ex-Marine (husband, Steve) pays a yearly visit to a local Chicago suburban grade school to spend an hour talking to 4th graders about travel and our experiences. He tries to tailor each session around what unit the children are learning, tells funny and true stories, and brings unique (and unusual) “stuff” collected while traveling.

This year, the 4th graders were studying Africa. Steve and I walked through the house, packing up what we hoped would be of the most interest to 9-year olds. Little Chinese shoes worn by women with bound feet, a West Africa Chief’s pipe, Ethiopian lip plate from the Mursi tribe, large ear plugs and other earrings from Myanmar/Burma, gourd bowl shaped like a face from Uganda (used to carry water), slave beads used as currency, and a woman’s head covering from Yemen decorated with beads, old coins, piece of an expandable watchband and even buttons!

Just reading about history, customs and cultures doesn’t make the impression like actually traveling, but, if you can’t go, seeing a few extremely unusual methods of adornment along with photographs can make a big impact. The two unanimous favorites? The Mursi lip plate (I bought one and use as a coffee coaster) and huge holes in the ear lobes from years of wearing plug earrings.

Mursi Tribe lip plate, Ethiopia 

Myanmar women in the Chin Tribal area of Myanmar
The 4th graders were mesmerized, and wrote the nicest “thank you” letters to Steve after his presentation. I don’t know if you remember Art Linkletter’s television show, “Kids Say the Darndest Things” but below are portions (grammar and spelling not corrected) of their hilarious and insightful comments.

…I thought that the mouth peice was the most interest peice……

When i grow up I want too go to China and go too the Great Wall and other places. Have you went to the Great Wall?….

ex-Marine and oldest son on the Great Wall, China
It’s cool you’ve been to a lot of places I’ve been. My favorate place was Tiland because I road on a bycyicle with a monkey….

I loved that you showed things that are not made anymore. I was also surprised when people were younger they had a huge hole in their earlob which they don’t do anymore….

I was sirprized at how people would put a hole in the ear and by the time they have grown the hole hang and was a lot bigger….

My favorite was the lip and ear things where they stretched them. It was really freaky but looked kind of cool and I can’t believe they actually did that!….

But the most surprising thing was the feet bindings! Having your feet binded into tiny feet must have been torture! That would be painful!…

Also, with the earrings, I was REALLY surprised how our culture is starting to use the earrings, too. I have my ears pierced, and I bet that mine hald half the pain that theirs did, maybe not even…

My grandmother has traveled to every contenet too and when she comes back she brings a doll or jewelry. My favorite things are my China money…

The pipe thing was my favorite because it was 200 years old. I hope you come back soon…

When I grow up I want to travel around the world and learn more stuff about other areas of the worlds past. I have family in Veitnam, Londan, New York, Bosten and my uncle from that place where the boy’s where kilts, I think its Scottland….

Someday I might travel to Ireland and write a story about it. Someday I might be someone like you. Thank you for coming….

My favorite thing you talked about was the silverback gorrila. I can’t believe it’s that hard to find a silverback. the most unbelievable thing was how close you can get to one….

Daddy, Mommy and Baby mountain gorillas in Rwanda
I learned so much. What I enjoyed the most was the stories and artifects/pictures you brang. I never knew all of those different culture. I never went to a diffrent country, but I did go to some states in the U.S. Michcigan is were my grandparents live. They have lots of land, plus a ravine!….

And one last excerpt… I’m Polish and German and Welsh (1%) and Irish. I’d like to visit all of these places one day. You inspered me to explore more and mabey I could be an explorer too. I learned that Chinese people used bent their feet to fit in tiney shoes just too keep their culture. You seem to know a lot more about the culture by going there…”

high-heeled shoes for bound feet
A big Amen to that. If I won the lottery, I’d take my nine grandchildren to Asia and Africa. Not to be insulated in a tour group and stay in fancy hotels, but visit the rural area and really see how hard the majority of the people work just to survive and live. Without the ability to text messages 24/7, play video games and have the luxury of being picky eaters. Perhaps they would no longer take toilets that flush, clean drinking water from a tap and a chance to get an education for granted.