International Educator of the Year Luncheon with Fareed Zakaria

This past week, the World Affairs Council of DFW held its annual International Educator of the Year luncheon at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas.  We at UA were especially excited about this event because our own Global Director, Ms. Nipp, was honored as the 2014 International Educator of the Year. The keynote speaker was Fareed Zakaria, CNN commentator and editor of TIME magazine. He spoke about Globalization and, in the end, advised us to all "Cheer Up" as this is a very awesome and overall peaceful time in history. Ms. Nipp also spoke briefly at the luncheon where she thanked Ursuline's visionary leadership which has allowed us to build such meaningful and special partnerships all over the world.

Ms. Nipp and students from Ursuline's Jr. World Affairs Club

Ms. Nipp and Fareed Zakaria

Wonderful UA educators who were (and are) Ms. Nipp's teachers 

Maipu

After returning from their fantastic excursion, our Chilean delegates took some time to visit another Ursuline school in Chile, Colegio Santa Ursula in Maipu, a suburb of Santiago. There is a beautiful and tall Basilica in Maipu and our students visited it and climbed to the top. The Maipu School is beautiful and is where the Ursuline sisters reside. The sisters actually have a farm there where they grow their own food. As always, it was great to meet more students and to enjoy some time with Sor Angela, the joyful leader of the Ursuline community and new friend of Sr. Lois!

 

Our Chilean Excursion

Our delegates in Chile have just returned from a wonderful 2-day excursion to Pomaire, Valle Rosario, Matetric. Isla Negra and Quisco. It was fantastic! The first stop on the tour was Pomaire, a typical pottery village where the girls tried to throw the wheel. They played with clay in one of the most unique artisan homes of the village. They then enjoyed a typical Chilean lunch including "empanadas" and  coca-cola light.   After lunch, the group went to the Casablanca valley, a beautiful organic vineyard and eco-tourism park. They spent the night there in " indomos" a first world tent with an igloo design. 

On Day 2, the students had a tour of the Matetic valley where they took pictures with alpacas. Afterward, they drove to Isla Negra to visit Pablo Neruda's beach house - a truly awesome experience! 

Isla Negra, home of poet Pablo Neruda

Pomaire 

In the picturesque Casablanca Valley

Weekend in Cape Town

Our South Africa delegation has spent our last days in South Africa on an excursion weekend in beautiful Cape Town, visiting many gorgeous, historical and festive places.  As an added and unexpected bonus, we experienced several "animal encounters." What a perfect way to wrap up what has been the trip of a lifetime!

Our fearless leaders at Boulder's Beach

African Penguins!

We could not get enough of this scenic drive from Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope

Where the oceans meet - Cape of Good Hope

After escaping the floods of Johannesburg, Shadhi enjoys a moment in the sun!

A baboon family at the Cape of Good Hope

Just hanging out in Africa....

Sailing to Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned)

A former prisoner gave us a tour of the Robben Island prison

Contemplating the cell where Nelson Mandela resided for many years

On windy and gorgeous Table Mountain

Striking a pose on Table Mountain

Sunday Morning Church Service at a local Township

Church Service

With our host, Mama Nok, who made us a delicious African lunch

Ms. Hansson bringing home Rhino "Nelson Randella"

Last Day with our UA Wilmington Sisters

Thank you for a wonderful time in Wilmington! We will cherish these memories (and, of course, the Tastykakes) forever! We hope to see you soon in the Big D!


Radhika and her Host Family at Rehoboth Beach



Maria and her Host Family at dinner in Rehoboth Beach

 

Dr. Baxter and Ms. Chinuntdet with
Lower School Principal Ms. Lisa Clody
at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore

Pi Day in Wilmington by UA Delegate Maria – Wilmington

We started off the day in classes with our host sisters. During the math class I was in, we celebrated Pi Day with a party. For a day that wasn't supposed to happen because the school planned to be closed but was now a make up the snow day day, it was a good way to start the day, especially since the whole school got a dress down day (thank goodness they have those in Wilmington, too). After the party in math class, I met the other UA delegates to go on a field trip to see an important part of Wilmington history with the Upper and Middle Schools Principal, Ms. Carolyn Zogby.

The Hagley Museum documents the history of the du Pont family and their gunpowder mills along the Brandywine Creek and it was marvelous. It accurately portrayed an intriguing culture and lifestyle and was like stepping back in time to the 1800s and early 1900s. The mills were converted into exhibits that define each building's purpose and those who worked there. At the schoolhouse, we learned that the children of the workers and the child workers attended Sunday school lessons on spelling, ciphering (math), writing and reading. We got to try our hand at writing with a feather quill. My favorite part of the museum, however, was the du Pont family home. This is the house where the founder, E. I. du Pont, lived with his family. The interior of the mansion was artfully arranged and restored with coordinated color schemes and ornate furniture from that time period. The du Pont's house was astoundingly beautiful and I purchased a lovely teapot to commemorate this visit (and because I love tea!).

The Delegation in the Machine Shop

The Student Delegates practicing their penmenship
with a feather quill

 

 

Last moments at Brescia House School

We were happy that one of our last activities at Brescia House was a presentation by our delegation to the Upper School. It was so fun to be able to share a little bit of home with our dear friends and also to see their big reactions when we explained our late arrival time and that our classes last 80 minutes. It was such a fun experience and it was one of the many, many good times we will treasure from our time in Johannesburg.

 

And then we had to say farewell (for now). Oh how sad we were to leave behind the loving care of our South African sister school! Our visit ended all too shortly with lots of tears and priceless, countless beautiful memories.

 

English class and a special guest in Chile

Our fourth day in Colegio Santa Ursula, Vitacura was awesome! The delegation divided into three teams and prepared an English class for 3rd and 4th graders.

Their task was to create a 45 minute English class for 3rd and 4th graders and they prepared a wonderful lesson! They talked about their families back in Dallas, prepared songs and games and taught the younger students a lot! Everyone had a blast!

 

 

Another thing that made the day so great was that Victoria L., our UA alumna from Dallas who is studying for a semester at Universidad Catolica de Chile, visited us at the school and told us all about her life in Chile.



 

Day at the UPenn Museum by UA Delegate Radhika - Wilmington

Our day started in Freshman History class where we prepared for our trip to the Mummy exhibit at The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology. UPenn Museum has one of the largest collection of mummies in North America, and the exhibit did not disappoint. The collection housed multiple mummies (Anel took a wonderful selfie with one) as well as a large Sphinx, which was my personal favorite. There were also several coffins, some cats, and a lion goddess that Ms. Chinuntdet really enjoyed. The UPenn collection also housed an incredible Native American Voices exhibit that looked at contemporary and ancient North America. My favorite part of the trip was a tour of the South American exhibit with Sister Betty; she helped make the artifacts come to life. The small museum collected pieces from Africa, Iran, Greece, Rome, and had a great human evolution piece. It is easy to say that the museum is a hidden gem of the area (and was a real highlight of our trip). 

UA Dallas, UA Delaware and some Salesianum
(the boys' school) students at the museum

 

Radhika and Rachel with a couple of mummies 

Dr. Baxter with the Sphinx

Ms. Chinuntdet's favorite lion goddess Sekhmet

 

Day in DC Part II by Maria - Wilmington

After taking the Metro (DC railway/subway), we walked to the Capitol building which houses both the Senate and the House of Representatives. At the Capitol, we met up with Tasha, a very nice intern for US Representative John Carney of Delaware, who led our tour of this important building. We saw the history behind our nation as well as the immense amount of planning it's construction required. Just thinking about how people still use buildings over 200 years old for their original purpose gives me chills.

 

On our way to the Capitol

Delegation with Tasha, intern and tour guide

Delegation with the Statue of Freedom in the Capitol

After the Capitol, we walked down the National Mall to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History was really impressive, though most of what we saw was the cafe at lunch. The exhibit about the Native Americans was unexpected, and it showed that the museum doesn't only focus on the animals, but human nature as well.

Delegation on the National Mall

Delegation at the National Museum of Natural History