Brad Patterson´s latest post inspired me to write this post. In it Brad posed a challenge and, personally speaking, I like challenges in life. As to teaching itself, I consider motivating students is sometimes challenging as being successful requires creativity and versatility from teachers.
Returning to Brad's proposal, my metaphor is: "Teaching is like day-dreaming." As a teacher I isolate myself from the world around me when I'm teaching and create a new world. My mind is totally focused on the lesson and on my students. I can forget about everything that forms part of my non-teaching life.
(From: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net)
As to the second challenge, the non-teaching experience that has brought more to my classroom than anything else has been travelling abroad. It's not that I have travelled that much but it has broadened my mind and made me interact with and meet all kinds of people. That's why it has contributed to my teaching practice.
If you feel like joining Brad's challenges, at the top you'll find the link to his post.