Final Thoughts on Service Learning

It's been over a month now since I left on my flight to Belize.  I still haven't fully recovered from being home.  I don't think I ever will.  This trip changed me in such a profound way.  I'm a completely different person now than I was before, a better person.  I can't even explain this to anyone aside from the people who went on the trip with me, because nobody can truly understand the experience I had.

Now that this will be my last post, I'm sad that this is going to be behind me as well.  I made so many wonderful connections with my fellow classmates and professors while I was in Belize, so I hope those don't fade away as well.

Tonight we had a dinner showcase for a Service Learning Award.  We were nominated for this award through our school and it was great to show off our learning to others.  Unfortunately, Team Belize did not win the student service learning award (although the group that did win definitely deserved it as well!).  However, our professor Dr. Sally Beisser, won an award for her hard work in this.  She deserved it for so many reasons and I'm so glad that I have her as both a professor and an advisor.  She is truly an inspiration, along with Dr. Shelley Fairbairn, who also went on this trip with us.

Thank you for reading about my trip.  I hope it inspires you to do something great and worthwhile in your life as well.  I'm sad it's over, but I'll always have my memories.

"Memory is the diary we all carry with us." - Oscar Wilde

Belizean Bingo - Part 5

Eat something interesting - Try a food or snack that looks like something you have never tasted before.  Describe it.
I'm going to have to say the most different thing I tried while in Belize was conch fritters.  I'm not generally a fan of seafood and I was a bit weary about eating something that came out of a shell, but I figured I'M IN BELIZE!  It was really good actually.

Mayan Ruins - Describe the Mayan ruin hike.  What did you experience?  What did you take away from this day?
http://teambelize2012-jayme.blogspot.com/2012/03/day-6-lamanai-mayan-ruins.html

Simple pleasures - Describe a peaceful moment (a leaf, sleeping baby, old people hand in hand, a bird flying, flower)
One of the most peaceful moments I had was simply sitting in the chair outside my room, with the wind blowing softly, listening to the waves.  It was magical.

Music - What music did you hear?  Describe the setting and the kind of music you heard?
You know, I really thought that I would hear more Caribbean or Hispanic music, but I heard the same kinds of things I listen to!  I heard Katy Perry while I was eating lunch one day.  I heard Johnny Cash, which REALLY surprised me.  In fact, at karaoke night, country was a big hit.  I had no idea.

Help someone else - Did you help or assist anyone else for any reason?  Describe what happened?
I didn't help anyone else on this trip.  I think everyone knew what they were doing. ;)

Belizean Bingo - Part 4

Hol Chan Marine Park - Describe the experience of snorkeling?  What did you see?  How was the experience for you?
Snorkeling was definitely an experience for me.  I'm not the best swimmer in the world, so I was a little worried at first.  However, I got a life jacket on and I was fine.  Then, I jumped into the water and noticed that my face mask wasn't tight enough, so of course there was water all up in it.  Great.  Once that was finally fixed, we got going on our tour.  It was really cool to be able to look down from the top of the water and see all the ocean's creatures moving around.  I saw plenty of fish, an eel, a couple turtles....It was such a cool experience.  The problem here is that I'm definitely a nose breather, so trying to breathe out of my mouth the entire time was kind of difficult for me.  I swallowed water a few times on this trip.  And I got EXHAUSTED.  It might not look like it but snorkeling takes so much energy.  The second place we went to, Shark Ray Alley, was amazing.  We saw sharks and sting rays.  I even got to pet the sting ray a few times.  It was a really great experience.  I'm not sure if I'll ever go snorkeling again, but I'm glad I did here.

Educational environment at Holy Cross - How was this school alike or different from US schools you have visited or attended?

The school environment was definitely different here.  It was a lot more strict than our classrooms in the US and it seemed like there was a lot more copying off the board.  I was in a preschool classroom the entire time, which was pretty typical with our preschool, so I don't know much other than what I've been told by others.

People Watch - Who do you think is a "typical" San Pedro Island resident? 

I think the "typical" San Pedro Island resident is someone who is doing everything they can to support themselves and their family.  They look for all the little ways to stay happy, even if things aren't going their way.  They are very optimistic and have high dreams for the future.  I loved the people I met here.

Did you go shopping? - Where did you go?  What did you purchase?  For whom?

Haha.  Is that even a question?!  I definitely went shopping and came back with tons of souvenirs (although none will top my necklace from my students and of course my memories!)  As for myself, I bought two t-shirts, a collectors shot glass, a replica glass from Playa Chel - the first place I ate in the country, three ankle bracelets, a lanyard, a pack of cards, a dress and two postcards.  For Daniel - a tshirt from Lamanai and a black onyx bracelet.  My mom - a collector's spoon and a keychain.  Dad - collector's shot glass and collector's coins.  Grandma - a painted shell.  Brothers - each got a keychain and a postcard.  Daniel's mom - a black onyx turtle.  Daniel's dad - a frog made out of a nut (I got him a plastic frog in Costa Rica and the tradition has kind of stuck).  So yes, I went shopping.

Public & Commercial Building - What buildings and services did you see?  Were there any you didn't see?

Honestly, I didn't pay a ton of attention to the commercial buildings.  I did see a bank (and used the atm).  I saw a doctor's office and pharmacy.  I didn't see a post office though.

Belizean Bingo - Part 3

Find a "sign" that does not make sense - Sketch it or write it down.  What do you think it means?
You know, I never really ran into something like this.

Find a green park or a restful area - Take a walk to find a restful place you didn't expect to find.
Okay, this is sad.  I also didn't find one of these.  However, I didn't really look for one.  I was too caught up in the excitement of everything else.

Students of Holy Cross School - What did you observe students doing that surprised you?
My first few posts on here were all about the students, but I can try to add some stuff in here.  My students surprised me with how well they knew both English and Spanish.  It was really interesting trying to have conversations with them because they would constantly switch back and forth.  It was also really interesting to see how close they were with their parents.  We had family day one day and each child stuck with their parents for the most part, instead of running off with their friends like I probably would have at that age.  It was also really interesting to see that one of my 3 year olds was still being fed with a bottle.  I'd love to do some more research and see how people raise children as compared to the United States.

Sunset Sail - What was your experience on the Sirena Azul on your sunset sail?  What impressions were lasting?
The sunset sail was my favorite part of the entire trip.  I absolutely LOVED it.  I had never been sailing before. It's such a relaxing experience, letting the waves rock you back and forth.  I also loved it because we all had some really great conversations.  I got to be very close with everyone during the sunset sail, especially my two professors who went along with.  It was really cool to see the sun setting over the ocean, as the water turned from clear to dark blue.  I got to help out with putting the sail up, which was a really interesting experience.  It was really tough!  I don't know how only two people put it up together.  I think it would take 8 of me!  After the sun went down, we had some fun dancing around on the boat, just really enjoying ourselves.  This trip really made me value the small, beautiful things in life.

  

Ask for help - Did you ask for assistance or directions for anything?  What happened?
At one point, my group of friends and we got turned around and couldn't figure out which direction to go back to the hotel.  We stopped at one of the street vendors and asked them how to get there.  The first vendor said they didn't know, so we moved to the next one who was really nice with giving us directions on how to get back.

Belizean Bingo - Part 2

Downtown shops - What kinds of shops did you see?  What was for sale?  How was the town organized?
I saw quite a few shops downtown.  They ranged everywhere from markets to clothing shops to specialty shops.  There were a few pawn shops which were really interesting for me because I've never seen those in the United States either.  There were also plenty of cigar shops and alcohol shops, which is different than what you'd usually see in the United States.  On the side of the island where we stayed, it seemed to be mainly tourist based but if you went far enough down on the opposite side, you'd run into a lot of the shops that the locals might go to buy their groceries.

Blue Tang Inn - Compare and contrast the Blue Tang Inn with other places you have stayed.

I honestly LOVED the Blue Tang.  It was such a nice little inn.  The rooms were perfectly set up to where if you wanted to hang out in it, you could, but you didn't feel like you had to.  Three of us slept in the room perfectly fine.  I loved that the rooms opened up to the outdoors, right along the beach.  The rooms were always clean, even though we'd constantly be tracking in sand.  The workers at the Blue Tang were EXCELLENT and if I ever return to Belize (which I sincerely hope to!), I will definitely return to the Blue Tang Inn.

Transportation - How many different kinds of transportation did you observe?  What did you take advantage of?

There were very few cars on the island.  Instead, many people walked and some would drive golf carts.  There were also a lot of bikes.  All I did was walk around (except for the couple taxi rides to and from the airport) because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get used to the rules of the road, so I didn't want to try driving a golf cart (even though it'd be a lot of fun!)

Observe and wade in the Caribbean - What did you observe about the ocean?  What industries did you see?  Who was in or on the water?

The water in the Caribbean is SO CLEAR.  You could easily see the bottom (and fish!) and when you looked out into the middle, it was just blue.  It was such a magnificent sight.  If you looked far enough out, you could see some small waves but up towards the beach it was calm and clear and beautiful. =]

Restaurants - Where did you eat (other than at school or in the Blue Tang Inn)?  What did you order?

I was a very big fan of a little place called Playa Chel, just down the beach from the Blue Tang.  They had EXCELLENT nachos, probably the best I've ever had in my life.  I also tried Fidos one night, which was great as well.  We ate at Elvi's Kitchen about 3 times and it was excellent every time.  I tried a lot of new seafood on this trip, which is unusual for me but there was nothing I tried here that I did not love.

Belizean Bingo - Part 1

Here's where I'm going to start in on my answers from the "Belizean Bingo" that my professors handed out to me before the trip.  The first five questions and their answers are as follows:

Listening to another language - Can you identify vocabulary or expressions you hear in Spanish at the school or on the street?
I took Spanish for 5 years but for me, I'm a lot better at reading it than speaking it or listening for it.  However, I did understand a few basic phrases when my teacher would use them with the students or their parents.  On Family Day, I understood a few of the parents explaining that they couldn't stay because they had to go to work.  I also had a short conversation with Jose in Spanish, with the very little I still remember.  I asked him how old he was and when his birthday was.  I also asked if he liked school.  I think I may have messed up a little bit of the conjugation, but he knew what I meant and was able to answer me right away.

Grocery or Convenience Shopping - What did you forget from home or just plain need to purchase?
There was nothing that I forgot or just needed to purchase, but I did look around the grocery stores just to kind of get a taste of what they had and how much it cost as compared to US prices.  A lot of the things actually transferred fairly well, but there were some items that I was just blown away by how much of a difference the prices were.

Beach vendors - What vendors did you see?  What did they sell?  Did you buy anything?  If so, what?
We saw tons and tons of street vendors outside selling their stuff.  For the most part, a lot of them sold jewelry they made themselves or some wood carvings.  Everything there was very very beautiful and you couldn't help stopping and looking, even if you didn't buy anything from them.  I did, however, buy quite a bit from these street vendors.  By the time I left I had bought 3 ankle bracelets, a painted shell, a turtle made out of stone, and a bracelet.  One of the street vendors also took my shells from my preschoolers and made the necklace for me.

Travel Challenges - What travel challenges did you face and how did you solve problems, issues, needs, or concerns?
This trip did not present very many challenges.  I think the main one would be the fact that on the airplane I sat by people I didn't know, who weren't around my age.  When I get in situations like this, I generally freeze up and don't talk.  This made for some pretty awkward plane rides, especially on the way down.  There was once when we were walking around San Pedro that we couldn't remember exactly where we were going.  But we found certain stores that we remembered and once we found the clock tower, we knew where to go.

Exchange rate - Did you figure out the Belize exchange rate?  What was the rate in comparison to US currency?
I did find out the exchange rate, however it still confuses me a little.  If you exchanged currency at a bank or an ATM, the rate was some sort of percentage.  For example, I exchanged $100 US dollars and got $170 Belize.  But, if you were buying things with cash, it was a 1:2 ratio.  One US dollar = 2 Belizean dollars.  This was actually extremely helpful because all you had to do was double or half it and you would find your amount, instead of having to carry a calculator everywhere you went.

Day 8 - Leaving for home

After a long, spectacular break, it was time to head home to the states.  It was a really bittersweet experience, as many of us were ready to go back home, but others just wanted to stay in Belize forever.  I'd have to say I was somewhere in between because the experience was so surreal.

We were at the San Pedro airport by 9 to head out on the puddle jumper.  After getting to Belize City around 9:30, we got some food and sat around for an hour and a half waiting for our flight to Atlanta.

In Atlanta, we had a 3 hour lay-over before heading off to Des Moines, where we were finally home.

If I can say ANYTHING with 100% certainty relating to this trip, it's that I will NEVER forget the experiences I had.  In just this past week I have grown up so much and changed a lot as a person.  This trip will definitely help me as a future educator.  It also helped me with my relationships with the people that were with me, especially the professors.  I know I can go to them for professional advice and with all my high goals, I'm going to need them.

Goodbye Belize.  I hope I'll be back soon.