On Saturday I will be leaving Seattle for this fabulous city in this photo. Do you know which one it is?  I’ll give you a couple hints. Hint #1 – It’s not in North or South America, Africa, or Asia.  Hint #2 – It is a landlocked country. None of its borders touch an ocean or sea. Hint #3 – It is in the “EU” but uses its own money, called the Florint. Hint #4 – The Danube River flows between the two parts of the city.

Have you guessed it by now? Yes, this is a photo of Budapest, the capital and largest city in Hungary. I’m going there because in January I received this email invitation.

I was invited to participate and represent the United States as one of the 15 US teachers in the Global Educator Exchange. For three days I will be surrounded by some of the most creative and innovative educators from around the world. We will share our experiences, collaborate on projects and learn new techniques to integrate technology in our classrooms. Some of the event highlights include:

The conference will be at the Corinthia Hotel Budapest. I don’t know anything about this hotel, but judging from the photos I’ve seen, it appears to be a beautiful example of restored Hungarian architecture.

I also was invited to visit The American International School of Budapest on Monday with some other educators. We will be touring the school and talking to fellow teachers about their techniques. I am really looking forward to visiting the library of course!

When I travel I am always fascinated by what the money looks like. I got some Florints – their currency- from the bank. The money is beautiful!

 I’ve had a lot of questions about what the weather will be like. I can’t say I know for sure, but my weather app tells me that it will be in the high 50’s with mostly cloudy weather during the week. So, mostly like Seattle.

This week will be learning, learning, learning! I know I will return with a tired brain full of new ideas to share and try at Cougar Ridge. As much as I am able, I will share photos and blog. I will also tweet photos on our library Twitter account @CRidgeLibrary.

See you back at school on the 14th!