Stay tuned for our 2017 Belize Blog!

Home Safely!

We have returned home safely! Thank you to all of you that have followed our trip and kept track of our adventure. We appreciate it greatly!
Thank you!
-Danielle Young

Final Day of Teaching: Red Bank Village

              Today was a day full of emotions. We all started the day out knowing that it was going to be a rough day having to say our final goodbyes to the students, teachers, and staff at Red Bank Christian Primary School. During the twenty-five-minute van ride from our hotel to the village, we all discussed how we knew that it was going to be hard having to say goodbye and that we wanted to do everything we could to make the last day great for everyone. Once we arrived at Red Bank, we all went our separate ways to teach our last math lessons to the students. During the day, many of us had our students write letters to us about themselves so we would have something to remember them by. It was heartbreaking to have a majority of the students write about how they wish we weren’t leaving, how they hope we come back soon, and how they will cry once we leave. In one of my classes, the students wanted to teach me a traditional Mayan dance, The Punta. The students enjoyed being able to teach me something new about their culture. When the students were teaching the dance, everyone formed a giant circle around the people in the center to watch and laugh as we tried to learn. As the dance continued, other students came into the classroom to join in.

              The teachers and staff at Red Bank were gracious enough to make and serve us lunch today as a thank you for the past six days we have spent in the school. They made us one of their traditional meals: stewed chicken, rice, beans, potato salad, and watermelon.  The teachers made the plates for the students who were assigned to their class and served them their lunch. After lunch, one of the UofL students, Ashli L., gave a speech to thank the teachers for how much we appreciated them making our lunch, for welcoming us into their school and community with open arms, and for teaching us so much more than we ever thought we would learn on this trip. When we thought that lunch was coming to an end, the teachers surprised us by giving each of us a special gift to thank us for everything we have done for them over the past week in regards to teaching math and helping in any way possible in the classroom.  After this special moment, we went back to class with the students to finish out our day before we had to say our goodbyes.

After school let out it was difficult for everyone to say goodbye to one another with the possibility of never getting to see the kids that changed our lives so much in such a short amount of time again. The hardest part was being asked by the students when we would back to visit them. While many of the other UofL students walked their kids home from school for one last time, myself and three others (Ashli L., Karima, and Kelsey C.) played soccer or as they call it “football” with a group of the boys. For me personally, this was a great way to end the day with the students. It allowed for the last moments spent together to be fun rather than emotional. Needless to say, the students in Red Bank were much better soccer players than we have ever dreamed of being! After our game was finished and everyone had finished their goodbyes, we took one last drive through the village and stopped at two of the stores to purchase additional souvenirs for ourselves, and our loved ones. Being able to purchase gifts in the village was a great way for us to help support the Red Bank economy and purchase souvenirs that we will forever hold close to our hearts.  After our final stops in the village, we headed back to our hotel to start preparing for our day of traveling back to Belize City tomorrow. 

-Amber Huser: Standard V

Our Return

Once more, the internet is not working in our favor. We will be departing for the airport shortly, and will leave from Belize City to Atlanta and then fly into Louisville. Once in Atlanta, I will post our remaining reflections and pictures. Thank you again for your patience; we look forward to returning to Louisville this evening!

Final Day of Teaching: Red Bank Village

Today was an emotional rollercoaster. It was so hard for us to say goodbye to all of these students and teachers that we have fallen in love with. We spent the weekend avoiding talking about this moment because we knew it would be hard- but today there was no escaping it.

            On our way to Red Bank this morning we were already holding back tears. We knew this was the last time that all of us would be piled in the van making the journey on the bumpy road to the village. As we entered the village, it became harder to hold back the tears but we all vouched that we would not cry, at least not yet. When we pulled up to the school we unloaded all of our supplies and played outside with the children until the bell rang. We all started our days as usual.

            In my classroom, I concluded my time lesson. My students have been working on telling time to the hour and half hour as well as using the vocabulary of various times of day (morning, noon, and night). All week, my students have been writing and illustrating pictures of what they like to do at various times of day. Today, I surprised them with their own time books. Their faces lit up when they saw them. I never realized that the happy faces I see daily could become any happier. My students ran up and hugged me when I told them that they could take their time books home. This brought joy to my heart. All week I had been searching for a way to give just an ounce of the happiness back to my students that they have been providing me. Who knew that me simply adding construction paper to their drawings and tying them together would be the answer. At break, a few of us bought popsicles, cookies, and sweet treats for our students. We spent the break outside enjoying our sweet treats and playing games with our students.  

            For lunch, our teachers prepared a delicious meal for us. Each teacher served us chicken, rice with beans, potato salad and a soda. We were so thankful, grateful, and appreciative that our teachers cooked for us, but that was not all. Each teacher surprised us with a gift of appreciation. We exchanged our gifts, took pictures, and said our thank yous. We all thought we had survived without tears until Dr. Finch stood up and gave his final words. This week has helped us realize how ungrateful we can all be. We have so much, but we are never satisfied; we are always wanting more. Being immersed in a culture of people who are so happy with what we consider to be so little at home (in America) has been life changing. We have all come to realize that it is not about what you have, but what you do with what you have. We have come to learn that teachers and the people here are so appreciative and resourceful with so little. If each of us can take a little bit of the joy, happiness, motivation, and encouragement that the people in Red Bank Village have, then we can help change the world.

            At the end of the day, most of our students had to go directly to house (classroom) meetings. Since the majority of our group did not get to say goodbye to our students, we stayed in the village for about an hour and waited for our students to get out of their meetings. We spent the hour walking around the village, buying sodas, and enjoying Belizean ice cream (which is amazing!). When the students were out of their meetings, we spent every minute of time that we had with them. Kelsey C., Karima, Amber, and Ashli L. played futbol (soccer) with some of the boys from the Red Bank soccer team. Katie, Trinity, Cara, and I sat at a picnic table while children played with and braided our hair. Who knew the boys could braid just as good as the girls! Amy, Mallory, Kelsey B., and Courtney let children use the Snapchat filters on their phones (a huge hit here!) and had their last conversations with students. When 3:30 rolled around and it was time to leave we gave our last farewell hugs. We were all doing well on holding back tears until one of Cara’s students broke down crying. It immediately hit us that we may never see these amazing children again. Although it was hard to leave, we knew that they would be in good hands and that Sister Margaret (Dr. Pentecost) would be back to see them and take pictures for us soon.

            On our way out of the village we picked up a villager who was heading to Independence. While talking with him, we discovered that he had known Dr. Pentecost since he was ten years old; He is now 26. He talked about how thankful he is to know her and how thankful he is that this is a partnership that has continued over the years. For me personally, this has been a life-changing experience. It will be hard for me to mesh back into a society that is materialistic and focused so much on looks rather than emotions. In the United States, our society is constantly focused on what objects you have and how you can get more of what everyone else has. Here, it is about who you are and the impact that you make as a person. Coming here to Red Bank Village has taught me that you can do a lot with a little. All you need is a smile and a positive attitude and you can produce positive results. 

Blog Update

We are having a difficult time connecting to the internet, and I apologize for not being able to post on the blog recently. Yesterday was a very emotional last day of teaching in both villages, and I know that several students are looking forward to sharing their reflections with you all. Today, we are headed back towards Belize City to visit the Zoo. I hope to have a stronger internet connection later this evening, and will upload all of our recent posts as soon as I can.
Thank you for your patience!
-Danielle Young

Day 5 of Teaching: Red Bank Village and the Trip to Cockscomb Basin

          Today was day 5 of teaching at Red Bank. Due to Teacher Appreciation Week, the school day was cut short and students and staff ended their day at 11:30 am. The day flew by! I finally came to the realization that tomorrow will be my last day seeing these beautiful, smiling faces. In such a short period of time, I have grown a connection with these students. When discussing with my peers, we all realized how much we truly have learned from working with these teachers, students, and administrators. As a future teacher, I will take all that I have learned during this International Teaching Experience and use it in my own classroom. Tomorrow’s lessons may follow with some tears as we wave our final goodbyes to Red Bank.

          Due to the shortened school day, we were able to participate in an excursion through the rainforest at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. As a group, we hiked on Ben's Bluff Trail. The trail lead to a waterfall and eventually a beautiful scenic view of the mountains. Hiking the first part of the trail was not very challenging, however the heat was. The waterfall had been perfectly placed. At this point in the hike everyone wanted to jump in the freezing cold water. We then proceeded to what I consider the most strenuous hike I have ever experienced. The heat was extreme and the hills were never-ending. We were consistently taking breaks, as it seemed the trail continued to become more challenging. When we finally made it up the hill, we realized how spectacular the view truly was, and although in the moment the hike was strenuous, in the end it was all worth it!

-Karima Badouan: Standard II