The Yearn to Learn

It wasn’t quite enough for Jody Granatir and his wife and traveling companions that they were hiking through Santorini, a sunny, mountainous Greek island with a travel-brochure cluster of white-washed buildings perched along narrow, winding hillside roads overlooking the Aegean Sea.

Granatir, a retired Seattle teacher, soaked it all in and took plenty of pictures, but he discovered more than the famous Greek scenery; the first thing he recounts now is what he learned.

In long, engaging conversations with the young women who were their guides, they talked about the country’s culture, economy, politics, and sometimes troublesome tourist trade. And, especially, about their lives.

“Maybe we’re nosier than most, but we had the opportunity in Greece to meet and travel with wonderful young people, and they were amazing. Whether in Athens, on the islands, or on Crete, the highlight of our experience was meeting and learning from them.”

Educators, who often love their work with students but feel tattered by the grind of teaching all day—or preparing for the next day at night—often talk and dream about retirement. And while hammocks and recliners and beach chairs come to mind, just as often so do seats on planes bound for other lands—in anticipation of fresh experiences and, especially, opportunities to learn something new.

According to a recent report, two thirds of adults say travel is one of their goals in retirement, and most in that group say it is their top priority. Road Scholar, meanwhile, reports that one third of the participants in its massive educational travel network are educators.

Bob Peterson, a retired elementary school teacher and former president of the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association, has logged trips to Colombia, India, Kenya, South Africa, and Spain, much of it part of a “gap year” he and his wife agreed to take.

“I believe deep down most teachers are curious about the world and have empathy for others. Those two attributes—curiosity and empathy—can be great motivators to travel outside of our country and off the beaten path, Peterson says,”

According to Jesse Weisz, founder and executive director of the non-profit Global Exploration for Educators Organization, which connects teachers to socially responsible projects in travel, it involves a mindset teachers have. “Educators are intellectually curious people and when you are abroad you are receiving a constant education. The different sights, flavors, smells, sounds, languages, customs, flora, fauna—everything you experience while traveling changes how you see the world,” he says. “That is appealing to someone who took on the challenge of teaching and the changes it presents every day.”

Andi Edson, after nearly three decades teaching in Newton, Mass., maintains a busy schedule as a retiree, heading a program that supports new educators and teaching college courses in child development and family engagement. But she still travels. A lot.

“Since I’ve retired five years ago, I’ve been to China five times, Vietnam two times, Laos and Thailand one time, France one time, Costa Rica one time, Sanibel, Fla., New Orleans, and Washington, D.C., several times, and to New York City many times,” she says. “Oh, and I’ve also explored a lot of fun places in New England.”

She often travels with other teachers, and recalls one trip in Laos where the group stunned the guide by asking him to stop so they could not just see the paddies of rice from their vehicle, but work with the people harvesting it.

“We learned a lot more doing that than from any explanation we’d have gotten driving by,” she says. “But all of us, Laotians and Americans, laughed together at the oddity of a group of American teachers picking rice on a 100-degree day. I think only a group of teachers would say, ‘Let’s do that,” and then get out and do it, and have such good memories.”

“Teachers know the importance of learning and sharing, and that is what travel is all about,” says DeLoris Tonack, a retired Lincoln, Neb., teacher who has been to Italy, England, Germany, Iceland, the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, and Cuba, often with her four grandchildren, who she promised a trip with her.

Why go?

Travel has many of the benefits we often ascribe to it, according to research by the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA), including reduced risk of heart attack and other physical ailments (Most travelers report being more active and walking much more), a slowing of the aging process generally, improved brain health and less chance of depression. Travelers also are more satisfied with their physical and emotional health—and their lives generally, GCOA has found.

“Travel is good medicine,” says Paul Nussbaum, president and founder of the Brain Health Center and a neuropsychologist and professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “Because it challenges the brain with new and different experiences and environments, it is an important behavior that promotes brain health and builds brain resilience across the lifespan.”

Retired teachers, especially, recognize those benefits, according to Teresa Walker Williams who manages the recently expanded NEA travel offerings (see sidebar).

She cites a variety of positive outcomes, ranging from the opportunity to unplug and rest to stimulation of our brains when we have new experiences and meet new friends—or travel with old ones.

“There are so many options for travel to meet anyone’s needs, and the benefits are increasingly proven,” she says.

Patricia Shepard’s experience with travel gradually expanded, from trips with students as a Spanish teacher in middle school and high school for 33 years in Lincoln, Neb., to bus trips as a retiree, and then to international group tours, some with students of a former colleague. She’s recently returned from a Panama Canal cruise with a friend, and now is an enthusiastic traveler.

“Experiencing other cultures firsthand broadens our perspective of the world. It reinforces the notion that we are more alike than we are different,” she says. “There are so many benefits.”

Tonack found a recent trip to Cuba to be the most stimulating.

“It is so eclectic,” she says, ticking off the types of diversity on the island—from its modern and ancient modes of transportation to the wide-ranging musical influences. “There is art and sculpture everywhere. Cuba has gone through times of extreme poverty and difficult history, but has found ways to create and admire art.”

Traveling with her grandchildren has introduced them to these experiences, she says, and has changed her relationships with them. Experts say travel often intensifies and changes our connections to those we’re with, and that it typically results in new friendships.

Outside the box

Tonack makes another point that many educators who travel mention. “Travel helps us think outside of our own box, out of our routines,” she says.

Jan Hertel, a retired geography teacher from Hastings, Minn., says she has “grown” in her trips to 25 countries, including several in Africa, where she flew over the towering Victoria Falls in a “wide open” plane that seemed powered by a lawn mower engine, and camped in the desolate African savanna.

“Teachers are also learners, and travel is ground-truth learning you can’t get from a book or a movie,” she says, noting that more than teaching her about places, travel changes the way she thinks about other people, which is particularly important today. “It is impossible to think of the world as ‘we’ and ‘they’ once you travel.”

Hertel adds that she believes travel requires open mindedness. “Travel is a mindset, not a list,” she says. “It’s being open to new people, new experiences, and new places.”

Amanda Gokee, a Harvard graduate who writes about the unexpected surprises of travel, recommends that travelers carefully plan but “leave room for the unexpected experiences that are between the carefully planned items on your list.”

“Try the restaurant that has no reviews on Trip Advisor but that a local person recommends. It may look a bit run down, it may be off the beaten path, but it may be great. Let yourself get lost in a new place.”

Edsen agrees. “Talk with everyone. Take an authentic interest in who they are,” she says. “Try to learn some of the language and culture. Try the food. Learn about the regional specialties. Go off the beaten track and take some risks.”

Helping and Teaching

Peterson has found he gets the most satisfaction from travel where he learns about education in other countries and helps build it, communicating here and abroad about the new ideas he discovers.

“We’ve been lucky to visit a wide range of schools in Columbia, Kenya, South Africa, and Spain. Sometimes I felt at home, and sometimes the conditions were terrible. But I learned something at all of them,” he says.

Other retired educators also find they can learn, contribute, and travel by teaching or volunteering abroad.

Michele Gran, co founder of Global Volunteers, says there are many opportunities for retired teachers, especially teaching foreign students English, and Joanne Fritz, an expert in non-profits and volunteers, in an article detailing ways to volunteer and travel, says often organizations in these fields are actively recruiting retirees.

Habitat for Humanity, the United Nations, and the federal government (including the National Park Service) are among the many organizations that offer volunteer opportunities involving travel, along with a number of other private firms such as International Volunteer HQ, which operates in 40 countries; Volunteer World, working in 84 countries with 1,500 projects; and GoEco, which offers some 150 options for travel for those who want to support environmental initiatives. Projects Abroad offers group trips for volunteers over 50.

While research shows traveling is a great way to learn, some teachers want to be more intentional about that process, hoping to educate themselves as they travel. NEA has a report with tips about educational travel.

Road Scholar is one of the biggest platforms for educational travel, offering some 5,500 courses in 150 countries with more than 100,000 participants each year, according to Stacie Fasola, vice president of public relations. “Retired educators are a significant, enthusiastic part of that,” she says.

Other similar opportunities are offered by Yale, Cornell University, The Smithsonian, the National Geographic, EF Educational Tours, Centre International D’Antibes (where you can learn French in France), and Semester at Sea, which has a special program for life-long learners.

“It is intuitive that if we stay healthy we will be able to travel in old age, but it is now becoming apparent the reverse might also be true: travel and the numerous physical and mental benefits associated with it are drivers of health across all stages of life,” says Michael Hodin, executive director of GCOA. “Investing in travel could also be a worthwhile investment in healthy aging.”

Tips for a Rewarding and Memorable Trip

There are hundreds of resources for tips about travel, from the right mindset to the minutiae of packing. One recommendation for retirees: Take your time.

Jesse Weisz, founder and executive director of the non-profit Global Exploration for Educators Organization, says retired teachers—often excited to travel and ambitious about what to see—should consider what will be comfortable and manageable.

“It’s good to challenge yourself, but be honest. You can ruin a trip by doing too much.”

Travel expert Eileen Gunn says planning for a day of rest or a slower pace periodically is often a good strategy. “That might not seem necessary when you are at home looking at where you want to go and all that you want to see, but will be welcome and make the more active parts of the trip more enjoyable,” she says.

Jan Hertel, a retired teacher who travels frequently, agrees, and recommends travelers take all the warnings about care for your body and comfortable footwear and clothing seriously—considering that experts often suggest that discomfort and pain often ruin expensive vacations.

Use a guide, says Jody Granatir, the Seattle retired teacher and seasoned traveler. They know the territory and can get you off the beaten path and let you see things other tourists don’t.” Plus, he says, “you can support the local economy and talk to some wonderful young people and get to know about their lives. I think teachers would be attracted to just this. After a career mentoring youth, we appreciate learning first hand about their struggles and successes.”

Retired teachers should also travel in spring and fall “shoulder seasons,” according to Gunn, when weather may be less harsh, rates may be lower and crowds smaller. Buy tickets for special attractions and shows in advance where necessary, she says, but try to keep your schedule somewhat flexible because sometimes travel plans change.

Gunn, who has written about alternative ways to travel, encourages retirees to consider methods that may require more time and planning but can make travel significantly less expensive—such as housesitting, house swapping, or extended rentals.

Educators Travel Network and Teachers Travel Web are two services that help educators find arrangements for housing at the homes of other educators internationally.

She also suggests domestic travel, and using a recreational vehicle.

“Rent before you buy,” she says. “And take a test run for two weeks to see how you like the lifestyle and to fine-tune packing.”

Weisz stresses that teachers will enjoy travel more if they share what they learn, and there are new applications and ways to record your trip. You can even make an interactive map as you go.

DeLoris Tonack, who worked in Lincoln, Neb., schools and now travels extensively in retirement, says she and her group of friends share their travel experiences in what they call “speed travel,” where each does an eight minute (enforced by the ringing of a bell) presentation about the spot they visited.

“At each station we have a variety of things for a show and tell: photos, items we’d purchased, and a short power point about our travels. It’s a bit like speed dating.”

And Andi Edson, the retired teacher from Newton, Mass., who has traveled extensively, recommends starting a blog, where others can see pictures or hear about your experiences and where you can organize and save them. She also knows a traveler who captures scenes with drawings or paintings to develop art skills and record trips. And, she is fond of a simpler, low-tech solution.

“Just write it down,” she says. “Keep a good journal.”

New Travel Offerings from NEA

The National Education Association’s Member Benefits Division has long helped NEA-Retired members with travel plans, but those services have recently been expanded even further in 2018, says Teresa Walker Williams, who oversees member benefits travel programs. This summer the division will preview its new NEA Adventures program, which features a collection of guided group tours specifically for NEA members and their guests. They are designed fit every travel budget and feature destinations such as Costa Rica, Italy, Iceland, and Peru.

NEA Travel has previously offered discounts on hotels, tours, and car rentals, but now is also offering discounts on cruises, airfare, and resorts with NEA Vacations. Additionally, when members book trips with NEA Travel or simply update their information on NEAMB.com or subscribe to the NEA Travel newsletter, they can receive NEA Travel Dollars. The dollars are the same value as money, and can be used to further discount hotels, cruises, tours, and resorts when booking on NEA Vacations.

Just by joining NEA Travel, members can get detailed, current information, join in the new group excursions and book discounted individual trips to a wide variety of resorts worldwide or with the top international cruise lines—and can get discounts for air and ground travel. “We have a solution no matter what the price range or interest is,” says Walker Williams. “It’s quick and convenient, and NEA-Retired members can feel comfortable that they are getting the best deals.”