1: Traveler #1

We are getting ready for the longest travel adventure of our lives! With 10 months of time we hope to explore fifteen different countries in Latin America and Africa, meet interesting people, volunteer where help is needed and learn about different cultures. Along the way we hope that you will join us in our adventures by visiting this website frequently. Get involved by joining the discussion board or becoming a good ally to other kids around the world taking action from home.

My name is Kristina Underdal, but all of my students call me Profe. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area of California as an only child of two teachers with a passion for learning about different cultures. Because my parents had lived as volunteers in Asia for many years before I was born, as a kid I learned a lot about different asian cultures. When I was 10 my parents took me to Japan and Indonesia. We also had lots of visitors come to stay with us from many different asian countries.

However, as I got older I became more and more interested in Latin America because of its enourmous influence in California. After finishing my studies in biology in college, I went to Nicaragua as a Peace Corps volunteer. As a volunteer in Environmental Education I lived in a small pueblo in the mountains and taught in the local elementary schools. During my second year in Nicaragua I built a children's library with my nicaraguan neighbors. Five years later, the library is still going strong. Even though I don't live in Nicaragua anymore, I visit several times a year.

Back in the United States I taught at Mariano Castro Elementary School for several years in the dual immersion program. As a Spanish bilingual teacher, I feel that it is important to learn about the myriad of different cultures in Latin America. I also believe that it's the responsibility of each person to learn about different people, countries and cultures so that we can be better allies to others in the world. Because of this, I spent several years saving up for this trip. With my wonderful travel companion, Patricia, I'm frantically getting ready for our trip. I can't believe we're finally leaving! I hope you join us...