one more night, give me just one more night

This amazing experience is actually coming to and end and I'm not so sure how I feel about that! I'm very excited to see everyone back home, but I'm extremely sad to leave this place. At least I'll have the memories. This is the most incredible thing I've ever experienced. Actually going to a country completely unknown to me and just diving in. I've learned more in the past 5 weeks than I could have ever hoped for. I really wish it would have lasted longer but I'm so grateful for the time I had. In relation to teaching it has been a very different experience than back home. I was uncomfortable at first back home because everything was new to me. I learned a lot from my teacher as well as the students. I had a lot to plan around for structure. Here seems to be almost the complete opposite. I am bringing all of that to them. I have been able to share with my teacher here all that I learned back home. There is not much structure to anything here. So when asked to teach something I literally have no frame. It has allowed me to be very creative in planning. It amazes me because if this were to happen a couple months ago I would probably panic and not know where to start, but here I have actually enjoyed it. I have become very good at coming up with things spur of the moment, and finding fun activities to teach things. They are very direct instruction here. Writing notes and having them copy for much of their day. It was so rewarding to be able to make instruction more interesting for them and have them actually appreciate it. They told me numerous times how much they liked when I taught. That was satisfaction in itself. It i incredible to me how close I've become to all of these students in my short time here. I'm going to miss them more than I can explain. Along with this island! I feel like I'm leaving a part of me behind. I knew this trip would change me, but I had no idea just what I was in for. I think the best decision I ever made was signing up to come here. I know this blog couldn't do this experience justice, but hopefully I have shared a little bit of the impact it made on me.

Time is of the essence...... or is it?

I’ve been teaching perimeter in math for a week now so I was asked to prepare a test for them. I told them about it on Friday so they would have the weekend along with the past few days to study for it. They have been doing well considering they had never even heard the word until a week ago. The main problem they had was with the addition, not actually how to find the perimeter. I’ve been using single digit numbers so I could see if they understood the concept and it was the addition that was tripping them up. Of course, it was. Supposedly they are able to add double digits, fractions, and mixed numbers, but I find that’s not the case. The teacher hasn’t said anything about me using single-digit numbers, so I’ve just stuck with it to allow them to practice perimeter. The test went well. They had a lot of questions, but at this point I’ve realized it is more of a battle for my attention than actually needing me to explain the questions, which are very straightforward. I’ve found ways to avoid that through my days hear thankfully! After getting them all quiet they finished their tests on time for once! This is a big deal because nothing seems to be on time here. Most of them did excellent with the exception of about 3, who actually did the best during our class activities. I’ve found it was laziness and not paying attention to what they were reading. Which is normally the case with them because they are racing to be the first one done. I have told them, as I’m sure their teacher has, time and time again to take their time and read carefully because it is more important that they do the work right, not to be the first done. I have got to find something to get this point across to them before I leave!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder :)

Today I was asked to teach penmanship. This is definitely not my strongest suit. These kids probably have neater handwriting than I do. Regardless, I was willing to give it a shot. Then I was told they were doing cursive and that they know all of the letters, but I would need to write sentences in cursive that they could copy. Sounds simple right? I haven’t written in cursive since I was about their age! Rather than embarrass myself and say I didn’t remember how, I trusted my memory (and my strong ability to wing things at this point) and just did it. I must say I was impressed. I remembered a lot more than I though, and there was a poster of the cursive alphabet on the wall that I was able to look at to refresh my memory. The kids on the other hand didn’t know how to write all of them like I was told they did. When asking for assistance they were scolded and told that they should already know how to write that letter, instead of being shown how. I did my best not to step on any toes, but provide them with the extra support they needed. To top it off they all were telling me what beautiful handwriting I had, something I've never once been told in my life! They're just too much. It was an interesting day to say the least.

dophins, and stingrays, and sharks.. oh my!

This weekend was one to remember! One of my students came over Saturday to spend the day at the pool. We had a lot of fun swimming and playing games. I know this would never happen in the states, but her mom invited us out on their boat and we already had plans so I just invited her over instead. Like I said before, everyone is just so welcoming here. Now to the best part; We went on a catamaran ride to go snorkeling and then on to Caye Caulker. AMAZING! We swam with stingrays and sharks, not to mention all of the beautiful fish. I actually pet a stingray. Not a trained stingray, but just one swimming around the ocean! Our guide said they are so used to people it doesn’t bother them. We were in a “national park” in the ocean called Hol Chan. It is very popular place to go snorkeling and apparently known around the world. It was one of the most amazing experiences! We spent a few hours in Caye Caulker afterwards. I got some beautiful jewelry that this woman handmade with turquoise. We left to return to San Pedro. The catamaran ride back was probably the most relaxing thing I’ve ever done. I didn’t want it to end. We got back around 5:00, just in time to get stuff ready for teaching this week and go to bed. It was one long day!

Teacher, teacher, miss, miss

This was my first day of teaching. It went much better than I expected. Its hard trying to plan interesting, educational lessons without the resources and materials I have back home. I did the best I could with what I had and it turned out well. In math we did perimeter and I had students go around the room and find the perimeter of shapes and things such as posters, their desks, books, etc. They seemed to enjoy it. They are used to sitting and taking notes all day, so I think it was an appreciated change.

There's no place like home

This week’s about teaching inland vs. teaching here on the island of San Pedro. I didn’t get the experience of teaching while inland, but based on my experience on the island I’d have to stick with it. Everyone is so welcoming and the children are so loving. It makes you feel right at home. I actually started calling it “home” while we were inland. Kind of weird. Anyways, I had a blast inland but I was very excited to get back here. I will be teaching this week. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I’m sure it’ll go well I just don’t really know what to expect. Wish me luck!

Welcome to the jungle

This week’s blog is about privilege. I’ve never realized just how privileged I am. I was given an education without having to pay for it (with the exception of college). I have a family to go home to who supports everything I do. I think everyone seems to take their privileges for granted because they don’t even realize they are privileges. To start off with I’m talking down to bathing. Considering the week we’ve had. I’ve never thought of bathing as a privilege but I will never take it for granted after this week! I had to go 4 days without showering. Having air conditioning is also a great privilege. I know these aren’t the most important things, but they are things that are taken for granted back home and you don’t realize how nice they are until they’re gone. Having a nice place to sleep is also taken for granted. Not only have I thought about this while I’ve been here (and while sleeping in a screened bunkhouse in the jungle... hence the title of this post), but also while volunteering at the homeless shelter back home. Seeing people put in a lottery just to find out they have to sleep on the street was heartbreaking. Regardless of the privilege, it should never be taken for granted. This trip has definitely taught me that, along with a world of other things!

More Mayan Ruins

We went on the ATM tour today. The letters stand for the Mayan name of the cave, which I can’t remember at the moment, but regardless I’m speechless! I have no words to describe how incredible this place was! We hiked to the cave and then swam into it, climbing up rocks, swimming through the cave water; it was an extreme excursion. There were ceramic pots still completely intact. They were from thousands of years ago!!! There were also skulls and even one complete human skeleton, completely preserved. Her jaw was broken and she had an irregular pelvis. Our guide told us that this made researchers think she was brutally killed. There was also human remains that were in a form that made people believe it died in a kneeling position with its hands tied behind its back. I’ve never been so in awe of anything. The cave was so full of information. Our guide kept making us turn our lights off to get the full effect of how the Mayans went through the cave. They had torches and he used his light to show the shadows they would have seen. The fumes causing them to hallucinate made these even scarier. The echoes of the water flowing also sounded like voices. They believed that spirits lived in the caves, so I can imagine all of this to be petrifying!

Tikal!

We went to Tikal today. It is an old Mayan village. I was amazed by all of it. To see a village that was thousands of years old was hard to grasp. The fact that they built it all by hand was incredible! They didn’t even use wheels, so they carried every brick by hand. One of the temples was stories high! We worked up a sweat just walking up it. I can’t imagine building it. The guide said that People from a university uncovered it. You could still see grass hills that he said were temples that were still covered. I was also amazed at how exact the Mayans were with predicting. The whole sun alignment was interesting to learn about. Our guide informed us that the whole 2012 end of the world is not true!!! So not to worry guys. He said that yes it is the end of the Mayan calendar but it is a cycle, just like the 24 hours of a day; once it comes to an end it begins again from the start.

Day 18

We’re going inland tomorrow. I’m pretty excited. I think were all ready for a change in scenery. We’re going to the Belize zoo, on a tour of Mayan Ruins, and a few other things we get to choose from. I’m especially excited about caving! I think it’s going to be an awesome time! We’re ending the week at a resort in the jungle. It sounds pretty cool, but expensive. We’re going to sleep 4 to a room to save money for the week. Let’s see how it goes!

Day 17

We took the dogs out again today. The first one I took was only 7 months old, so she was a little wild. I was afraid she was going to quit breathing she was pulling so hard! After walking her for a while I went back to the other area to get a big dog out. There was one that had the same collar as Marly so I put her on a leash to walk. She was so sweet! I wish I could take her home with me! I didn’t want to put her back, but she was eager to go back once they pulled the food out. It was a great morning and made me miss Marly a little less.

Day 16

This week is our community service week. Among a few other things we arranged to walk the dogs at the shelter. All the dogs on this island look alike! The have the same light brown colored eyes, they’re all about the same size, and they’re black and tan. There’s not the variety you see back home. They were so sweet! Very excited to be out of the cages. One of them broke free from her collar and took off. Luckily we caught her. They enjoyed their stroll, and then it was time to put them back. Of course this wasn’t very organized. We got them all in the fenced area and took their leashes off. The gate got opened and they all took off down the street. Some of the girls were down there and caught them all! Once we got them all back in we had to figure out which dog belonged in which cage. We tried everything from calling the names written on them to trying to put them in. They clearly didn’t want to go in the crate that wasn’t theirs. It was very obviously when we found the right ones because they crawled right in. It was an eventful morning!

Good Friday

Today’s Good Friday, and this being a predominantly Catholic island, a lot of places are closed. I was also told that there would be a parade by the church with people carrying the cross and a coffin. I didn’t get to make it down there to see it because we were busy with the dogs, but I think that would have been interesting. Hanging out by the pool for the day. The waters out on the whole island since yesterday. I just want to shower!

day 14

We went to the consulate’s for dinner tonight. It was paradise. We had to take a private boat over there because it is the only way to access the resort. It was like its own little tropical island. They made us American food!!! Burgers for most of us; veggies, salad, and rice for the vegetarians. We listened to music and had a great time.

Day 8

This island seems to be overpopulated. I’ve never seen so many children, and unsupervised at that. I’ve seen more young children wandering around alone in the past week than I’ve ever seen back home. I can’t tell if parents just aren’t as protective as they are back home, or if children just aren’t valued as highly. It seems to be quite the opposite in the schools. Parents come and bring the children a home cooked meal for lunch. Sometimes they even stay and eat with them. They seem very close and caring. They also seem to be very interested in what’s going on at school through this and attending conferences. You’d think their education system would be more valued because of this. The teachers are not trained properly and they don’t have the resources they need. Their jobs aren’t taken as seriously as they are back home.

Day 5

Day 5 and now no power! We were snorkeling all day and came back to land just to find out there is no power in the whole country as of now! We were asking around and they said it wasn’t a common thing to happen. That made us pretty nervous. They also said to stay inside and be very careful because crime gets pretty bad when stuff like this happens. Enough about the negatives, today was awesome!!!! Lou took us out to Mexico Rocks. It was about 10 feet deep with beautiful coral and fish. It was like something you see on tv! I got lots of pictures underwater… just haven’t figured out how to get them on my computer yet. He took us over to a shallow area after. The sea grass was very tall. We saw a stingray over there. It was pretty neat. After all of this he said we were going “fishing”. I was thinking fishing with a pole, but he informed me we were going to jump off the boat and grabbed conchs. I never really though about those big pretty shells actually having life inside of them. His friend and a few of the girls jumped off and actually got about 9 of them. (I threw one back when he wasn’t looking because he said it was a baby one… shhhh!) After we were through he took us back to his house where he pulled all of the conchs out and prepared them. There was a little spaghetti-like muscle he pulled out of each one that his daughter was eager too eat. Yuck! Everyone tried a bite of it, besides me. By the time he cut everything off there was a small pieces of meat. He brought them all in to his wife who made them into something we could eat… without actually cooking them. I was feeling brave and had a bite. Yes, I actually ate a raw sea creature! Don’t worry it was documented! Lou also took us on a tour of a lagoon area. It was gorgeous! I tool tons of pictures. The water is so clear here we saw huge fish, crabs, and another stingray. There was a lot of pollution too, which he said was from a hurricane. To top off an eventful day, we saw a shark by a pier at the shore while we were walking home. It was a small one, but it was right up on the shore! The only shark I’ve ever seen in real life!

day 4

So it is day 4 here and there is no water! I guess it could be worse, but were not able to shower or anything as of now. I hope it comes back on before tonight. We are going to see a band play. One of the high school kids is in it and they are raising money to send him to a music camp at Berkley, which he already got in to. We saw him last night and he was amazing! Only 15-years-old too! Tomorrow we are going snorkeling and fishing with a guy names Lou. The high school teachers know him well and even want to come with us. He said he’d take us out for a couple of hours. I’m very excited! I’m also very burnt. Tried staying out of the sun today as much as possible. I want to heal before tomorrow. We ate at a place out on the beach today and the elementary school’s marching band came down the beach. The boys were playing the instruments and the girls were dancing. They were great!

we made it!

I got here safe and sound Wednesday. The plane ride over to the island was i bit scary. The plane was pretty small so it was a bumpy ride! We're staying at a place called Pedro's Inn. I'll put pictures up later. This place is BEAUTIFUL! Everyone is very friendly and it helps that they all speak English. It is a little embarrassing actually that the children speak three languages, English, Spanish, and Creole (they're slang language), and I can only speak one! We went and visited the two elementary schools and one high school that we will all be teaching at. They were much different from the ones back home! They call their grades infant 1 and 2, then standard 1-6. These are their elementary grades which are equivalent to our k-8. The classrooms were much smaller and they only had about 8 kids in each class, the smallest class having only 2 kids! They also start at age 4, so there were 6 year olds in 2nd grade. Much different than the states. Their high school grades are called forms 1-4. It was a two-story building that was very open. They don't have air conditioning and its pretty warm down here, but some of them were wearing sweaters over their uniforms. They said this was a cold front (its about 80 degrees!). Their gym was an outside area with an awning over it. They were playing basketball while we were there. I will be teaching at Ambergris Caye Elementary School. The principal is from North Dakota! She was very inviting. The teachers there were my age and had been teaching for years! They only have to have graduated high school to teach here. Everyone is so friendly here! Its very refreshing! Well I'm off to the beach. We have the day off today! Miss you all!