OK I know that the title isn't spelled right but I also know that spell check wouldn't be able to figure it out so....there. I hope you all enjoyed my pictures! It takes forever to put them up so this will have to do for now. I wish I could put pictures of me and my students but I think it's not allowed so you'll all have to use your imaginations.
This week was awesome when it comes to student interaction, not so much with the teaching but hey what can you do. On Thursday, I believe, I was walking home after classes with some students when I saw one of my boy students shimming up a coconut tree.... I mean he just climbed right on up there! It was awesome to watch. He chucked down a few coconuts and they graciously offered me one. I looked at the thing and said, "OK exactly what am I supposed to do with this?" They replied, "You drink it miss!" I said, "Yeah, OK, how?" Mind you we are just talking about a regular coconut, fresh off of the tree. They replied, "You break it open and drink it miss.." I said, "Ah...and how am I supposed to go about breaking this thing open?" They said, "With a machet (machetti for those Americans that may not put it together)" This was said like I was the dumbest person in the world. "Yeah...I get that but I unfortunately forgot my machet back in Minnesota...the airlines really don't like it when you bring giant knifes on the plane." They all thought I was hilarious and they cut it open for me. I had fresh coconut juice with the boys and then they sliced it in half and we had the soft inner goodness too. It was awesome! During that time we all talked about movies and some of these students can quote movies nearly as well as I can....:tear: I was so proud! They would definitely fit right on in at home ;)
Then after dinner I stuck around to hear marimba practice. These three boys always play the marimba after dinner. I stuck around and hung out with some other boys that wanted to stay and we all laughed, and talked about Minnesota. They taught me, sort of, their national anthem and another dance called Sapatiado. It was great! On the way walking home they kept warning me about Tata Duende. I asked who that was and they told me that he is an evil little man that likes to steal kids while they are walking home in the dark at night. Now I've heard that he either smells really good or like garbage right before he kidnaps people, so I'm prepared either way. It's fun to hear, everynight when I go home, someone warning me about Tata Duende. Pablo has a cute little figurine of him at home, I need to find one!
On Saturday the students decided that they wanted to read a poem for cultural night. It's called "Sonneys Lettah" and it's in creole. We found it in this Belizian book of poetry and short stories. It's great! The students decided that they wanted to act it out too, so we choreographed that! Too much fun! I also taught them spoons and we had a tournament, I was sadly beaten...dangit!
The students are all expressing an interest in learning hip hop so they had their first lesson today and they have decided that it's a lot harder than it looks but what to keep going. We are supposedly performing next culture night...we'll see.
At culture night this week, the 2nd form put on this cute presentation of the Yucatan culture. Then the 1st form acted out a story about Ananci the spider. Ananci is a collection of child stories. It was too cute and super funny! Then the 3rds performed the poem and I got to be a cop, woot! Thank God for my acting background....hahahaha. The last event was that the 1st form boys performed this fire dance, where they were swinging and twirling sticks with fire at the end. I was so nervous but it went off without a hitch and they did super well! Pablo put on rave sort of music and in a weird way it looked sort of like a rave with the fire and the pitch black night.
On Sunday I danced all morning in the performing arts class and played frisbee all afternoon with some students. At one point we were playing frisbee and football all at the same time...weird I know but we pulled it off! It was super hot and we all decided to go down to the river to go for a swim. I "slipped" into the water and I had three students yelling that they would save me....bah! What funny guys...LOL.....That water was fabulous! The boys were whining that the water was cold and I told them they hadn't experienced cold till they tried Lake Superior. I was just weird cause I wasn't cold. Along the river people sell crafts so I browsed with the students and just hung out, it was a good day!
Preparing to leave for PG on Wednesday, I left with Don Victor but I had to ride in the back of the pick up with the marimba. It was so much fun!! One of my students was convinced that I was going to die, riding in the back of a pick up?... and I had to remind him I wasn't made of glass and I had done this before....dork. It was so much fun, by the end of the drive I looked like Bridget Jones when she gets done in a certain convertible ride, but it was worth it. Wind in my hair, warm air swirling around me, and very few bugs to eat...perfect! It was great to be back in PG and all we did Thursday was sit in the sun and soak it all up....ahhh wonderful!
This post is sort of short and sweet and just highlights from the rest of the week I've had. I write more about the weekend when it's done :D Yay for the superbowl on Sunday! We are all heading out to a party at the Reef Bar to celebrate!
OK parentals. The clan is trying to make plans so I need to know what you are thinking for visiting. I may be in Guatemala when you decide to come out and how am I supposed to meet up with you....no cell phones and internet isn't exactly reliable. SO! Let's try to set this up. Please. Congrats to Nick with his goal and to the BW Blades and their 1st place! I wish I could have been there!!
Nick: also I have a student and we had a huge conversation about fishing, hunting, and videogames. You two should really meet! Though he speaks in creole half the time and it takes me a bit to figure out what he's trying to say. Cool kid. I wish you could come and visit me!
Dave: you should definitely check out ticket prices. Belize is beautiful!! I'm sure if you asked Cait she would let you know about travel plans and you could probably bop around with if you would like. I don't know, check it out.
My students really want to meet my friends and family so if anyone would like to visit during spring break, the students all say, "Come On Down!" LOL they are too funny! Hope all is well with all of you. I miss you and love you all!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Pictures!
Here are some fun pictures of the group at the Reef Bar, takenthis Thursday. The woman in the picture below is Joan, she
owns the bar, is british, and a hoot!!
A few pics lower are from last night (Friday) the girl on the far right is Jen and it was her 25th birthday last night so we had to take her out. The picture of the water is the view of the pier from the Reef.
Below that are some pics from the group at the Maya Temple Lubaantun and the view from my window...jungle :) enjoy!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Weekend
Hey All!
Wow I can't believe how long it's been since I last wrote on here....almost a week! There hasn't been as much going on as the first week but still some fun highlights!
This weekend did not go as planned. We were supposed to go to Placencia but it rained all weekend! I first arrived in PG on Wednesday night. Don Victor, the schools community liason and also boy dorm "manager" gave me a lift into town...bless him! When we got into town I immediately saw Mr. Sershaw (came into town with Linda, my instructor from Duluth) and Andy. They pointed the way to Ellen and off we went. Eventually we ran into Ellen (man I love small towns) and we both headed to Kristina's so I could drop my stuff off. Along the way we talked about how teaching was going and comparing how our experiences were a like and different. It's a slight walk to Kristina's and by the time we got there my back was killing me! I had to bring my big backpack because I needed to do laundry before we headed out for the weekend. When we showed up Kristina came out and said,"I thought I recognized that voice.." Yeah I get that a lot! She didn't get my message that I was coming into town but she was super cool about it and I went to put my things inside. I also met Kristina's friend, Jen, who also graduated from Duluth and is living in PG with Kristina until April. So I got to chat with her for a bit, she's super nice! Ellen headed home and I went with Kristina to go have dinner with Linda. Kristina lived with Linda part of the time that she went to school in Duluth so they are pretty close. We went to dinner at the Mangrove and it's the best resturant in town!! It's super small and intimate but the food is to die for! We chatted and I asked Linda some questions I had about student teaching. After that we said goodbye to Linda, who was flying out tomorrow, and headed home for sleep. I was so confused for Thursday and Friday because I didn't really have anything to do! No school, while everyone else was, and no big assignments that needed to be done. On Thursday, after lots of debating and chatting, we decided to not go to Placencia. It was supposed to rain all weekend and we decided to save our money and spend it when it was going to be a nice weekend. Turned out to be a great decision. The rest of Thursday I did my laundry, ran some errands in town, and met with Ellen again to go over curriculum and compare and contrast. Also just to blow off steam...the whole "teaching out of a book" is driving us both a little batty.
Friday the big plan was to go to an Andy Palacino memorial concert. Before that I went into town to run some errands, by myself. It's so weird for me to be in a small town! I'm used to this tiny little village. And to walk around by myself and feel a little iffy about it. In Blue Creek I can wander anywhere and I'm fine but in PG it's a little different. I don't like that I can't walk around town and feel 100% safe...it's annoying. Anywho...getting back to the topic. Sam and Lana (two other teachers from Duluth) had some students involved in the concert. So they came and picked me up and we headed out to the concert. Andy Palacio was a native of Belize and brought Garifuna music to the world and to a completely new level. He died just last year I believe. So to start off the concert they held a traditional Garifuna opening ceremony. It symbolizes the welcoming of the crowd, along with the ancestors that went before us. It's beautiful! They use three giant drums and everyone is singing and moving in a circle. Tons of color! Then they did a candle light procession in honor of Andy Palacio and that was gorgeous as well! After that they had people performing poems or songs of Andy's, Sam and Lana's students read a cute poem. Other talked about Andy and performed some of his music. It was so great because out at Tumul Kin, it's centered around the Maya culture. I only have 4 Garifuna students and they are as Maya as they can get. It was fun for me to see the other major culture in Belize and see some of the Garifuna traditions. After the concert we headed to the groups new favorite hang out, the Reef Bar. It's so funny because there is a Reef Bar in Duluth as well, must be fate! The bar is owned by this crazy British woman who is a hoot! And her chef is amazing! It was a fun night of hanging out, talking about teaching, meeting some locals, and dancing some punta!
The rest of the weekend was kept in doors. Literally all we did Saturday was sit on the couch and watch movies...nothing else we could do in the rain. Sunday some of us met up that evening to have dinner at the Mangrove...YUM...and chat about what we might do after we're done teaching. We have a rough idea but we know it will probably change about 20 times before we have it down. I was super nervous about the bus ride home on Monday. I had to take a bus from PG to the "Dump" is what they call it and then from there hop onto another bus to Tumul Kin....yeah just a tad bit nervous. The bus left at 6 am, so I had to be up by 5 am to walk down there and be on the bus in time. It wasn't too bad but super cramped! I realized that I hadn't been on this type of bus for about 6 years...yeah it was kinda fun! Luckily Lydia (money lady)and Mrs. Natividad (cook) both were on the bus and they both work at Tumul Kin so I felt a lot better. The bus for Tumul Kin was almost an hour late! Lydia and I joked that it must have been my fault, we Minnesotan's brought the rain and now the bus was late! The students almost went home but the bus eventually came. Wheew! That was an adventure, let me tell you!
This week has been going pretty well so far. On Tuesday the 2nd Form students had a movie night to raise funds for a class trip. Obviously I went to support them and they were showing "Transporter 3" so I was definitely there! These kids appreciate movies almost as much as I do..:tear:..it's so great! I walked a student who lives in the village to and from and found out that she's a Bon Jovi fan! Yeah we are best buds now! The movie night was fun and it was hilarious because all the students were cold and I was sitting there going, "are you serious?!" One student, Irael, stole my sweatshirt for the night because he was freezing! I just had to laugh at them. He wouldn't give me my sweatshirt back until right before the boys dorm and I had to promise to give him my sweatshirt when I left. I spose! He's adorable. Then on Wednesday they finished up a softball game. It was so much fun to watch! They don't use gloves...at all...talk about hard core! The best was when they got frustrated at the umpire..or whatever...they all started yelling in three or four different languages! It was hilarious! I could only understand every 10 words because they are yelling in Queqchi, Mopan, Creole, Spanish, and English! I had a student, Mirium, sitting next to me and she's just screaming in Spanglish! Good times all around :D Yesturday went pretty well. The best part was that we have been interviewing the 3rd form students for "jobs" as practice for the "real world." They all have been doing so well and my two trouble students, that always tend to be on behavior contracts, aced the activity!! I was so proud I thought my face was going to split into two!! Yay them! They are starting to really get it :D The rest of the day I chilled in the library. That night though I watched a football game (they spell it the same as us, just different sport) with Pablo (acedemic director), Thomas (computer director) and Filiberto (1st form core teacher). It was Belize against Honduras. So funny!!! Belize lost 2-0 but it was fun to watch the game with native Belicians. There were no Maya men on the team and that's why Belize lost...apparently :D
I thought I would share some cool customs I've learned throughout the past week. I don't know if I've mentioned it but everytime someone leaves the table they say, "Thank you everyone." and that's towards anyone in the room, whether at school or at home. Also they say "good night" to mean good evening...that messed me up a few times. Also we noticed that all the Maya woman we met had these beautiful gold earings. I wondered if it was a tradition, or if the girls got them at a certain age or whatever. Apparently the tradition started that the grooms would give their wives earings instead of a ring. The earings symbolized that they were married. Then it was an heirloom that would be passed down to the youngest daughter. It's lost most of that now and you can buy them anywhere but I thought it was a cool tradition.
An interesting question that Ellen and I came up with while talking is if there was any support in the schools or communities for students who are gay. We learned a lot in our Human Relations class last semester ~Thanks Helen!~ and we are very curious. I have a lot of boys out here who like to target some students that they are "gay" and needless to say whenever they pull those behaviors around me I stop it pretty quickly. One student was considered gay because of his pants and I reassured the students that a persons pants does not regulate a persons sexuality. When I posed the question to a couple of people I found out that there is no support whatsoever to any students if they are gay. There is apparently a huge underground group but for the most part the students were on their own. That didn't surprise me but I am concerned for students. [ Helen if you have any advice or think I'm going about something wrong please let me know! Your wisdom is always welcome!]
My biggest challenge right now is my teacher. He just turned 23 and has had no teaching training what so ever. Because of this we tend to butt heads on how he runs his classroom and he is very apprehensive about giving me full access to teaching the classes. I really don't think I'll be able to fully teach any classes while I am here. I'm super frustrated most days and I know part of it is because he has had no training but I feel like all I'm learning is how to help him with techniques I already know. Everytime I try to ask him things or introduce something I am ignored and he rolls right over me. Needless to say I'm quite frustrated but I'm trying to look at his perspective and to get as much teaching in as possible...it's not always easy!
That's pretty much been my week so far! More will definitely come after this weekend. The internet has been something of a butthead right now and isn't working full force, it took me over an hour to just pull this page up to write my post! So in other news I will only be here for 8 weeks (two months) Linda wants me to experience other types of teaching and I support that but I feel like I'm going to just get into my groove and then I'm leaving. I feel unsettled because I'm going to put so much into it but it won't fully come together because I'm leaving so soon. And I'm missing Maya Day! Boo! So I will be back in the US by March 23. So family, even friends, come visit me because I'm free to do whatever from March 5-21! Let me know!
Miss you all a ton and I love reading your comments! Puts a big smile on my face! Oh cait...wonderful comments! I giggled a lot! Pretty sure my students think I'm nuts everytime I read my comments and giggle...it's not common I guess....Kisses to all! Stay warm...tehehe :D
Wow I can't believe how long it's been since I last wrote on here....almost a week! There hasn't been as much going on as the first week but still some fun highlights!
This weekend did not go as planned. We were supposed to go to Placencia but it rained all weekend! I first arrived in PG on Wednesday night. Don Victor, the schools community liason and also boy dorm "manager" gave me a lift into town...bless him! When we got into town I immediately saw Mr. Sershaw (came into town with Linda, my instructor from Duluth) and Andy. They pointed the way to Ellen and off we went. Eventually we ran into Ellen (man I love small towns) and we both headed to Kristina's so I could drop my stuff off. Along the way we talked about how teaching was going and comparing how our experiences were a like and different. It's a slight walk to Kristina's and by the time we got there my back was killing me! I had to bring my big backpack because I needed to do laundry before we headed out for the weekend. When we showed up Kristina came out and said,"I thought I recognized that voice.." Yeah I get that a lot! She didn't get my message that I was coming into town but she was super cool about it and I went to put my things inside. I also met Kristina's friend, Jen, who also graduated from Duluth and is living in PG with Kristina until April. So I got to chat with her for a bit, she's super nice! Ellen headed home and I went with Kristina to go have dinner with Linda. Kristina lived with Linda part of the time that she went to school in Duluth so they are pretty close. We went to dinner at the Mangrove and it's the best resturant in town!! It's super small and intimate but the food is to die for! We chatted and I asked Linda some questions I had about student teaching. After that we said goodbye to Linda, who was flying out tomorrow, and headed home for sleep. I was so confused for Thursday and Friday because I didn't really have anything to do! No school, while everyone else was, and no big assignments that needed to be done. On Thursday, after lots of debating and chatting, we decided to not go to Placencia. It was supposed to rain all weekend and we decided to save our money and spend it when it was going to be a nice weekend. Turned out to be a great decision. The rest of Thursday I did my laundry, ran some errands in town, and met with Ellen again to go over curriculum and compare and contrast. Also just to blow off steam...the whole "teaching out of a book" is driving us both a little batty.
Friday the big plan was to go to an Andy Palacino memorial concert. Before that I went into town to run some errands, by myself. It's so weird for me to be in a small town! I'm used to this tiny little village. And to walk around by myself and feel a little iffy about it. In Blue Creek I can wander anywhere and I'm fine but in PG it's a little different. I don't like that I can't walk around town and feel 100% safe...it's annoying. Anywho...getting back to the topic. Sam and Lana (two other teachers from Duluth) had some students involved in the concert. So they came and picked me up and we headed out to the concert. Andy Palacio was a native of Belize and brought Garifuna music to the world and to a completely new level. He died just last year I believe. So to start off the concert they held a traditional Garifuna opening ceremony. It symbolizes the welcoming of the crowd, along with the ancestors that went before us. It's beautiful! They use three giant drums and everyone is singing and moving in a circle. Tons of color! Then they did a candle light procession in honor of Andy Palacio and that was gorgeous as well! After that they had people performing poems or songs of Andy's, Sam and Lana's students read a cute poem. Other talked about Andy and performed some of his music. It was so great because out at Tumul Kin, it's centered around the Maya culture. I only have 4 Garifuna students and they are as Maya as they can get. It was fun for me to see the other major culture in Belize and see some of the Garifuna traditions. After the concert we headed to the groups new favorite hang out, the Reef Bar. It's so funny because there is a Reef Bar in Duluth as well, must be fate! The bar is owned by this crazy British woman who is a hoot! And her chef is amazing! It was a fun night of hanging out, talking about teaching, meeting some locals, and dancing some punta!
The rest of the weekend was kept in doors. Literally all we did Saturday was sit on the couch and watch movies...nothing else we could do in the rain. Sunday some of us met up that evening to have dinner at the Mangrove...YUM...and chat about what we might do after we're done teaching. We have a rough idea but we know it will probably change about 20 times before we have it down. I was super nervous about the bus ride home on Monday. I had to take a bus from PG to the "Dump" is what they call it and then from there hop onto another bus to Tumul Kin....yeah just a tad bit nervous. The bus left at 6 am, so I had to be up by 5 am to walk down there and be on the bus in time. It wasn't too bad but super cramped! I realized that I hadn't been on this type of bus for about 6 years...yeah it was kinda fun! Luckily Lydia (money lady)and Mrs. Natividad (cook) both were on the bus and they both work at Tumul Kin so I felt a lot better. The bus for Tumul Kin was almost an hour late! Lydia and I joked that it must have been my fault, we Minnesotan's brought the rain and now the bus was late! The students almost went home but the bus eventually came. Wheew! That was an adventure, let me tell you!
This week has been going pretty well so far. On Tuesday the 2nd Form students had a movie night to raise funds for a class trip. Obviously I went to support them and they were showing "Transporter 3" so I was definitely there! These kids appreciate movies almost as much as I do..:tear:..it's so great! I walked a student who lives in the village to and from and found out that she's a Bon Jovi fan! Yeah we are best buds now! The movie night was fun and it was hilarious because all the students were cold and I was sitting there going, "are you serious?!" One student, Irael, stole my sweatshirt for the night because he was freezing! I just had to laugh at them. He wouldn't give me my sweatshirt back until right before the boys dorm and I had to promise to give him my sweatshirt when I left. I spose! He's adorable. Then on Wednesday they finished up a softball game. It was so much fun to watch! They don't use gloves...at all...talk about hard core! The best was when they got frustrated at the umpire..or whatever...they all started yelling in three or four different languages! It was hilarious! I could only understand every 10 words because they are yelling in Queqchi, Mopan, Creole, Spanish, and English! I had a student, Mirium, sitting next to me and she's just screaming in Spanglish! Good times all around :D Yesturday went pretty well. The best part was that we have been interviewing the 3rd form students for "jobs" as practice for the "real world." They all have been doing so well and my two trouble students, that always tend to be on behavior contracts, aced the activity!! I was so proud I thought my face was going to split into two!! Yay them! They are starting to really get it :D The rest of the day I chilled in the library. That night though I watched a football game (they spell it the same as us, just different sport) with Pablo (acedemic director), Thomas (computer director) and Filiberto (1st form core teacher). It was Belize against Honduras. So funny!!! Belize lost 2-0 but it was fun to watch the game with native Belicians. There were no Maya men on the team and that's why Belize lost...apparently :D
I thought I would share some cool customs I've learned throughout the past week. I don't know if I've mentioned it but everytime someone leaves the table they say, "Thank you everyone." and that's towards anyone in the room, whether at school or at home. Also they say "good night" to mean good evening...that messed me up a few times. Also we noticed that all the Maya woman we met had these beautiful gold earings. I wondered if it was a tradition, or if the girls got them at a certain age or whatever. Apparently the tradition started that the grooms would give their wives earings instead of a ring. The earings symbolized that they were married. Then it was an heirloom that would be passed down to the youngest daughter. It's lost most of that now and you can buy them anywhere but I thought it was a cool tradition.
An interesting question that Ellen and I came up with while talking is if there was any support in the schools or communities for students who are gay. We learned a lot in our Human Relations class last semester ~Thanks Helen!~ and we are very curious. I have a lot of boys out here who like to target some students that they are "gay" and needless to say whenever they pull those behaviors around me I stop it pretty quickly. One student was considered gay because of his pants and I reassured the students that a persons pants does not regulate a persons sexuality. When I posed the question to a couple of people I found out that there is no support whatsoever to any students if they are gay. There is apparently a huge underground group but for the most part the students were on their own. That didn't surprise me but I am concerned for students. [ Helen if you have any advice or think I'm going about something wrong please let me know! Your wisdom is always welcome!]
My biggest challenge right now is my teacher. He just turned 23 and has had no teaching training what so ever. Because of this we tend to butt heads on how he runs his classroom and he is very apprehensive about giving me full access to teaching the classes. I really don't think I'll be able to fully teach any classes while I am here. I'm super frustrated most days and I know part of it is because he has had no training but I feel like all I'm learning is how to help him with techniques I already know. Everytime I try to ask him things or introduce something I am ignored and he rolls right over me. Needless to say I'm quite frustrated but I'm trying to look at his perspective and to get as much teaching in as possible...it's not always easy!
That's pretty much been my week so far! More will definitely come after this weekend. The internet has been something of a butthead right now and isn't working full force, it took me over an hour to just pull this page up to write my post! So in other news I will only be here for 8 weeks (two months) Linda wants me to experience other types of teaching and I support that but I feel like I'm going to just get into my groove and then I'm leaving. I feel unsettled because I'm going to put so much into it but it won't fully come together because I'm leaving so soon. And I'm missing Maya Day! Boo! So I will be back in the US by March 23. So family, even friends, come visit me because I'm free to do whatever from March 5-21! Let me know!
Miss you all a ton and I love reading your comments! Puts a big smile on my face! Oh cait...wonderful comments! I giggled a lot! Pretty sure my students think I'm nuts everytime I read my comments and giggle...it's not common I guess....Kisses to all! Stay warm...tehehe :D
Monday, January 12, 2009
Too Much Fun!
Once again I am back, though this will probably my last one until next week Monday. So I have had class solid since last Monday. Like I told a bunch of you, their schedule goes 10 days in school and 4 out. So Wednesday will be the last day and we are free until next Monday. A lot has happened this week. I finaly moved into my room here on campus. I live with Pablo (Acedemic Director) and Roxanna (Vet and Farm Director). It's been really nice to have my own room and I have keys to both doors, so it's almost like I have my own apartment again. It's also awesome because I get to be closer to the students and really get to interact with them a bunch more!
After classes Roxy and I usually go out to the field to watch the boys play futbol. The students recently started their own team so they practice as much as possible. They also have to run every morning at 5 am, then go to practicals (which is working out at the farms) and then come in and go to class. The past couple of days I have had a lot of sore, and slightly cranky students. Most of the boys don't have shoes either....I hurt for them when I watch them block and kick during practice. One student of mine is an awesome goalie! He has Castillo potential! One of the younger students scored on his own team....poor guy....he's super small too. We all had a good laugh...he has yet to redeam himself but I'm sure it's coming.
I challenged my students a little more later in the week by reading "The Rave" by Poe. I knew this would be more challenging but I wanted to see what they would do. They all did very well with the poem! The imagery was difficult but the metaphors they recognized instantly and they participated well within class. Saturday night was "Culture Night" The students put skits together and they also dance. I was very excited to go! The 3rd form put on a skit about the avery (bees) and what they had learned throughout the unit. One of the students names was "Miss Garnet," I think she likes me :D I had a lot of fun and learned tons throughout the night. Watching the students dance was my favorite part! They danced marimba and Harp dances. The students tried to teach me, I'm super bad at it but I'm learning! Then they danced "Punta," this dance came from the garifina people that eventually settled here in Belize and is super popular among the students. We have two girls that are crowed the Punta Queens. I didn't have the guts to try it but I started a little bit. It's a mix between intense salsa and what we see on the dance floor every Saturday at Grandma's. LOL. It was awesome and two of the boys are dance champs! They were super fun to watch.... one of the younger boys was my partner for the marimba at the end of the night...what a brave fellow! Don't worry....I have photographic evidence of my suckiness :D The best part of the night was just hanging out and laughing with the students. They are really warming up and we had a lot of fun. They all told me I have to dress up in traditional Mopan clothes for the next culture night...so there will be awesome pictures to tag along with that!
Sunday was a very busy day! Sunday's are extra class day or bonus classes. They have class from 9-12 doing a specialty class like basket weaving, performing arts, marimba, etc. I had so much fun going from class to class seeing what their putting together. I spent a lot of time in the weaving class, watching my student Iris and how she made her basket. It has the same basic principles of making a dream catcher. My other student, Daniel, talked me through how they collected the materials to make the baskets. Next week they are going to take me out to show me how it's done....woot! and they are going to help me make my own! Double WOOT! Then Linda ( my professor) and the other student teachers came out! It was great to see their faces and we all took a tour around campus. We learned that when addressing Maya people you never say "Mayan" because that insinuates that they are dead or gone...and the Maya people are most definitely still around. Also you never say Maya ruins...it's temples...because the temples are still alive and still holy to them. We also got to see my student, Brendano, play the marimba. The cool part is that Brendano is blind. He plays marimba better than most I've seen play....for people who may get it....he's close to Carl Ostmo level...that's huge! It was an honor to watch him play, especially with my classmates to watch as well. After we watched other students and their activities and some of the students performed a marimba dance for the other teachers. Then they recieved a tour of where they make the honey, water, jam, and pickled peppers (tehe) that they made and sell here at Tumul kin. Linda bought to things on honey! All good stuff...and it's grown all here at Tumul Kin. If anyone wants anything...let me know!
After the tour at the school we (student teachers, Linda and Jim - another supervisor) went to the Lubaantun temple. Here is where they found on of the Crystal Skulls!! Indian Jones freaks can geek out now! It was so neat to walk through and learn about the crystal skull and the story behind it. Also we toured the temple and saw where they probably played games like Maya ball, etc. Very neat place and so open! We did a lot of snooping around and climbing on the temple. We ditched the tour guide about half way into it....what can we say....we like to just walk and take in our own impressions. Afterward we stopped for lunch, and by lunch I mean a coke and some cheetos. Along the way up to and away from the temple there were people selling a bunch are arts and crafts....mom you would have never left. Our tour guide makes whistles, he models them from the whistles found at the temple. I definitely got a whistle...they are super neat! We then headed to Blue Creek after the temple and lunch.
Blue Creek is the village where Kumul Kin is. OH Tumul Kin is Mopan for "A New Day" in case anyone was interested. Blue Creek has the largest cave system in the area so of course we took a tour of the caves. It is quite a hike to get the the caves. Combo of jumping and rock climbing but it was so beautiful in getting there. We stopped by the river and there was a nice dock to sit on. The water is so clear you could see ALL the fish in the river. It's protected land so you can't fish...darnit...but it was awesome to just look and see. We could also see bats hanging from the dead trees near the river. After about a 30 min, semi intense hike, we got to the opening of the caves. Breathtaking doesn't even cover it! It was so gorgeous...I didn't want to move...it was almost holy. I can say that my keens payed for themselves and thank you dad for the headlamp! Life saver! We swam through the caves. I mean saw....there was hardly any walking..and half the time we were against the current. There were some interesting moments getting over the full current areas to keep going forward. At the end it took a lot of muscle to get over this mini cliff with the rapid going through. We only got half of us up before the guide said...yeah too dangerous...we're turning back. I was at the top for awhile...then I went to go yell incouragement to a fellow peer and the current grabed me and pulled me down to the bottom. On the way I went face first into a boulder...ouch. I'm fine! Only scrapped up knees and a big smile when I popped back up...it was wild! All the guys said was that one moment i was there and the next they saw a light under the water....lol....they were a tad confused. We swam back...little easier going with the current....I must say that coming out of the caves gave us an even great view of the jungle! Again I'll have to use breathtaking and holy. We all chilled there for a bit, taking in the scenery, and of course took a Keens picture. Those babies saved our lives! Linda even got in on the pic!
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I got back and chatted with some students and Heather and Rosemary. Everyone was coming back from the softball game that they had that afternoon. I watched the boys play futbal and joked around with the students. Had a frozen, chocolate covered banana...delicious! Toured the girls dorm and chatted with them a bit, then headed home. Cleaned my knees, took stock of the bruises (All well deserved!) and watched a movie with Pablo and Roxy. Great day indeed!
Thank you to all that have written comments! I love getting them! OH I almost forgot...there was a snake in the roof of my classroom on saturday! I was sure it was going to land on me! It stayed up there but I stood in the back of the class the rest of the day.
Dave- mostly they want to make the curriculum more condusive to ESL style, English as a Second language. Linda talked to the staff today about it and I'm going to be asked to look through and see where they need improvement and what ideas I can lend them. That's the short answer.
Hope you all are enjoying the cold...tehehe! This upcoming week we are headed to Placencia as a group! Dad I'll let you know how it is and Mom you guys have to let me know what the plan is. Still unsure if I'm staying here 8 or 16 weeks. Hopefully I'll have a meeting with Linda after classes on Wednesday and we can straighten it out. Love you all! Kisses!
After classes Roxy and I usually go out to the field to watch the boys play futbol. The students recently started their own team so they practice as much as possible. They also have to run every morning at 5 am, then go to practicals (which is working out at the farms) and then come in and go to class. The past couple of days I have had a lot of sore, and slightly cranky students. Most of the boys don't have shoes either....I hurt for them when I watch them block and kick during practice. One student of mine is an awesome goalie! He has Castillo potential! One of the younger students scored on his own team....poor guy....he's super small too. We all had a good laugh...he has yet to redeam himself but I'm sure it's coming.
I challenged my students a little more later in the week by reading "The Rave" by Poe. I knew this would be more challenging but I wanted to see what they would do. They all did very well with the poem! The imagery was difficult but the metaphors they recognized instantly and they participated well within class. Saturday night was "Culture Night" The students put skits together and they also dance. I was very excited to go! The 3rd form put on a skit about the avery (bees) and what they had learned throughout the unit. One of the students names was "Miss Garnet," I think she likes me :D I had a lot of fun and learned tons throughout the night. Watching the students dance was my favorite part! They danced marimba and Harp dances. The students tried to teach me, I'm super bad at it but I'm learning! Then they danced "Punta," this dance came from the garifina people that eventually settled here in Belize and is super popular among the students. We have two girls that are crowed the Punta Queens. I didn't have the guts to try it but I started a little bit. It's a mix between intense salsa and what we see on the dance floor every Saturday at Grandma's. LOL. It was awesome and two of the boys are dance champs! They were super fun to watch.... one of the younger boys was my partner for the marimba at the end of the night...what a brave fellow! Don't worry....I have photographic evidence of my suckiness :D The best part of the night was just hanging out and laughing with the students. They are really warming up and we had a lot of fun. They all told me I have to dress up in traditional Mopan clothes for the next culture night...so there will be awesome pictures to tag along with that!
Sunday was a very busy day! Sunday's are extra class day or bonus classes. They have class from 9-12 doing a specialty class like basket weaving, performing arts, marimba, etc. I had so much fun going from class to class seeing what their putting together. I spent a lot of time in the weaving class, watching my student Iris and how she made her basket. It has the same basic principles of making a dream catcher. My other student, Daniel, talked me through how they collected the materials to make the baskets. Next week they are going to take me out to show me how it's done....woot! and they are going to help me make my own! Double WOOT! Then Linda ( my professor) and the other student teachers came out! It was great to see their faces and we all took a tour around campus. We learned that when addressing Maya people you never say "Mayan" because that insinuates that they are dead or gone...and the Maya people are most definitely still around. Also you never say Maya ruins...it's temples...because the temples are still alive and still holy to them. We also got to see my student, Brendano, play the marimba. The cool part is that Brendano is blind. He plays marimba better than most I've seen play....for people who may get it....he's close to Carl Ostmo level...that's huge! It was an honor to watch him play, especially with my classmates to watch as well. After we watched other students and their activities and some of the students performed a marimba dance for the other teachers. Then they recieved a tour of where they make the honey, water, jam, and pickled peppers (tehe) that they made and sell here at Tumul kin. Linda bought to things on honey! All good stuff...and it's grown all here at Tumul Kin. If anyone wants anything...let me know!
After the tour at the school we (student teachers, Linda and Jim - another supervisor) went to the Lubaantun temple. Here is where they found on of the Crystal Skulls!! Indian Jones freaks can geek out now! It was so neat to walk through and learn about the crystal skull and the story behind it. Also we toured the temple and saw where they probably played games like Maya ball, etc. Very neat place and so open! We did a lot of snooping around and climbing on the temple. We ditched the tour guide about half way into it....what can we say....we like to just walk and take in our own impressions. Afterward we stopped for lunch, and by lunch I mean a coke and some cheetos. Along the way up to and away from the temple there were people selling a bunch are arts and crafts....mom you would have never left. Our tour guide makes whistles, he models them from the whistles found at the temple. I definitely got a whistle...they are super neat! We then headed to Blue Creek after the temple and lunch.
Blue Creek is the village where Kumul Kin is. OH Tumul Kin is Mopan for "A New Day" in case anyone was interested. Blue Creek has the largest cave system in the area so of course we took a tour of the caves. It is quite a hike to get the the caves. Combo of jumping and rock climbing but it was so beautiful in getting there. We stopped by the river and there was a nice dock to sit on. The water is so clear you could see ALL the fish in the river. It's protected land so you can't fish...darnit...but it was awesome to just look and see. We could also see bats hanging from the dead trees near the river. After about a 30 min, semi intense hike, we got to the opening of the caves. Breathtaking doesn't even cover it! It was so gorgeous...I didn't want to move...it was almost holy. I can say that my keens payed for themselves and thank you dad for the headlamp! Life saver! We swam through the caves. I mean saw....there was hardly any walking..and half the time we were against the current. There were some interesting moments getting over the full current areas to keep going forward. At the end it took a lot of muscle to get over this mini cliff with the rapid going through. We only got half of us up before the guide said...yeah too dangerous...we're turning back. I was at the top for awhile...then I went to go yell incouragement to a fellow peer and the current grabed me and pulled me down to the bottom. On the way I went face first into a boulder...ouch. I'm fine! Only scrapped up knees and a big smile when I popped back up...it was wild! All the guys said was that one moment i was there and the next they saw a light under the water....lol....they were a tad confused. We swam back...little easier going with the current....I must say that coming out of the caves gave us an even great view of the jungle! Again I'll have to use breathtaking and holy. We all chilled there for a bit, taking in the scenery, and of course took a Keens picture. Those babies saved our lives! Linda even got in on the pic!
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I got back and chatted with some students and Heather and Rosemary. Everyone was coming back from the softball game that they had that afternoon. I watched the boys play futbal and joked around with the students. Had a frozen, chocolate covered banana...delicious! Toured the girls dorm and chatted with them a bit, then headed home. Cleaned my knees, took stock of the bruises (All well deserved!) and watched a movie with Pablo and Roxy. Great day indeed!
Thank you to all that have written comments! I love getting them! OH I almost forgot...there was a snake in the roof of my classroom on saturday! I was sure it was going to land on me! It stayed up there but I stood in the back of the class the rest of the day.
Dave- mostly they want to make the curriculum more condusive to ESL style, English as a Second language. Linda talked to the staff today about it and I'm going to be asked to look through and see where they need improvement and what ideas I can lend them. That's the short answer.
Hope you all are enjoying the cold...tehehe! This upcoming week we are headed to Placencia as a group! Dad I'll let you know how it is and Mom you guys have to let me know what the plan is. Still unsure if I'm staying here 8 or 16 weeks. Hopefully I'll have a meeting with Linda after classes on Wednesday and we can straighten it out. Love you all! Kisses!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Having Fun!
Hey all!
The days are literally flying by! Hopefully this weekend I will get a visit from all the other student teachers that are in PG. Linda will be joining them. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked how long I will be teaching here. Everytime I say, "about two months." I see very long faces. When I mention four months I get a "good!"
Quick shout out: Every year Tumul Kin has a Maya Day. They put a lot of work into this celebration. Right now preparations have already begun and they are looking for sponsers to help with the financial end of things. It takes a lot of money to put together. The events go over 13 days, because 13 is a very important number in the Maya culture. If anyone knows anyone who would be interested please email me (mayox034@d.umn.edu) and I will send their official letter requesting their help.
So anywho...the days are flying by. I'm still not into my room that will be on campus. I will be living with Pablo and Roxanna. Pablo is the acedemic director and Roxanna is the farm director and also a vet. Both are very nice! Pablo keeps giving me looks when I talk about leaving....lol. The door is not yet fixed to my room so I'm still living with Aurelio and Esther. Their son, Otsille, has been sick the past couple of days so we have a very crabby two year old on our hands. He loves to watch "Spirit" from Disney. I must confess I'm a fan myself....now. I have found a family that appreciates movies as much as I do! Ah people after my own heart! Aurelio and I have already started to teach together and everyday I have been reading to the classes. I'll pick a poem or short story. They are loving it so far....lets hope it doesn't go out of style. Aurelio and Pablo have asked me to help them redue their English curriculum and to give as much feedback and advice as I can. Needless to say I'm a tad nervous but it seems to be going well so far.
The students have been awesome! First and third form are very energetic and love to talk...perfect! There is a lot of good energy coming out of those classes and they are progressing very well. Second form is a very small class, only four students. They are a quiet group but love to laugh! I think we will get along quit nicely and they are very bright. Fourth form is going to be the challenge. They are not enthused to be in English and tend to not say anything. No worries guys.....a few more days with me and they won't be able to stop talking. OH BONUS!! I already have some students hooked on William Wordsworth! Awesome!
That is it for now. Love to you all! Hollar to Helen! Hope it works next time!
The days are literally flying by! Hopefully this weekend I will get a visit from all the other student teachers that are in PG. Linda will be joining them. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked how long I will be teaching here. Everytime I say, "about two months." I see very long faces. When I mention four months I get a "good!"
Quick shout out: Every year Tumul Kin has a Maya Day. They put a lot of work into this celebration. Right now preparations have already begun and they are looking for sponsers to help with the financial end of things. It takes a lot of money to put together. The events go over 13 days, because 13 is a very important number in the Maya culture. If anyone knows anyone who would be interested please email me (mayox034@d.umn.edu) and I will send their official letter requesting their help.
So anywho...the days are flying by. I'm still not into my room that will be on campus. I will be living with Pablo and Roxanna. Pablo is the acedemic director and Roxanna is the farm director and also a vet. Both are very nice! Pablo keeps giving me looks when I talk about leaving....lol. The door is not yet fixed to my room so I'm still living with Aurelio and Esther. Their son, Otsille, has been sick the past couple of days so we have a very crabby two year old on our hands. He loves to watch "Spirit" from Disney. I must confess I'm a fan myself....now. I have found a family that appreciates movies as much as I do! Ah people after my own heart! Aurelio and I have already started to teach together and everyday I have been reading to the classes. I'll pick a poem or short story. They are loving it so far....lets hope it doesn't go out of style. Aurelio and Pablo have asked me to help them redue their English curriculum and to give as much feedback and advice as I can. Needless to say I'm a tad nervous but it seems to be going well so far.
The students have been awesome! First and third form are very energetic and love to talk...perfect! There is a lot of good energy coming out of those classes and they are progressing very well. Second form is a very small class, only four students. They are a quiet group but love to laugh! I think we will get along quit nicely and they are very bright. Fourth form is going to be the challenge. They are not enthused to be in English and tend to not say anything. No worries guys.....a few more days with me and they won't be able to stop talking. OH BONUS!! I already have some students hooked on William Wordsworth! Awesome!
That is it for now. Love to you all! Hollar to Helen! Hope it works next time!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
My How the Time Flys
Hey All!!
Wow...OK....a lot has happened in a very short time. Well the second day in PG was just as amazing as the first. I got up early, after a big night singing away to "The Piano Man" among other classics, and headed towards Kristina's sisters place. My fellow teachers Sam and Lana liver there. We ate breakfast and then headed into town to go shopping. I really wanted a bag to carry all my crap in and Sam needed sunglasses and a hat. We wound up running into Andrew (another teacher). We're pretty sure that is going to be the theme during the trip...running into Andrew. He tends to wander. We all bopped around town for a bit but it was so hot that we decided to go swimming. Again there was jumping off the pier. One of these days I will be able to take a picture so you all have a visual. There were a couple of local boys there and they played a great trick on Lana. They kept telling her is wasn't safe to swim off the pier because there were barracudas and sharks. They must of over heard us talking about sharks. Lana got out of the water in a hurry. We tried to tell her they were pulling her leg but she didn't believe us. The boys saying all this were about 14 years old. Then another local boy showed up and when Lana asked about the barracudas and sharks he just laughed at her. LOL. We laughed but she wasn't impresses....at all. We stayed there, basking in the sun, and eventually ran into the rest of the group. We had plans to go kayaking at 2 so the girls and I went off to find food before we headed out. I got to eat Chinese! Judy this is when you become jealous. It was fantastic! We were stuffed to the gills by the time we ended up back at Celia's place to go kayaking.
Celia works for a company called TIDE and they were the ones that took us out onto the river. I can't recall the rivers name at the moment but I will ask my teacher and get back to you all. Anywho....the trip was amazing!! We started off on this wide part of the river but eventually it got narrower and narrower! We were in the heart of the jungle and it was crazy! We saw crocodiles, monkeys, crabs, and different types of birds. It was beautiful! I thought Baloo from the Jungle Book was going to join us at any moment. Sam and I entertained our guide by singing away in the jungle. Those who know me know this isn't a big shock. We could only go so far on the river and when we reached our end point we got out of the kayaks and swam around. It felt good to swim in fresh water! Lana refused to get out of the Kayak because of the crocodiles. LOL. The rest of us looked for veins that we could swim on to fall into the river but unfortutately there were none to be found. Next we paddled all the way back to where we started and then kept going until we reached the ocean! That was super cool as well! I wanted to just sit out there for awhile but everyone else wanted to get going.
After kayaking our biggest challenge was figuring out how I was going to get out to Tumul Kin. No one really knew what was going on. We walked from Celia's place out to Kristina's sisters. Neither Kristina nor her sisters were home. They all went out to the farm. So the girls and I hung out with their home stay sisters and watched the Disney channel. It's a tough life I have to say. When Kristina got back we walked to her place and there I met Esther and Aurelio. They had come from Tumul Kin to pick me up!! I could finally go out there and see what I was going to be doing for the next 8 weeks! We stopped and ate and there I found out that Aurelio, Esthers husband, is my teacher I will be working with! We definitely chatted a lot because I had tons of questions. They also brought their two year old, Otsile, along for the ride. I could tell that this was going to be fun!
Esther and her husband have been housing me ever since. They really are very nice people and their son is tons of fun. The next day I went to Tumul Kin for the first time and it's a great school! There is another Peace Corp. volunteer working here so there is someone I can talk to if need be. Her name is Heather and she is from Florida. Esther took me around the school and I met the staff. I thought names were difficult before.....WHEW!.... I have my work cut out for me. I also watched, and assisted, Aurelio with two classes. The classes here go from Form 1 to Form 4. 5th Form is like an independent study. Form 1 is like a freshmen in high school and 4 are like seniors. They offer a lot of cultural classes, like Maya history and Maya language. The two dialects spoken in Belize are Mopan and Queichi. There is a lot to see, no doubt about it. They also have a farm on campus and they learn about farming and farm animals while at school. They even have bees! They produce their own products that they sell to the public, honey and jam are two of the products. Aurelio is also helping to start up a radio station here on campus. There is a lot to see. My first day I also met the US ambassador for Belize! yeah.....weird day.
I had a meeting yesturday with some of the staff to see what I can do here in Tumul Kin and what I want out of the experience. We decided that I would obviously help Aurelio out with the English aspect, because he teaches English, and I would also help out with an after school study program and with an arts program that deals with acting and dancing. How perfect is that!?!?! Eventually I will be moving out to campus but the door is broken and the bed has to be moved so Esther and Aurelio have to put up with me until that is done.
Well I'm going to be late for class so this is adieu.
P.S. Dee....I'm on it! No worries. Dave....you're a dork and I write these at the speed of light so screw you! Hey to the family, yes I to am glad that I have not been eaten yet. Though I do have tucan's outside my window everyday....yeah heart of the jungle! Waren.....tell the fam I miss them and I miss you tons! Everyone I missed....sorry I'm writing fast! Peace All!
Wow...OK....a lot has happened in a very short time. Well the second day in PG was just as amazing as the first. I got up early, after a big night singing away to "The Piano Man" among other classics, and headed towards Kristina's sisters place. My fellow teachers Sam and Lana liver there. We ate breakfast and then headed into town to go shopping. I really wanted a bag to carry all my crap in and Sam needed sunglasses and a hat. We wound up running into Andrew (another teacher). We're pretty sure that is going to be the theme during the trip...running into Andrew. He tends to wander. We all bopped around town for a bit but it was so hot that we decided to go swimming. Again there was jumping off the pier. One of these days I will be able to take a picture so you all have a visual. There were a couple of local boys there and they played a great trick on Lana. They kept telling her is wasn't safe to swim off the pier because there were barracudas and sharks. They must of over heard us talking about sharks. Lana got out of the water in a hurry. We tried to tell her they were pulling her leg but she didn't believe us. The boys saying all this were about 14 years old. Then another local boy showed up and when Lana asked about the barracudas and sharks he just laughed at her. LOL. We laughed but she wasn't impresses....at all. We stayed there, basking in the sun, and eventually ran into the rest of the group. We had plans to go kayaking at 2 so the girls and I went off to find food before we headed out. I got to eat Chinese! Judy this is when you become jealous. It was fantastic! We were stuffed to the gills by the time we ended up back at Celia's place to go kayaking.
Celia works for a company called TIDE and they were the ones that took us out onto the river. I can't recall the rivers name at the moment but I will ask my teacher and get back to you all. Anywho....the trip was amazing!! We started off on this wide part of the river but eventually it got narrower and narrower! We were in the heart of the jungle and it was crazy! We saw crocodiles, monkeys, crabs, and different types of birds. It was beautiful! I thought Baloo from the Jungle Book was going to join us at any moment. Sam and I entertained our guide by singing away in the jungle. Those who know me know this isn't a big shock. We could only go so far on the river and when we reached our end point we got out of the kayaks and swam around. It felt good to swim in fresh water! Lana refused to get out of the Kayak because of the crocodiles. LOL. The rest of us looked for veins that we could swim on to fall into the river but unfortutately there were none to be found. Next we paddled all the way back to where we started and then kept going until we reached the ocean! That was super cool as well! I wanted to just sit out there for awhile but everyone else wanted to get going.
After kayaking our biggest challenge was figuring out how I was going to get out to Tumul Kin. No one really knew what was going on. We walked from Celia's place out to Kristina's sisters. Neither Kristina nor her sisters were home. They all went out to the farm. So the girls and I hung out with their home stay sisters and watched the Disney channel. It's a tough life I have to say. When Kristina got back we walked to her place and there I met Esther and Aurelio. They had come from Tumul Kin to pick me up!! I could finally go out there and see what I was going to be doing for the next 8 weeks! We stopped and ate and there I found out that Aurelio, Esthers husband, is my teacher I will be working with! We definitely chatted a lot because I had tons of questions. They also brought their two year old, Otsile, along for the ride. I could tell that this was going to be fun!
Esther and her husband have been housing me ever since. They really are very nice people and their son is tons of fun. The next day I went to Tumul Kin for the first time and it's a great school! There is another Peace Corp. volunteer working here so there is someone I can talk to if need be. Her name is Heather and she is from Florida. Esther took me around the school and I met the staff. I thought names were difficult before.....WHEW!.... I have my work cut out for me. I also watched, and assisted, Aurelio with two classes. The classes here go from Form 1 to Form 4. 5th Form is like an independent study. Form 1 is like a freshmen in high school and 4 are like seniors. They offer a lot of cultural classes, like Maya history and Maya language. The two dialects spoken in Belize are Mopan and Queichi. There is a lot to see, no doubt about it. They also have a farm on campus and they learn about farming and farm animals while at school. They even have bees! They produce their own products that they sell to the public, honey and jam are two of the products. Aurelio is also helping to start up a radio station here on campus. There is a lot to see. My first day I also met the US ambassador for Belize! yeah.....weird day.
I had a meeting yesturday with some of the staff to see what I can do here in Tumul Kin and what I want out of the experience. We decided that I would obviously help Aurelio out with the English aspect, because he teaches English, and I would also help out with an after school study program and with an arts program that deals with acting and dancing. How perfect is that!?!?! Eventually I will be moving out to campus but the door is broken and the bed has to be moved so Esther and Aurelio have to put up with me until that is done.
Well I'm going to be late for class so this is adieu.
P.S. Dee....I'm on it! No worries. Dave....you're a dork and I write these at the speed of light so screw you! Hey to the family, yes I to am glad that I have not been eaten yet. Though I do have tucan's outside my window everyday....yeah heart of the jungle! Waren.....tell the fam I miss them and I miss you tons! Everyone I missed....sorry I'm writing fast! Peace All!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
First Full Day in PG
Hey all! The first day was tons of fun!! We woke up, ate breakfest, and headed towards one of the elementary schools to meet up with a group member. Once we found her, we decided to explore PG in the day time and explore the market. We spent about an hour wandering the streets, checking out shops, etc. We eventually wandered over to the peer and spent an hour jumping off the peer and hanging out with some of the locals. I believe there was a "jumping" contest for a tad bit. After basking in the 85 degree heat and swimming in the ocean......yeah had to emphisize that.....we headed back towards Celia's house to wait and see what type of orientation we would have. Along the way we met up with a few other peers so we were almost a whole group by the end of it!
We sat at Celia's house for awhile, chatted, then went to other peer's houses to meet their host families and to see where everyone lived. Celia showed up around 3:30 and we had a brief orientation. After that, we decided to go out to eat and finish up our orientation. We went to the local ice cream shop and had a wonderful dinner! Ellen (peer) ate a grouper.....and I mean everything! Apparently the eyes are wonderful! We then road out to a woman's house named Kristina. Kristina actually graduated from UMD and does human right's work here in PG. She is a native of PG as well. We went to see if I could hang with her since Celia already had John and Eddie. Kristina was more than welcoming and we chatted for about an hour and a half about her work and Duluth. She is so great and really helped me settle in.
After we finished our chat we met up with the group at the local Kareokee bar... (Sp??) I can't even describe the shinannigans that went on there but we all had a great time and Kristina joined in so we really got to know her and bond a little more as a group. All in all....great day! Tomorrow the plan is to go kayaking and hopefully ship me off to Tulmolcan...my school. It's 20 miles away from PG so this is going to be interesting!
HAHAHAHA to the snow and stormes heading your way. Shout out to Nick....WELL DONE! SO PROUD!! Can you check yet? Love ya.....lol.....
We sat at Celia's house for awhile, chatted, then went to other peer's houses to meet their host families and to see where everyone lived. Celia showed up around 3:30 and we had a brief orientation. After that, we decided to go out to eat and finish up our orientation. We went to the local ice cream shop and had a wonderful dinner! Ellen (peer) ate a grouper.....and I mean everything! Apparently the eyes are wonderful! We then road out to a woman's house named Kristina. Kristina actually graduated from UMD and does human right's work here in PG. She is a native of PG as well. We went to see if I could hang with her since Celia already had John and Eddie. Kristina was more than welcoming and we chatted for about an hour and a half about her work and Duluth. She is so great and really helped me settle in.
After we finished our chat we met up with the group at the local Kareokee bar... (Sp??) I can't even describe the shinannigans that went on there but we all had a great time and Kristina joined in so we really got to know her and bond a little more as a group. All in all....great day! Tomorrow the plan is to go kayaking and hopefully ship me off to Tulmolcan...my school. It's 20 miles away from PG so this is going to be interesting!
HAHAHAHA to the snow and stormes heading your way. Shout out to Nick....WELL DONE! SO PROUD!! Can you check yet? Love ya.....lol.....
Friday, January 2, 2009
Safe and Sound
Great Googly Moogly we made it! We are all officially in Punta Gorda, Belize. The trip started off well. We actually left on time....which shocked me!......and headed toward Miami. I have no idea what the flight was like because I slept throughout the entire flight! We were all running on fumes so we all basically slept or watched the in flight movie. When we got to Miami we all camped out on a set of chairs and hunted down food. Our last "American" meal was Pizza Hut! We all got comfortable, read books, and chatted about the next upcoming months. We then boarded again and headed out to Belize City. When we got Belize City we were so happy to feel the warm air! It was great! We headed through customs and sat in yet another sitting area, waiting for our puddle hopper. Oh the puddle hopper! It was so much fun and we had three stops. By the time we landed in Punta Gorda the sun was almost set.
The fun really started when we got to Punta Gorda. We were met by a man named Ceasar. Celia is the woman in charge of the operation on the Belize end and Ceasar is her brother. Celia is not in town so she had her brother pick us up. He knew very little of what was supposed to be happening.....we had no idea.....together we were all clueless. As my luck goes.....they had no idea who I was.....AWESOME......so figuring out where I was supposed to stay for the weekend proved interesting. Ceasar was very nice and told me not to worry about it.....Mi casa es su casa! I am staying at Celia's place with two classmates until we figure out what else to do. The three of us had dinner with Ceasar and pestered him with questions. After dinner we wanted to take a walk to see more of Punta Gorda. Ceaser took us around town and we ended up at the Upstairs Lounge and played some pool and drank a beer.
Tomorrow we plan on going to the schools and going to the market. I'm anxious to see what else we will see tomorrow! Night all.....I need sleep!
The fun really started when we got to Punta Gorda. We were met by a man named Ceasar. Celia is the woman in charge of the operation on the Belize end and Ceasar is her brother. Celia is not in town so she had her brother pick us up. He knew very little of what was supposed to be happening.....we had no idea.....together we were all clueless. As my luck goes.....they had no idea who I was.....AWESOME......so figuring out where I was supposed to stay for the weekend proved interesting. Ceasar was very nice and told me not to worry about it.....Mi casa es su casa! I am staying at Celia's place with two classmates until we figure out what else to do. The three of us had dinner with Ceasar and pestered him with questions. After dinner we wanted to take a walk to see more of Punta Gorda. Ceaser took us around town and we ended up at the Upstairs Lounge and played some pool and drank a beer.
Tomorrow we plan on going to the schools and going to the market. I'm anxious to see what else we will see tomorrow! Night all.....I need sleep!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Freakin Out Man!
OK... so heading to Belize Central America (no commas for Judy :D ) at 6 am tomorrow morning! I can't even describe what is going through my mind right now. Mostly, I hope I don't screw up my students. That being said, I am very excited to get there just to meet the people and really start flexing my "teaching" muscles. I'm fortunate that I have awesome family and friends. They all have supported me throughout the planning and now executing process. This last night in the US...with the beloved diet coke and chicken enchiladas....I get to hang out with them and hope that the next few months go swimmingly....
Until next time....this is Garnet....:chhhhuuuuurrrrrr:.....over and out!
Until next time....this is Garnet....:chhhhuuuuurrrrrr:.....over and out!
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