I love history. I don't know if it was my Dad subscribing to National Geographic, or all of the hours watching the Discovery and History channels.. but I -love- history, and one of the most interesting times in recent history was during World War 2.

For years I've heard about the events of WWII, the Korean war, and Vietnam from the U.S. perspective. The victors get to write history, right? The Philippines is an amazing place and Brent school especially. My students are reading 'Number the Stars', a historical fiction book written by Lois Lowry. The book is about nazi occupied Denmark, and how a small group of people risk their lives to save the lives of their Jewish friends and neighbors. In order to get my students to appreciate the book more, we're really digging into World War 2. Part of our assessment is to partner up and give a presentation to the class on what WWII was like for people of their country. I really pushed the fact that many of their grandparents lived during the war, and that they are terrific resources. We also talked about how sensitive this subject is, and that some of them may not want to speak about it. And that's ok. Their relatives lived the war in a different place, experienced different things. Koreans still harbor a grudge against the Japanese for the occupation of their country for over 30 years. They stripped them of their culture, their food.. even their names had to be changed to a Japanese name. The Filipinos have a very different experience of the war, Japan being so near, the U.S. coming to 'help', and then deciding to stick around for a long time. There are mixed feelings about that time, and I'm getting to learn all about it. We really are blessed to be able to travel. We learn so much from other people, about the past, and what happened. About what people think of the U.S. and other countries, and why they think it.

If you get the chance to live abroad.. not just a visit of a week or two.. do it. It's difficult to adjust to the many changes, but it enriches your life to a degree that you can't even imagine. A big thank you to God and our families for allowing and understanding why we've moved here. We miss you.

-Jordon


PS. More pictures to come soon. Bookweek is right around the corner, and students are asked to dress as their favorite book character on October 30th (instead of celebrating halloween). I'm sure there will be some amazing costumes to photograph.