Final Post

Thinking about the entire experience in Belize, how are you a different person both personally and professionally as a result of this experience? How do you know? What evidence do you have?

From the start of this trip not to the end, I feel that I have grown as a person. Personally, I think that I have a different way a thinking. I have more of an open mind for other cultures and ways of life. Belize is so laid back. Everyone takes their time and enjoys every moment of life. In American I'm always busy. Sitting down to simply relax almost felt like a waste of time. The lifestyle in America is fast pace. I have learned over the last 6 weeks in Belize to slow down and take it everything around me. I have learned to patiently wait for my food and in the meantime enjoy the people surrounding me. It was actually nice not having cell phone service all the time. Sometimes at home when I go eat with my friends everyone sits there on their phone instead of talking to each other. I like how Belizean people are so family oriented especially in San Pedro. San Pedro is a small town where everyone knows everyone. I loved walked down the beach or going to dinner and seeing my students out with their families. I am at the point in my life where I can do anything I wish to do. Traveling has always been a big part of my life and I want to continue exploring the world. Living in a place like San Pedro could be a reality for me if I choose to do so. It's crazy to think that I have been in school all my life and now I am completely done. 

Professionally as an educator, I have learned so much from my students. Expectations were different in Belize. In America, students are expected to sit still, pay attention, and say seated but not in Belize. The classroom felt almost overwhelming when I first walked into a class at New Horizon. I learned that their methods of teaching are not right or wrong but just different. The students I worked with in particular were some of the academically lowest students in the school. I worked with 5th graders that didn't even know their letter sounds. I had to come up with a way to assess where the students were at academically early on. There were no IEPs like there is in the States. I had to figure out this information on my own. I also learned how to teach with very littler resources. Our students had hardly any resources. I had to think out side the box to come up with ways to teach my students. It was challenging at times but it was cool to see that you can still be a great teacher without fancy smart boards and copy machines. 

Connecting New Horizon and Gregory

Our last days in the schools have been great. I can't believe this trip is coming to an end so soon. Looking back at at our first week in San Ignacio seemed like it was just yesterday. We have been able to do so many fun things. This Tuesday my students here were able to FaceTime my student in North Carolina. They were so excited to meet each other since they have been writing letters to each other. I miss my students in Wilmington and I'm glad I got to see them. My students here asked them great questions about what schools was like there and how old they were. They were engaged and happy to talk to them. My students in Wilmington asked great questions back. The funniest part was when my students in Belize told them they swim with sharks. The reaction in my students faces in Wilmington was priceless. They told them they should never swim with sharks! The full circle project was a fun way to give my students a chance to connect. I have enjoyed doing it. I will miss my students here when I leave. They are so full of joy. They love to learn. I will miss they hundreds of hugs I get walking into school and leaving from school everything. I hope that I have made a difference in their lives as much as they have made a difference in mine.

Night Snorkel

Last night we were able to go on a night snorkel. I had no idea night snorkeling was even an option. I was a little nervous about swimming at night in the ocean. I kept telling myself that I had to do it no matter what because I would never get an experience like this probably ever again. The tour guides were very nice and assured us it was safe. I dove in excited to see nightlife in the ocean. Within the first 5 minutes of swimming a huge eagle ray swam past us. It was so beautiful but a little to close for comfort. These were wild animals we were swimming with. You never know what's going to happen. We snorkeled for almost an hour and saw so many more things than we did during our day snorkel in the same place. We saw string rays, sharks, sea urchins, eels, big fish, and crabs. The size of the animals amazed me. It was crazy how everything came out at night. This was a wonderful experience. I'm so glad we were able to go. I would recommend this excursion to other people going to Belize! 

Preparing for the Last Week in Belize

What is important for you to do in the last week you are in Belize and Why?

I think that it is important for me to enjoy every moment I have left here. This trip has gone above and beyond all my expectations. I know I will never experience anything like this ever again. Working at New Horizon has been eye opening. My students are wonderful and I wish I could do more for them. Learning about the lack of specials education services makes my appreciate the US even more. In my last week here, I would like to learn as much as I can about the special education system here and use it for our documentary. I also need to finish my full circle project. My students in Wilmington wrote letters to the students here and my students here are writing back. The letters are almost finished. My students have really liked writing them. They think it's cool to be able to talk to other students like them in another country. I can't wait to go back home and give my Wilmington students their letters! I am also setting up a Skype session so both groups of students can meet and talk. It is so bittersweet that my time in Belize is almost over. I am excited about going back and graduating but Belize is so beautiful it's going to be hard to leave.

Fishing and 5k for Autism

This past weekend I went on a fishing excursion. I found out just before that I passed all my North Carolina teacher licensure exams and it was Mary's birthday. Fishing was a great way to celebrate. I have never really loved fishing but I love riding on boats and hanging out with my friends. We rode to several different spots to fish. I did not catch any fish but I learned about the types of fish Belize has and about the different reefs that attraction the various fish. It was interesting to learn about the type of fishing people in Belize do and what the fish are used for.

On Sunday, I walked in a 5k for Autism. There were over 100 participates. The 5k for Autism was put on by a local elementary school called ACES. We spoke to the lady in charge of the run and she was the specials education teacher at ACES. This school is one of the only schools in Belize that we know of that has special education. Many schools do not identify students with disabilities much less teach them. The 5k was set up to raise awareness for all students with disabilities. It was neat to see the community supporting the cause. Raising awareness is a great way to push for special education services in Belize. ACES raise over $1,000 to go towards enrolling students with disabilities in private schools such as ACES. Mary and I have set up an interview with the special education director to talk about special education in Belize. We hope to use the interview in our documentary. The race was a lot of fun! Allison won 2nd place for fastest female runner and UNCW won largest supporting group. This was such a great experience and something dear to my heart.

Teaching Experience

What have you learned about yourself as a teacher from the work you are doing in the schools both positive and negative?

Teaching aboard is a completely different experience than teaching in the U.S. I think the schools and teachers here are more laid back and the requirements are not as strict. I have learned how to be more laid back as well which could be a good or bad thing. Sometimes I feel that I'm not doing as much as I should be. Mary and I were able to take the students the teachers gave us and make our own schedule. I struggle with how much we should take the students out of their general education classes since in a few weeks we will not be there to give them special education services. At the same time, I think the students could benefit from supplemental instruction outside their classrooms. I learned how to be patient with the students in a different way. The culture is much different than ours. A class that might seem out of control here is typical in Belize. If a class is really loud and students are constantly out of their seats in the U.S. then the class is usually considered out of control. Here it is not a huge deal. Class discipline is different. I have learned to be stern but not overly controlling. Teaching everyday has made me grow as a teacher. My students are so loving and friendly. 

Snorkeling Excursion

This past weekend we went on a snorkeling excursion to Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley. The excursion was a whole day event! We left San Pedro around 8 o'clock. Our first snorkeling stop was Hol Chan. We saw a sea turtle, sting ray, a variety of fish, and beautiful coral reef. The sea turtle amazed me! It looked so unreal. The colors in his shell were gorgeous. After Hol Chan, we sailed over to Shark Ray Alley. If you couldn't guess Shark Ray Alley if full of nursing sharks along with string rays and fish. We all jumped in the water quickly and watched as 15 to 20 sharks surrounded our boat. Swimming with sharks that close was thrilling but also very scary. I have never done anything like that before. To end the trip, we stopped at an island next to San Pedro called Caye Caulker. Our tour guide explained that this island is much like San Pedro was 25 years ago. Caye Caulker had a local feel to it. We were able to explore the island for a few hours. I would definitely go back to Caye Caulker. I loved the atmosphere and the laid back vibes from the local people. Sailing back to San Pedro was relaxing. I have always loved being on the water. I know that pictures and this blog will not even come close to describing how wonderful this weekend trip was for me. I wish all my family members and friends could have shared this experience with me first hand.

Greatest Accomplishment & Greatest Challenge

What was your biggest challenge and what did you do about it? What was your greatest accomplishment this week?

Accomplishment

The principal at new horizon was organized and had a vision for us to service as an intervention resource to the general education teachers. Belize does not have a system to identify students with disabilities. It is uncommon for students with more severe disabilities to be taught in school with typically developing students. Students with mild disabilities are in the general public schools but there are no additional supports for them. Mary and I observed the 6 upper grade classes and identified students who needed additional support either for behavior or academics. We were able to develop a schedule to help students with disabilities from each class. We currently have 22 students who we pull out to give supplemental instruction to. We were fortunate that the  teachers were open us being there and were grateful for our help.  So far we have determined most of them need intense academic support in language arts. Only a few can identify letter sounds making it very difficult for them to attempt to read. We are excited to get started working with this select group of students.

Challenge

Our biggest challenges as been helping the teacher understand what special education means. When we first went into the classrooms to identify students to work with we asked teachers if they had any students with disabilities. Most would say they didn't or they only had one or two. We figured out they didn't really know what we meant when we said "students with disabilities". Most people think of students who have severe handicaps or they think of the students who are the "troublemakers" when asked about students with disabilities. We had to change the way we asked teachers for students to work with. Instead of saying students with disabilities, we asked for students who were academically lower than their other typical students. Once the teachers understood the students we wanted to work with they identified more students.

New Horizon Primary School

I chose to teach at New Horizon after we toured two primary schools in Belize; New Horizon and Isla Bonita. The school, New Horizon, reminded me more of the school I did my internship in in Wilmington. To me it seemed like there was a larger population of diverse students. Many students are from other countries such as Guatemala.  There are 16 classrooms ranging from Kindergarten to 8^th grade. Students in Belize are done with school after 8^th grade unless they decide to continue their education in secondary school. As special education teachers, we were allowed to chose whether we wanted to teach in a general education classroom or pull students out for special education services. Four of us that are special education majors decided to go to New Horizon. Our first day there the principal split us up. Mary and myself are working with essentially 3^rd through 5^th grade students. Teachers start school at 8:00am. Everyone reports to the chapel for a morning devotion. The teachers sing songs and then preach a morning message. Throughout the day the students get two 15 minute breaks. I thought this was very cool. I liked that they were given breaks during the day to go run around and play. It seemed to help them get out their extra energy. The students also have an hour lunch break. Many students go home to eat lunch with their families or their parents come to the school to eat with their children.

San Ignacio vs. San Pedro

"What has been surprising to you and what was as you expected upon your arrival and travel around Belize- Belize City to San Ignacio to San Pedro?" 

When first arriving to Belize and traveling on the bus, I was thinking it looked a lot like Costa Rica. I spent almost 4 weeks in Costa Rica last summer. The houses and roads were similar. San Ignacio in particular reminded me of San Jose, a town I stayed in in Costa Rica. When you look at the house along the road, I think many people from the U.S. would think that the people here are very poor. It seemed like their houses were made from anything they could find. There are hardly any brick houses. Most of the homes are wooden and up on stilts.

Market in San Ignacio

Streets in the inland of Belize

San Pedro is vastly different than San Ignacio. When I think Belize, I think more of San Pedro. It has more of a tropical feel with the vibrant blue waters and white sand. It looks like paradise. San Pedro definitely has more of a touristy feel. I think San Ignacio was probably a more realistic view of the typical Belizean lifestyle. I expected the beaches to be beautiful but I did not expect so many stores and activities on the island. I cannot believe this is where I will be living for the next 5 weeks. I am not sure I will ever want to leave. And you can get 3 tacos for 1 Belize dollar which is equivalent to 50 cents in America. Yummy!!

San Pedro

San Pedro

First Week Adventures in Belize

It has only been a week and I feel like we have done so much already! Starting our trip off in San Ignacio was great. Every day was packed with activities and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. We visited Belize Zoo, a traditional Mayan family, a Mennonite farm, Guatemala, the ATM Cave, Caracol, and Big Rock Falls.

Belize Zoo

After getting off the airplane in Belize City, we went straight to the Belize Zoo. We saw many animals common to Belize including the Tapir, Howler Monkey, Jaguar, and a variety of birds. My students and I in Wilmington studied a lot of these animals. It was cool to actually see them in real life after learning so much about them. My students in Wilmington were most fascinated with the Jaguar. I can’t wait to tell them all about how you can get in a small cage within the Jaguar’s cage to feed them. The Belize Zoo was different than our Zoo’s in the US. Walking around the zoo was like walking in the jungle. It seemed like a more natural environment for the animals.

Traditional Mayan Culture

We were able to visit a Mayan family in San Antonio the next day. Some people in this town practice their Mayan culture like their ancestors would. The want to keep their unique traditions alive. We learned that Mayan rely on corn as their main food source. They showed us how a typical corn tortilla shell would be made. It was a lot of work! They have to mash the corn into a very fine mixture. Mashing the corn took great energy and time. We also learned how they made pottery out of clay custom to their area.

Mennonite Farm

We were given the opportunity to travel to a Mennonite Community. We were invited into a family’s home. This family was open to answering any questions we had about their lives. I did not know much about Mennonites so I was very interested in what they were sharing. They did not use any electricity and they grew their own food. They were very family and community oriented. Sitting and talking with this family was so cool. I could have sat and talked with them for hours. I think the experience of sitting in their home and talking to them is more educational than simply reading about the Mennonite culture in any book.

Guatemala

I decided to take our free day to go to Guatemala. I was surprised going into Guatemala how little security they had but as we were riding down the road there were many military check point. Our first stop in Guatemala was ziplining. It was so much fun! The staff allowed us to go down the cable lines all different ways. My favorite was superwoman style. After ziplining, we went to the island of Flores. The streets were cobblestone and the building were white. It was a cute town. We ate looking over the lake. I would definitely recommend Flores to other travelers. It was gorgeous.

ATM Cave

The ATM cave was one of my favorite experiences we’ve had so far. I had no idea what I was getting myself into going into the cave. It was a crazy experience being in tight spaces and in water sometimes over your head in an ancient cave. We also had to climb big rocks to get to where the ancient Mayans performed their ritual ceremonies. It was hard to wrap your head around thinking you were standing in the same place Mayan people walked in 600 ad. Their unique culture has been persevered in this cave for thousands of years. Seeing all the old Mayan artifacts down in the ATM cave made me what to learn more.

Caracol & Big Rock Falls

Caracol was phenomenal. I think the Mayans are very interesting to learn about. I tried to picture what it would be like thousands of years ago living on these massive structures. The Mayan people were well educated for their time. They had their own writing and mathematical system. They were also great farmers and they had a government system that lasted for a long time. Sitting on top of their tallest building and looking over the Pine Forest Reserve was incredible. After playing on the Mayan ruins, we went to the Big Rock falls. It was around 100 F so we all needed a nice refreshing swim. The falls were beautiful. We got to swim, climb, and enjoy the wonders of the world around us.

Pre-departure

I am so excited that the time has come for me to continue my internship in Belize! It has been stressful finishing my requirements for my internship in Wilmington and getting ready for this trip. So many things are going on at one time. It is a busy time in my life but the excitement I have for  this trip is hard to explain. I am a little nervous about flying and knowing where to go when I get there. But I know once I get there and get settled in everything will be okay. I love adventure and I'm going with an open mind. I can't wait to see what the schools are like and what my future students are like. My students here in Wilmington have written letters for them and made a video to share with them what America is like. I am eager to get there and share with them what my students have been doing for them. It almost seems surreal that I was given the opportunity to go to such an amazing place to teach.I think the biggest challenge I will have is  fitting into their unique culture and adapting to a classroom completely different from classrooms here in Wilmington. However, I am up for the challenge! :)