Visiting Red Bank Village

Today we traveled from San Ignacio to Independence, where we will be staying for the next 9 days at Cardie’s Motel. We started the morning off by shopping in an outdoor market outside of Xunantunich. The market had a lot of items unique to the area that were all hand made by the venders from the nearby villages. They sold bright blankets, hammocks, jewelry, and wooden crafts. We were able to practice using the exchange rate in these markets. One US dollar is equal to two Belizean dollar bills or dollar coins. We all were able to purchase something from each vendor for family, friends, and of course ourselves. After we finished up at the market we were off to lunch at El Ranchero. Then we headed into Independence where we arrived at our new location, Cardie’s.

 We unloaded the vans and checked into our rooms. Then we loaded back into the vans to visit Red Bank, which is one of the school we are going to be teaching at. We picked up some of the supplies we shipped down to the school and then walked around the village. We were able to interact with two families in the village and one of our students, Amber Huser, was able to meet two of her students. The village was made up of huts with thatch roofing, which is roofing made from palm leaves and tied onto the roof. These roofs can last up to 15 years and are usually done by professionals.

              After our tour of the Red Bank we were able to meet one of the teachers at the school. Her name was Mrs. Cal. She has been teaching for 18 years and is a well know teacher at Red Bank. She has developed a resource/ library for teachers in the village and we were able to ask many questions about the village and the students. She talked about the language barrier when it comes to teaching. The students first language is Mayan and there second language is English. She gave us tips on how to greet our students, she told us to smile and be warm and welcoming, because the students don’t look at us as strangers because the University has been coming to this village for a couple years. 

              Fun Facts About Red Bank:

·       The village is rural and about 3 miles off the main road.

·       About 2000 people live in the village

·       Ethnic culture that live in the village: Mopan Mayan, Ketchi Mayan, and Spanish refugees from Guatemala or Honduras.

After we got back from Red Bank we were able to settle into our rooms and began unpacking all the supplies. We were able to enjoy a special Belize holiday meal, celebrating the Belize Labour Day. The meal consisted of stew chicken, rice, and potato salad. After our meal we were all starting to prep for our first day tomorrow at Red Bank and San Pablo. We are excited to get into our classrooms and meet our students. We have a lot to learn from these students and their teachers and hope to bring new ideas to the schools. This will be a great opportunity to learn new ways to be culturally responsive in the classroom.

-Kelsey Barrick: Standard VI at Red Bank
-Amber Huser: Standard V at Red Bank