De-Homing

Our home in Asheville

De-cluttering and de-homing are two different things. We are now De-Homing. It’s a bit painful.

I have spent the past 3 months purging every drawer, every closet, every box of pictures, every article of clothing, all tools, dishes, ceramics, framed photographs, business and personal files, jewelry boxes, books, toys, sports equipment…the list of stuff goes on and on. Decluttering is tedious and laborious! The cleansing part of this process is sure to follow, but I won’t feel it until we are actually out of our house. We move out of our home on February 15 – just one short week away.

The de-homing part of the moving process is perhaps the most emotional for me. Beautiful black and white photographs that have graced our walls, artwork created by our children, pottery from memorable places around the world – treasures that make a house a home – are now going into boxes. This place we’ve called home for the past 9 years is being transformed back into a generic house. The house will be leased out to renters during our sabbatical.

The memories of this home will remain with us forever. I am so thankful for the time we have had here and I look forward to our return next year, when we will unpack the treasures and re-home this house.

Global Citizenship – Is it Worth it?

Below is a link to a great article about Global Citizenship. These articles affirm our decision to take a family sabbatical year. We are in the thick of closing up shop at home in order to be away for 10 months. Some days I wonder if its worth all we are going through to take this risky venture. My gut says, “Absolutely!”

Of course you don’t have to move to another country to be a global citizen, but you do have to make some effort to stretch out of your “norm” and open your heart and mind to diversity. If you have not already, download my Global Citizen Inventory. Its free and is intended to guide thoughts and goals on your unique path of global citizenship. Enjoy your journey! We are so excited about our next step on the path.

Global Citizenship – What Are We Talking About and Why Does It Matter?

2012-01-01
by Madeleine F. Green

During the past decade higher education’s interest in internationalization has intensified, and the concept of civic education or engagement has broadened from a national focus to a more global one, thus expanding the concept that civic responsibility extends beyond national borders.

Read more…http://www.goinglobal.com/articles/1021/

Wagners departing for Uganda in 2009 with 8 bags of soccer gear and books

Purging, Packing, Preparing

I read last night in another author’s book that you need at least a year to prepare for a family sabbatical abroad. Well…I guess we’re on the fast track. We will have had about 3 months to purge, pack and prepare for our sojourn. No wonder I’m a bit stressed. I don’t have much time to blog about this process, however I will be doing a one hour webinar through Melibee Global on Feb. 23. Click on the link to get the details. http://melibeeglobal.com/melibeeu-planning-a-family-sabbatical-abroad-february-23-2012/

My son Adam and I are working on setting up a family travel blog. Stay tuned! Its going to be chock full of articles, photos and videos about our travels -from 4 different perspectives-(Carrie; the mom, Bob; the dad, Adam; the 14-year-old son, and Benjamin; the 12-year-old son.) The website will be unveiled in a few weeks!

MelibeeU: Planning a Family Sabbatical Abroad (February 23, 2012)

If you have ever  dreamed of picking up and moving your family abroad, for a year, to live and learn in another culture, this workshop is for you.

Carrie Wagner and her husband Bob had dreamed of a family sabbatical for years. For Carrie and her family, it’s a natural step on their path to global citizenship. Like any worthy endeavors, the experience will be transformative and invaluable.

When Carrie tells people that she and Bob are taking their two sons to South America for a year of exploration, immersion, and learning, many think they are a bit crazy! But there are others who understand that dream and think “I wish we could do that.”  The good news is that you probably CAN with a little guidance!

In this one hour webinar, Carrie will take you through an inventory of questions that will help you determine whether a family sabbatical is right for you. She will share a preparation “to-do” list, considerations for travel, and a resource guide that is specifically geared for family trips, as well as answer your many questions! We hope you will join us for this informative session.

http://melibeeglobal.com/melibeeu-planning-a-family-sabbatical-abroad-february-23-2012/

 

Patience with the Process

Each day holds new decisions that have to be made and to-dos that have to be done. Unfortunately, our impatience and need for control – over things we cannot – sometimes steal the gratification of decisions made and to-dos checked off.

In  reflection on the past two months, I’m awed and grateful for answers that have come at just the right time. I’m amazed at how much we have accomplished by working as a team. And thankfully, I am beginning to feel the Peace that Passes Understanding. I pray for sustained patience with the process and trust that things will happen just when they need to happen.

We are honing in on a decision about Adam’s online high school, which will begin next week.

I hope you are enjoying your process and having peace as well!

Sabbatical Year

I’m back – after a month sabbatical. I took time not to rest, but to PURGE and PREPARE for a sabbatical year in South America. My husband’s job loss in November prompted a soul searching cascade of conversations – conversations with God, conversations with each other and conversations with our kids. When our intuitions are congruent, my husband and I feel affirmed that we are on the right path.

Be it right, it aint easy. We have lived in our house in Asheville for 9 years. We moved here from South Africa when our oldest, Adam, was in kindergarten. This wonderful town and our community have fostered our growth in many areas and given us opportunities to serve in a multitude of ways. Our careers here have been meaningful and the craved stability for our children has been secured. So, why would we leave this – and go to an unfamiliar place, having a skeletal travel plan and only a pocket full of change? Well… Five years ago I began writing Village Wisdom. In an attempt to completely understand the impact that living in Uganda had made on us, I re-immersed into the most challenging 3 years of my life. Reading old letters and journals and revisiting Uganda were critical pieces to recording my sacred journey.  As it turned out, writing and publishing my book was another transformational endeavor. I learned (again!) that in order to blossom fully, one has to face adversity and relinquish control. The process is not always fun, but the shower of blessings, on withered and thirsty ground, makes it worthy beyond human understanding. The “Epiphany” chapters in my book tell the stories that shaped our learning. Lessons about immersion, friendship, materialism, sustainability, judgment, humility and grace – just to name a few- have become the framework for our roles as individuals, parents and global citizens. I have delivered over 100 talks in the past 2 years on these very themes. Its time to pause from talking, and Go Experience, Discover and Engage in life’s next chapter. I hope you will join our journey by following this Blog!

Carrie, Benjamin, Bob and Adam Wagner

We will leave for Ecuador in mid March and return to Asheville in late December, 2012.

I just stumbled upon this book review by Charitable Giving. Very Nice. I’m humbled.

http://www.charitablegiftgiving.com/2011/11/25/village-wisdom-a-remarkable-book-by-carrie-wagner/

21st Century Skills

Preparing students to engage responsibly and intelligently in our interdependent world is a primary goal of the New Essential Standards in the NC Common Core Curriculum. Curricular changes in our education  system are alarming to some teachers who have been teaching a particular subject or area of expertise for many years.

I am personally excited about these changes. The skills required for effective global citizenship are universal and cross-curricular. Being effective in a global workforce requires critical thinking skills, cross-cultural teamwork, problem solving and decision making, creativity and ingenuity, self awareness, and values clarification. These are skills that transcend career paths and prepare us to be practitioners of a particular field of study anywhere in the world. These are also critical skills for leadership, management and entrepreneurship.

Next week I facilitate my “Globalize your Classroom”  workshop for 45 high school social studies teachers. In the social studies context, 21st century skills are most applicable to understanding cultural and historical implications at local, regional, and continental levels. Teachers and students explore the world together, learning with and from a variety of people scattered across the globe. The paradigm shift from content memorization to collaborative and analytical problem solving is key to effective engagement in contemporary world issues.

I wish I had learned this stuff in school!  Actually, my college major  (environmental and visual design) provided the creative and analytical thinking skills that have carried me through a variety of career endeavors. But the cross-cultural skills I developed by working internationally for many years are the ones that prepare me for any twist and turn in the road.

Experiential learning is the key to today’s education! As educators, we should provide as many opportunities as possible for students to experience the world (from a variety of perspectives) as possible. Utilizing primary sources and making connection with people from different countries is vital to giving our students a broad platform from which to make higher education and career path decisions.

Enough talking. Join me in a collaborative effort to Prepare 21st Century Global Citizens! Share your ideas, projects and programs. Let’s learn together. That’s what collaborative problem solving is all about.