Most people don't know I can cook, but breaking bread for #ConnectedLearning @CwpFairfield...

is worth every ounce of sweat I put into the grilling labor.

Anyone who voyeuristically spies on me would notice four things. 1) When I eat at home it is usually Triscuits and cheese, 2) I tend to eat out more than I eat in, 3) if the first two aren't options, I often show up unexpectedly at dinner time at someone else's house, and 4) when I do cook, I COOK.

And for the next four weeks I should be cooking because I am hosting Beauty Makinta of Pretoria, South Africa, as she attends our #makesummer institute with the Connecticut Writing Project. She is one of four educational leaders selected to attend ISIs in the United States through the National Writing Project and the Department of Education of S. Africa. Beauty wanted a home stay and I had an extra bedroom, so Wulah! She's with me for 32 days and I get to demonstrate my barbecue skills. It's only been 7 hours, but already the two of us have made tremendous global connections.

• morale of teachers is down in her country, too,
• education has become big business with those who have money making decisions that don't consider the reality of our schools,
• politicians side with big business because they're slimy like that,
• marginalized voices get more and more marginalized (they're simply not heard),
• teachers are not viewed as professionals, but bullied as factory workers,
• curriculum is disconnected from the needs of 21st century society,
• the haves (who make the decisions) are oblivious to the have nots (those who suffer from them),
• one size reforms are pushing more students away from school than keeping them in,
• writing is the key to success and students want to write, but it is taught too little in school.

We broke bread over couscous, fried peppers, feta cheese, tomato salad and BBQ. We've already broken stereotypes of one another's nation and learned that educational apartheid exists everywhere (read Kozol's Shame of the Nation for the U.S. version). AND we found the proper adapters for her computer and cell phone to fit U.S. outlets. Beauty came downstairs with what looked like a washing machine plug and said, "Bryan, your outlet doesn't fit this." Truth be told, I didn't think they made outlets that big. I think maybe swimming pools have such outlets (but this was for a laptop).

The most humorous part of yesterday, however, was when I greeted her at the airport. It is winter in Pretoria and she came with a fur leopard coat and a pair of winter boots on. She arrives to Connecticut on a 95 degree day. The humidity hit her and she said, "Oh. tt. TT. tt. I didn't expect this." 

We may be using my coupons at Kohl's a lot this week. I feel blessed to have a new friend from overseas. As we gave thanks to the dinner, we both looked at each other and said, "Ubuntu. Literacy4Life."