Key Advice to New Belize Student Teachers and a Cool Video Eric Showed Me

This was the last piece of advice that I listed in an email to new UMD student teachers going down to Belize this fall. I can tell that all the Thomas Friedman reading I've been doing lately has been having an effect:

Finally, please represent your country, not just your school. This is just my personal opinion, but I believe that any American traveling abroad has the responsibility to, through their actions, present their country of origin in a positive light. It is in the small, daily interpersonal interactions we have that opinions about Americans are formed. Unfortunately, many people in the world have formed unfavorable opinions of Americans. When people across the globe view our country negatively, it makes it more difficult for us to do anything from winning wars to doing business to humanitarian work to tourism. You are what you do. Do good things and leave behind good impressions :)

And the second important thing from today: