As I started this week of teaching, I began to think about the differences in teaching here in Belize and teaching in Wilmington. One thing is for certain and that is the teaching here in San Pedro is a lot less stressful and little pressure exists. In Wilmington I would constantly be thinking about every lesson and every detail in every lesson to make sure everything was ready and perfect. Life is not as face-paced here as it is in Wilmington so all those worries have dissipated into the air.
During the school day teachers do not fret over making sure everything is done perfectly. They have so much confidence in their students and in the abilities that exist in the classroom. I have taken on this attitude during my time here and it has made teaching so much more enjoyable.
One thing that is certain is that technology is not readily available here as it is in Wilmington. I cannot Google something or print out worksheets easily; I cannot even look something up when my students have questions. I have had to be as creative as possible and utilize all the resources that I can put my hands on. It has made me appreciate teaching in a whole new way!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Pageants, Parasailing, and Paradise
As it was our last weekend here in San Pedro, we had to make the most of every opportunity. We started by going parasailing- my first time ever! We met someone from North Carolina who owns one of the "adventure companies" down here and so a whole group of us got to go out for the day. That is a relaxing thing to do and not at all strenuous- I mean we don't want to overdo it! While I was above the turquoise water and seeing the whole Caribbean Sea, we spotted sea turtles and stingrays. Beautiful!
What a better way to close the day than by performing in the Miss San Pedro High School pageant?! Of course we got asked to perform and share some of our "culture" with the people of San Pedro. We did shag dancing to “Carolina Girl,” a line dance to “Country Boys and Girls Getting Down on the Farm,” and a hip hop dance to “North Carolina” by Petey Pablo. It was the perfect “representation of our culture.” Everyone cheered us on and laughed with us.
The next day, as if we hadn’t had enough fun, we went on a catamaran for the day. Our entire group and a few close friends from here in San Pedro went to Hol Chan Marine Reserve where we swam with fish, turtles, eels, and of course in the coral reef. It is one of the breaks in the reef and absolutely beautiful! After that we sailed over to Shark Ray Alley. As you can imagine there were plenty of sharks and stingrays. That adventure didn’t last too long in the water with sharks all around us! We then sailed over to Caye Caulker for lunch and shopping. It was spectacular! While we were sailing dolphins came and guided us back home! The boat rocking and sun on my skin put me right to sleep as we glided back to San Pedro. Manellys to finish the day and it was perfect. I am going to miss this place!
What a better way to close the day than by performing in the Miss San Pedro High School pageant?! Of course we got asked to perform and share some of our "culture" with the people of San Pedro. We did shag dancing to “Carolina Girl,” a line dance to “Country Boys and Girls Getting Down on the Farm,” and a hip hop dance to “North Carolina” by Petey Pablo. It was the perfect “representation of our culture.” Everyone cheered us on and laughed with us.
The next day, as if we hadn’t had enough fun, we went on a catamaran for the day. Our entire group and a few close friends from here in San Pedro went to Hol Chan Marine Reserve where we swam with fish, turtles, eels, and of course in the coral reef. It is one of the breaks in the reef and absolutely beautiful! After that we sailed over to Shark Ray Alley. As you can imagine there were plenty of sharks and stingrays. That adventure didn’t last too long in the water with sharks all around us! We then sailed over to Caye Caulker for lunch and shopping. It was spectacular! While we were sailing dolphins came and guided us back home! The boat rocking and sun on my skin put me right to sleep as we glided back to San Pedro. Manellys to finish the day and it was perfect. I am going to miss this place!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
UnBelizeAble Week at School
This past week of school flew by! Now that I have been teaching full time all week, I am ready and prepared for what comes my way. Things here in Belize are not always exactly planned out well and so it is not that unusual for my teacher to be fifteen minutes late to school or ask me to teach on something that I don't have lessons for. The whole idea of being a "flexible teacher" has really been tested and grown during my time here. I have been bringing in new children's books for them every day and the first thing we do now is "story time." They had only a few books in their classroom that were torn or missing pages so an actual children's book was like gold!
We had PE class this week and it was the highlight of all the student's day. There is a sand/cement playground, but my teacher says she always takes the children to the beach because there is a breeze. So off we go to the beach for "PE." I made the children do some stretches and then had them play games that involved a lot of running, hopping, and skipping. They laughed and whenever tourists would walk by they would stop and say hello. The five minute walk back to school was an entire chant with the children shouting "hop two, three, four." People came out of their houses to come and see this sight and a sight it certainly was!
So many of the children are just starting to get used to us "gringos" that they don't want us to leave! I don't want to leave either and I told them I had to go home to graduate. From their sweet faces they said "Then you'll come back down here?" I can only hope so!
We had PE class this week and it was the highlight of all the student's day. There is a sand/cement playground, but my teacher says she always takes the children to the beach because there is a breeze. So off we go to the beach for "PE." I made the children do some stretches and then had them play games that involved a lot of running, hopping, and skipping. They laughed and whenever tourists would walk by they would stop and say hello. The five minute walk back to school was an entire chant with the children shouting "hop two, three, four." People came out of their houses to come and see this sight and a sight it certainly was!
So many of the children are just starting to get used to us "gringos" that they don't want us to leave! I don't want to leave either and I told them I had to go home to graduate. From their sweet faces they said "Then you'll come back down here?" I can only hope so!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
