What did you do on your summer vacation?

It’s fall and many of us are settling back into our routines and catching up with friends and neighbors. As I’ve been reflecting on the last couple of months, I’m ashamed to say that the biggest excitement of my summer was floating in my pool… just 10 steps from the house… super exciting, huh?

BUT- if you asked this question to a group of students from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, don’t be surprised if they respond with “check out my blog at http://cfsouthafrica2011.blogspot.com/”. This blog documents a life changing trip for these high school students. Some of the highlights include visiting the Hector Pieterson Museum, the Apartheid Museum, Cullinan diamond mine and the Lion Park. They had some incredible experiences with their host families and even attended a few days in a local school. The entry describing the orphanage for children with AIDS will leave you in tears.

They truly experienced a new culture and have gained so much insight from the journey.  I was struck by the postings documenting what they loved about Africa- the landscape, the people, and most of all what they learned about themselves. 

It really is powerful for teenagers to have these kinds of experiences- lessons learned in those 12 days could never have been taught in a classroom or in a book. Living it is everything. 

The best part- they got high school elective credit for it!  These students enrolled in Blueprint Education’s Independent Travel Study course. They read the book Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation by John Carlin and completed chapter summaries along with a daily travel log. To complete the course they submitted a 10 page paper documenting their experiences.

It wasn’t just a summer vacation- it was a vacation with a purpose.  I need one of those… got any ideas?