FHS teachers gain worldly knowledge in summer travels

by Kathy Domgard

From Finland to Spain to England, FHS teachers traversed the world this past summer. Teachers Bruce Riley, Linda deKort, Donna Danz and Jean Barragan found they could not only gain new knowledge of the world, but could share what they knew, too.

“I enjoyed my trip and learned a lot,” said Riley, who went to Finland. “But the happiest moment was getting back on U.S. soil.”

Riley, along with his wife, spent about three weeks in both Finland and Estonia. Riley went to Finland as part of a “teacher trading” program which was started three years ago. Riley, along with other U.S. teachers, went to teach environmental studies and about the Flathead Indians, and the Flathead Valley itself.

One thing that impressed Riley about the people in Finland was their manners, adding:

“They would say thank you for saying thank you to them,” said Riley.

Riley visited many different places but said the most interesting site was the State Lutheran Church in Finland. Although the only thing he understood was “Amen,” he enjoyed the entire service.

Riley said, “We were in churches that were built in the 1100s.”

Riley’s favorite part of his vacation to Finland was meeting new people, with whom he plans to keep in touch.

“We will be sharing water quality information via internet to help Mrs. deKort’s science classes,” said Riley.

Barragan also met new people, on her visit to England. She and her husband journeyed to England to visit their son,  Air Force Capt. Jason Sutton, at Milden Hall. They stayed in England for three weeks visiting a variety of historical places. 

“England is a good place for a history teacher to take a vacation,” said Barragan, who visited historical sites she such as the Castle of Nottingham — a.k.a. Robin Hood’s castle — home of William Wallace, the main character in “Braveheart”, Buckingham Palace and Thomas Payne’s Pub. 

When Barragan visited England, memories of an earlier visit resurfaced. In 1985 on a riverboat trip on Murry River in Australia, Barragan met the Prince and Princess of Wales. Prior to meeting Prince Charles and Princess Diana they had to learn the proper protocol of meeting royalty.

“We were told to wear gloves,” said Barragan. “And we had to wear a certain type of hat because of the time of day.”

Danz and her husband traveled with deKort and her husband to The Netherlands for their summer vacation. The deKorts went to The Netherlands to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and for a family reunion. The Danzs went with them to be part of the celebration.

Later, the Danzs went to the Czech Republic and the deKorts journeyed to Madrid, Spain, where they watched flamenco dancers and a bull fight. 

“The bull fight was not as gruesome as I thought it would be,” said deKort, “It (the culture) is rich and Moorish in Spain.”

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