Where they've been...

Every year, as school begins, I like to take stock of who my students are--where they're from, where they've been. People are often surprised by how diverse this desert town is...

...and also surprised by how EARLY the school-year starts here.
Last Thursday was Tucson's back-to-school date.
(It was July 31st. JULY!?!)

A few years ago, the number of countries-of-origin was remarkable: two dozen!

Last year, when I switched to the school where I'm currently teaching, I definitely noted the absence of international refugee students, but the diversity of languages spoken in the students' homes (15) was still noteworthy.

This year, I thought I'd consider where my students have lived and/or visited.
Here's the result; a pretty well-traveled group, having lived in or been to every continent except Antarctica:

Argentina

Aruba

Australia

Bangladesh

Belgium

Belize

Bolivia

Brazil

Canada

Chile

China

Denmark

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

England

Ethiopia

France

Germany

Greece

Indonesia

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

Japan

Kenya

Korea

Mexico

Netherlands

Peru

Philippines

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Romania

Russia

Scotland

Singapore

Spain

Switzerland

Taiwan

Thailand

Togo

Turkey

United States

 

Forty-four countries!

(Yes, I do know that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S.,

but for this list's geo-cultural purposes,

I let it stand alone...) 

I did ask, as I do every year, what languages are spoken at home, and this year, for the first time, I saw "Maltese"...

...and "Klingon."

 

Hmm...