The pupils´ exotic ideas are the bridge to deal with more serious subjects in the teaching about foreign countries. Starting from the fascination of the unknown you can capture the young people´s interest for heavier and more theoretical contexts.

That is my experience after having taught 9^th form pupils several times at the course From South to North in Youth Town together with Vibeke Vinther from the development organization Ibis. I am a jungle Indian, and I happily accepted the invitation to teach the children. I like to tell about my Indian culture. And seen with South American eyes the SPF is a fantastic possibility for young people. A possibility which people in Ecuador are light years away from reaching.

But I have to say that the pupils, both the Danes and the immigrants, gave me quite a chock from the start. When they turned up in the class room they seemed totally indifferent. They cried "oh hell" and a lot of other things, which pupils in Ecuador would never do. In Ecuador the pupils have quite a lot more respect for the teacher.

Vibeke Vinther and I started by asking the pupils, what they associated with the word "Indian". The answers typically were: red skin, tipi, feathers, dancing, Mohican, fire, and other things from the American western film universe. But also words like poor, illness, and war often came up.

I was surprised that many 9^th form pupils were not able to point out South America on a map. Even pupils in the jungle in Ecuador know the different continents.

The pupils´ commitment did not impress me during the first introduction. But it changed abruptly when I started to show slides from my village in the jungle. First a ten meter long boa constrictor, which can eat up a human being. Here the otherwise so indifferent boys woke up. They think the snake is really cool.

Every time I show a series of pictures from my niece´s life. She is a thirteen- year- old, beautiful jungle Indian. The pupils see her food, among other things grubs, alligators, and roast monkey. "Repulsive", "yukky", and distance are the first reactions. But I have seen, how you make liver pâté at a factory in Denmark. And I answer the children that I would never touch a liver pâté. And then the discussion is going. The food, the near thing, gives an entrance to discuss ways of life and everyday problems. And during role plays and lectures later in the day the interest is fairly intact.

The pupils play Indian leaders and other village residents, who must decide their attitude to the offer from the oil companies about basketball nets in exchange for admission to the Indian areas. They become representatives of the pharmaceutical industry, who must convince the Indians to give their knowledge away. And they play development experts, who must "sell" ideas about developmental projects to the Indians.

We utilize the interest for the near things and the exotic ideas, the animals, the hunting, and so on, to bring more serious subjects close to the pupils.