The first days you were here...you didn't wear those glasses.

I am still having a great time here in San Pedro! This past weekend was spent at a Palapa Bar & Grill. Here we fought off the Pica Picas (http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/picapica.html) and laid in the tubes in the water for a relaxing Saturday. Then on Sunday Lauren, Michelle, and I had our own adventure of going out on sailboat which went up and down the coast of the island. It was a relaxing and fun day!

Sometimes the water comes in bags. You tear off a        corner and enjoy the plastic bag taste of h20. :)

This week has been an interesting one and a tough one to get through. I have been dealing with sun bumps, an eye irritation (which has led to me wearing my glasses and has left my children with great curiosity) and just today-a stomache bug. Not to mention the extreme HEAT that has taken over the island. You know it is a hot day when the locals are complaining! However, I just have to look out and remember that I am on a beautiful island and these things don't seem so bad. Also, my children help make my days a little brighter. They are always ready to welcome me with a hug or a warm smile. There is nothing better than the affection they have towards me daily!

Greetings from the Codington Interns. : )
We all miss our classes and partnership teachers (& wonderful parents) so much and talk about yall all the time!

Miss Britney is a...princess?

Responding to our prompt, this is a post dedicated to the similarities and differences of Isla Bonita Elementary and Codington Elementary (or just schools back home in general). There are so many but I will try to touch on a few of the biggies.

-At Isla Bonita, my students get a break in the morning from 9:30am to 10:00am. During this they can run around outside and eat or purchase snacks. They have lunch at 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Most students go home for lunch or their parents come and pick them up for lunch. Few students actually stay at the schools during this time.

-At Isla Bonita, if students do not finish their work my teacher holds them back until they finish. This often leads to students being late for break, lunch, or even being dismissed from school at the end of the day. At home, this would never happen because there would be a huge upset if students missed any part of lunch or missed their busses or vans. Also on this note, there is no dismissal procedure at Isla Bonita. The bell rings and students run and leave the classroom. At home, we have to make sure everyone is accounted for and leaves with their correct dismissal bell.

-Another difference is that at Isla Bonita, my students call me Miss Britney, Teacher Britney, or just teacher. I enjoy being called by my first name but the "teacher" thing was an adjustment!

-At Isla Bonita, the students have uniforms and have to pay to go to school. The uniforms are a garnet polo and tan pants/skirts. The students can pay $1 on Fridays and wear whatever they want. I like Fridays because you get to see the students’ personalities and cultural similarities/differences come out.

For example: Lindley, Justin Bieber is very popular here too. :)

-A HUGE difference is the lack of resources and materials at my school in Belize. I became very dependent on the availability of a smart board, copier, computer, classroom library, desks, pencils, dry erase markers, etc. Not have easy or any access to these things has been a hard adjustment. It really makes you think about what the necessities of teaching are. I can still teach my students the same things but it may take a little longer or the activity may not be as “pretty” as a copy might have been at home. It definitely requires you to be a little more creative with your lessons. Also, there is a lot of note taking going on in not only my class (Kindergarten equivalent) but all of the classes. This surprises me because it is so different from the types of activities I am used to presenting my students.

-The biggest similarity is that everywhere you go... kids will be kids. This is what makes me want to be a teacher and brings joy to my days. I love my class here and I enjoy working with them just as much as I enjoyed working with my 2^nd graders at Codington. :)

Some of my students during break! (I have 14 students in all)

Precious Gabriella

Reina and Emely 

Gabriella, Reina, Alex, and Genieve

If it's the beaches' sands you want...

Things have been going great here in San Pedro. The time adjustment has been hard to get used to but it is getting us to bed early which is good. The weather is still beautiful and extremely hot but I am enjoying every bit of it.

A summary of my Saturday follows!

            On Saturday, we woke up and a group of the interns went to go scuba diving or to get certified. The rest of us rode our bikes (which we finally got J) to the bakery for some breakfast. Then we met back at the Animal Humane Society right down the road from where we are staying. There we met the lady who runs it and we played with the puppies for a little while. After that we each got a dog to walk for part of our service hours. The dogs do not get a chance to get out of their kennels very often so it is great that we can help walk them. We walked the dogs along the beach. My dog was a little bit of a bully but he enjoyed the walk. I was surprised though, by how he did not want to get anywhere near the water!

            After that, Kathleen and I went on a hunt to find a good deal to go snorkeling. We ended up finding a trip out to Mexico Rocks and to part of the Barrier Reef for $30US including snorkel gear. So we ate lunch at a place on the beach. I got a yummy chicken wrap with pineapple and apple on it and a smoothie. It was so good! Then we got a group together and headed out there. Tito was our “guide” and he was a riot. It was my first experience snorkeling and it was a lot of fun!! We got to see a ton of fish. Some of what we saw was sting rays, angel fish, and a big sea urchin. It was the best adventure/experience of my trip so far! I took some pictures with my underwater camera but it was hard to see through it so I am not sure what I really took pictures of. Haha. Hopefully I got some good ones though. I am so appreciative that we are at a place where we have the opportunity to get to do things like this.

            That night, we went to the Miss Isla Bonita Pageant. This was put on by the elementary school I am working at and was held at the high school. There were five girls from different grades in the pageant and each performed a talent, were in formal wear, swim wear, etc. Each girl had a booth set up and sold different things like food, beverages, toys, etc. Money spent at each booth went towards voting for the girls.

Overall, the pageant was a very different experience than what I would expect if going to one for an elementary school in the states. For one, it lasted all night and the winner was not announced until around midnight. They really do go by “Belize time” everywhere here. It is hard to get used to but it’s nice to have a different atmosphere than the normal hustle and bustle of back home.

Our office hours at Pedro's Inn. Just an example of Belize time. Seriously!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Today was our first official days in the school. I am working with Infant I which has students 5 & 6 years old. We got to the schools a little early so we hung around waiting for the children and teachers to get there. School starts at 8:30AM and then they have a morning assembly. During this time they say their prayer, sing their national anthem, go over any announcements, recognize birthdays, etc. This morning they introduced the six of us that are working at Isla Bonita Elementary. After the assembly, everyone goes to their classrooms and begins the day. The day went by pretty fast. There are a lot of differences from what I am used to as part of a regular school day and what expectations are of students. It is truly going to be a learning journey. I am excited to begin it though.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

            I almost posted this last night but did not have good internet connection! Luckily I didn’t because I need to post about my day today. So today was my second day being at Isla Bonita Elementary and when I got there this morning, I was informed that my teacher was sick and that I was to be substituting for the day. This was a great shock to me since I had only been in the classroom for one day and had no plans for the day. Luckily, I was given a couple of topics to teach and since I am teaching Infant I it was not too difficult to do without formal lesson plans. We covered all of our material and got to sing some songs and read some stories at the end. Overall, it was a pretty good day but I am exhausted now! It is just going to be very challenging to try to get used to the behavior management system here while also trying to implement a little bit of my own expectations.

I miss all of my second graders so much. I hope you are all being great students, making good choices, and earning lots of dollars! J J

Malia, here are some pictures of around my school and inside my classroom. J

Some of my class.

Part of the classroom.

Part of the playground.

The entrance to my classroom.

Just another day in paradise...

I finally made it to San Pedro, Belize. The flight was EARLY but we arrived in Belize City at about 10:30 am (12:30 pm there). There we met up with some of the other interns and after going through immigration got on the TropicAir plane to San Pedro. It was a small plane and it was really neat to see the other islands and all the water! Then we came to Pedro's Inn where we will be staying and got settled in our rooms. It is a nice room with two beds, wonderful airrrrr condiittioninnnnggg : ) : ) : ), a sink, and a bathroom. They are much nicer than I had expected so that is great!

Since then, we have been doing a lot of touring of the island and enjoying the beach during our break before we get all our responsibilities! Today we went and saw all the schools we will be working at. I will be at Isla Bonita Elementary. We will go tomorrow afternoon for a little while and then Monday we get started! I am so excited to get started!


Until next time,

: )

The elementary school I will be at. 

The view flying on to San Pedro, Belize.

Off on a new adventure....

I have to keep a blog about my Belize adventure, so here it is... for your enjoyment. :)


Friday was my last day of my internship at Codington Elementary. I worked with Mrs. Imperial's second grade class and could not of asked for a better experience. I learned so much from everyone I came in contact with including faculty, my students, and parents. I am very appreciative for everyone that was a part of my internship. It was a time that I will cherish forever and always look back at with great memories. Friday was a day filled with many emotions. I was sad to leave my students, anxious about packing and leaving so soon, and relieved I had fulfilled all my requirements and projects. (All this among many other emotions.) Mrs. Imperial and the class made my last day so special though with a surprise pajama day, lots of teacher goodies, and an ice cream party. They also created a book for me with a compilation of teacher tips. They ranged from advising me to "never bring a lion to school" and to "always have something prepared for the class." They are all tips I will remember and try to follow. :)


So now it is Monday and it has been a busy one! I spent the morning at a final Belize meeting and then picking up my cap and gown. It has not set in that when I return from Belize it will be time for me to graduate from college. Life could slow down any time now! My afternoon has been spent purchasing last minute items and trying to pack enough but not too much for my time in Belize. I have been arguing with my "what if" mindset of packing the whole time! haha! It seems that I have finally gotten it all together though now. I just have to add the last minute items tomorrow and I will be ready to go! Katie and I are off from Charlotte bright and early on Wednesday morning and then it is Belize bound for six weeks. I have little knowledge of what exactly lies ahead for me over the next several weeks but I am so excited to find out.


Next time you hear from me, I will be on the island of San Pedro, Belize!


Until then,
: )