A bucket-list goal inspired by a remarkable teacher
Ever wonder if you’re making a difference in your students’ lives? Here’s an example that, many years ago, had a huge impact on shaping my career and life.
This list is posted with a very special nod (and thanks) to Mark Blasko, my 7th grade Social Studies teacher (1963-1964) who became a dear friend years later. I’m also including this page to remind visitors of the power to influence and inspire a child, even if it takes years to show up.
For many years, I took great joy in sending this man postcards from wherever I went, occasionally adding, “This is all your fault” to my brief message. When Mark’s wife, Jean, wrote to tell me that he had passed away in February, 2012, I decided to process this loss by writing a bit about the privilege of staying in touch for so many decades. Here’s the backstory (or you can simply skip to the list if you prefer.
In 1963, I started 7th grade at Heritage Junior High School in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. On my schedule was a Social Studies class taught by a relatively new teacher, Mark Blasko. I loved his classes, especially the Geography and World Cultures parts. I loved studying world maps and by the end of that class could fill in the names of most countries, although at the time, I’d never been anywhere farther than a few hours from home.
Aside from a few specific memories—this teacher’s sense of humor, the suede patches on the elbows of his tweed jackets—what still resonates from that class sixty years ago, was the time he took to connect with us, and how I actually felt valued and respected in his class.
I’ve always been a bit of a compulsive doodler. It really is how I listen best (unless, of course I’m knitting, which really wasn’t an option back then). One day, Mr. Blasko “caught” me constructing a cross-word puzzle in class. (Yes, I went through a phase where I used to make up my own.) Rather than yelling or punishing, he got me a job on the school paper, where my puzzle was subsequently published!
Over the summer of 1964, I wrote him a letter, sent in care of the school to which he would be returning in the fall. And here’s the kicker: He wrote back—a handwritten letter on the kind of lined newsprint paper we used to get in school!
I never expected a response. I didn’t know that teachers did stuff like that. I was so surprised, and so touched by the fact that he took the time to write to me, that he valued the time and care I’d taken in staying in touch with him, that more than fifty years later, I still have that letter among my most treasured possessions, one of not-very-many things that have survived time and various moves around (and across) the country.
Years later, we reconnected in person. He was still teaching and if I have my timeline straight, I was working at the university doing teacher training in New Mexico. We stayed in touch after that, meeting for coffee when I was in town, and when I started traveling, I would invariably send him a post card from the road, acknowledging that I likely would not have been wherever I was had I not been bitten by the travel bug in his class.
When I set up this page on my last site, I dedicated it to him. A bit of a Luddite when it came to technology (to the end, his letters were written by hand and often on the same soft, lined composition paper), he had at least heard about the page through a relative who had come across it somehow.
Despite the fact that he probably never even saw this page, he knew it was here. He knew of my intention to visit 100 countries (a goal made somewhat more challenging by the fact that there are places I love to re-visit, delayed again in 2020 by a global pandemic and a few health issues at the time to advise caution against another jaunt for a bit.
With his death in early 2012, I wanted to do more than just mention his name in a dedication on this page. Not just because he deserves it, but because it feels important to me to acknowledge the impact that we can have—as educators and citizens of this planet—to touch the lives of the people we meet on our journey.
So thank you, Mark. I miss sending you postcards from airports around the world and think of you often, especially any time I visit someplace new. May you rest in peace, knowing I will forever take you with me on the road, in my thoughts and in my heart.
About the List
A few years ago, I set a bucket list goal of visiting 100 countries or more. I discovered an organization made up of people who have already achieved this goal (The Travelers’ Century Club) and while I’m not much of a “club” person, I have found their site, particularly their list of 320 countries (as of April 10, 2009), very useful in helping me focus my quest, and in acknowledging my progress.
Because their list includes places that “have been included because they are removed from parent [main country], either geographically, politically, or ethnologically,” places like Alaska and Hawaii, for example, are included as separate from the mainland US are considered separate “countries.”
A few people with whom I’ve shared this goal have encouraged me to post a list on my site, perhaps so they could keep up with my wanderings, and perhaps in tribute to the importance of having and striving to reach goals throughout one’s life.
That said, here is where I’ve been, countries identified according to the Travelers’ Century Club country list. In some cases, my visits have extended for several weeks; in others they have amounted to a few hours.
-
- Alaska*†
- Argentina
- Aruba
- Australia†
- Austria*
- Bahamas*
- Belgium*
- Canada*†
- Chile
- China
- Colombia†
- Cuba
- Curaçao
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic*
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- England*†
- Estonia*
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- Finland*†
- France*
- Galapagos Islands
- Germany*†
- Greece†
- Hawaiian Islands*†
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Indonesia (Batam)
- Ireland
- Italy*
- Japan*
- Kiribati
- Liechtenstein
- Luxemburg
- Malaysia*†
- Mexico*
- Monaco
- Netherlands*
- New Zealand†
- Norway
- Panama
- Poland
- Puerto Rico
- Russia*
- Saint-Martin (France)
- San Marino
- Scotland*
- Sicily
- Singapore*†
- Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
- Slovakia
- Slovenia*†
- South Korea
- Spain
- St. Maartin
- Sweden
- Switzerland*
- Turkey*
- United States (continental)†
- Uruguay
- Vatican City
- Virgin Islands, US*
- Virgin Islands, British*
- Wales
*Places I have visited more than once.
†Places in which I have worked with educators, counselors, parents, and/or other community members.
Related facts:
- Total countries visited (according to TCC list): 66
- Number of continents visited: 6
- Number of continents on which I’ve done presentations: 5
- Number of states in US visited: 50
- Number of states in US in which I’ve done presentations: 49
- Number of provinces/territories in Canada visited: 11 out of 13
- Number of Canadian provinces in which I’ve done presentations: 7
© 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022, Dr. Jane Bluestein
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