Teacher Appreciation Week Series: Where to This Year?

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week 2020, we have been running a series of stories highlighting a few of the amazing educators that travel with Rustic Pathways.

Teacher Appreciation ‘Week’ is year-round at Rustic! For our last week of May, we are shining a spotlight on Amira Antar who brings much joy and excitement to middle schoolers looking forward to their big adventure.

If I were to tally the number of times I hear that question every year as a Middle School Counselor, I’d probably have walked the earth once around, maybe twice.

One of the biggest highlights of our middle school is our Week Without Walls trip, for many of our kiddos this is the first time they will ever get to experience traveling abroad alone! The suspense builds all year as we plan in the background the trip, the itinerary, the activities and of course the food!

So far we’ve been to Italy, Greece, Spain and most recently Morocco with Rustic Pathways. An absolutely beautiful trip, with our first ever service component.

Seeing the glimmer in their eyes and the enthusiasm shine through when the trips are announced every year is definitely a moment I always look forward to.

These international trips provide the most unique opportunity for our children to explore the larger world, to see beyond their local communities and traditions and most importantly to immerse themselves somewhere foreign, somewhere new. After a week away, they come back rejuvenated, refreshed, doe-eyed and filled with memories and stories that they will treasure forever. The sense of community, the development of their own independence and autonomy and the pride that comes with it is indescribable. To get to witness it first hand, is magical!

Building this sense of a global citizen and what it means to be a global citizen from such a young age is such a wonderful opportunity provided to these kids and once we are so privileged to be able to offer to them. Although it is an absolute monster to plan every year, every second is worth it.

Who knows what the next academic year will look like for us, all I know is that when we are all back to school I know one of the first questions I will hear is “Miss Amira, where are we going this year?”