The Long and Winding Road to Punta Gorda

It's been less than a week since my last blog post and so much has happened! I left off last Thursday, the day before Isla Bonita's annual beach party, which marks the beginning of their two week Easter break. Because Teacher Hector had just left for a trip inland, I was tasked with supervising 12 energetic children at the beach. Fortunately, the beach doesn't have huge crashing waves here, or I might not have made it through. It does have docks with loose, nail-filled boards that certain students (mine) like to wield at each other for fun... However, my students and I both made it to 1:00pm (the end of the party) unscathed and ready for break.

The next day, our group piled on a catamaran to go snorkeling. We snorkeled at two different sites, the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, and Shark and Ray Alley. At Hol Chan, we followed our tour guides in three small groups as we snorkeled. I am still in disbelief at how clear the water is here. We saw eagle rays, other stingrays, lots of different fish, some baby nurse sharks, and a couple sea turtles! At our next stop, our guides threw sardines into the water and the nurse sharks were literally piling on top of each other, heads out of the water, to get the food. It was insane. Then we all jumped in with our snorkel gear and swam with them and the rays until they dispersed, as the food was all gone. After we got our fill of snorkeling, the boat served us some delicious salsa (with shrimp!!!), I enjoyed a pineapple Fanta, and we sailed on to Caye Caulker for lunch and some exploring. It was such a cute little island and we had lunch in a restaurant that has swings for seats.
*I cannot take credit for any of the beautiful, underwater photos. All were taken by others from the cohort*

On Sunday, I went to the Catholic church, which is right on the beach, to celebrate Palm Sunday. It's very similar to my Episcopalian church at home, so it was comforting to have a familiar experience. That evening, I went "croc hunting" with Miriam and Captain Chris from ACES, along with some others from our group. We took a flat bottom skiff out into a few lagoons and they would shine spotlights into the water, hoping to catch the red-orange glow of crocodile eyes. When they did, Miriam would swim out to the croc and attempt to catch it. They're super quick and hard to see, but at our last stop Chris caught one! We were there to release a small croc ACES had caught the week prior. The bigger crocodile Chris caught was about 4 feet long and pretty fat! Miriam and Chris taught us lots about crocs, especially the ones that live in Belize. After learning about him/her, scanning its microchip (it had been caught before), getting some measurements, and taking some pictures, we released the crocodile back into the lagoon. 

The next morning we woke up early to make our way to Punta Gorda, Belize for the first leg of our week-long trip inland while the kids are on Easter break. We took a water taxi to Belize City, which took about 1.5 hours. From there, we got a cab to the bus station, where we waited for almost two more hours. We were told the wrong gate to stand by while waiting for our bus, so we were afraid that we wouldn't get seats as we made a mad dash to the bus. Despite lots of hectic pushing, we did make it onto the bus and everyone in our group got seats! The bus, similar to an old school bus in the states, was packed with two people per seat. Little did we know, there would soon be many more on board. Throughout our six-hour ride, we stopped to add more, until the aisles were packed with people standing, and some sitting on luggage. Needless to say, we were very pleased to arrive safely in Punta Gorda!

Waiting for our bus

Our feelings on the bus ride

View from the bus window

I think the bus is full...

Today, our first full day in PG, we took a drumming class with a man named Ronald McDonald (no joke!). He and his father are part of the Garifuna culture, and the drum school, Warasa, works to preserve it. It was a great class and we all learned a lot and had fun! 

My next post will be all about the rest of our inland trip. We have many adventures ahead!

The Crocodile Invasion

I suppose the crocodiles haven't invaded, but Miriam, an intern with the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary (ACES), did come to visit our students at Isla Bonita today. I'll get to that in a moment. First, I'd like to discuss the past two weeks at IBES, and how they've been for me as a student teacher. Last week, I discussed some of the difficulties I've faced regarding the lack of material resources. This week I'd like to discuss the things that have gone (sometimes suprisingly!) well. 

Students during break

I have been teaching math each day, as well as pulling four students for extra help with phonics during the language arts period. I know that teaching these subjects is my responsibility, and I plan accordingly. However, there have been some occasions when I have not planned to teach a lesson, but I've been asked to do so "on the fly." It has usually gone pretty well, and it's nice to know that I can figure out how and what to teach with little to no preparation.

Drop Everything And Read (DEAR)

I've been keeping children's books, sticky notes, construction paper, and markers in my little teacher's bag for such occasions. Having even a few simple materials makes it easier to come up with activities for my students spontaneously. Today, my teacher left to go on a trip before the day ended. I knew he was going, and I knew he wouldn't be here tomorrow for the annual Easter beach party (yes, the whole school will be spending the day at the beach!), but I had no idea he wouldn't be teaching last period. On Thursdays, last period is "library." However, there is no library at IBES. We ended up reading the book from my bag, and I introduced the idea of a story map.

KWL chart on crocodiles

Now I'll get back the crocodile presentation by ACES. As I mentioned in my last post, I will be going crocodile hunting this weekend. The organization that does the tours is ACES, and they are all about conserving and protecting local wildlife, particularly the crocodiles. Randall and I are actually doing a short documentary on ACES while we're here. Miriam is one of their interns and she is staying at Pedro's, so we've gotten to know her a little bit. Kindly, she agreed to come present her wealth of crocodile knowledge to our students today. I started a KWL chart with my kids before we went outside for the presentation, and then finished it after we got back into the classroom. We brainstormed things we Knew about crocodiles, what we Wanted to know, and then what we Learned from Miriam.

Miriam showing off a crocodile skull

The kids were absolutely enthralled with her and what she had to say about these captivating reptiles! It was a really neat way to spend part of their last regular school day before the two-week Easter break. I even got to hold one of the little crocodiles to pose for a picture with my Standard II class. I was so proud of how well-behaved they were for the presentation. They were attentive, quiet, and genuinely interested! 

Listening to the presentation

Getting to touch the skull!

Crocodile scoot

Showing the kids a real-life croc!

Miss Samantha, Standard II, and a baby croc

Free Time in San Pedro

After a very busy first week of teaching, our group was able to enjoy some free time this past weekend. On Friday, after an obligatory dip in the hotel's pool to cool off after school (did I mention it's HOT here??), several of us biked across town and over the bridge to attend a local dance recital. While none of the dancers were my own students, there were some girls from Isla Bonita performing. I loved it! 

Baby Ballerinas

Preparing for grand jetes :)

On Saturday, most of our group biked over the bridge again for breakfast. We ate at a yoga retreat center called Ak'bol. I enjoyed a banana-pineapple smoothie made with fresh fruit while my breakfast was being made. I had an omelet and fry jacks, which are quickly becoming a new favorite! Fry jacks are pieces of dough that are deep-fried, and I enjoy mine dipped in honey! After breakfast we walked out on the dock below. Yoga classes are offered under the thatched roof, right out on the water! Because there were no classes being held at the time, we were able to jump off the dock and swim in the most amazingly clear, blue water I've ever seen.

After our swim, we biked down the beach to a palapa restaurant where there were tubes tied together in the water. After lounging in the tubes for a bit and enjoying the sunshine, we headed back to Pedro's. I snapped this picture on our way out.

Relaxation Time!

On Sunday there was a scheduled, island-wide power outage from around 7am-11am. When it got too hot to stay in my room, I ventured out with several others to find breakfast. Luckily, George's Kitchen was open! I ordered the Belizean Breakfast, just as I did when our group had its first breakfast together. It was just as delicious - if not more so - without power. 

Belizean Breakfast - fry jacks and honey, veggie eggs, potatoes, and bacon

Sunday afternoon we went to the weekly beach BBQ again at Caribbean Villas, which is owned by Peter of Pedro's Inn. After the BBQ, half of the group went "crocodile hunting" but I won't go until Sunday, April 14. I'll give more details on that after I experience it myself, but I will say that it's for education and conservation, and no crocodiles are harmed! 

Lovely view from the beach BBQ

First Week at IBES

We are midway through our first week in the schools! All of the teachers in our group are placed either at Isla Bonita Elementary School or San Pedro High School. I am enjoying my time at IBES in the Standard II classroom, which is more or less the equivalent of fourth grade in the US. My students range in age from 8 to 10 years old.

Daily Schedule for Standard II

In the morning I pull four students out of Standard II for extra help with phonics, as they have trouble reading. The rest of the day I spend in the classroom with 12 students and Teacher Hector, the teacher for that form, or grade level. Hector has been teaching for over 20 years, and he is the brother of the principal, husband of another teacher, and has several kids that attend IBES. It's all about family! Although I've been mostly observing so far, I had the opportunity to teach a math lesson today on angles! 

To me, the greatest challenge thus far in teaching in Belize has been the decrease in material resources from what I had available in Wilmington! For example, when teaching back home, I would utilize technology a lot in the classroom. We don't have computers in the classrooms here, or document cameras, or projectors. It's good, though, because it's forcing me to be more creative in my lesson planning, as I can't rely on technology to get me through a lesson and keep my students' attention.

I am working to resolve this challange! Today during my lesson on angles we used our arms to demonstrate what obtuse, acute, right, and straight angles look like. My teacher also made the recommendation of using plastic drinking straws, which we did. He helped me to think outside the box and utilize materials that we did have available, that I might not ordinarily think to use!

To my students at Eaton, is there anything you want to know more about when it comes to education and schools here in Belize? I miss you guys!

I'll include some fun pictures from the past few days below:

Pet iguana from the animal hospital next door

Wild iguana outside the pool

We enjoyed a beach BBQ the day before we started in the schools

Our First Few Days

My group and I have been in San Pedro since Wednesday. My first flight left from Wilmington, NC at 6:51am and next I flew from Atlanta, Georgia to Belize City, Belize. Below is my first view of the country from the plane:

When we landed in Belize City we went through customs with no issues, and then got ready for our next flight on a little Cessna Caravan! I asked to fly co-pilot and was escorted to the front of the plane. This flight was short and the view was spectacular!

Our craft from Belize City to San Pedro

Riding Co-Pilot!

Beautiful Views

Coming in for a landing!

All but a few of our group arrived at Pedro's, our five-week home, at the same time. After checking in and doing some unpacking, we did a little adventuring and found a tiny restaurant where I ordered an authentic meal of stewed chicken, beans and rice. It was delicious! The lady who cooked our food sent a young boy (who may have been her son?) to get food supplies on his bike. We ate facing the beautiful blue ocean. When we got back to Pedro's we enjoyed a little lounging by the pool.

This is where we'll be spending the next five weeks!

Today (Friday) we visited the schools where we'll be working. We will all be at either San Pedro High School or Isla Bonita Elementary School. I will most likely be at Isla Bonita, although we will not know our specific classroom assignments until sometime this weekend. Our first day in the schools is Monday!

As a fun little ending, I'll share a bit of what happened last night. A couple got married on the island and after the wedding came to the restaurant at Pedro's. The groom was a friend of the hostel owner so we ate wedding cake, watched their first dance, and then guess who caught the bouquet?

This girl!

It's Almost Time...

It's midnight and I just finished packing my bags! In a matter of hours I will be boarding the first of three planes that will take me to my final destination: Belize! I will be traveling, teaching, and living with fourteen other students from UNCW. We are completing our internships abroad, and will be teaching children and working with teachers in the small town of San Pedro. During our five weeks in Belize we will not only be in the schools, but will also have the opportunity to participate in several excursions, including snorkeling/diving, visiting ancient ruins, and spelunking, as well as complete a week-long service project in the community. It will be an action-packed five weeks! You can keep up with my adventures right here!