There is a direct transfer back to my own fourth graders, and they are the beneficiaries of unique cultural experiences that I believe make me a much better educator. I’m able to teach my U.S. students about life in other places, connect them to those learners in Zambia, and give them perspectives that are not usually seen in just any classroom. I used my time in Zambia to write an ABC book with the children at Shine Zambia Reading Academy. Not only did the book get published here and sent back to students at Shine, but I have been able to use that book in my classroom and we are currently writing the same type of book about our life here in Crystal Lake to share with students in Zambia. I now have a pen pal literacy center in my room. Students examine photographs from Zambia (and from Europe and New Zealand) and compare/contrast their life in Crystal Lake to life in those places. They write to students and make new connections in learning. The connections are endless…and the excitement is contagious.