R.E.B. recipient, Anne Canipe, has completed her around-the-world trip, days before the start of the new school year and her teaching assignment in the Social Studies Department at Cosby Health Science Specialty Center teaching World History I, AP Human Geography and Medical Law & Ethics. Canipe’s 27-day adventure in East Asia consisted of traveling to Japan for the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. She traveled to China where she discovered wonders of the world and then on to Hong Kong visiting high school classrooms and their AP Geography program and sightseeing before returning home.
In an email, she was asked to sum up her trip, she wrote, “As Americans, we are so lucky to have our freedoms, but we need to realize that the world is ever-changing, growing, developing and competing to be the best…we must become more efficient, more competitive and more multi-cultural in order to be the best! Learning and respecting our history and others’ history is so important.”
Canipe lost communication with the outside world upon entering China. She was unable to blog each day but was able to keep up with her daughter through an app she and her daughter downloaded before leaving on her trip.
“I realized how precious communication and freedom was when we entered China…as we were cut off except for one application “WHATSAPP ” she wrote in an email.
Her overall thoughts of her stay in China. “Everyone was so kind to us and my favorite moment were the ‘people pictures’ and the historical places that I’ve always taught about – walking the Great Wall of China, visiting the Terra Cotta warriors from the first empire of China…
TV was quite unique – same thing repeated every 30 minutes. pretty interesting. Not like here in the U.S. They do have their own version of American Idol and America’s Got Talent. However, transportation – as many millions and millions of people as there were, I never saw an accident – and everything was quick and efficient, but very controlled..School kids treated us like “rock stars” in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Thank goodness for Hong Kong as we regained all our communication once arriving.”
Canipe said she is happy to be back to school and cannot wait to start her 38th year teaching about history, culture and the world.
