Vilma Fuentes talks with Jessica Cassidy, SF's International Education coordinator; Dr. Anna Ageicheva, Dean of Humanities at the National University Poltava Polytechnic in Ukraine; Dr. Regiani Zacarias, professor of English language at the Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Dr. Marcela Murillo, Spanish and Humanities professor at SF about the innovations that have transpired on international activities in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vilma Fuentes talks with Jessica Cassidy, SF's International Education coordinator; Dr. Anna Ageicheva, Dean of Humanities at the National University Poltava Polytechnic in Ukraine; Dr. Regiani Zacarias, professor of English language at the Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Dr. Marcela Murillo, Spanish and Humanities professor at SF about the innovations that have transpired on international activities in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vilma Fuentes
Welcome to Santa Fe College. My name is Vilma Fuentes, and this is our podcast on developing global citizens. Today we will explore some of the innovations that have transpired on international activities in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We're joined by four very special guests: Jessica Cassidy, International Education coordinator at Santa Fe College; Doctor Anna Ageicheva, Dean of Humanities at the National University Poltava Polytechnic in Ukraine; Dr. Regiani Zacarias, professor of English language at the Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio De Mesquita Fihlo in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Doctor Marcela Murillo, Spanish and Humanities professor at Santa Fe College. Ladies thank you all for joining us.
Jessica Cassidy
Thank you so much for having us.
Anna Ageicheva
*Speaks Ukrainian*
Regiani Zacarias
With the regard to view my own president this acquisitional Lucent affair.
Marcela Murillo
Muchas Gracias por limitation Feliz the Statica.
Vilma Fuentes
Thank you all. So, Jessica let me begin with you. So, during the first week of March, we at Santa Fe College went on spring break. And when we return COVID-19 had become a full-blown global pandemic. The college opened for a few days and then... It seemed like almost instantly we were asked to shift to 100% virtual operations. What happened to our college’s international education programs? How do we respond to the pandemic?
Jessica Cassidy
Well, you know when we first found out about the COVID 19 pandemic, which was in you know early spring. We were all kind of like “Oh, it's OK.” It's not going to be that big of a deal right like it's isolated it'll be fine. Then you know, we had our successful spring break study abroad programs and those went off successfully, returned successfully...
Jessica Cassidy
And then things started to get more serious right. I started discovering reports of like COVID-19 cases spiking in Italy, which is where we were going to have one of our summer Study Abroad programs and I'm like you know this is this is getting serious now and I remember walking into your office, Vilma, and saying “Hey, I think we need to... we need to take a look at this, you know it's getting serious in Italy.” and so we did. And we started monitoring the COVID-19 situation around the world and really in the countries that we were going to have study abroad programs and it just kept getting worse. And so unfortunately, we had to cancel all of our summer 2021 study of our sorry summer 2020 study abroad programs.
Jessica Cassidy
And you know, not only that, but we also had to cancel our in-person events on campus. And so we had all of these students who were looking forward to engaging and study abroad and in-person activities that no longer could. We also we're going to have faculty exchanges in-person you know, having faculty come here and some of our faculty go to other countries around the world and we couldn't do that either. And so you know when the college went to virtual, we had to somehow figure out a way to do the same. And figure out a way to engage our students engage our faculty and our partner institutions as well.
Jessica Cassidy
And so, about the same time, we started noticing other organizations like the Study Abroad Association, who we work with for study abroad programs coming up with virtual study abroad tours and you know virtual tours of different places like in Ireland and Scotland and around the world and we're like OK well, maybe we can do something like this with our partners and so that's exactly what we did. You know we contacted our partners in Ukraine, in Brazil, and were able to facilitate a virtual exchange and find a way to engage our students and maintain our goals that we had originally had for in person activities, but now we just had to innovate and go all virtual, and it was successful, and we were able to do that.
Vilma Fuentes
Great thank you. I actually have more questions for you, Jessica, but I think I'm going to come back and instead let me turn to Anna Ageicheva. So, Anna, in late January early February we had the pleasure of hosting you live in person here at Santa Fe College I think you were one of the last international guests we hosted. We got you in right before that pandemic.
Vilma Fuentes
Then soon afterward, another professor from Brazil that we were delighted to host. But Anna, you gave several public lectures. You visited classes. You met groups of faculty and of students.
Vilma Fuentes
And then you return to Ukraine and within a few weeks, the pandemic exploded. Please describe how your university, and really your country in general was impacted by the pandemic.
Anna Ageicheva
Thank you, Vilma really. I was and I am a lucky person because I managed to visit your Santa Fe College and your country. It was my dream and it came true and we really supposed to welcome your professor Dustin Friedkin and you know well that everything was ready from our side, from your side, so we just were...
Anna Ageicheva
Expecting him and I'm really happy that next Monday I have an opportunity to listen to his lecture online. Speaking about how our University, National University, Yuri convertible tablet Polytechnic faced the pandemic.
Anna Ageicheva
I can tell you the truth. First 2 days, it was like panic. When they were told that we should be online, everything should be online.
Anna Ageicheva
From lectures, to tutorials, to meeting 2 important conferences and but only in 2 days. Maybe someone suffered for 3 days. I don't know. It took me 2 days to come down and to find balance.
Anna Ageicheva
And I'm in my... I'm at my faculty and we decided that it's not a problem. It's just their way to be safe and you to our efforts. We have the so-called University, the Digital University, and it allows us, it enables us to be online. We didn't stop...
Anna Ageicheva
Our learning educating process even for a minute, you see and we finally succeeded with accomplishing...
Anna Ageicheva
We have...
Anna Ageicheva
first and second semesters so, so we accomplished successfully second semester. We made our admission... I mean, so we welcomed fresh French hearing students for...
Anna Ageicheva
And so that's probably...
Anna Ageicheva
“Stop” but no I will continue that.
Anna Ageicheva
I think that...
Anna Ageicheva
sure, face to face learning and learning and educating in person teaching face to face is better but taking into account the situation in Ukraine.
Anna Ageicheva
and it's getting worse, unfortunately and no one can say that when we will meet our students face to face but finally, I don't see any problems concerning our educational process, so we are working sure in your conditions. But we learn how to live, teach,
Anna Ageicheva
and work online.
Vilma Fuentes
Now initially when you shifted to virtual instruction, was it difficult to motivate your students to learn?
Vilma Fuentes
Or to get them interested?
Anna Ageicheva
I think you see its first of...
Anna Ageicheva
First of all, we try to encourage them, we are social Nets, we are...
Anna Ageicheva
Contacting down in different social groups and...
Anna Ageicheva
With the help of longer tutors, not only lectures, so we organize different events and even I can tell you that we organize now more events than we do before and than we used before because we should.
Anna Ageicheva
I'm sure that we should give them a feeling that we, we need them, we miss them. We love them. And for example. This such a small example yesterday, we had international students here. We have a celebration and organized an event like...
Anna Ageicheva
To meet a student at his farm. I prepared some presentations, my students as well. And I welcomed 2 thirds of my faculty. I mean, students and when they were almost crying. We miss you. We love you. We would like to come back to University was so dashing you see.
Anna Ageicheva
So this why.
Anna Ageicheva
Sure we try to do.
Vilma Fuentes
I am sure that your University has been...
Vilma Fuentes
Unique because I fear that not all universities or colleges in your country, were as prepared to shift to virtual operations. In early April, Anna, when you your faculty and students agreed to lead our first virtual world tour to Ukraine.
Vilma Fuentes
That was a big innovation. I think for both of our institutions. Please describe the process. What did you do? How did you organize that?
Anna Ageicheva
First of all it was a brilliant idea from...
Anna Ageicheva
An expert in Ukraine of our culture will not friends, then we joined this idea, which has decided that yes, it's really it can be queued. It can be interesting I can tell the truth that there was like a competition. My dear students who would like to participate and there was really competition, not everyone.
Anna Ageicheva
Who would like...
Anna Ageicheva
Had a possibility to join so there was a competition for their project.
Anna Ageicheva
And then we decided to join that and I think the project was really successful and even not once but it is.
Anna Ageicheva
Because after our tour there were next country and we are, we all really waiting for...
Anna Ageicheva
So it should it should be continued. I definitely because it makes us closer, it makes us feel that we really need each other. So that's why...
Vilma Fuentes
I think it was a great example of a group-based project like project-based learning in a virtual environment, right? Your students took us, let's see if I remember correctly, they took us to Kyiv your capital, to Odesa too of course, Poltava, to Lviv in the West right they literally took us on a world tour.
Vilma Fuentes
And I think we had like 150 students that came and joined from... some from your country, from our country, and then there’s Regiani from Brazil. Because I reached out to you and said wow you should check this out.
Vilma Fuentes
Regiani, so what did your students think about this world tour, virtual world tour, to Ukraine?
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
It was wonderful we were all very excited. So, when you when you contacted me and you said, “Hey, you should check this out. Listen this is what I have in mind, and I invited you with Anna and she's working on her...” and I was like wow, let's see what's happening and...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
That definitely gave some light...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
To me and to my students, you know to start something online. The Virtual World Tour in the Ukraine was fantastic, thank you Anna. You and your students did a marvelous job and it was, it was really good to see and to know about the architecture.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
And you know they went deep...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Into the tour. It was not superficial at all. It was good, good information so...
Anna Ageicheva
Thank you. Thank you for...
Anna Ageicheva
Some good words and I would like to tell you that my students all the time ask, when will be the next?
Vilma Fuentes
We're working on it, it's coming.
Anna Ageicheva
II told them as well, you should just be patient.
Vilma Fuentes
It’s coming.
Anna Ageicheva
I found it.
Anna Ageicheva
Out on its way to us right.
Vilma Fuentes
So, I'll ask you for now, one last question Anna. if I'm not mistaken at your University, you’re training several students not only to be to be English interpreters and then some of them to go and work in the tourism sector in your country. Do you think that this virtual world tour helped them prepare for future jobs in this field?
Anna Ageicheva
Sure, it's really useful because...
Anna Ageicheva
It gives them understanding of...
Anna Ageicheva
Other countries cultural aspects, traditions, and style of life. So that's why it's exactly what they need. I think I'm sure even.
Vilma Fuentes
Great thank you so much. Regiani, I'm going to go back to you. So, you first came to Santa Fe College in 2011 as a Fulbright scholar in residence.
Vilma Fuentes
And you've maintained a strong relationship of our institution since your return to Brazil. I know you were also very much challenged by the pandemic. Please tell us how? How did your University respond to the pandemic in Brazil? How were you specifically and your students impacted by this, and how are you able to provide your instruction?
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Yes, well. Thank you, it was a great pleasure. My year at Santa Fe was about the best time of my life and I am very glad we keep this partnership going with a different projects and different kind of interactions and the activities.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Well, when the pandemic...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
started we... my University you know immediately interrupted classes, so classes were suspended. We didn't know for how long, nobody knew what to do everybody thought we would die if we...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Went to the supermarket.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
If we spread this virus around.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
So you know it was very uncertain what was happening, you know just like everyone.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
The point is that slowly, um, many universities and all the school basic education system. They switch it to the virtual world. You know, not easy days because people have difficulty with...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Switching. Professors, students, everybody was really struggling by this sudden change in the way they used to do things and they used.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
To carry on their routine well one took a long time. My University took a long time to decide what to do so we did not switch immediately to the virtual world really well. We are a multi-campus University so we, we have 34...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
different campuses. Most of them slowly came back to the switch it to the virtual world.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
But not my campus. My campus... many students and many professors they totally denied, and they did not want to go online. And I can tell you why. The NSP University is supposed to reach out.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
For students all over the state of some problem mainly less privileged students.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
That most of those students did not have Internet access, you know at hand. So, going back to classes on the virtual world that meant that they could not attend classes at all.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
So, it was a big issue come... going back.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
To virtual, not going back neutral. Some students wanted, some professors wanted, some professors did not. Well in the middle of this.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Hurricane came your proposal.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
I mean? What about doing something online. You know, and I tell you I was like “Oh my God should I invite my students?”
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Am I going
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
To exclude those students who do not have access...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
To the Internet? And then I can tell...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
you that I went to the...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
To my director and I told him what was happening.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
And I asked him permission to go and propose the activity for my students because I did not want people to think I was you know, I was not following the group you know by doing something online.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Well, everybody was OK with the idea and then I invited the students and they were so committed and they were so happy to work.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
So, I that was the very first time during the pandemic that my students and I had the opportunity to be online on a joint project. So, thank you very much that the scenario was really not favored to anything like that.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
And it worked so well.
Vilma Fuentes
And Anna, the way you were mentioning that your students there was a competition going on, I think the...
Vilma Fuentes
Competition became like a multi-country competition because the Brazilian students were like, “Wow! Did you see what the Ukrainians did?” and...
Vilma Fuentes
Some of her students there's 1 in particular that stands out to me, it was a group of them that wanted to tell the world about Brazilian music. They decided to create a video right. It was like a video taking you to different parts of Brazil and showing how the music there changed so that was just phenomenal right. It was showing their technological skills and their musical skills all at once.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Yes, that that was that was exactly what happened. All of a sudden you know they found their gifts for technology.
Anna Ageicheva
Regiani and you are teaching your students, so all your students are in different levels of English courses. Were they nervous doing this in like I know...
Anna Ageicheva
100% of virtual and 100% English format?
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Totally, because it was you know first of all it was the very first time they had not had classes. They had not had any kind of interaction and all of a sudden they were presenting to the US to recreate the Ukraine to the US so that that was really...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
It made them very nervous, so we...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Had to rehearse. So, remember I had some students who did not know how to share their screen and you know, we had those minor problems to deal with because the students were not familiar with the technology and in speaking English, you know, so that was very fun...
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
That was nice.
Anna Ageicheva
Jessica let me return to you for a second. So from your perspective. What are some of the challenges and also some of the opportunities or benefits of shifting to virtual activities?
Jessica Cassidy
Well, I'll start with the benefits. I think... I think switching to virtual has provided a wonderful opportunity for access that we didn't have before for our students. So now our students who couldn't participate in study abroad, who couldn't necessarily come to campus and participate in our in-person events because they had to drive, or they had to work.
Jessica Cassidy
Now could through these virtual activities. Now they could you know Zoom with us...
Jessica Cassidy
From anywhere you know, or you know ask us for the recordings later if they wanted to still be a part of our international activity. So you know that's been the main benefit. I would say from going virtual. These innovations and this ability to offer access to these students with some of the challenges, I think that our students are in a tough...
Jessica Cassidy
placeright now right? Like they have financial concerns. They're just concerned about putting food on the table. They have to work more, they have to figure out how to do all their online classes and it.
Jessica Cassidy
It’s tough right? So are they thinking about international opportunities are they motivated to attend our events and and sometimes I think you know, maybe they're not and and rightly so 'cause. They have all these legitimate concerns. So I think that's been a challenge. But there are students who do participate in our programs and are happy to do so and are still engaging with us so.
Jessica Cassidy
You know, I would say those are the main things in terms of benefits and challenges.
Anna Ageicheva
Excellent thank you. So on that note, I'm going to turn...
Anna Ageicheva
to Marcella. Marcela Murillo, so talk to us from a faculty perspective here at Santa Fe, so in the spring, you also had to shift to 100% virtual. You know, we've just heard what happened in Ukraine and in Brazil. Tell us your experience and your students experience like? How was that transition to 100% virtual?
Anna Ageicheva
What challenges are you facing especially with foreign language instruction?
Vilma Fuentes
Well let me tell you that the...
Vilma Fuentes
Biggest changes in spring I was teaching a class language class, I did was 4 times a week. We will meet Monday to Thursday and the announcement that we got to change to shift everything to virtual was... I believe it was on a Friday, if I'm not mistaken, and Monday we had class and I worked the entire weekend. We had workshop on how to use zoom and...
Vilma Fuentes
There were there were operations during the weekend during that weekend to plan for the shift.
Vilma Fuentes
For the shift and we did, and Monday, we had our virtual classes, so the students did not miss one single class but let me tell you that at the beginning there was a little bit difficulty. You know to teach in a different modality. You know to teach everything in teams. That's why with the platform that I use there was a sense of....
Vilma Fuentes
uncertainty you know. We're under this pandemic and this invisible virus is killing off people so students are on faculty also it's hard to focus.
Vilma Fuentes
Start to focus you know think of you know how to conjugate their present verbs when you have these big problems.
Vilma Fuentes
But students were somehow motivated because of the novelty of being everything online and after the first week. There was a sense of stability and there's going to be an end of the semester and there's going to be crazy to be turned in so we so it was a difficult semester, but we overcame it and...
Vilma Fuentes
I hope that they did learn how to conjugate the present.
Mariah’s Edit Left Off
Anna Ageicheva
OK, now with the virtual world tours. You joined I distinctly remember that, you joined the virtual world tour to Brazil. I'm not sure if you joined the one to Ukraine.
Vilma Fuentes
Yes, I did that my students did, too. And they ask questions in the Ukraine, one because I remember the food yes.
Vilma Fuentes
Yes, and well those experiences were great for my students II offer I invited my students too.
Vilma Fuentes
To join both world tours and this gave me an idea, you know, I maybe you don't know audience. But I am from Bolivia and I said Ukraine, Brazil. I think something's missing there and that something is Bolivia and I have connections. My my well II'm from there.
Vilma Fuentes
My father is a full time professor.
Vilma Fuentes
As well and then that's how.
Vilma Fuentes
Where I'm sorry oh?
Vilma Fuentes
University of my Jordison Undress Universal Meireles and resumes which is the second largest University in Bolivia.
Vilma Fuentes
And well II thought it would be a great opportunity to bridge Bolivian University, which so far. Santa Fe does not have any official partnership with.
Vilma Fuentes
Do that introduction.
Anna Ageicheva
So I think one of the really unique things. Marcela I thank you very much for is in the midst of a pandemic in the midst of the chaos.
Anna Ageicheva
And uncertainty you were helping us start a brand new international relationship of another University is that even possible yes marcella did it.
Anna Ageicheva
Thank you and we were following her right the.
Anna Ageicheva
Lead the way marcella.
Anna Ageicheva
Because with the case of our Ukrainian partners and Brazilian partners. We already had an international cooperation agreement in place. We had had face to face exchanges we had had other activities.
Anna Ageicheva
So was it difficult getting this off the ground. This new partnership was it hard to convince professors or students in Bolivia that they should try something totally knew that they had never seen or heard before.
Vilma Fuentes
Oil.
Vilma Fuentes
It was troublesome because Olivia, was also when is the IT was a very complex time value? We were having a transitory government?
Vilma Fuentes
So there was all besides there being a health concern with the pandemic. There's also this political admissibility. So it was a troublesome moment. But I think it worked as a as a way to escape as a way to escape the mind from the students of what they were living and you know think of a project or talking to other country in to an audience that's in the USA.
Vilma Fuentes
So II think it worked as a ball bouillabaisse copy.
Anna Ageicheva
Write an escape valve.
Vilma Fuentes
Of escape well? Yes.
Anna Ageicheva
We're learning foreign languages here too. I love it.
Anna Ageicheva
Excellent so tell us about that experience because you're still well. The Bolivian students took what the Brazilians did and then took it to another level 'cause. They also had video that I was like wow, so impressed about what did they do describe it. Please Oh well.
Vilma Fuentes
So they worked also like Ukraine in Brazil in project based groups that professor was the leader and the students worked on 2 videos. One was to present the life of a student during the pandemic. So it was marvelous to see how do the students will wake up put on the mask and take public transportation an be sprayed with alcohol?
Vilma Fuentes
Before getting on it, and you know show how things are going.
Vilma Fuentes
And the other video was to was to talk about the University and then they would show us around the University.
Vilma Fuentes
So.
Anna Ageicheva
It so it was incredibly impressive because I think for me from my perspective. It was really eye. Opening just a life and the A day in the life of a student in and uh.
Anna Ageicheva
Your country like wow. I just had never seen that before so maybe with our next virtual tours. We can explore some of that. But before we talk about the next virtual tours. I want to ask all of you all 3 so all 3 of you have something very big in common you all teach students foreign languages. So I'm curious do you think these virtual world tours help your students?
Anna Ageicheva
Learn a foreign language number one and did they help them become better global citizens.
Anna Ageicheva
I'll ask him Johnny first.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
OK, yeah, well.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Well, I'm very glad to answer that.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
You know for a while, I have been working.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
On the approach.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Of EMI which is English as a medium of instruction and also clue which is content, and language integrated learning and based on those the pro.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Codes um students they will get if they get more involved with a topic that is, of their interest and then they use the language to talk to learn and to talk about that topic that is going to be very helpful in their linguistic development.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
And that's gonna learn acquire some linguistic competence and proficiency.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
So remember that when you invited us I said, you might can I tell students they can.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Choose a topic.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Because I really wanted to do this on this perspective, that students were going to say something about our country. But something that from their hearts. You know from from that, they like so some students picked music others other group.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Picked literature remember they spoke about literature. We had somebody speaking about CD too. And that was very, very helpful. You have no idea how many times, I had to listen and correct them before they?
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
You know presented themselves live during the show so it certainly helped them right.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Because they first wrote a script then it help them with pronunciation. Individual word pronunciation. And then discourse pronunciation. And it also helped them with the natural flow of the language you know 'cause they could not speak.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Like a robot they had to be natural so that was really helpful that was fantastic and.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Great Sir certainly helped they are the question.
Anna Ageicheva
Well let me turn to on and maybe she could answer that so uh So what I was asking is whether these virtual world tours help your students become better global citizens and perfect their English language skills.
Jessica Cassidy
Then I will start from the second question, and I can tell you exactly that it.
Jessica Cassidy
Are we we aren't give?
Jessica Cassidy
Understanding for our student they are really they are citizens of the world.
Jessica Cassidy
And it was like a bridge between cultures between our countries is it only to read a book about US that's not.
Jessica Cassidy
What they need are only to read a grammar textbook there's not but there's a live in communication this possibility that they really learn.
Jessica Cassidy
English and they can use it.
Jessica Cassidy
And I personally teach is.
Jessica Cassidy
The students and I teach philology students and they can tell you that.
Jessica Cassidy
They really like that idea they really like that, they had even being on line. The heading opportunity to communicate with foreigners to talk to native speakers to listen to other students presentations to compare and to both share our culture because we're really proud to be Ukrainians and we're really glad to share.
Jessica Cassidy
The insights of our country.
Anna Ageicheva
Myrcella and you what about our Santa Fe students do you think it helped them become better global citizens or learn Spanish better?
Vilma Fuentes
Well, I think that the biggest impact on my students was the possibility to connect to an international audience. An AP and international period during a crisis moment.
Vilma Fuentes
I think that the fact that they were able to see how a student in Poltava looks like. What are Brazilian student eats an? What oblivion student does in order to get to school creates in them and make this?
Vilma Fuentes
Periods makes a creates them empathy makes them You know being build a sense of international of intercultural competence and realize that we're all in this pandemic together in all of our different corners of the Earth.
Anna Ageicheva
So II think it was on uh that asked and where are we going to next? Well, we're working on it first of all I know that we owe you our friends uh World Tour of the US we?
Anna Ageicheva
Started discussions of that, so hopefully we will be able to offer that to you in the spring and one professor in particular is taking the lead to maybe introduce us to the Florida park system. But aside from that I've also been in conversations with colleagues in Argentina, an in Egypt to see if they might take us on our world tour to their countries.
Anna Ageicheva
In the spring, so we may just have started something cool that I'm hoping that we will be able to continue even after we return to face to face classes.
Anna Ageicheva
But I also want to highlight that this didn't just end with the world tour on a geni. You've now started connecting as linguist as professors and foreign languages, and working together on international conferences right and all this.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Yeah, that's true so you are not the only one who made contact with another University.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
There is this.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
And then X situation and I&I.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
We are so involved.
Dr. Regiani Zacarias
Because we have you know we have the same. We are in the same area of knowledge right. Anna it has been such a great pleasure.
Jessica Cassidy
Yeah, the same to me is it.
Anna Ageicheva
Excellent so I think what I want.
Jessica Cassidy
Yes, we have so a lot of ideas.
Jessica Cassidy
Steal it had.
Anna Ageicheva
Yes, well, I think I want to thank you. All for partnering with us during this pandemic trying out something new, something in.
Anna Ageicheva
Wait and see where it will take us. I'm curious to see where else we will travel together. What other new projects. We will undertake but above all else. I think we've been able to show our students or appears that it is possible to promote internationalization. It is possible to help create global citizens.
Anna Ageicheva
Even in the midst of a pandemic.
Anna Ageicheva
So thank you all for your time shadowjack, we'll multiply gada in Muchisimas Gracias Marcella for your time.
Anna Ageicheva
Bye.