This is how to make me cry…..

On Friday, I went to Rotterdam.
To see something that moved me to tears.
This is what happened….

You may or may not know that I have my own educational foundation on Bali – the BDEAL Foundation. My goal is to build an educational bridge to help children in the north of Bali learn English in order to secure a better future. Many of these kids are orphans or the children of illiterate farmers, and in order to support their families when they are older, many hope to work on a cruise ship or in the travel or tourism industry. English is essential for their future.

When I was posting about my experiences of teaching on Bali I got a message from Joppe, who was an English teacher trainer at the Hogeschool of Rotterdam. He reached out to me and asked me if he could get some students involved in creating lesson materials that I could use on Bali. I said ‘YES!’ so loud that I think they heard me in Belgium!

Well, last Friday I was invited to the presentation of ‘Last Resort’, a comprehensive program focussing on English language skills in the travel and tourism industry on Bali. 30 students worked long and hard on developing this method, and I was so honored to be presented with the first copy.

I was moved to tears at what these future English teachers developed. They covered everything from grammar to vocabulary to writing skills in such an innovative, practical and dynamic way. I had never seen anything like this before and I am SO PROUD to start implementing this when I go to Bali in February to teach again.

I stayed for a long time and had a real honest discussion with the English students about living your passion and what a gift it is to be a teacher. Inspiring and motivating other people is truly one of the biggest gifts I have been given in my life, and it’s one I will share any opportunity I can get.

Last Friday, I met the future of English teaching, and I am deeply humbled by their dedication and motivation – their intense desire to make a difference in the lives of others. Wow.

Thank you, Joppe, for reaching out and for taking a huge risk on creating something that did not exist for something that barely did. Once again, someone ran with one of my crazy ideas and scored a touchdown.

I cannot wait until February when I will be putting this amazing new method into action!

Love,
buffi

 

Thank you beautiful students of Hogeschool Rotterdam, and your amazing teachers
Joppe and Ahmet, for creating our new lesson method!
My foundation is so grateful!

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