Kylee, Kee, Kamaura, Amber, Tiphany, Kelly, Jake, Macy...all of them. I also made a new friend, which doesn't come easy for me. Danielle was awesome... honestly I can't think of a better or more compatible partner in crime. Thank goodness for her, because I might not have had some of the adventures I did without her suggestion. I find myself wondering about my homestay mom Kathy too. She's 87 and living on her own, not to mention unsteady on her feet, but I didn't expect to worry about her this much.

Trafalgar Square

I want to thank Bethany Sweeney, who coordinates the Study Abroad program. She made it easy on both myself and the students, what with all our many, many questions. Beth-Baker Brodersen is another one who encouraged me to go on this adventure, and made it less scary by sharing her own experiences on the trip. Finally, I have to dedicate this blog to Lauren Rice, who we lost in 2020. As the former director of this program, she put the idea in my head to actually do it. I never would have considered it without her subtle nudging. And she was a travel writer...a good one. I could only hope to fill her shoes. 

Lauren and Holiday