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Show Page B12 P Thursday, October 14, 1993 . The Park Record P Section B Summit Park teachers by DAVE MACFARLANE Record staff writer There were probably a lot of things that reminded Summit Park residents Jim Fleming and Jamie Duis they were no longer in the United States. But if the culture and language of Bogota, Colombia were not enough, an experience Fleming had one day while teaching his mostly native Park City Profile students about the sixties certainly drove the fact home. "I told them, 'Martin Luther King was shot in '68, Robert Kennedy was shot in '68, John F. Kennedy was shot in '63, all these people were killed," Fleming said. "They just kind of looked at me and one kid raised his hand and said, 'Mr. Fleming, that's no big deal to us. We had three presidential candidates assassinated in '88 or '89.'" This was somewhere near the beginning of the two teacher's yearlong year-long stay in Colombia, and right along the lines of what most Americans perceive is the norm in most South American countries. But as Fleming and Duis soon found, the less rigid and demanding society of Colombia offers many positive aspects to counteract the negatives of the drug trade. "They are such close families, they have wonderful, wonderful family structure," Duis said. "You know how it is here with a teenager, they are always awkward around their parents at that age. There they would sit at the table with us the whole time, they would have adult conversations. There wasn't so much clashing between the cultures." Having recently returned from Colombia, where they taught the children of diplomats and high-ranking high-ranking business people, Fleming and Duis reflect positively on their experience, saying they would recommend teaching in another country to anyone who is considering the profession. "It was more social because you are a small group of people thrown together overseas. You feel like you're living a little bit more on Easy Freeway access. A wonderful family home in Summit Park. This three bedroom, 1.75 bath home is just what you have been looking for. A quiet setting with lots of trees and a 2 car garage. Don't waid! $160,000. Ah -X V ' Amber Daystar. Enjoy the dedicadence of Deer Valley in this furnished condo with great views. $295000. . L J Wonderful floor plan. This 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath Creek Drive home has a wonderful floor plan, southfacing exposure, beautiful views and abuts open space. Your family will appreciate this neighborhood and a bath for each bedroom. Priced reduced to $376,000. SERVING PARK CITY, DEER VALLEY, SUMMIT & WASATCH COUNTIES the edge," said Duis, "You meet a lot of interesting people. Coming back here, it seems a little more provincial," added Fleming. Fleming and Duis say they decided to go to Colombia because they have always been interested in traveling and teaching, and what better way to combine the two. The two met at the University of Florida in the late '70s where Fleming earned his bachelors ' degree. Later they moved to California where Duis finished her degree at Humboldt State and Fleming earned a teaching certificate. Fleming received a job offer to teach in Park City in 1984 so they packed up and moved to Utah where they were married. Since arriving here Fleming has also earned a masters degree in history from the University of Utah while Duis has become certified to teach and the two have used Park City as a base from which to see the world. Both Fleming and Duis went into teaching because it offered them many options as to a lifestyle. The freedom it gives "They're used to the violence of their country... they live with it because they have to," said Jim Fleming. them to choose a place to live and work is something they feel is much more important than the money it pays. "You have a lot of options as to where you want to live (with teaching)," Duis said. "We like traveling a lot, we like being in different places." With this in mind Fleming and Duis went to a conference of international schools in Iowa and interviewed for several different positions before being offered the one they took in Colombia. "Virtually every country, its capital and other cities, have an American-based school," Duis said to describe the size of the international school network. A great deal of money can be if experience Colombian culture made teaching in other countries, and for teachers it is the type of position that looks good on a resume, both of which were reasons for Fleming and Duis to go to Colombia. "There are many different reasons people go. A lot of people are into making money, because that isn't an option as a teacher in the states. A lot of other people want a new experience. A lot of other people do it just to further their educational career," Duis explained. In Bogota, Fleming and Duis found a situation that many perspective teachers avoid because of the perceived violence of Colombia. But both found a situation in which violence does exist, but is not as pervasive as most Americans perceive. "They're used to the violence of their country and they live with it because they have to," Fleming said. "You and I would too." They may live with it and endure it, but they don't like the way it makes their homeland appear in international circles. As the children of wealthy and prominent parents, the students of both Eeming and Duis had the opportunity to travel and were often confronted with stereotypical questions, especially in the U.S. "I think the worst thing for the kids is that the narcos (drug dealers) gave their country a bad image abroad, and that really bothered them," Fleming said. "When they came to the states, the first question they were asked if someone found out they were from Colombia was about drugs. And that bothered them because they said, 'hey our country has a lot of other things to offer other than drugs and that's a relatively small percentage that is directlv involved in that.'" Fleming and Duis also found a student populace in Colombia that is proud of their nationality, and don't appreciate being classified as simply hispanic or as living in the jungle. As one would expect, there is a certain amount of culture shock that takes place in any move, especially to another country. But after spending some time in Colombia, both Fleming and Duis realized that the biggest shock ODKnnL of Si 2M Ths Complete Marketing I ADDRESS TYPE PRICE FEATURES 55 Matterhom Res $350,000 5BD5BA 6604 SF 300-306 Ogden Can. Res $480,000 6 log homes28.5 Ac. BurgiLane Lot $200,000 10 Acres 131 Park Station Condo $129,500 2BD2BA 1225SF 1846 Amber Daystar Condo $295,000 3BD4BA 2439 SF 207 New Claim Condo $ 72,500 2BD2BA768SF PREMIER, INC. PARK CITY OFFICE 1750 Park Avenue, Park City, Utah ' 1 f , - , j, ' I . - L - " J I ft W iimmwti . linn I j ' n ft te ' . $ ' am f 4 . t ', , ... j , , ' ' Summit Park teachers Jamie Duis and Jim Fleming relax many years. The educators recently returned from a year came not in moving from one country to another, but in leaving a small pond for a much bigger one. "Actually the biggest cultural shock I had wasn't in going from one country to another, but in going from a small town to a huge city," Duis said. "We've traveled a lot, so we're pretty comfortable in different cultures. It was living in the city that was hard," added Fleming. To escape the city Fleming and Duis took advantage of opportunities they had to see the rest of Colombia, traveling extensively to the more rural areas and into the Amazon rainforest. Bogota is indeed a huge city, so when speaking of any negative experiences they may have had, both Fleming and Duis perceive these to be the result of the city in which they lived, not the country. "That might happen if you lived in Brooklyn," Fleming said of Senrees Guarantee 8 1 ' V . t -a 'l I 'f 'r it' tLl '. v X ' "X v- problems with muggers and other things that are symptomatic of large urban areas. Both Duis and Fleming are careful to point out that while there is a violent aspect to life in Bogota, that aspect also exists in New York, Chicago or any number of other American cities. The problems of Colombia are sometimes magnified beyond their actual scope, oft times because the media presents them as such. "They're (the press) going to talk about what's going on that is bad down there," Fleming said. Rather than follow the international teaching circuit to another country, as many do, Duis and Fleming decided to return to Utah in order to have children in a more stable environment and return to the outdoors they love so much. Currently Duis holds a teaching position at Murray High School, W if Park City & Deer Valley views! On the fairway! On the 4th Fairway on the Park Meadows Golf Course. Five bedroom, 5 12 baths in the most desirable golf course subdivision. Price reduced to $599,000. You'll feel like you're on top of the world! Three hundred sixty degree views from this log home on 1.25 acres. Located on a cul-de-sax for privacy, this 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath, 6,764 Sq. Ft. home is one of kind. Price reduced to $599,000. n : if- i. I Dream Home in the Pines. Spectacular views from this 5 bedroom, 3 bath home with country kitchen and a hot tub off the deck. Price just reduced to $298,000. (801) 649-4400 (800) 825-8889 first-hand . t r w-f ' at home with their friend of of teaching in Colombia. which is the reason the couple came back to Utah after a year in Colombia. "My old boss faxed me and offered me a job. We found out how difficult it is to search for jobs from overseas so we thought here is an easy entry and decided to go for it," Duis said. Fleming currendy occupies himself by tutoring and helping to coach basketball as well as working on a book of Utah history trivia. While they may have returned to life in these United States, certainly they will always carry the memory of their students with them as they move on to new classrooms. "My students would come up and hug me. They were really warm and friendly, I loved that about them," Duis said. "We got to go a lot of amazing places." 1 V 2i . 1 V- 1 11 l J |