Every two summers I travel with a group of my students to Europe. I find that the experience makes them better students and that they grow and mature in immeasurable ways during the trip.
This summer was my travel summer. I was off with a group of seventeen for a two week tour in France and Italy. We flew out of Dulles International Airport, which for me was not a new experience, but we were excited to be flying on an Airbus 380. The A380 is the world’s largest commercial aircraft and has a seating capacity of 525. Even my airline pilot husband was thrilled about the plane that would be taking us to Europe.
What I hadn’t planned on was my reaction to my students’ experience on the flight. Many of them had never been on an airplane before. Some were scared. Some were excited. When we were called for boarding, we all took our seats on the upper level of the aircraft. I checked to see that all of the kids were in their seats and secured. Then I buckled my own seatbelt as I had so many times before.
The huge aircraft backed out of the gate and began its taxi to the runway. I could hear my students giggle and chatter at the prospect of taking off. I leaned back and smiled. It was so good to hear and feel their excitement.
As the plane picked up speed for takeoff, I turned around to watch my students. I was totally taken off guard by what happened next. My student, Maranda, was seated diagonally from me next to her sister. Maranda had never flown before. As that A380 moved faster and faster, Maranda’s grin grew bigger and bigger. When we lifted off the ground, she squealed out an announcement that we were in the air. The shear delight in her eyes was priceless.
That’s when I started to cry. Takeoffs and landings had become old hat for me. I had forgotten the shear wonder of flight. Maranda let me experience it all over again. I felt the plane shift and turn and was once again amazed by something that had become so common place in my life.
Yes, I travel with my students so that they can have rich experiences and learn about other cultures and ways of life, but what they fail to understand is how enriching these trips are for me. I learn and experience things anew by seeing them through my students’ eyes.
Maranda taught me on this trip how special all of the little things in life are and how if we pause and think about all the tiny, wonderful things that happen to us on a daily basis life is indeed a miracle. I learned that I need to pause and take time to smell the roses. There are so many of them around me.
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