An UN BELIZE ABLE Finish!

Now that our time here in Belize is winding down, I thought I would finish up my blogging with a few final thoughts.

I first want to talk about this last week here on the island. I have really been focusing on finishing up some school work and concluding all of our professional experiences in my philosophy statement and teacher identity papers. On Wednesday I got the opportunity to substitute teach at Isla Bonita Primary school, which was so much fun. I taught a Standard 5 class—7th grade—and it made me really consider teaching at a younger level. I had to teach all the subjects for the day including math, science, reading/writing, social studies, and Spanish (ha you are safe to assume that we didn’t have Spanish that day!) I felt very in control and the students were so polite and respectful! They were quite different from the students at the high school! A change of scenery was also very nice! Other than this my week has been pretty standard. We are playing a few cooperative games in physical education and the students are really enjoying them!

Last night was our groups’ final dinner together and we are having a pizza party at Pedro’s—YUM! I needed to start packing because Jeanne and I have to catch the 7am boat out of here on Saturday morning….it is going to be one heck of a long day traveling! Our flight doesn’t land in Wilmington on Saturday night until 11 pm! GGRRRREEEAATT! No packing occurred though 

(I cannot WAIT to see Nat’s face when I exit the airport! There’s nothing like a classic reunion between best friends!)

And finally…I want to conclude this blog with a few words about my teaching experience here in Belize. I have expanded my knowledge on 3 crucial parts of teaching since I have been here…diversity, flexibility, and creativity. I definitely had touched on these three qualities while teaching in the States, but here in Belize it was a totally different level of each quality. I for once was the diversity. Flexibility was the most crucial part of the trip. And as for creativity…it wasn’t taken from the classroom like it is in the States…it is absolutely a necessity to teach in Belize. I know those are short and to the point statements but there is really no easier way to put how I grew as a teacher through these qualities. Teaching here in Belize was of course WAY different from the States, and I feel that through my blogs you all can see that. The culture and environment are no were near similar to the culture and environment that we are accustomed to—and don’t get me wrong, that was my favorite part! I think that having both internships really aided me in my knowledge as a teacher: classroom management, disciplinary actions, picking and choosing my battles, sharing knowledge with other teachers, and ESL teaching just to name a few of the areas I feel I have grown in. Yes my experience in the States was organized, put together, formal, and professional; but my experience here in Belize was the complete opposite and I couldn’t be happier to have experienced both worlds of teaching!

I have learned so much from the teachers and students here in Belize and I can only hope they learned something from me! Today’s final assembly was sad but I know that I will see all these people again! We have built life long friendships with the faculty and students here and I just know that I will be back to this island someday for a visit! They gave us very nice gifts with a ton of thought and love put into them! I couldn’t have been more blessed to come on this journey and I am very sad that today I have to close this chapter of my life and head back to the real world…

Viva la isla bonita!!!! Cheers!!!!

Legendary-Pageants-and Shark/Rays

I'll just go day by day...

Friday was a little bit different than most days for me because I had to go around with both the supervisors to all the schools on the island and promote the "Storytelling Contest" that the public library is putting on at the end of May. And of course the temperature was like 120 degrees and we were all three drenched from head to toe in sticky sweat! YUCK! But what an experience getting to see all the schools...it is amazing how much character each one has...from the religious schools supported by churches in the States, to the public schools that can't even get full support from the government! I couldn't believe my eyes half the time! Dr. K, Susan and I had great conversations that really got the wheels spinning in my head! I consider myself lucky that I got the chance to do this! Then after we talked to all the schools I went to Ambergris Caye Elementary where we have a few teachers, and taught a lesson on heart health to 4-5 year olds! This made me miss my College Park kids! Friday afternoon we had a staff vs staff futbol (soccer) match. And yes it was still like 120 degrees, but it was super fun and super exhausting! A few students even came to watch. Of course my team won :) just barely though! (They had to put me in goal towards the end so all the really good male teachers could work together to score haha). Friday night we went to our favorite place, Legends, to eat burgers and have a "legendary" night duhhhh!

Saturday morning Keri and I got up early and came up to the high school to see if Ms. Usher needed any help setting up for the pageant which was later on that night. When we got back to our rooms around 10 we both passed out until like noon! Saturday turned out to be a lazy day. We lounged around the pool, I caught up on emails, and we painted out tanks for our dance that night. Now the pageant was scheduled to start at 7pm, so of course being Americans we show up at 6pm ready to go...you know early is "on time" right? Well we all got a new lesson on the term "Belizian Time". To give you an example...at 830, TWO of the girls that were in the pageant were still not there...uh huh...feel our pain? So needless to say the pageant went until like 1230...but our dance was AWESOME! Everyone was dying laughing! I have the whole video and I will try and put it on here...we'll see how that goes.

Sunday we spent the day on a catamaran...p.s. I WANT ONE OF THESE THINGS! We stopped at two different snorkeling locations...1st Hol Chan--it was really cool and there was a lot to see! 2nd--get ready for this--Shark Ray Alley. Yup I snorkeled with sharks and sting rays...cross that off the bucket list as well! I was so proud of myself! When I first jumped in the water I think I hyperventilated---and poor Viktor...I was latched on to him like a leach out of fear! But after my heart settled back to its normal beat I was able to do some snorkeling! Totally worth it! Last night we were so tired that everyone passed out super early! And now....

...its Monday morning...last week of school! I have a lot I want to get done this week, so I better get started!

5 more daysss.....

San Pedro Town? San Ignacio? or North Carolina?

Okay--So our blog topic for this week was to share where we would rather teach...San Pedro Town or San Ignacio, and considering I only spent 4 days in San Ignacio and couldn't wait to get back to San Pedro, I'm going to go ahead and rule out San Ignacio. Now according to my other blog you might think this is so because of my beach bum attitude...and you are slightly right, BUT I would have to say that one of the main reasons I would not want to live and teach in San Ignacio is because of the rise in crime there over the past few years. I also mentioned how I did not feel comfortable there and did not receive the "welcome" that we received in San Pedro.

Yesterday Susan and I went to a few schools to get the Public Library Storytelling Contest news out to a few principals, and one of the schools we stopped at was the Roman Catholic school. Now talk about structure. After visiting the school grounds and an actual classroom I was like WHOA I could definitely teach here. When Susan and I entered the room the classroom of young students all stood up and welcomed us with a polite "Good Morning" and then when cued all sat down and resumed their work. It was so different from the high school!

So in conclusion, if I had to choose between San Ignacio and San Pedro, without a doubt I would stay in San Pedro...but lets me honest with ourselves! North Carolina here I come. HAHA! Mama don't you worry...I'm DEFINITELY coming home :)

Yesterday's classes went much better than Monday's and hopefully today's will be productive as well! We just finished distributing the school supplies to the department heads and they were very thankful! Makes us smile to know we make others happy!

Today is Viktor's birthday and the poor boy really wants a steak so we are going to dinner tonight to celebrate! There is a cold front on the island so the temperature is only 100 instead of 110! AWESOME! I'm sad our last weekend is approaching but we have a few fun things planned that I cannot wait for!

Back to the ISLAND LIFE!

We were SOOO excited to get back to the island yesterday! Jungle life is cool and all but goodness I missed San Pedro! The mainland and the island are definitely two completely different places!

Cave's Branch was a ton of fun and the cave tubing was brilliant! Another really cool adventure that I can check off my bucket list! I could go on and on about all of our adventures in the jungle but the pictures will help explain those! Put it this way...I am a much happy person when I am by the beach! (I think I get that from you mama!)

It is crazy that we only have two weeks left here...time has begun to fly by! When we were on the mainland and people asked where we were from we would say San Pedro without even thinking...when you say that people do treat you differently though. The people on the mainland were a different bread. In my opinion they were more distant to us and not as polite either! I didn't feel comfortable at all...which is strange...but like I said we are finally back and so I am all smiles!
I also got the chance to talk to momma and dad while I was on the mainland...total bliss hearing their voices! Now only if I could get in touch with Katlyn! :)

Monday morning hit me like a ton of bricks when my alarm went off at 6 am. School is great and all but man today was one of the worst days! Physical education here is a bit different than it is in the states...okay okay WAY DIFFERENT! I am trying so hard to add some structure to the program but the teacher is just all out of sorts and is more or less best friends with all the students--which makes me being a teacher impossible, because they really just look at me and roll their eyes! So some frustration has set in but flexibility is key...supposedly...ha ha. Well hopefully the rest of this week will be a little better! I have a few projects I am aiding with here and so I am excited about getting those started!

Frocks and Cave Funks

So when we got back from Tikal last night, Tess and my only goal was to find crocks to wear on the cave tour today...and we did. The only thing is that they were fake crocks, so in view of the fake-ness we named them our loyal "frocks". Good news--they held up extremely well throughout our tour today! There are no words or pictures that could describe our experience today. It was utterly amazing; probably the best thing that I have ever done! We took a bus ride up through the Mayan hills and finally arrived at our destination. It took a 45 minute hike through 3 river beds and luckily no poisonous snake encounters to get to the cave's opening. We swam, hiked, and climbed our way through the cave looking at ancient artifacts and skeletons on the way. My favorite part of the tour was that there was only one glimpse of sunlight in the whole cave! So yes we were flashlight helmets so that we could see...but for one part of the tour we turned off all the lights and our tour guide lead us through about 200 meters of the pitch black water. CRAZYYYY!

Now after two strenuous days of hiking and climbing, I cannot wait to lay out by the pool tomorrow and relax my muscles! Friday we are headed to Cave's Branch where hopefully we can do some cave tubing! I cannot believe how fast this week has gone by!

Resort Hotel---WHATTTT?!

Ok so we left yesterday morning to go to San Ignacio (which is on the mainland) and we are staying in a resort hotel which is like a palace compared to our accommdations in San Pedro!
Yesterday was a lot of traveling but today we went to Guatemala and toured the 3rd largest Mayan ruins in the world--uh huh, thats right, check that off of my bucket list! It was truly amazing and overwhelming to think that these large pieces of rock used to be a home to someone. If you know the way my mind thinks you will understand when I say this was "over my head". I have tons of pictures and so I will be sure to post some to show you a bit of how amazing it was!

On a more serious note:
As we drove through Guatemala, we were able to see how "3rd world" these countries really are. A lot of times I try and put myself in other peoples shoes and imagine what my life would be like...but when we were driving I honestly could not imagine living in the conditions that these families in Guatemala and Belize do. Sound shallow? You have no idea how ignorant saying that makes me feel, but it is the honest truth! These homes were literally pieces of wood laid up against each other--no lie! I just feel sooooo priviledged to live where I do and own what I do. We frequently forget how lucky we really are. I mean I complain about not having a washer and dryer, a dish washers, and a little things like this...driving today we saw people washing their clothes in a river that I would not dare even swim in. It is definitely an eye opener! And a dryer--try hanging your clothes on the line out front...sometimes we need a good wake up call!

So random fact Tuesday consists of me learning today that the Mayans did not predict the world to end in 2012...dumb Americans. All they predicted was that their calendar would start over! I am so glad that other countries actually do the research! And it is reliable because the tour guide is a genius when it comes to the Mayan stuff--he went to school studying Mayan's and their history/lifestyle!

Tomorrow we are going to the an ATM tour which consists of swimming/hiking through caves...loveee itt!!

Nat- 3 1/2 more weeks lover! I miss you so much! Give yourself a huge hug and kiss and consider it from me! Maybe we can skype when i get back to the island!? Ill email you!

HAPPY EASTER and HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

It was harder than I imagined to spend Easter away from my family! But I did get through it by spending it with my new wonderful friends that I have made on this trip! I have to say that I have been very blessed with the group of girls that I have spent my time with over the past few weeks! Everlasting friendships have definitely been made!

Yesterday (Saturday) Tess and I laid out in the morning and just relaxed! Of course each day I "planned" on doing work but it never seemed to happen...hmmm. Around 1 we went to the superintendent's house for lunch--rice, beans, and ribs--which was delicious! The group of 6 of us that went winded up staying over there until like 430 playing soccer with the little ones! Right when we got back to Pedro's, Jeanne and I went to play volleyball with the locals again...which is always a good time! Last night we winded up going out for a little bit and actually met some really cool locals! They are all so nice to us once we tell them we are teachers! They really respect teachers around here, especially because we are American teachers.

Today we went to a local church and it was another awesome experience! I saw a few of my students do plays and stuff for the Easter service, and it was cool to see them in that setting. I really enjoyed the service, it was unique, but I am just glad we got to worship today! The preacher was just a man who one day felt led to preach and he did...no seminary school or anything of the sort...just a good christian man! They also fed us lunch and that pot luck kind of meal made me feel at home! After our tummies were full we laid down and took a nap...a 3 hour nap...ops! We have been packing and getting things together for our trip this week inland. I have a little bit more packing to do tonight and then we are going to watch NEMO! YAYYY!

I'll post mid week and let you know how the inland trip is going! I am interested to see how different the mainland is from San Pedro...every local says it is a way different environment! Should be neat to see and compare both places!

SAGA animal shelter and biking north and Good Friday

Okay so today was another AWESOME day! This morning I actually got my lazy butt out of bed and went running around the island. This was at like 730 and it was like 90 degrees! SOOO HOTT! Then I went with some others to do some community service at the SAGA animal shelter which is right down the road. The dogs were so stinkin' cute and they absolutely loved getting walked! It broke my heart to see them in the shelter but I tried to suck it up and just give them some love...and I'm not a huge animal person, especially big dogs, but I did try really really hard, and they were very very precious! (Mom you would be so proud!)

Then Viktor and I rented bikes and headed north on the island up to a yoga resort called Ak-bol and ate lunch and hung out on the beach. Once we biked over the toll bridge to the northern part of the island the scene all changes to resorts and nicer houses and so forth. It was great to get to see the difference and see the different faces. Our lunch was awesome and it was fun to splash around in the shallow water at the resort. Then we headed even a litter further north and we went swimming off a dock to cool off. Of course on the way back we HAD to satisfy our ice cream craving and we stopped at happy hour ice cream and got some wonderful oreo cones...yummmmyyyy!

Tonight Tess and I are going to start actually videoing for our project with the street children. I am very excited about this! We go inland Monday...I'm getting excited!! (besides the fact I might become completely broke) haha!

Another quick note is that Easter is like Christmas here and everything is closed all weekend....not to mention the water on the island is out...AGAIN and sooo no showers, no laundry, and no flushing all weekend. CRAZINESS! Gotta love living rough! It's all about the experience, right?!

Obviously still miss you all very very much!! LOVEEE ALWAYYSSS

tread lightly, tread lightly, dont tag me, dont tag me

Last night we went to the consulate's house for dinner and it was the best night we have had yet! We ate the best hamburger's EVER with the BEST fries ever and a perfect amount of ice cream to top it off! We also had a HUGE dance party and everyone was enjoying themselves, which made the night one to remember! And as i said before, it is always good when it is free :) The "tread lightly, don't tag me" saying is our trips motto since we have to tread lightly since we are teachers in the town (cough cough) and don't tag me because we have already had complaints about posted pictures on facebook...sooo silly!! but our group of crazy girls has adopted this as our saying and we have a great little tune to go with it.

It was about a 30 minute boat ride up to his huge resort and so on the way back we were all singing American classics and laughing until it hurt! Once we got back to San Pedro we went out for a little bit and continued dancing until i couldn't move anymore! I headed home and fell asleep really quickly!

Today we laid out by the pool and decided to get some work done up at a local restaurant called Estel's...where we get good internet!

Tonight V and I are going to finally watch a sunset on the Lagoon side of the island since i haven't seen one yet! (Well last night on the boat i got some good shots but it just made me want to see a better one!) Then we are going to get some food and go out with everyone!

Tomorrow we are thinking about renting bikes for the day and heading north on the island to see what else is out there!!

Larry, Man Wig, Red, and Bruce Wayne…

Weekend numero dos = successful and relaxing! Friday afternoon we had a group meeting and started talking about our inland trip, our service projects that we are completing this week, and my favorite part, we got to eat a yummy cake for Courtney’s 21st birthday that was Wednesday! Friday night Tess, Munya, Viktor and I went to dinner at this Lebanese place right down the road which was very good and very over priced, live and learn. Then we came back, played a few cards games with some juices ;) using the nicknames in the title of this blog…don’t ask why because I don’t know, but it was a lot of fun. We headed out to meet up with a few teachers to socialize out of the school setting and winded up making tons of memories! The highlight of the night was the fact that we brought Mumbles (Munya and Viktor’s “pet”) out with us and got tons of pictures and tons of stares…totally worth it though!

When we woke up Saturday morning a greasy, fattening American breakfast was much needed, so we walked down to George’s and had an omelet, potato fries, toast, and an iced coffee=YUM! After licking out plates clean, Tess, the boys and I went wandering around to find a place that we could kayak for the day. To make a long story short, we did not find a place and we winded up just swimming at Ramon’s in the public assess area. Saturday night there was supposedly a big “power hour” parade going on so Tess and I went to grab some food and see the parade. Well around here you learn quickly about “Belizean time” which means don’t even bring a watch because it seems that no one else around here does! We couldn’t find the parade and so we just headed back home after talking to the street children selling jewelry and such and passed out!

Palm Sunday: This morning we woke up feeling refreshed and went with A-team (Natalie, Anna, Keri, Tess, Jeanne, and myself) to George’s again for breakfast. We shared a lot of laughs from the weekend adventures and then Tess, Keri and I had to go to Ramon’s to meet our boat to go off shore snorkeling for the day. This experience was so much fun, very tiring, but really awesome! We each got to dive down and catch a CONCH (yes natalie...i have a whole new respect for these things after this trip haha) and then the boat driver took us to his house and made us ceviche—which is like a salsa—with the conch we caught! So we got to see him prepared the conch and all that good stuff! Very cool!! I thought I was doing a good job with my sunscreen application throughout the day…I felt a little burnt but not too bad…uh huh…I am a freakin’ lobster! I swear I have second degree burns all over my shoulders, back, and arms. DARNIT! Tess, Keri, and I were in so much pain last night at one point I think we were all delirious. But it happens, right? At least I tried to protect myself…cough cough…Tess… (Dummy didn’t even use sunscreen!) That night a few of us went to get ice cream and then munya, viktor, tess, jeanne, keri and i all played "fact or crap"..this game we got from the office...and needless to say, we had WAY too much fun! good times...

Monday, I wore a long sleeve shirt, a hat, and long pants to avoid any exposure to the sun! Ha ha. A group of us went to the library at 10 to do about 2 hours of a service project, since that is what this week is all about. We worked with the kids and made grass crosses and Easter bunnies! (of course i had to make one too...im such a 12 year old stuck in a 22 year olds body!) Then last night Jeanne and I went and played volleyball with the locals..so much fun! We are going to start playing every night from 5-7...and they are good, which makes it even better!

Tuesday (today) Viktor and I are going kayaking for a bit after we grab something to eat...because i am about to eat my hand! Then Tess and I have a meeting with a lady about our video project with the children! I am excited about getting started on that!

A wasss upppp Nat...I miss you soooooo much! And I am also having major Tower 7 withdrawals! You better have queso waiting for me at the airport on April 24th!

PawPaw- I know it was your birthday is around here somewhere, I am so sorry if I missed it! Happy birthday! I love you so much!! Nannie I heard ya’ll were enjoying the blogs from Dana! I am so glad you guys are getting to read them too!

Daddy…one more week you YOUNG man you (wink wink) I miss you familia!

INSERT FOOT HERE ---------> MOUTH

You know the old saying about sticking your foot in your mouth...well put me down for one. My last post is definitely turn in most cases, BUT after school on Thursday and Friday, I would like to go back and make a few adjustments and add a few facts about children and education here in Belize.

First, yes the children here do enjoy learning about their history and supporting their country, but they are still teenagers, and believe me, they sure do act like it. These students get a two week break for Easter and the last days of school were, well, hellacious. Classroom management and anger management are normally not a big problem for me; or should I say, WERE not a big problem for me. By the end of the day on Friday I could have cried I was so frustrated with the Form 1 students and their unruly behavior. I had to keep telling myself that this was a learning process for me and that at the end of the day I would still be alive so just push through doing the best I could to control the class. Good thing one of the teachers was willing to help me out and stand behind me during the execution of my lesson plan.

Second, that same teacher that helped me with classroom management also sat me down and taught me a few things about Belizean students and the value of education in their society. He told me that out of all the Form 1 students in the school, only 40% will graduate from Form 4 in four years. That is a total of 60% of the students dropping out of school! He also made a few comments on the lack of value on education from the families in San Pedro Town. His comment was, “Most of the parents send their children to school to get them out of their hair for the day. They bring their students for us to deal with, giving us the headache everyday of dealing with students who do not want to be here.” This is coming from a veteran teacher here in San Pedro…scary thought that sounds all too familiar with a few schools I know of in the states.

Thirdly I just wanted to share with everyone that my roommate Tess and I are doing our video project on the children selling necklaces on the streets for their families. I mentioned in my last blog about children working for their families until late at night on the streets…well this interested Tess and I and we want to know more about these children’s lives, how they feel about their role in their family, and most importantly, how they feel about working on these dangerous streets until late at night. We got a chance Saturday night to talk to a few children and we plan on working with this small group of kids for the duration of our project! I’ll keep you guys posted on how all this is going! Wish us luck!

A new meaning to the word…life...

Many times I have said that the children of Belize are just like the children of America, but when I sit down and think about this, I am totally wrong. These children are amazing in what they do every day in their schools, communities, and at their homes. Yesterday afternoon we had an assembly for the Form 1 (freshman) students after school with Mr. Nunez—the author of the book all the Form 1 classes are reading. Mr. Nunez grew up on the island of San Pedro and he wrote a book of many different stories that took place in the evolution of what San Pedro Island is today. The stories range from folk tales to myths, from personal experiences to country wide facts. During the assembly I was sitting by a troubled student and I figured I would have to keep him quiet, but boy was I wrong. He kept leaning over to me repeating what Mr. Nunez was talking about and asking me questions. This young man was so engaged in the speech that he almost couldn’t control himself. He was laughing at the jokes and critically thinking about all the facts of his home town. I know this seems minor to most people, but as a teacher, when you see a child really focus in on something because it is meaningful to him, then all the bad behavior kind of goes out the window. My point of this story is to reflect on how much the children of San Pedro care for their community, their island, their home. I see kids in America everyday throw trash out the window of their car; treat their communities like a dump, steal, lie, cheat, and so much more. They do all these things with out a care in mind. It is almost like second nature to them. I’m not saying that students in San Pedro do not participate in these cruel acts, but these students of San Pedro are always the first ones to stand proud for their town, and they make this very clear. How often do you see children in America support their country for whom we are as a community? Of course people want to complain about the government, financial issues, and health care; but why do we not ever rejoice about the facts that we are free to love, free to laugh, and free to worship?
Every night here there are children on the streets working, yes working, for their families so that they can put food on the table. If you would go into any American home as ask a child to go walk the streets from after school until dark, selling necklaces so that they could help with their families income, how many do you think would drop everything—their social life, their grades, their TV/video games—to help their families? I would take a safe guess and say not very many. Agree? These children do, all of them. They know what has to be done for their families to barely make it by. And better yet, they still get their homework done, they still make it to school the next day, they still have friends, and best of all, they still smile every chance they get.
I know that when the time comes to leave San Pedro, there is no doubt in my mind I will walk away with a new meaning of life. We always say it’s not about the cars, the clothes, or the money…how hypocritical, because up until now, of course it’s been about all those materialistic things. We as Americans feel that we can change that part of our lives. Well to be honest, that’s not the part that I want to change anymore. The addition to my “meaning of life” starts with working harder, providing love and laughter to my family every chance I get, and smiling every minute of the day. These children have taught me how to care for my community, how to get out there and figure things out on my own, and to know that no matter what, there will always be someone that loves you!

THE BRITISH ARE COMING! THE BRITISH ARE COMING!

I'll start off this post explaining the title...

Tess and I get home from school Tuesday and we go get a Belikin as we do every afternoon to calm ourselves from the day...we are on the picnic table and as I begin writing my lesson I hear a crowd of people talking. I lift up my head to find 65 British soldiers walking to the front door of Pedro's Inn (our hostel)! UMM HELLOOOOO hot boys! All 16 of our jaws dropped to the core of the Earth. For 16 girls this is probably the best thing that could have happened to us on this trip. Ha Ha! Any who, we all went out to dinner and had a good time that night. (Heather: I still have #10 and even though it was tough to resist...he is still my main man ha ha. not sure what mom was saying about #11?!)

So Wednesday did turn out to be rough for most of the girls. Luckily after dinner on Tuesday I came back to Pedro's with Tess and we watched Toy Story 2 with our new friends.

School is great! All the students are very friendly (overly friendly at times)! I started implimenting my PE ideas yesterday afternoon (wed) and everyone was impressed! PLUS the kids had a great time! I started off with a group walk/jog and then had student lead stretching. After they were warm I had them break into three groups and do the "human knot" thing. I'm trying to incorporate some critical thinking :) Then we played Junk Food Tag. One of my favorite games. I of course had to modify it because of their way limited equipment, but it opened my eyes to seeing that I don't have to have all this different equipment to show kids how to have fun and be healthy! My life skills classes are also going well. I am covering for a teacher this whole week and so the students have really respected my head teacher role in their classrooms. They are all so curious about the States and the students that we teacher there. One more funny note on teaching: I was grading papers the other day for a Form 2 (sophomore) class, and on top of the papers of a few boys in the class was their phone number, ha ha! High school boys are the same where ever you go! (SOO immature!) We have an assembly after school today about the history of San Pedro which should be very interesting!

We went to a 2 year old birthday party last night--the child of the superintendent. What a HUGE party...loud music, great food, good memories! I will post some pictures today of all this stuff!

Sooo it is almost TGIF...whoop whoop! I cannot wait to sleep in this weekend and eat a good breakfast. With no kitchen, fridge, and cockroaches we are very limited with what food we can eat!

Saturday Tess, myself, and M.V. (our friends Munya and Viktor) are going kayaking and so I am really looking forward to that! And getting some sun of course!

KP- Yes I did bring that "stuff" and it is awesome...the bathrooms obviously just smell horrid so our little secret really helps! I cannot wait to see the sunset pictures... and don't you worry...I will NEVER EVER forget where home is. Miss you more and more every day!

Heather- I promise I am going to post pictures today! The internet is unbelievably slow here and we can only get facebook at the hostel...and I hate being on my computer when I can be out by the pool, walking around, etc! I am so glad you and Chad had a great trip! I cannot wait to see and hear about it! LOVE YOUUU!

I hope everyone else is AWESOME! Thanks so much for reading my blog! I so glad you guys get a good chuckle out of all this! (it really is like 20 times better when your hear!!) ;) love love love you all!

golf cart lessons...chopping veggies...bowel movement...finally.

((To start..this was a testing day for the primary students to get their placement in the high school...aka not a normal day...))

So I will keep this one a little bit shorter BUT man my first day of school was quite interesting! The morning started off with a free lesson on driving the school golf cart with Mr. Oncorio (sp?). This may sound simple considering my family owns a golf cart, but have you ever tried driving on dirt roads with pot holes the size of the grand canyon, no stop signs, with cars and people walking all over the place? Yeah see my dilemma? And did I mention that this was totally illegal? Which made it all the more fun!

When Mr. O and I got back to school, the cafeteria staff put Jeanne and I to work chopping onions and peppers for the beef lunch. And they fed us like we were starving children! It was AWESOME! and FREE! (food always tastes better when its free!?)

When we finished preparing and serving lunch to the testing primary students, Jeanne and I played some volleyball on the beach...and then it hit me...I needed to go to the bathroom, bad. Tess and I have had some troubles with this since we have been here, so bowel movements are big news for us, hence why I feel the need to post this. ha ha!

Cannot wait to see what the next few days bring!

Piz- if you see this will you post some sunset pictures from home...i miss being a bahama mama...tell matty i said hello!

oh the LEGENDS of Belize :)

Yesterday morning I went for my first and most likely only run, ha ha! Then I took some time for myself and went and got toast and coffee and got sucked into the Twilight book. It was so peaceful and serene...exactly what I needed! During the day a couple of us just laid out and caught some rays. It didn't take long to feel like my skin was burning off so then it was time for a lay down session in the room. The group had a one o'clock meeting and then the high school teachers went up to the high school to meet some of the teachers and students. Meeting the students and staff was the turning point from nervousness to excitement for me!

Last night all of us went to this local hole in the wall Chinese place called Cindy's Fast Food for dunner. Talk about yummy! They gave us so much food for so little money...exactly what we were all looking for. Immediately after most of us began our trek to find the bar Legends on the north end of the island (aka. like a 40 minute walk in foreign territory). And here is where the fun begins...

We finally make it to the toll bridge and we hear some music. Considering the island is pretty dark we follow the music and figure that this is the bar, Legends. Jeanne led us in and we all are a little skeptical. So to make a VERY LONG story short it was a 37 year old's birthday party with family and friends. BAHAHAHA! So yeah, who needs wedding crashers when you have seven girls crashing a birthday party. Not to mention this house was AMAZING!! We were on the rich side of the island supposedly. Well instead of being rude and staying to get free drinks we decided to continue the adventure of finding this bar, Legends.

After another ten minute walk....WA LA! There it is...this place does exist! All I have to say is that this was the best night yet!...friends and family, I will fill you in later! And yes Heather, this does involve me meeting #10...if you know what I mean! ;)

Today we are going to a Bar-B-Que that the high school is having as a fundraiser. The beach is mandatory after a pig fest, literally. And tonight we are going to a teacher's house for dinner...then who knows after that!!

A successful first day!

Where do I even start? Last night my roommate Tess and I celebrated St. Patty's day with a bang! Then we came home and decided it would be a great idea to shower. Little did we know, that H meant cold and C meant hot here. Its safe to say I was a complete ice cube after the 1.2 second shower I took. Then I laid down in the cozy bed with one sheet :) and it didn't take me long to fall asleep...for being tired and the amount of Belican we consumed!! In the middle of the night I had a little visitor crawl up my neck. I swatted it a little and then it landed on blanky. So I again gave it a major swat to get it off the bed. Tess woke up and I said "a stupid moth was just on me." She got up at that point to go to the restroom and turned on the light. I heard a little scream and she said, "EW that's a HUGE cockroach!" You put the pieces together. I got very little sleep after that scare!

(KP: these darn roaches follow me everywhere! and it was a flying one!!)

We woke up early this morning and went to a nice breakfast with the group at a place called George's. Then we walked around visiting 2 elementary schools and the high school we will be teaching at. Interesting to say the least. I am very excited about getting started! The principal at San Pedro High was very happy to see me. They just started a Physical Education program and he wanted me to organize it. Hmmm...I have quite a task on my hands!

The weather was beautiful today and I got the chance to lay out for about an hour. Can we say burnt? And yes, I used sunscreen! I need my base tan! We had a wonderful dinner tonight at a local place...probably the best Caribbean shrimp I have ever and will ever eat! Tomorrow I have a day off and so I plan on running in the morning with some of the girls, laying out, and catching up on some school work I need to get done!

I miss you all very much!!

*Maja y faja....I have never smiled so big until I saw your blog name. I miss you both so much! Also tell pawpaw I said happy birthday from Belize!
*Heather....Its unBELIZABLE here! Tell chad I said happy birthday...I know that is coming up soon! And you guys have a wonderful trip! Can't wait to hear about it!
*Piz....I hope you and Hef are good. I wish you could experience this with me! Miss you tons!

AHHH FINALLY HERE!

So we finally made it after a long day of traveling! I am so excited to finally be here! It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We just finished our first meal and of course our first Belizian beer, a Belican, and our tummies are nice and full. We are about to celebrate St. Patrick's day at the Pedro's Inn bar (our hotel bar). They have great happy hour specials :)! We have a busy day tomorrow and so I'll be sure to post again tomorrow night after our tour of the tour and group dinner!

Orientation Day- March 15, 2010

Soooo today we are getting ready for our departure by doing a few last minute things! I cannot wait to leave! One more day! Hopefully we will be able to blog Wednesday night once we get there! Thanks for following!