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.

Dinner with Diplomats

Wednesday night the nineteen of us were invited to dinner with the Consulate of Belize, Dr. Paul and his family. He sent a water taxi to pick all of us up at Fido’s dock. We survived the bumpy ride by telling jokes and taking lots of beautiful pictures of the sunset. When we got to his resort he was there on the dock to welcome us! There were appetizers there waiting for us. The fresh salsa and chips were delicious. While we waited for the great American burgers and fries to come out we spent time talking and getting to know Dr. Paul, his wife and kids, and his brother and sister-in-law. They were good ole Wilmingtonians and while we chatted with them we were reminded of home and how much we loved it! Luckily, the fun did not end with the great food. After our burgers were devoured we spend the rest of the night in a fit of dancing and laughing. There was a huge group of us that formed a circle and just danced to every song that came on. One by one we went around the circle and showed off our very best moves. As a night cap, Dr. Paul sang to our whole group “Mrs. Jones” at the top of his lungs! It was hysterical. The boat ride back was filled with more singing and laughing at our horrible voices. Our night spent with the Consulate was by far one of the best we’ve shared here on the island.

Saturday bike rides and Sunday morning snorkels

After a long first week getting adjusted to San Pedro High school, Anna, Jean, Natalie, and I decided to spend our Saturday taking a bike ride from our home away from home to the farthest Northern point of Ambergrise Caye. We rented our perfect pink bikes from Peter and made our way through town stopping at Pan Dulce for a cinnamon bun. We continued through town, past the high school and over the toll bridge. Once over the toll bridge we went past alot of the American resorts and our favorite hangout: Legends. Finally we ended up at the end of the island where we stumbled upon a few other people from our large group who had our same idea. We ended up at Akbol which is a yoga resort. There they had a crystal blue pool for us to swim in and a dock for us to snorkel off of. They also had random trampaline that we also had a lot of fun on. We sunbathed and swam for quite a few hours before it was time to get lunch at the restaraunt they had their. We each tried something different. I had four chicken empanadas which were delicious! Eventually we decided it was time to retreat from our northern paradise and return to town. Once we got back we showered and rested for a little while and then headed back out on our bikes to find the "Earth Hour" parade that was meant to march through town at 8:30. After watching the high school band parade with many following behind them holding candles our fierce foursome got ice cream and then returned to dark hotel rooms to celebrate the earth! It was a peaceful end to a very relaxing Saturday.
The next morning Ashlyn, Tess, Anna, Jean, Natalie and I went to have breakfast at George's. I had the Belizean breakfast of eggs, potatoes, bacon, toast, and ice coffee. George's is probably my favorite restaraunt in town! After breakfast Ashlyn, Tess, and I met up with Katy, Aubrey, Stephanie, and Elizabeth to take a boat out to go snorkeling. We met Lou, our driver, at Ramone's dock. From there we went to a dive shop to rent equipment and then it was off to Mexico rock to jump in. The boat was a little rickety but it still go the job done. Ashlyn and I sat on the front of the boat where we had a pretty bumpy ride. We rode on the boat for a while and got to ride past town, the high school, and tons of beautiful houses and resorts. Once we got to Mexico rock I was a little nervous about jumping in but I didn't want to be the last one left on the boat so I followed along with all the other more experienced snorkelers. After I went under with my mask and saw all the colorful, gorgeous fish I couldn't stop smiling. I took so many pictures with my underwater camera. We saw a giant stingray and plenty of exciting looking fish! After a few hours of underwater sight seeing we got back on the boat and went to a different location to see some different fish that were closer to the reef. Finally we went diving for chonks to take back and make ceviche with. We got about 14 chonks to take back to Lou's house. When we got there we watched him get them out of their shells and skin them. He brought them in to his wife to make the ceviche for us and we ate it with chips. The texture of the chonk uncooked was very interesting and chewy but still yummy! All in all it was another wonderful weekend on the island.

The Students of San Pedro High

My first week at San Pedro has been somewhat chaotic. Belizean high schools are much different than the ones in America. Students have eight classes rather than our usual four. The classes last only 45 minutes a piece and rather than having the students change from class to class the teachers move around which means that students stay in the same room all day long. I believe that this stagnancy causes them to be fidgety, energetic, and extremely talkative. I am having a hard time getting used to the discipline here. The students shout things out and hardly ever raise their hands. They get up out of their seats frequently. They talk over each other all the time and are constantly talking while others are speaking. The fact that they are frequently speaking a language that I don’t understand doesn’t help the situation either. The discipline is much different in Belize also; rather than sending a student out of the class for being disruptive they are given demerits for bad behavior. Once a student receives 5 demerits they must serve a detention which consists of hard labor around the school grounds, such as picking up trash, moving desks, painting, or cleaning up. I believe that the behavior that these students possess is directly related to their value in society. I find that they are all crying out for attention and like most adolescents are simply dying to be heard. When they do the right thing they are not praised for it. They are only scolded for bad behavior. In our culture we are focused on positive reinforcement but that is not the case here. I have found that the parents are not very involved in their children’s education and they are extremely strict disciplinarians. For example, today I had a student who was crying when she came in to class late – come to find out she was upset because she had been beaten by her mother that morning. Another student has welts all over her arms from a beating she received. I am not sure what provokes these beatings but in my American mind I cannot fathom any sin so great to deserve such treatment. In some ways I see this culture as self destructive because they are not valuing their youth in the ways that they could be. When you demoralize the youth of a country how can you expected to grow and flourish? Some days the things that I observe and the stories that I hear break my heart.

A British Invasion

On Tuesday I was planning to have a relaxing evening at Pedro’s. As soon as I stepped outside to work on my lesson plans for the next day I was greeted by a stampede of 70 British soldiers walking up to claim their rooms on the floor above us. The group was rambunctious to say the least. They headed straight for the bar and the pool to blow off some steam. They were all quite taken with the group of attractive female teachers staying just below. We were all invited to join them for dinner at Fido’s which overlooks the water and was delicious. From there we returned to Legends to listen to another “jam session”. The soldiers were all very chivalrous and took great care of all the girls. Luckily they were only staying for one night because when they all returned to the hotel later that night they were very loud and disruptive. We all went to school the next day tired but still well prepared.

A Legendary Weekend

My first weekend in Belize was unbelievably eventful. Friday afternoon all the high school teachers went to a meeting at San Pedro High to meet with their new partnership teachers and get an idea of what they would be teaching on Tuesday. I will be teaching Belizean literature with Mr. Kirk Lainfiesta. I have just finished reading some of the short stories that the class has already finished and they were very difficult for me to understand because all the dialogue was written in Creole. Mr. Kirk wants me to read the next story out loud to the class on Tuesday which I am a little nervous about. I also found out that the school will be holding the 2010 Miss San Pedro beauty pageant while we are here and I have been asked to be a guest judge! I can’t wait to see all the beautiful Belizean girls dressed up in their fancy gowns walking across the stage (some of them might even be in my classes). Apparently this pageant is a pretty big deal on the island and I may even get my picture taken for the local paper!
Later that night a big group of us went to this tiny hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant for dinner. The portions were huge and the food was very good. After dinner six of us decided to walk to a place called Legends where there was a band playing. Tess, Ashlyn, Anna, Jean, Jeanne, Natalie, and I walked for probably five miles to get there. We walked all the way through town, past the high school, over the toll bridge, on to another neighboring island, and in to a random house which we thought was the restaurant. The house that we walked in to had a live band playing, tiki torches lit, and tons of friendly people walking around inviting us to come in even though they had no idea who we were. We went in for only about 5 minutes and took a few pictures of the experience and then made our way out – totally embarrassed. We continued walking for another ½ mile and finally made it to Legends and enjoyed the music and the people who we met there. It was without a doubt one of the most fun nights I’ve ever had.
Saturday morning everyone slept in until it was time to go to the San Pedro High school fundraiser barbeque. When we came back Anna, Natalie, Jeanne and I all decided to go lay out on the beach. I came back around 4:00 to get ready for our dinner at Michelle’s house who is a science teacher at San Pedro. When we got there she had prepared for us rice and beans, roasted chicken, and chick peas with pigs tail. I was a little hesitant to try the pigs tail but it ended up being pretty good; it tasted a lot like ham but you had to bite around the bone. Michelle’s son Cory was there and we all really enjoyed playing with him! We got to her house around 7:00 that night and didn’t leave until 11:00. Talking with the teachers that we would be working with was really entertaining and made me feel welcome.
Sunday morning I woke up early and went with Natalie, Jeanne, and Anna to Living Word church which is just up the road from Pedro’s Inn. We could hear the service from the street. The four of us went in 15 minutes late. The service consisted of an hour of worship music and then another hour of preaching plus announcements and offering prayers. It was probably the longest service that I’ve ever sat through. The worship songs were familiar for the most part. His sermon was solely on spousal abuse which is apparently very prevalent in Belize. He showed a power point and related all of his points to scripture. His sermon was much different than anything else that I’ve heard. Once we finally finished with the service the four of us went to eat lunch together. When we got back from lunch around 3:00 the power was out. There was no internet connection, no power, and no water for over five hours. While the power was out I read by the pool but once it started to get dark Natalie, Jeanne, Anna, and I sat in a dark room and told funny stories to each other! The most brilliant idea of the night though was going in to town in the pitch black night to get something for dinner. Once we got there we realized that almost nothing was opened and there were no street lights on. We finally found a little lady on the side of the road making pupusas over a gas grill for $1.50. Pupusas are fluffy tortillas filled with meat, cheese, and beans. We covered them with hot sauce when we got back to the hotel and they were delicious! The walk back to the hotel at 7:00 at night was probably the scariest thing that I’ve ever experienced. We luckily ran in to two boys that were also staying at Pedro’s who agreed to walk us back. The four of us had our flashlights out walking down the street and we were holding each others hands and practically sprinting down the street. Finally the power came back on at about 8:00 and we were all so relieved to find each other back at the hotel safe and sound! The weekend was absolutely legendary.

Walking Around San Pedro

Yesterday we walked around the entire island. We visited the three schools that we would be teaching; Ambergrise Caye Elementary, Isla Bonita Elementary, and my personal favorite - San Pedro High School. We started the day off with breakfast at George's restaraunt which was delicious! I had these things called fryps which are kind of like elephant ears without the sugar. We also had fresh fruit and the most wonderful orange juice I've ever tasted! After breakfast we walked to Ambergrise Caye Elementary where we met the principal, a few teachers, and some very excited students. The school was so cute and bright. There they only have about 100 students ranging from 2 years old to 6th grade. In San Pedro there are not middle schools, just primary schools and high schools. When we left the elementary school we walked back to Pedro's Inn. We saw alot of really cool things on the way back. After about an hour break we walked back through town towards San Pedro High. The kids there were so friendly and yelled to us out of the windows of their classrooms. It was really interesting to see how different their school looked from New Hanover. We didn't get to stay very long so I am looking forward to finding out more about that school and those students. We will start there on Monday. We then went to Isla Bonita Elementary but only stayed there very briefly. After our visits to the schools we walked around down town San Pedro and Dr. Kubasko showed us lots of different places to eat and shop that were inexpensive. I have a feeling that I will be spending alot of my time down town. Later that night we all went to dinner together at this place called The Reef. I had Mexican shrimp and ceviche which was delicious. After all the walking and touring around that we did I was unbelievably tired so I went to bed early last night. Today is a free day so I am looking forward to eating fruit and laying out on the beach!

Flying Over Islands

I'm a little behind on my blogging but on Wednesday, March 17th we flew in to San Pedro on a small 10 passenger plane. It was the most amazing experience! As we were flying we could look out and see Belize city and a few other islands off the coast. We made three stops; one in Belize city, one in Caye Caulker, and a final stop in San Pedro. The plane flew over the water, which was so unbelieveably blue. As we were flying up in the air we could look down and see the coral, and the fish, and even manatees. The landing strips that the pilot landed the plane on were very short and not even paved the way that our roads in America are. The bunkers or airports are so run down and tiny; I couldn't believe it. When we finally arrived in San Pedro we took a cab from the landing strip to Pedro's Inn which was right across the street.
The Inn is very interesting. We stay in these small rooms with two beds with only sheets, a sink, a toilet (that you're not allowed to flush paper down), and a shower (that does not have hot water). We only have one outlet which is quite a struggle with two girls. It is going to take a little getting used to. I especially hate taking cold showers but I will survive. The people here are very friendly and talkative and it seems like there's going to be plenty for us to do together. I think that I'm going to like it here!

Preparation

Today is such a busy day! We have our all day seminar today. We've made 19 giant piles of school supplies thanks to all our wonderful donations. When our meeting is over I have so much packing to do. I am so excited! I can't believe we'll actually be on the island in just two more days.