Wednesday, September 19, 2018

back in Arkansas...

My wife and I returned to Northwest Arkansas last night after flights from Latvia, Finland, and Chicago.

We have a lot to catch up on, and a lot to process from our travels. I want to thank folks at schools in Helsinki and Latvia, where I was allowed to visit and learn. My teacher guides were generous with their time, and the experience is one that will be recorded and utilized in my own work.

The workbenches shown are from Jaunmārupes Pamatskola, a school in Riga, Latvia. It is a fairly new school and their teacher had arranged for their benches to be built by local craftsmen using a classic design. I hope to offer some observations on the schools of Finland and Latvia in the days to come.

Our travels were brought to greater depth by sharing our stay in Latvia with great good friends from Norway, Kari, and Jan Erik. Being with such good friends is an experience that I've not enough words to describe.

An opening scene in the old town at Riga...  Jean and I are trudging along narrow cobblestone sidewalks, the tiny wheels of our luggage grumbling like oxcarts, as we are being led by google maps to enter an ancient alleyway of unknown destination. There behind an iron fence, we find Kari and Jan Erik in the courtyard of our hotel, waiting for us, cool drinks and warm hearts at hand.

Make, fix, create, and assist others in learning likewise.

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