Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Tall Gringo in USA TODAY

Hi all. Sorry for interrupting your Saturday night, but just wanted to direct you to an article I wrote for USA Today’s college blog about taking a detour away from the common path to do something to help the world. I am truly honored to have had the opportunity to see my work published in USA Today and am excited to share it with you all.



You can check out my article here.

Enjoy!
Posted by The Tall Gringo at 5:25 PM

9 comments:

  1. DavidMay 1, 2011 at 12:45 PM

    Hey Mike:

    I'm a 48 year old Canadian recently married to a Colombian woman, and am currently spending a few weeks in Barranquilla living with her and her family.

    This morning I stumbled across your blog via a link from South American Living Magazine, and just spent a couple pleasant hours reading about your journey to date in Colombia.

    Poignant, thoughtful, humourous, vivid ... keep up the great work ... both on the blog and at the school! I can't wait to read what comes next!

    Cheers ...

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Tall GringoMay 1, 2011 at 6:12 PM

    Hi David,

    Thank you so much for your feedback. I hope my blog was able to give you insight into the wonderfully and terribly complex country Colombia is. I appreciate your readership- there's still lots to come!

    Mike

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 2, 2011 at 8:31 AM

    Hi Mike,

    Great blog! I was wanting to ask you, how competitive would you say the World Teach program is? Did you have any prior teaching experience before you applied? Also, about how many volunteers teach in Columbia?

    Thanks!
    Kat

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Tall GringoMay 2, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    Hi Kat,

    It's hard to say how competitive the WorldTeach program is because it depends on a lot of different factors such as which country you apply to, how many people apply for a given year, etc.

    They prefer you to have at least a little teaching experience, but if you don't have any, that's perfectly fine. For example, for me, my teaching experience was limited to occasionally helping my mom in her classroom.

    This year there are 35 volunteers in Colombia. I think next year they hope to expand that number.

    I am planning on writing a blog post covering the WorldTeach application process that should answer any other questions you have, so stay tuned!

    Thank you for your comment.

    Mike

    ReplyDelete
  5. Magdalena ViktoriaMay 3, 2011 at 8:39 AM

    Great article! I remember reading that Kristof article as well. I'm finishing up my Masters degree right now, but I'm not following the 'usual' path either. I think it's a matter of following your instincts and gut and not falling into the trap of doing what society 'expects' of you.
    Good to see you out there!

    ReplyDelete
  6. StephMay 4, 2011 at 10:41 AM

    Hey, congrats Mike. That's great news :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMay 5, 2011 at 3:15 PM

    Mike! You're all kinds of famous these days, geez. I am excited about this greasy Mexican food you speak of :). When are you back in the Bay? We may bump into each other sooner than you think. Eat something spicy for me!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. MonicaMay 7, 2011 at 8:11 AM

    Great article and super proud of you, cuz! Slightly jealous though, I miss journalism -- but I found a small, satirical newspaper I think I'm going to try and get on the staff of next year. Facebook me soon and tell me how everything is going, miss you!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousSeptember 13, 2011 at 10:20 AM

    I think that this should be part of all college programs for graduation of a bachelors degree or higher so that we have an Idea of what goes on in the real world outside or nice homes and plush salaries

    ReplyDelete

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