Farewell Belize

The last week in Belize was bitter sweet. I was beginning to miss home and my family quite a bit but I knew that once I left I would miss the island. Our last day, Friday, at the high school was a great day because I got to spend it actually talking to my kids and getting to know them more personally. So many of them came up to me and told me how much they loved having me there and how much they were going to miss me once I left. Two of my 3rd form classes (Juniors) wrote me cards and bought me San Pedro T-Shirts to take home with me to remember them by. It was great to see how much I meant to them. At the end of the day they held an assembly for all the visiting teachers and principle Vasquez spoke to the entire school about how much they appreciated our work and were going to miss us. He asked for each class to come up and present something to their teachers and we all received applause, hugs, and presents. After that we all go the opportunity to say our goodbyes over the microphone and then to individual students afterwards. The assembly really made us all feel like we had made a good impact on the students lives which was wonderful!

Belize vs. America

In comparing my experience between Belize and America I find that it is hard to focus just on my experience in the schools themselves. I am drawn to view the entire experience in both of these fabulous countries and all the things that I've learned about myself throughout the past 15 weeks. Looking back I would have to say that America was definitely the more stressful place to work. I found myself constantly overwhelmed and with so much to do. In Belize, however, I have had plenty to keep me busy but in a way that was constructive without being stressful. Here in Belize I feel as though I have learned so much about myself, not just as a teacher but as a person in general. I have learned that I can be flexible and do things to stretch myself. There have been so many things that I have done here in Belize that I never would have dreamed of doing in America. In America I was beginning to feel stuck, as if there was no where for me to go and grow - I was just treading water. These 5 weeks in Belize have allowed me to do so much more than I ever would have been able to do otherwise. Teaching here is easy and difficult all at the same time. There have been days when I've been forced to "wing it". When I come in and my partnership teacher doesn't show up and I am left with nothing. Even on days like those when I've been so lost I have seen success. I have been forced to be more creative because there are very few materials that I can rely on. It is back to basics here in the third world when all I have to work with is a piece of chalk and a black board. The class sizes are even bigger here than they are in America, and I don't have just three classes full of wild teenagers but six. There are positives and negatives to both but I think that in the end I will choose the comfort of America over the chaos of Belize.

Ms. San Pedro Pageant

Saturday night was the long awaited Ms. San Pedro Pageant. I was asked by the coordinator to be a guest judge. We were also asked to come up with a performance of some kind to present during the pageant while the girls prepared for the evening gown portion of the event. We were asked to get there at 6:00 because the pageant was set to start at 7:00. The girls who were in the dance with me all got there at 6:00 exactly. No one was there yet so we practiced our dance once more to make sure that we were ready for action. After we practiced we sat on the bleachers and waited and waited and waited while people began to slowly filter in. The pageant, however, did not start until an excrutiatingly late 9:00. I sat at a table with 5 other ladies who were also judges. There were 7 contestants and I was in charge of judging them on their poise, charm, gracefulness, portrayal, and audience appeal. Two of the girls that were in the pageant I automatically recognized as students in my 2nd form class. The hardest part of the long lasting pageant was waiting for our turn to take the stage and show off our

Sail, Sail, Sail Away

On Saturday afternoon we got an opportunity to go para sailing for a really great price! We headed to Fido's dock and went out on the boat. Stephanie, Brianna, Jeanne, Natalie, Anna, Tess and I were all very excited to get up in to the air and see all the gorgeous and exciting sea-life. The water was so clear and ice blue and you could see everything underneath you. Everyone else went up with a partner but I wanted to go by myself and just enjoy the peacfulness of the air. The guide strapped me in tight and I was slowly lifted up higher and higher. It was so fun being able to look down at the different fish and sea-life underneath me. When my turn was over the diver slowed the boat down so that I would get dipped down in to the water. I waited as my feet dangled just barely touching the ocean, and it was alot of fun!

The next day our entire group was able to rent a catamaran to take us snorkeling and to another neighboring island called Caye Caulker. We stopped at two different locations to go snorkeling called Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley. At Hol Chan the guides took us into some really cool spots close to the reef where we saw giant schools of fish that we could reach down and touch, an electric eel, baracudas, huge grooper, monsterous sea turtles, a sea urchin, and one shark. It was so cool to be so close to things that I've only ever had an opportunity to see in pictures. Our next stop to snorkel was Shark Ray Alley. From the boat we could see swarms of humungous sting rays and sharks. As we got in to the water the guides threw out sardines so that the fish, sharks, and sting rays would swarm around us. We didn't stay in for very long because it was a little scarey to be so close to such dangerous animals but it was cool to be able to say I swam with sharks and sting rays. Later we made our way to Caye Caulker. There we ate lunch and walked around and did some shopping. We were only about to stay for a few hours but it was just enough time to see the tiny island in full. We got back to San Pedro well please with all our many adventrues and with a better tan!

San Ignacio or San Pedro?

This past week has allowed me to see a different part of the beautiful country of Belize. Although we only stayed in San Ignacio for a few days I still felt like I got a good sense of what it was like. The people there were less friendly than the people of San Pedro. It seemed that there was a lot less to do inland but that may have been because we didn't know as many locals. The weather there felt pretty much the same to me. I think that all in all I would rather teach in San Pedro simply because I am a beach girl. The beach was a major factor in why I chose Wilmington and I think it would also serve as a reason for choosing San Pedro if I were to move to Belize. While I have loved this experience so much and loved every bit of Belize; I don't know if I would be able to make a long term move to San Pedro.

Adventures on the Mainland

We have just returned from our inland excursions. We left San Pedro on Monday morning. Our travels included a water taxi to Belize city and then an extremely crowded bus to the Belize Zoo and then another extremely crowded bus to the San Ignacio Resort Hotel. The Belize Zoo was much different from the Zoo's that I've been to in America. The animals lived in very tight quarters and they all paced around as if they couldn't wait to escape. We saw a lot of animals that are native to Belize, like the tapir and jaguar. Our resort that night was like a God send after a week of no water and untrustworthy power. The showers were wonderful and we were blessed with a pool and plenty of other fantastic amenities. The next day we woke up early to cross the border in to Guatemala where we went to tour Tikal (the biggest and best Mayan ruins of them all). We hiked and climbed many different temples and took lots of pictures! It was so cool to see the way that their communities were built and hear about how much work went in to building each structure. Apparently all of Belize is built on limestone.
The next day was our tour of ATM which stands for Actun Tunichil Muknal. We hiked through the jungle and then once we got there we strapped on our helmets and made our way in to a giant cave. Our tour guide Martin took some great pictures of us diving in with all of our equipment on. We saw lots of cool looking shadows. At one point Martin made us turn off our head lamps and walk in a straight line through the cave in silence. It was really scary but fun. By the end of our cave diving and all the cool things we saw we were exhausted and couldn't wait to get our dry clothes on.
Thursday was a free so I laid out by our nice pool for most of the day and then later went in to town to shop and buy souvenirs. Friday morning we all piled in to a 15 passenger van and made our way to Caves Branch which is an outdoor adventure resort. The property was so beautiful I couldn't believe it. I was one of the lucky six girls who got to stay in a gorgeous bungalow, the rest of the girls had to stay in a bunk house full of bugs. That afternoon we went to swim in the blue hole which was freezing cold. The meals at Caves Branch were absolutely amazing. We had fresh vegetables for the first time in weeks and homemade bread. I stuffed myself at all the meals.
The next morning we all went off on our separate excursions that we had signed up for the night before. Jeanne, Tess, and I had all signed up to hike to the black hole and the repel in to the bottom of a cave. Our hike was the most strenuous activity of my life. It was like we were rock climbing at certain points. On our hike we saw a giant Hooter Owl up in the trees. Our tour guides were named Chico, Mojilio, and Pablo and they told us great stories all the way up to the top of the cave. When we finally got there our hearts started beating really fast and we all were getting really nervous about the drop. The guides strapped on all our safety equipment for us. We dropped one by one; Jeanne went first, then Tess, and I was last. When I got to the edge of the cliff my stomach flipped and I was so worried I was going to let go of the rope and fall to the bottom. Once I got going I felt more and more at ease. On the way down I saw an eagles nest with eggs that she had just laid. It was the most exhilarating thing I've ever experienced! After we had all made our way to the bottom we hiked in to the middle of the cave and had a picnic lunch. It was a great way to end the adventure and a wonderful way to top off the week inland!

It's a Charmed Life

This weekend the entire island is without the luxury of running water. This means that to flush our toilet we must pour bottled water in to the tank, to brush our teeth we must use more bottled water, and showering is basically not an option. This weekend will be the longest I have ever gone without a shower in my entire life. However, the people in this third world country experience challenges like this on a regular basis. In fact we experienced a 5 hour power outage earlier in our trip as well. It has been an eye opening experience for me to see the way that the people of the island cope with these constant challenges that we as Americans very rarely face. I will have to admit that I am missing the luxuries of America quite a bit but I also know that this experience is one that will change the way that I experience those luxuries for the rest of my life. It is incredible to me the positive attitude that the people have here in the face of so many obstacles. For example my students at San Pedro high must pay to go to school; their education is not free, but the facilities that they are accustomed to pale in comparison to those we have in the States. My students do not have access to computers the way that we do. They are forced to share books. There is no air conditioning, no dry erase boards, no cafeteria, and no art supplies. Student’s creativity is stifled because they only have extra curricular classes one day a week and the PE program was just started this year. Students in America have no idea how good they have it because they are given so many opportunities for free. I am learning through this trip that generally Americans are people who have very little global awareness and take the privileges that we have for granted.