“When I went to Venezuela to work as an English Language Specialist to do several workshops on ‘New Trends in Teaching ESP,’ I didn’t realize how much I myself would learn personally, professionally, and academically.
First of all, I had no idea about the current political situation in the country. I was shocked to learn how difficult life has become for Venezuelan citizens. Currently, they need to wait hours in line to buy basic staples such as coffee, milk, bread, sugar, medicines, and vitamins. In spite of these difficulties, locals remain hopeful and optimistic; however, the situation seems to me that it couldn’t possibly continue like this for long. The fact that I met real people in Venezuela made me very worried about the situation there. Before, I knew very little about it as it was barely covered by the major media in the United States. So, personally, I became much more educated and sensitive about the political and economic situation in the country.
Professionally and academically I feel that I grew a lot from my experience in Venezuela. Each place that a person travels to adds to their knowledge about the world and for teachers it adds to our knowledge about the state of the art of education. With this knowledge, we are better able to understand universals about best teaching practices and how people learn in general.”
-Julie Ciancio, English Language Specialist