A whirlwind trip to Germany, Russia, and France this past week has given me an excellent opportunity to reflect on my theme of education for a global age.

Some first impressions...

1. Japanese sushi restaurants are everywhere. It was definitely easier to order California maki on Nevski Prospekt in St. Petersburg than to purchase pirozhki (Russian pastries deep-fried or baked, filled with meat or cabbage or potatoes). While sushi wasn't quite as prevalent in Paris as baguettes and croissants, it was definitely available in virtually every part of the city we visited. In Dusseldorf, Germany, packets of sushi were sold at the local grocery store just feet away from that fabulous thick German bread, sausage, and cheeses.

2. Yes, McDonald's is everywhere, but somehow not all that noticeable. Actually, Subway was more visible in St. Petersburg. Still, they don't really feel all that "American" somehow. They're just another entry from the global marketplace.

3. Paris is incredibly multicultural. The Latin Quarter (Left Bank, near Notre-Dame) is full of Greek, Turkish, and Arabic restaurants, as well as Chinese. The area around the Gare du Nord (train station) has blocks of stores displaying gorgeous Indian saris. Our waitress at a small French restaurant in Montmartre one night was definitely Asian.

This is not just about food. It makes one realize that the cultural stereotypes that we tend to teach in our American classrooms fall far short of the reality of these global locations. What does it mean to be French (or German or Russian) today?

In the old days in America, students (at least the college-bound ones) picked a language and studied it for a few years in high school, and maybe junior high, if they were lucky. We were either in the Spanish track, or French, or German. (Some studied Latin, but, then, that wasn't about learning a language that could be spoken in some country today.) More recently, Japanese has gained popularity.

We perceived that it was enough to learn one other language/culture.

I've got news for everyone. It's not.

One is a starting place. But in today's world, it will take knowing something about many. No, maybe we won't become fluent in all those languages or be able to read their great literary works, but we'll need to know something in order to understand their perspectives on the world.

I wonder where we'll fit that into the school day...