Last days in Belize

These last few days have been bittersweet. We had our final group dinner tonight. We all had pizza at Pedro's Pub to celebrate our time here in Belize. A guy from the local newspaper came to interview us about our time here and what we have accomplished and learned. It is so crazy to me that this is coming to an end. I leave Saturday morning early. Some of our kids came by Pedro's tonight to see us and say hi and we were so excited! Our students are all so sweet! I am really going to miss them when I go back home and I hope to keep in touch with them all. I got all of Ms. Mandy's information today and she also got mine. I really feel like I have made a lot of strong bonds while here in Belize and on this trip. Ms. Mandy is a great teacher and a wonderful person and I will definitely keep in contact with her. I am sad that will miss not being able to run across the hall and see if the girls want to go get dinner in town but I know that I have made some great friendships and will be seeing a lot of the girls when we get back home. I have truly had a life changing experience. I have learned here in Belize what it is like to be a minority, what it is like to make do, how to relax and go with the flow, to appreciate what I have, and to enjoy the simple life. I will take with me a new perspective on teaching and building relationships with students. I can't even explain how much I have grown through this opportunity and how amazing this program is. I feel more confident in my abilities to teach and I have enjoyed my time in the schools here.I can't wait to get back and share all of my adventures with those at home.

Ambergris Caye Elementary

I'm glad to be back in the schools and back to work. I love being around the kids. They are all so sweet and affectionate. The students here like to call me teacher, miss, or miss Jessi. They go by first names here, which I like. Last week I did some observing in my classroom and in some others and was able to see how a normal day went. I learned the students schedule and how things work around the school. This week I have been doing a lot of teaching in the class. Ms. Mandy has been out for a couple of days with a family emergency so I have been full time teaching. I have enjoyed being able to take charge again because I feel like once you have all the control it is hard to get back into that "assistant" role again. We have been working on fractions in math, which is shocking to me because the majority of my students are six. They are doing really well with them and are so smart. Yesterday and today we worked on making a class poem for Mother's Day. The students came up with such great ideas. One student suggested we end the poem saying "Happy Mother's Day, I will keep you in my heart." I thought it was so sweet. Our poem turned out awesome and I am hoping that they can work on making their own for a Mother's Day card. We incorporated using adjectives and suffixes in the poem also. I have also been teaching religion and Spanish while Ms. Mandy is gone and that has been interesting but I did my best! I did a matching game with prefixes, suffixes, and base words that they really enjoyed. I have also been trying to get their energy out by having them shake all the wiggles out and do jumping jacks. They always have so much energy but the exercises seem to get them more excited so today I tried breathing in and out heavily and that seemed to relax them a little. I don't know how they are always going, going, going in this heat. The kids here all have so much charisma and personality and I love spending time with them. I will miss them terribly when I leave! I hope to keep in touch with them after we get home.

My internship experiences

I have been fortunate enough to experience teaching in Wilmington back in the states and also here in San Pedro, Belize. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of my time teaching. I feel grateful to have had the opportunity to come to Belize and try something new. I have learned a lot about the culture and a lot about myself during my time here. One thing I have noticed in the schools of Belize is that things are much more laid back and less structured. The schools here have standards rather than grades. There is infant I which is like kindergarten/first grade, Infant II which is like second grade, standard I which is like third grade, standard II which is like fourth grade, standard III which is like fifth and sixth. One big difference from the school I was in back home and the school I am working in here is the size. This school is very small with very little children and only 5 teachers. Ambergris Caye Elementary has very little resources and money available. That has been the hardest thing for me is planning good activities and lessons with minimal resources available. The school has done a couple of things to raise some funds while we have been here. One thing they do is have rags day. This is when the students can pay to wear their normal clothes. They also had a festival of the arts here in San Pedro for the schools and Ambergris Caye sold stew chicken and rice and beans to raise some money. Another big difference is that the parents are very involved and many of them walk or drive their children to school on golf carts. Parents also come and drop off lunch or stay and eat with their children. There is a lot of note taking here in the schools even in infant II. The students have a lot more free time during the day. My partnership teacher Ms. Mandy likes to keep the parents in the loop on what is going on at school which is really good. She does something similar to my partnership teacher back home which is a homework/take home folder. In this there is a schedule with the test days and other important events. Ms. Mandy also has to the students write down their homework everyday and then she signs it. One thing that is similar to back home is that you have some parents that are really involved and work with their children and then there are those parents who don't even pick up their children. Ms. Mandy often has to drive one of the students home. Ms. Mandy really cares about her students and that is very apparent. She stays after and does tutoring and works with those who need help.

Caye Caulker

Yesterday we spent the day snorkeling and traveling to Caye Caulker on a catamaran. We went to two different snorkeling spots. First we went to Ho Chan and split up with two different guides. We were able to see angel fish, barracuda, grouper, and lots of other little fish. We also got to see the coral reef and a cave below the water. After the first snorkeling site we got back on the boat for a few minutes and made our way to the next Shark and Ray alley. If you can't tell by the title already this area is known for having a lot of sharks sting rays. We got our snorkel gear on and got in the water while one of the guides threw fish in to attract all of the sharks and fish over. It was such a cool experience. I didn't think I would be able to get in but I worked up my courage and did it with the rest of the group. I got to pet a sting ray! One of the guides kept picking up the sting rays so that we could pet them. It was a really great time. After all of the snorkeling adventures we got back on the catamaran and sailed to the island of Caye Caulker. Caye Caulker was absolutely beautiful and I loved it. I wish we would have been able to stay on the island for longer because getting our lunch took quite a while. We ate at the Pedro's there and saw Walter who also works in San Pedro. We were able to get some beautiful jewelry in town. We saw the split at Caye Caulker at the end of the island that occured from a hurricane Hattie in 1961. After a couple of hours we made our way back to the boat and then had a relaxing ride back to to San Pedro.

Back in San Pedro

Yesterday we made our way back to San Pedro. Our first day at Caves Branch we were able to get some lunch and then go and see the blue hole. The blue hole is just a small water hole that gets really deep in a certain area. The water was super refreshing and looks very blue and clear. It was really awesome to swim in and explore. We swam across and hung onto the cliff area and got some really neat pictures. The rest of the day we just hung out and relaxed at the resort. The food at the resort was really great. They gave us a ton of food and we all ate until we were sick. Unfortunately a lot of us got sick while at the resort because there was a stomach virus going around. I caught a cold and ended up spending the next day relaxing with a few of the other girls who weren't feeling well. The others in the group spent the day doing a waterfall cave tour, repelling in a cave, and doing cave tubing. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to do the waterfall tour that I wanted to do but I didn't want to be miserable all day and bring everyone else down. Everyone had a great time and some of the girls that stayed even got massages. It was pretty scary in the jungle at night and even though I had a good time I was definitely ready to get back to the Island. I really enjoyed our time inland but I would prefer to teach here on the island. San Ignacio seemed kind of dead. Here on the island people are always out and about to talk to. I really love being at Ambergris Caye Elementary but I do wish we could have visited some of the schools inland.

Inland

Traveling inland was quite an adventure. We woke up at around 5:45 Monday morning to get ready and get to the ferry. We rode on the ferry for about 90 minutes with all of our luggage to get to Belize City. From Belize City we split into three groups to take taxis to the bus station. We caught the bus from Belize City to the Zoo which also took about 90 minutes. We had a good time walking around the zoo and seeing all of the Belizean animals. We saw jaguars, howler monkeys, and tapirs the national animal of Belize. We went in groups so that some of us could sit with all of the bags so we didn't have to carry them around the whole day. After the zoo we waited for a good hour for our bus and then we rode for another 90 minutes to get to San Ignacio. Once we got into San Ignacio we stopped to get some lunch before we made it to the hotel. Our hotel was amazing! It was beautiful and we had running clean water, power, air conditioning, and a t.v. in our rooms. There was an awesome pool and a bar and restaurant. It was a nice little getaway and we felt like royalty for a few days. In San Ignacio we went to Tikal the Mayan Ruins and we also went spelunking in the cave. The cave tour was my favorite and it was absolutely amazing!! I was a little afraid but so proud of myself for getting through it and enjoying it so much. It has been an amazing experience and I am so glad that I was able to do this. I feel lucky to be here and be a part of this group.

Priveledge

Since being here in Belize I think that all of us on the trip have realized how priveledged we are. I have realized many things that I take for granted everyday. Things are so different here in Belize. People live much differently. Things are much more simple here and I don't think the people of Belize mind that. I think that for a lot of people that is what brings them to Belize and for others it is a hassle and an annoyance to not have what we are used to. We at Pedro's didn't have regular running water for a good 4 or 5 days. The city couldn't get enough water filtered for everyone so they were rationing the water out. We would get some water in the evenings but it was like chlorine or sulfur water not the clean filtered water that we are used to. There are also regular power outings in the city of San Pedro. A lot of people here just walk everywhere as well. Many drive golf carts but some don't have the priveledge of owning one and pretty much get from place to place on foot. It has been a big struggle dealing with having no water. My biggest hassle has been having no place to use the bathroom because of the water outting the toilets wouldn't flush. It is humbling to see how simply the people here are living and they don't seem to mind it at all. I don't know if it is because they don't know it any other way or if it is just that they enjoy the simplicity and appreciate what they do have.

preparing for inland

Today we woke up and walked the dogs again for part of our service project. We also started making our excel sheets to put our teacher's grades into. We probably worked on that for about three hours. It is going to take a while to get it all in and finished but I think my teacher will really appreciate it and use it in the future so I think it will be worth it. Then we went and got some lunch and went into town for a bit and got a couple of things. We are trying to get ready to go inland so I have been trying to get all of my stuff together that I need to take and get all of my other things packed back in my bags to store in a room while we are gone. Still no water here at Pedro's on our side of the street we got barely enough last night to rinse off and try to shower. We just got a random rain shower and it was pouring for about 5 or 10 minutes. Some of the other girls went to a barbeque at one of the teacher's houses today but I wanted to stay and work on my excel sheet some. I will probably keep working on that tonight for a while. I got my postcards in the mail today so I am hoping it won't take long for them to get back to the states.

Service project

Well yesterday was our dinner with the consulate and it was so much fun! He and his family and friends are so nice and welcoming. They showed us such a good time and the food was amazing. It was nice to geto away for a while and take the boat ride. It was a really great time and experience. This morning a bunch of us got up and went to walk the dogs from the animal shelter. It was a lot of fun the dogs are so sweet and cute. There were lots of puppies at the vet's office too so we got to play with them. We are going to try to go every morning for the rest of the week to walk them and maybe also in the afternoons if we are around. Now we are going to hang out and try to get some sun today! The schools are out for their two week Easter break so we are out also. We will be working on getting our service project hours in this week and when we get back from inland. I am super excited about going inland. I think everyone is ready to get away for a while and experience some new things.

What's going on in Belize

Today we had a half day at school with just the teachers helping with some grading and report cards and then we also put together some Easter eggs for the party tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be helping out with the Easter party. We will hide the eggs and then the students will be able to do their hunt. There will also be snacks and drinks for everyone. I am excited about the day and being able to help out. We will also be taking the teachers grade books home tomorrow afternoon to create excel spreadsheets for them with students names and grades. This will be part of our service project here. Another thing that some people are doing is volunteering at the library here in San Pedro. One thing a couple of us want to do is to talk with the animal shelter or vet office about helping to work with the dogs and seeing if we may be able to walk them around or if they need any help with anything like that. Another idea is to go and volunteer at the preschools here in town. These will be the things we will be working on this week that is set aside for our service project. Wednesday we will be going to eat with the consulate of Belize for dinner so that will be exciting.

Children and education in Belize

Here in the schools in Belize one thing I have noticed is that the parents of the students are very competitive with their children's grades. The children get really upset if they think they didn't do well because their parents have put so much pressure on them. I don't know if this may just be at the school that I am working in or if it is like this in most of them. I know Ambergris Caye is a private school so this may have something to do with it. One little girl cried almost everyday that we took a test because she didn't do as well as her parents wanted her to. The kids are only 6 and 8 and it is really sad to see them get so upset when they did a perfectly fine job on their tests. I found it really surprising that some of the kids are out so late selling jewelry and working at stands with their parents. Even at the Arts Festival that was on a school night the kids were out pretty late for that event. I don't really know yet if I can say that the community of Belize does or does not value their children and education because there are many that I come in contact with that definitely do value both and then there are some that definitely seem not to. I was shocked by all of the free time during the school day and at how laid back everything is. The schools are so much less structured here than they are back home.

Getting settled into Ambergris Caye Elementary

Well we have been in the schools for three days now and this has been and will be a busy week. The students at Ambergris Caye Elementary are testing all week so there hasn't been too much going on but I think we have all gotten to know our teachers a little better and also gotten to know the students in the school. There are only about 50-60 students total at the school so it is much more personal than a normal elementary school. I have been helping out with typing up tests and things like that during the day. Today I was able to work with the students after lunch. I passed around some pictures of my class back home and told them about the project I had done with those students. I was able to give them letters and friendship bracelets from my partnership class back in the states. The students read their letters they were given and were able to learn a little bit about the other class I had been working with. The students also responded to the letters so that I will have some to take back with me. Tomorrow hopefully we will be able to make some friendship bracelets that I can also take back. The schools here are much less structured that I am used to. They have a legit bell that a teacher or student rings when it is time for snack, lunch, or the end of the day. Most of the children just hang out around the school playground or in the classroom until their parents get their to take them home. People around here either walk or drive golf carts. The only cars you really see are vans that are taxis. The school is very small with only seven classes. I am in infant II which is like second grade back in the states. Their are only 8 students in the class that I am working in and two of them are eight and the others are six. The teacher that I am working with is Ms. Mandy and she is very nice and compassionate. I am looking forward to my time here in the schools and I am just going to do my best to make myself useful! This evening we went to a birthday party for one of the children of the teachers at the junior college. He was turning two and they went all out for it. There was backyardigans stuff everywhere! It was very cool and they were so nice to invite us all. The people here are nothing but nice! Tomorrow those of us who are at Ambergris Caye will be helping out at the festival of arts. Everything is going well.

Day 4

Well it is day four of being here in Belize. Today was an awesome day! We went to a fund raiser for San Pedro High School that we were invited to by the high school teachers. It was a barbeque at a place called the Lion's Den. The food was good and the locals were so friendly. Two of the high school teachers even walked a bunch of us down to find a local snorkeling place where we were able to set up a whole day out in the water with a guy we had previously met at a little pub. The two teachers were Michelle and Carissa. We were able to see their house and talk with them about living in Belize. We met their children and they are even going to go snorkeling with us tomorrow. It is really great to be able to interact and talk to the local Belize people. Everyone is so friendly here! There are ten of us who are going out on the boat tomorrow from about 11am to 3pm. Lou (the guy who is taking us) told us that we could do some fishing and snorkeling and just cruise around.

2nd day in Belize

It is our 2nd day here in San Pedro, Belize. All 19 of us made it safely and have gotten settled into our rooms. We took a small plane from Belize City to San Pedro. It was a very interesting flight. We had a really great view from the plane. Today we did a walking tour through San Pedro and visited San Pedro High school, Ambergris Caye elementary, and Isla Bonita elementary. These are the schools that we will be working in while we are here. It is beautiful! Yesterday was actually kind of cool but today we got a lot more of the warm Belize weather. Today we all went to breakfast together. We are warn out from all the walking and heat. We're getting ready to go to dinner as a group for the first time and then we may go to trivia night at Pedro's.