With apologies to the carbon crowd...
Our school has a lot of overseas trips going. While I was in Spain, one of our French teachers took kids to France. France is one place I won't go. Not because I'm afraid of terrorism (I and my students much more likely to be shot in a large US city than injured by a terrorist) but because of the crowds and the pickpockets. One of the moms asked if I would chaperone, and I said even if I didn't have a trip planned, I wouldn't go to France. So when they went- one student had her passport stolen (she had to stay behind while the embassy replaced it, and an adult had to stay behind with her), and the flight that the kids were supposed to come home on was canceled. It was replaced, eventually, by a 4 stop flight! Apparently there were numerous sanfus on the trip and the kids did not have a good time.
I think travel is amazing for kids. Nothing else shows them that there are different (and often better) ways to live than the way we live here and the way we live now. But there are good places for teens to go and not so good places. Teens are careless- so anywhere the Romani are super active is not a good place for teens.
I'm psyched to be going to Japan- where crime is virtually non-existent. Natural disasters, yes, they've got those- but aside from those, pretty darn safe. Looking forward, especially, to Kyoto and Nijo castle- the castle of the Tokugawa's. Also, want to go to the owl cafe in Tokyo- think my kids would love that (because who wouldn't?)
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