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
Friday, April 2, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
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!!
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!!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
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!
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!
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!
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Pig toe...
...yes mama...I ate a pig toe...and a tail...im sorry!
Our whole group before the birthday dinner!
My swollen feet :(
After walking miles and miles everyday and eating the amount of sodium we do here...this is the result. May not look painful, but you have NO IDEA!
High School Teachers :)
There are a ton of little alley ways like this leading to the beach...just stopped at one to snap a shot!
Roomie
This is Tess and I at our first meal!
