Party Party Party

Hi everyone! I am so happy to hear that people are actually reading my blog! I actually feel important :) Today was a great day! I woke up this morning to get on the internet but of course it was not working. So I ended up just relaxing for a while before school. Then we headed off to school for Beach day! Today the entire school went to the beach to celebrate Easter Break. I got to school and we played games with our students and finished their Easter baskets we have been working on. I was surprised when two students walked through the door who I had never seen before. One of the boys turned out to be a student's brother who decided to come to school with him and the other turned out to be in the class but had not come to school since I had been there.

After we all got settled and acquainted it was time to go to the beach. We all lined up and walked down the road as a school for about two minutes considering that we are right on the water. Then the students were set free to roam and play as they pleased. All of the interns wore their bathing suits and we had a great time playing with the students. We had snacks of chicken gizzards and lime juice (which I did not eat) and a wonderful lunch of home cooked rice, beans, chicken, and chips. We stayed at the beach from 10-2:00 when the students were picked up by their parents. Then the interns all got their curriculum materials to plan with over the break and we headed back to Pedro's.

SO.... I made it!! Week one of the schools is over with and I am now on Easter break. I am really starting to grow attached to these students. They all have their rough edges but they really are one of a kind. It is fascinating just to even hear them talk. The students switch from English, to Creole, to Spanish, and back. I can understand most everything they say in English and Spanish but Creole is another beast. Creole is really just a dialect. They speak in present tense and abbreviated words with a heavy Caribbean accent and a lot of slang. I am picking up on some of it but most of the time I have to get them to explain to me what they are saying. I find myself slipping into their accent when I am reading because it is almost as if they just have lazy tongues. It is a habit I will have to fight during my time here. I find that whenever you travel you pick up on some dialects a tiny bit, but living here for so long I think it will really become something I get accustomed to. But don't expect me to come back speaking with a thick accent. I simply just find it easier to speak with a lazy tongue at times because that is the custom.

It is also funny because here in San Pedro I see my students everywhere! On the streets, in the water, in stores, and they see me too. You can't slip up around here because someone is always watching. Everyday my students tell me they saw me the night before at so and so place and I had no earthly idea. It is like big brother is always watching you. The closeness of the people on the island is really a neat dynamic to experience. On the flip side there are also some dynamics that are more difficult to adjust to. The informality of the school is something we are all getting used to, but in a good way. Also the way we are addressed by men here is something that we are starting to grow accustomed to. It is normal for men to yell and whistle at women because that is just how the culture gives compliments so we are starting to get used to this in passing. There are many other things that are coming to us with time but the culture here is so rich that it is not something you can just pick up right away. Wish me luck with the rest of the weekend! Tomorrow is our first excursion!

Another day, another dollar, oh wait...

Hello everyone! It’s a beautiful day in Belize. Currently it is 7:00 our time and the sun is up, the breeze is blowing and the temperature is hot. Yesterday was the famous movie day! The whole day was very chaotic and although we are not getting paid for this it has been the hardest work I have experienced. We started off the day as usual and things were going pretty smoothly. Then the afternoon rolled around and it was like a hurricane of excitement hit. The kids were bouncing off the walls. Honestly, I can’t blame them considering it was their last day before Easter break. The school began their movie “Jack and Jill” while I pulled a few students out who did not pay to watch the movie. Together, we went out to the picnic area to read. I also took Dyanara to work on her Braille and to read some.

I first read to the students and then let Dyanara practice reading on her own. Then my plans completely went to dust. The girls who were in the local pageant began practice right beside us in the picnic area playing songs and dancing their routines. This did not sit well with Dyanara. All she wanted to do was see what they were doing and it was impossible for her to focus no matter how hard we tried. After allowing her to watch the practice and dance for a few minutes she decided that she could work on her Braille a little bit. So we tried to focus while the activity was going on. Well, when we finally got adjusted to the volume of the noise the band decided to have practice beside us as well. So of course Dyanara wanted to see what was going on and there was no possible way to combat the noise of a 5 person drum line 5 feet away. So I let her take another break. When I finally got her to focus again I was met with a group of 10 girls who wanted to ‘help’, this ended up turning into even more of a distraction. I eventually lost all hope just as the movie dismissed and an entire school of screaming kids was let to roam free for about 30 minutes.

The kids were having a blast but by that time I was exhausted, actually I take that back we were ALL exhausted. The school bell rang and immediately all of the interns met in the courtyard and all at once agreed to get out of Dodge as quickly as possible. The day was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast but with any day before a major holiday it was chaos! We all headed straight back to Pedro’s, put our bikini’s on, and took a much needed nap. After the nap we had a meeting and then we headed to dinner at Caroline’s Cooking. Caroline cooked the most amazing meal for us and I honestly think it is the best meal I have had since I’ve been here. Then we all headed to a little restaurant to play trivia. It was Bailey, Kristin, Colin, Tony, and I versus Dr. C, Dr. K, Forrest, and Peter (who owns Pedro’s). It was a heated battle but eventually the Doc’s came out on top by ½ of a point…. Needless to say we will have a rematch next week at Pedro’s! Stay tuned for today’s beach day adventures!

-Sidenote: I want to apologize to anyone I havn’t gotten to speak with personally yet. The Internet is very touchy here and skype does not work on my computer. If we do happen to get a skype date planned and I don’t show up it is because the Internet wasn’t working. Just let me know if you want to plan a time to talk and I will do my best to make it happen, but no promises!

Day 3: Success stories...

Well day 3 has come and gone and I am finding that I am loving this job more and more. I started off the day teaching Dyanara on the Braille machine. She is doing exceptionally well. We have gotten to J in Braille and on the machine and have also done some words in Braille. The work is exhausting because I not only have to teach her but keep her excitement under control so that she can focus. But, it is definitely worth it to see how proud she is of herself.

I am also trying to differentiate the teacher's lessons and my own lessons so that she can participate in class. I have large lined paper and write everything out for her and also let her hold my pen when I write. She unfortunately cannot write so we do it together. She also loves using the flashcards I have during the appropriate times. We practice math facts during math because she is not very familiar with them. We also practice phonics cards when we have the chance, and with those cards we practice sounding out the words. She is doing very well with every task I ask her to do and I have found that she has started to grow attached to me and needless to say I feel the same way. It is so neat to see how happy she is and how much she enjoys school even though she is used to not participating. I cannot imagine being that happy while being treated how she has been treated previously. She really is a special person.

I also taught yesterday. After lunch I taught Social Studies, although we were learning about weather... I asked the students to remind me how to play the game teacher vs. student and they were so excited to play again. The students were even more quiet and on task today! It was like a complete 360 degree transformation. I was so thrilled at how much they participated and were on task. I even had students ask me to bring the game out at recess and P.E. The fact that this is working just makes me so happy in my abilities as a teacher.

Throughout my own internship I have seen a lot of growth through the help of Mr. Atterbury but our class did not have many behavior problems overall because I was blessed with such wonderful students. Here the story is completely different. There is no behavior management so to see this transformation really shows me how well these strategies work. I am hoping that they continue to work in the future. I also finally got skype to work last night on a friend's computer so that was a huge relief to talk to someone from home. I am also trying to get prepared for the Extra Mile 5k this Saturday back at home. I wish that I could be there for the race but I will be there in spirit. It is tough putting so many hours into an endeavor and not being able to see it actually happening but I know that the rest of the team has worked twice as hard and will be running an amazing race. Wish me luck today! I won't be teaching but we are having movie day in my room, which means I will have to watch the entire school in my room while they watch a movie! Excitement to ensue I am sure!

If at first you don't succeed.. try again

Hi everyone! Day two is over with and I am in good spirits! Yesterday I left the school exhausted and concerned that there was no way I could make it through the next few weeks teaching these kids. The class was out of hand and the students were almost unmanageable. So I did some thinking last night and some serious planning and it definitely paid off! Today I went in with a bag full of tricks hoping that at least one of them would work in my favor and I surprisingly saw success!

I started out the morning working with Dyanara on her Braille again. She continues to do very well and I am so impressed with her potential to learn. I have also worked really hard at including her in every lesson. Normally Dyanara has to sit and do nothing during lessons so I wanted to change that now that the teacher has me as an extra pair of hands. I brought large flash cards of various kinds and large lined paper. I wrote down everything for her in large print with a bold black marker so that she could read it and also brought some manipulatives for her to use during the lessons. She was so excited to be doing something during class!

I also had her do little things like underline words on the board when I was teaching or answer questions. She is so bright and so eager to learn and it is wonderful to see her use these skills. After lunch it was my turn to teach again. I started off the lesson by explaining my expectations for the students. I told them we were playing a game called teacher versus students. In the game students got a point if they did something good and I got a point if they did something bad. Whoever won at the end of the day won a prize. I also gave students tickets if they did something exceptionally good in class. Students wrote their name on the tickets and at the end of the week I am going to raffle off some of the school supplies I brought to students who have tickets. The students got so excited to do both of these games. They responded immediately and the classroom got extremely manageable.

I was shocked to say the least. Something that simple changed the entire classroom dynamic for the rest of the day. The students were much more engaged and were encouraging each other to be quiet and raise their hands. This made my job much easier. I still had a few of my boys who were being a little bit out of hand at times but I saw a 360 degree improvement from day one. We still have some work to do but the prospect of what I saw today is encouraging. After school I came back and laid by the pool and napped in the hammock. Then we went to dinner again at Nery's. At Nery's I got the two most delicious burritos I have ever eaten in my life, both at least a foot long, for only 3$ American. Belize.... I love you.

Teacher Elizabeth

Me helping Dyanara

Dyanara's practice cards

Our first page of Braille!

The Braille Machine

Wow... hello world. Today was my first day of school at Isla Bonita, and all I have to say is wow. Just kidding, I actually have a lot to say. Today was one of the most eye opening experiences of my teaching career thus far. I started out the day waking up at 6:45 and getting dressed and heading out to the pool to make some business calls and video chat. The internet here at Pedro's didn't work so I hopped on my bike and headed down the road to Estelle's. I stopped at Estelle's and made my call and got some breakfast but the internet didn't work there either. Then I headed down the road further to Lily's and used their internet, but by that time no one was available to video chat so I just enjoyed sitting on the beach for a bit until it was time to head to school. I drove to school on my bike and got there right before 8:30. I went to my classroom and was told that I would be working with Dyanara, the visually impaired student, on her Braille for the morning. Around 10:30 I met with a teacher in Standard 5 and she showed me the Braille machine that they had and how to work it. She left me to practice before I was told to go and get Dyanara and start working with her. I practiced typing the keys and creating the Braille for a few minutes and then went and asked Dyanara to come outside and work with me. Dyanara had never worked with the Braille machine before and has only learned letters A-G in Braille through recognition. I first showed her the machine and let her feel each part of it. Then I guided her fingers to the correct keys and told her the number for each key. On a Braille machine each key has a corresponding number that goes with the dot it creates in the Braille sequence. The inner most key on the left side is one, the key to the left of that is two, and the last key on the left side is three. The inner most key on the right side is four, the middle key on the right side is five, and the last key on the right side is six. The large middle button is the space button. I then placed my hands on top of Dyanara's and we practiced pushing down the keys together and saying the numbers as we pushed them down. Then I told her what number represented the letter A. She then pressed the corresponding key down and created the letter A. I then held her finger and guided it along the letter that she created so she could practice reading it. The excitement in her face as she felt the letter that she created was unbelievable. Her happiness was so pure and overwhelming she immediately started pressing random keys out of pure excitement. I let her continue to press the letter A all the way down the row just to get some practice and to let her get her excitement under control. Then we moved on to letter B. I told her that letter B is made by pressing 1 and 2 at the same time and then she practiced B. We did the same process for letter C. Once we did those three letters we practiced them in order and then in random order once she got more comfortable with them. Once she seemed very comfortable with them I used her Braille cards that she practices with. These are large red cards with the letter written at the bottom and the Braille symbol created with large buttons above it. I would give Dyanara a card and let her feel the letter, then she would tell me the letter on the card, and once she got it correct she could press the correct keys on the machine to make the Braille letter. Once she was done I had her feel the Braille she created to check and make sure she did it correctly. We continued this process and then I decided to play a quick game with her. I flipped the cards over and she chose a card and on her own would tell me the letter on the card and type it in. She did amazingly well with this game! (and she loved it!) Once she mastered the game we continued with a new letter and did this same sequence adding a new letter each time. We got all the way to the letter F in less than one hour! It was astonishing seeing how excited she was and how well she was doing. I was learning as well and I am proud to say I now know the Braille alphabet A-F. As we were finishing letter F the lunch bell rang. We had typed a whole sheet of Braille and I let Dyanara keep her sheet to show her friends and family and to continue feeling the letters and becoming familiar with what she created. For lunch we all went off campus to get a burrito and then came back before the bell rang. When I returned I was met with Teacher Yasmira, my partnership teacher. She told me that she was asked to leave to help with the pageant and asked if I could teach the rest of the afternoon. Now I do not want you to get the wrong impression of Teacher Yasmira. She is a first year teacher who is only 18 years old. She has some wonderful ideas and I am really impressed with some of the lessons she has come up with, especially considering the resources they have. So anyways, of course I said yes, but in the back of my mind I was TERRIFIED. She gave me a piece of notebook paper with some ideas written on it of what to teach. The paper said that for Science we were doing weather and talking about rain, sun, wind, cold, hot, and snow. It also said to create a chart to keep track of the weather each day this week. Teacher Yasmira also told me that for reading they were doing a worksheet on ABC order. All of this was supposed to take up 2 hours... So I had to think quick. I was left with a class of mostly boys who were all out of their seats and screaming and a piece of notebook paper with some ideas. I immediately asked everyone to take a seat and after some prying I got my wish. Then I began my lesson on weather. I am not sure where it came from but it all started coming together. We talked about types of weather, clothes you wear in the types of weather, and examples of each type. Then we created the charts and went outside and observed the weather for the day. We also discussed if students had ever seen the other types of weather. Then we drew pictures of each type of weather. Once we were finished we began (insert drum roll here) ABC order! God willing I somehow got through the lesson as well. It was tough because the students got restless. My boys began to get up and start talking and I had to get a lot more firm. I had already estabilished the 'give me 5' crowd control idea and that seemed to work so we stuck with that and pushed through. We ended up finishing with 30 minutes left so I grabbed a book from the back table and began to read. The students loved the book and the day ended smoothly. I survived day one!! I cleaned the board, met with some parents, and then hopped on my bike and headed back to Pedro's. I barely have a voice and my patience is tested but I am yearning for more and honestly scared to death but SO excited for what tomorrow brings. Teacher Yasmira will not be here after lunch every day this week so I will be left to my own devices. Wish me luck... more adventures to come.

The Calm Before the Storm.

The pier

A swing at the yoga pier

The elementary school

The high school

Hi everyone! It has been a busy two days here in San Pedro. Yesterday we woke up and went to get breakfast at George’s, which is a little restaurant down the road. I got a plate of potatoes (little hash brown cubes) and a plate of fresh fruit that was delicious! The food here is so fresh and it just tastes healthier than American food. Even the hot dogs taste healthy! Haha. After breakfast we headed to the schools where we will be teaching for the next few weeks. We walked along the beach for about a mile and it lead straight to the high school. The high school is directly on the water and was a beautiful light aqua color. The students had an “open day” which meant that they were having a fair for everyone to come and see projects that they had been working on to show what they had learned that semester. It was one of the neatest things I have seen, and I got a lot of neat ideas of activities to do with my students. I saw everything from a pressure gun, science banners, math magic tricks, traditional dance and song, and even live animals, just to list a few. I especially loved seeing the animals. There were tiny little puppies, a bird, a chicken, a huge dog, fish, and some bugs. After we toured the fair and talked to some students we went to the elementary school. The school is right off of the beach and is called Isla Bonita. It is a three-story building with a courtyard in the middle. The students eat outside for lunch under a picnic shelter and the cook makes food daily for the students. I toured the school with the girls and we were each assigned a class. At the beginning of the tour Teacher Hector, one of the heads of the school, pointed to a classroom and warned us that it was the “crazy class”. Everyone was assigned rooms one by one and I was left last, and of course I was led to the “crazy class”. The class is approximately grade 3, with about 18 students ranging from age 8 to 11. The classroom dynamic was mind blowing simply because I had never seen anything like it before. The students were yelling constantly at the teacher for help. Not to say that it was a bad thing, but it is just how classrooms are here in Belize. It was really interesting to see! The students were very sweet and welcoming and each one wanted to personally get help from me on their assignment. During my short visit I also learned that there is a visually impaired student in the class who has very little vision. That excited me because I have never worked with a student with physical impairments before, but Mrs. Curry’s class has taught me a lot about adaptations to use with these students so I am excited to apply what I have learned.

After my visit we got lunch and then came back to the schools. I learned that next week the teacher in my class will be helping with a local beauty pageant (which are huge here) and will not be present in the afternoons so I will be jumping in head first and will be teaching in the afternoons. I have no idea what to teach and what their curriculum is but I will figure it out next week! I am really excited and nervous but I can already tell this is going to be an amazing experience. After that we all came back and relaxed at the pier on the beach. Then we had dinner and hung out at Pedro’s for the night.

Today I woke up and a few of the girls and I went to do yoga at a studio on the water. It was a breathtaking view and the class was a lot of fun. We decided to go back tomorrow and get a month long pass! After yoga we got breakfast at George’s again and then went back to Pedro’s. We sat by the pool for a while and then as a group we all rode our bikes to the North end of the island. We rode for about 30 minutes through town and then on the beach and finally ended up at a more deserted part of the beach. There was a neat little outdoor restaurant and a long pier with a huge grass top pavilion at the end. Crystal blue waters surrounded the pier with colorful fish everywhere. We spent the rest of the day snorkeling around the pier and laying out. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. At the end of the day we all rode back and the girls went into town to get ice cream. After ice cream we played cards by the pool and here I am now! So far this has been such an amazing experience. I know it sounds like I have been doing a lot of nothing but just getting adjusted to my new home and easing into the experience has really helped make the transition smooth. I am still struggling with being away from my friends and family for so long, but if they could only see what I am getting to live I think they would want me to stay here! I am taking advantage of this down time while I can because on Monday the work begins in full force. Wish me luck!

First Day pictures.

Estelle's Where we ate lunch

A view from the plane

Here!

Hi everyone! So here I am, finally in Belize. The flight to Belize City was probably the easiest international flight you could imagine. It made the difficult goodbyes a lot more manageable. 3 hours on a warm plane, two naps, and one water later I was in the airport breezing through customs like a pro. When I stepped off the plane the weather was warm and the air was thick, exactly what I was hoping for. I met Dr. Kubasko after customs and we jumped on our small Tropicair plane to San Pedro. I sat behind the pilot and watched in amazement at the teal waters below. The view was breath taking and I even got to see a few sharks in the water during the flight! We landed and Dr. Catapano picked us up in the golf cart. Soon after I threw my stuff in the room and Dr. C, Colin, and I got lunch since the rest had already eaten. We ate on the beach at Estelle’s and it was fabulous. The pineapple smoothie was AWESOME! After lunch we took a swim off of the pier with the fishies. The water is so warm and relaxing. After that I spent the rest of the day by the pool with the entire crew. This place is unbeatable. I have never felt so relaxed. I am the kind of person that makes memories through different smells and I find the beach smell here to be a more of a sweet smell rather than the salty smell of Wilmington. The breeze is just right and the people are all happy to see you. We are about to grab dinner and head to the chicken drop, a local event that happens every Thursday. I am enjoying this relaxation before we begin the real work tomorrow! Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes, so far this trip has been a dream. Missing home and all the wonderful people I left behind, hopefully I will have a lot of skype dates on the agenda tonight!

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...

Hello, Hello,

A quick update from the Charlotte airport. I am currently sitting at the terminal waiting to load. Dr. Kubasko just arrived and we are patiently waiting. I am feeling very anxious and excited! More to come soon! We are actually boarding on time. FINGERS CROSSED!

Smiles, fears, and tears about the not so near...

Hello world! Elizabeth here, reporting from my cozy bed in Wilmington, North Carolina. I just got back from our final meeting preparing us for our trip abroad to the beautiful San Pedro, Belize. Most of the crew is leaving on the 21st, while Dr. Kubasko and I will be catching up on the 22nd. The fact that my departure date is so near is incredibly daunting but also extremely exciting. I first heard about this trip the first semester of my Freshman year of college, so this is a long time coming. I have designated tomorrow as my "packing day" and today as my "stop procrastinating and get your work done" day. The 21st is my day that I will be traveling home, and then I am off and running the morning of the 22nd. I honestly can't believe it is already here. I am feeling mostly excited but also a little bit nervous simply because of the fact that I am leaving my home for so long including my family, boyfriend, and of course my bunny Leroy. I always say that with every dream there has to be sacrifice and I am willing to make this small one for the adventure of a lifetime. Prayers and well wishes are welcome! I will be posting here as much as possible about my journey including pictures, video, and more. Also tune in to Facebook for more pictures of my time in Belize!

For those of you who like itineraries (ahem Budd family)-- Here is an itinerary of my trip!