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Tools<\/strong> Thought starters<\/strong> To quote Rudyard Kipling, \u201cthe first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.\u201d Embrace journaling as a way for students to process the immediate experiences of cultural immersion. Years later, the dim sum card they saved from a favorite restaurant in China, and their words about the incredible dumplings, will remind them of a whole day in Shanghai.<\/p>\n Write now for later<\/strong> Ultimately, Gloria Steinem had it right. \u201cI do not like to write \u2013 I like to have written.\u201d No matter what, both students and parents will be happy to have a full journal after the tour ends. While students will return with countless images on their camera phone anyway, having a journal means the detailed stories behind some of those images will be recorded as well. And just like Oscar Wilde, students will have something fabulous to read on their returning flight!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" They say a picture says a thousand words\u2026but what do a thousand words themselves capture? Ah\u2026that\u2019s up to the imagination, the senses and the richness of an Explorica educational tour! For teachers, travel journaling may not be top of mind curriculum. And for students, remembering to pack a digital camera over a journal may be Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[58,106,107,12],"class_list":["post-675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-teachers","tag-educational-travel","tag-travel-journal","tag-travel-lesson-plans","tag-travel-tips","post_format-post-format-aside"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=675"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2072,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675\/revisions\/2072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSo add to that packing list a few simple tools\u2014something to write on\u2026and with. Luckily, most journals tuck away easily in a carry-on bag. But the journal should fit the writer. Encourage students to decide, are they the spiral-bound drug store notebook type? Or artisan leather-bound volume type, modeled after DaVinci\u2019s sketchbooks in Florence? Lines or no lines? Blank pages are great for writing, sketching and attaching odds and ends. Having journals with front and back cover pockets can be useful as well. Squeeze in a mini glue stick or some tape (especially if you\u2019re packing a carry-on since glue may not pass airport security.)
\nThe next decision is a bit easier. Never underestimate the importance of simple writing utensils\u2014as basic as a number 2 lead pencil. (It doesn\u2019t leak and won\u2019t run out of ink in mid-sentence.) In Washington D.C., George Washington used a graphite pencil to survey the Ohio Territory in 1762, (so, see, they\u2019ve always been perfect for traveling.) And Thomas Edison? He kept a three-inch-long pencil in his vest pocket to jot down notes. Mini pencils and scrap paper are always good to have around\u2014like during lunch or on a short walk without bags.<\/p>\n
\nTravel journal? Check. Writing utensil? Check. So now what? See if you can get students excited about documenting their trip. Things to do might be: collect ticket stubs from important theatres like the Globe Theater in London, for example. Or save museum catalogues, train tickets or even natural items like rocks and leaves. And then, have students take time out of each day to capture their Explorica experiences\u2026<\/p>\n\n
\nThere\u2019s so much to see and do on a trip, where is the time for writing? Get students to think about journaling as artistic and valuable as taking photos. To get the daily habits going, assign list writing, haiku or poetry composition when visiting a stunning location. (Think the Acropolis or Mexico\u2019s Teotihuacan.) In the presence of world landmarks, like the Berlin Wall or Machu Picchu, have students reflect on their individual experience in addition to the historical facts they\u2019re learning\u2014what is the quality of light like at Machu Picchu? Is that light what inspired the Inka\u2019s Temple of the Sun?
\nJournals are great friends on planes, trains and automobiles, too. While in transit, have students write about their immediate surroundings. And if it looks like a small line at the local restaurant or gift store, perfect time to break out the golf pencils! Some quick exercises for short breaks might be:<\/p>\n\n