All things must pass

Eleven months ago I was meeting with parents and kids, describing my plans for my most ambitious LFMSS Europe tour yet – “Best of the West, Best of the East”. Now I’m sitting on a plane back to Canada and it’s all over. And I know tomorrow some of the kids in my grade 8 classes will be asking me when the meeting for Europe 2011 will be!
I’m always impressed with the support the parent chaperones give to the kids while we are travelling. They make sure the kids are safe, fed, accounted for, sleeping (or at least in bed), and, in the case of Mrs. Fairley and Mrs. Godler – medicated! The trip can’t happen without parent chaperones – so my thanks to Sherry, Mary, Dianna, Roberto, Ernie, Kevin, Gary, Shawna, Chris and Cheryll for joining us and doing a fantastic job. Not only were they efficient and helpful, but they were a lot of fun too! I also need to thank Ms. Vogt for helping organize and supervise the tour – she may not be Austrian, but she knows how to have a good time with the kids and she speaks German, French, and pretty decent (or barely passable?) Italian. I just need her to work on her Czech and Hungarian. I understand that Rens’ wife has been reading the blog, so I better thank him too! You guys who have gone on the trip before all have fond memories of Rens – he’s an outstanding driver, but much more than that, a kind and friendly man who I look forward to working with every year. He tells me that when he retires, the first place he will travel to is Canada. We’ll have to plan something for him here in Langley – he has a lot of fans!
I had remarked to Ms. Vogt several times in the months leading up to the trip that this is going to be a great group of kids to travel with. And they were. The students were interested and engaged (most of the time!), and they did our school proud again – many compliments on their behaviour from guides, hotel staff, restaurant staff, and various other people I met. I had some very deep conversations about history, science, philosophy, etc. with some of the kids – never underestimate the intellect of young people! In Venice, I noticed a lot of older people in different tour groups. In the Accademia museum of Venice (which is where I went instead of shopping for masks and glass) I had a great conversation with a woman who was in her 70’s. She was fascinated by the art, the history, and the culture, and was carrying a journal recording her insights and experiences on her tour. She had always wanted to travel, but circumstances were such that she had to wait until she retired. I think it’s great that she’s out exploring Venice for the first time – it shows me that you are never too old for new adventures. But I also thought how fortunate the kids are to be exposed to this kind of travel at such a young age. New horizons are opened – new possibilities exist, new ideas are formed – and they have a lifetime to act on those.
Craig Bresett