Dear Glimpsers, parents, and PC’s:
Welcome to our official Guaranda (8-08-19) Global Glimpse blog! I hope you’re all excited for what promises to be a life-changing opportunity in a beautiful place with wonderful people. My name is Mr. Alvarez, and I am excited to be one of this group’s GGLs (Global Glimpse Leaders) during our upcoming trip.
About Me: I am a history teacher at the Horace Mann School. I teach 9th grade Atlantic World History, 10th grade US History, and an 11th and 12th-grade elective course on Latin American History. I was born in Mexico City and grew up in the suburbs of Miami, Florida. Even after moving to the United States, my family and I always traveled to Mexico as a way of staying connected to our family. Thus, from a young age, traveling became a foundational part of my identity, a means to balance life across different societies, cultures, languages, and ways of being. Traveling also pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone. It motivated me to grow, explore, and constantly strive to learn something new about myself and those around me. As I grew older, family vacations turned into international adventures, either on my own or in the company of friends. Most recently, I was able to embark upon exciting journeys across Europe, East Asia, and Latin America. From these experiences, I discovered just how much I could learn from the people I met, even those whose experiences seemed so different from my own, because we shared a genuine curiosity to learn and forge meaningful connections that transcended distance and difference. Traveling opened my mind and taught me valuable lessons in humility and tolerance- something I wish to instill upon this year’s Glimpsers! Most importantly, traveling taught me that being in community– be it among new or familiar faces– is what makes us whole and enables us to grow.
That said, I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to co-lead this trip. Glimpsers are a special group people, and I look forward to building this community– our community– over the course of the following weeks!
— Mr. A
