Hello, all you young SPAN-ers. I was part of the group that went to Turkey in 1959. Yup! I said 1959 --- more than a half a century ago.

I don't travel much any longer --- don't need to --- been there, done that. I make frequent trips to my cabin in the North woods of Wisconsin. There, I re-connect with the Earth and get in touch with what's really important.

SPAN taught me that I can do it --- whatever it is, I can do it. I probably won't be the best at whatever I try, but the important thing is that I did it.

I retired over 8 years ago, bought a small farm near Janesville, Wisconsin, and am raising goats, chickens, & geese. Occasionally I take in an old dog that needs a better place to live out it's remaining days.

Life on the "Funny Farm" is good. I'd love to connect with some of the old, 1959 Turkey group. Are you out there? Send me an E-message.

I'm delighted to discover that SPAN has such a great website, which I came across when making a referral to a colleague who is the Executive Officer of the Global Futures Program at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Macquarie is implementing a SPAN-like program for all undergrads, so Dr Stavrou may well be hearing from one of the academic staff. What I've been doing since serving as SPAN's first Program Coordinator (previously known as 'Executive Secretary') from 1976-1980: after completing my MA, I moved from Minneapolis to Brattleboro, VT, where I worked for The Experiment in International Living. I then was offered a job with Moran, Stahl and Boyer, a leading firm in mobility management, and moved to New York City. From there I migrated to Australia in 1988 and started Global Interface in 1991 after working for a US-based consulting firm. I credit much of my own mobility to my experience with SPAN as a SPANNer to Cyprus in 1971. Dr Stavrou will recall that our group of 13 took books in our suitcases to Cyprus for the purpose of starting a library in his hometown of Diordios! I will scan and send several photos for the SPAN collection that were taken shortly after our arrival in Cyprus, including one taken on the occasion of an audience with Archbishop Makarios! I often, still, quote the SPAN motto "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness". I also have kept in touch with several people from my group and will send them a link to the website. I dream of the possibility of a reunion in Cyprus one of these days.

I visited Liberia as a SPAN student in 1987. That was my first international trip and my first trip without my family. It really opened up doors to me. I went on a finished my PhD in Physics and now work at Boeing in Seattle. I have visited a dozen countries and I've been back to Africa twice since then. I'm not sure I would go back to Liberia, as there is so much unrest, but there are so many beautiful places to visit around the globe.

Oi! That's hello in Portuguese, which I learned when in Brazil with the 1996 SPAN program. The trip has influenced my life both personally and professionally. Personally, I have gained a lifelong friend, and am now godmother to her youngest child. Raquel and her family have since moved to the U.S. and now live in the Twin Cities, and our families get together regularly. I have now become known as the "Brazilian magnet" and have continued to make friends from there through my professional work in Learning and Development. I have been lucky to work in global education, or on projects with people from many other countries - and I credit my experience in Sao Paulo with helping to forge understanding between people from different regions while working on projects. Raquel and her family have invited my family to join them on a trip to Brazil for the 2014 Olympics...what an adventure we will have!

Note from SPAN office: SPANners from Brazil 1996 may contact the SPAN office if they are interested in reconnecting with Gabriella or other members of your group.