Have you noticed, our teachers know so much about us and maybe even too much… They are watching us grow up into adults, but we do not know a lot about them. No need to worry though, The International has you covered; we decided to take action and ask a few of our favorite high school teachers what they would consider to be an interesting event in their lives.  Enjoy!

HS Math Teacher, Mr. Daniel Bentley

While hitch-hiking across the Australian outback, I was picked up by an old driver of a road train (think 3 trucks in one – 100m long).  I drove with him for the better part of two days.  Due to his serious (and smelly) stomach issues, and the fact that he was under pressure to make his delivery deadlines, I had to take the wheel and drive the truck while he moaned in the sleeper compartment behind me.  The real shock came at dusk when several kangaroos, attracted to the head lights, suicided themselves by jumping out in front of the truck- to which the ailing truck driver groaned, “Keep on driving mate.”

HS Psychology Teacher Dr. Nancy LeNezet

When I was getting ready to teach at ISB, I exchanged a few emails with Susan Bates, the registrar and Mr. Bates’ wife, who was helping me register my children in the ES. When she informed me that the process was finished, I forwarded her message to my husband and wrote something like: “Hi my darling pie, the kids are now registered, love you so much x x x”. The reply I got was pretty unexpected: “I think this was meant for your husband”, it said.  I had actually clicked reply instead of forward, and ended up sending that loving message to Mrs. Bates. I had never met her, and I was trying to make a good impression at my new school, so I was mortified!  Needless to say, the first time I met her in Bangkok, I thought I would die of embarrassment.  Thankfully she thought it was hilarious and we still joke about it now.

HS Science Teacher Mr. Coke Smith

Many years ago I was a safari guide, in the Congo of Africa, and I would take my people to go see the gorillas.  And my first trip there, the gorilla group really kind of … accepted me in to their group and they did so by beating me up.  They literally abused me, they took me, they hit and they just tossed me around like a rag doll.  But at the end of my first week with gorillas, a female gorilla… felt sorry for me. She did, she felt sorry for me and she came down the hill and gave me a very gentle massage.  I’ve got pictures of it… of a beautiful massage from a wild female gorilla.

HS World Studies Teacher Mr. Hansberry

In January, 2002, Mrs. Hansberry and I along with six upperclassmen, visited Acre, a region in the Amazon, to deliver school supplies.  A group from our school had ventured into this maze of rivers each year for a decade, working with the same boat captain (there are no cars or roads where we were), so we had at least a reasonable idea of where to go.  One pre-planned stop was at the house of a rubber tree tapper.   Among other means of showing their appreciation, this family prepared a special dinner for us.  They sent their sons to the jungle and the river, returning with a monkey and turtle, preparing both for our meal.  While not typically given to eating either of these foods, all eight of us in the group demonstrated our awareness of their sacrifice by eating heartily, in many cases consuming second portions of these somewhat unfamiliar delicacies.

Between suicidal kangaroos, love letters, gorilla massages and turtle meals, our teachers have a lot more to offer us than just academic help; they have lived, they have experienced and they are great examples of how to live life to the fullest.