This weekend was another great one spent in Belize! Each day brought its own joys, smiles, and enjoyable moments. It really reminded me how appreciative I am to be a part of this opportunity and experience in San Pedro. I am learning things about myself, other people, and new places that open my eyes a little more each day.
Friday evening was spent helping the San Pedro Public Library out with their movie night. This required helping set up the huge blow up movie screen and tying it to palm trees J and watching as the others attempted to get the sound and audio set up correctly. After setting this up, children from around town came to watch Stuart Little 3 outside on the beach. This was a relaxing time and was nice to see an opportunity for families to spend time together. After this, we met up with the rest of the group for a much needed fun night out on the town of San Pedro.
Saturday morning, we got up early to help my school Isla Bonita Elementary paint a mural. The current Arts & PE teacher (an intern from Philadelphia) arranged this as a project to raise money for school supplies. She painted the outline along the outside of the school and students donated money and got cups of paint to color in the mural. A lot of my students came out and parents and teachers were there. All of the interns in our cohort came out too, along with the professors. It was a great time and good to see everyone come together for such a positive event! The end product looks FANTASTIC too. It definitely brightens it up and I am so proud to be a part of the school!
After this, we had to treat ourselves to some snorkeling off the dock and a nap. Of course! J Then Saturday night was spent watching some of the interns participate in a football (soccer) game that was parents vs. teachers. This was at the other elementary school but a mix of our elementary interns played. It was an intense game and I was so proud of everyone! The parents did end up winning by one goal but I think they are scheduled for a rematch this coming Friday. Haha. The rest of the night was spent relaxing and hanging out so we could prepare for our early morning on Sunday.
Because this Sunday morning we went to……….
Dun dun dunnnnnaa naaaaaa… MEXICOOOOO! Even though we had skeptics, the trip to Mexico was a GIANT success! It was such a fun fun fun and eventful day. First off, Katie and I overslept this morning so we were rushing to not make Michelle, Lauren, and us late for the water taxi! We did get there in time, of course because everything in Belize is on “Belize time.” We bought our tickets, filled out customs/immigration forms, and got on the water taxi to Chetumal! The boat ride was about two hours and we filled it by talking to locals and playing card games. It went by pretty fast and before we knew it, we were there! We once again, went through customs/immigration. Then we exchanged some money and were on our way to explore! To sum it up our day consisted (in no particular order) of
· new market
· old market
· ice cream
· yummy empanadas
· mall
· lots of Spanish charades
· McDonalds J
· Taxis
· Zoo
· Being the only Americans in Chetumal, Mexico.
BUUUT We did make it back on time for the water taxi back to San Pedro and got to sit up top on the way back! It was a much better ride up there! The captain showed us the different parts of Belize and several islands along the way. Overall, it was a wonderful time!
I just think I am really lucky to be in a place where I can just hop on a water taxi to go spend the day in Mexico. I feel like I have to take advantage of it now that I have the chance because I may not get the same opportunities again. It was a great way to spend the day and get to see/experience another place.
For the blog prompt this week:
I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher throughout this experience and some things have been confirmed. I have always wanted to teach internationally and this experience has proven that I have a real desire to do so. I hope to find an opportunity that will allow for me to teach internationally in a positive way. It has also just reconfirmed my love for children. There is nothing better than having them be a part of your day and being able to spend time with them and teach them. This experience has taught me that I am a lot more adaptive than I thought. Back home teaching is all about planning, planning, planning and I had come to rely on that. Here, it is all about not as much planning and just doing. It is also a lot of trying to be resourceful and creative as you can with very minimal materials and resources provided. Overall, it has been a great learning experience and I have enjoyed it thoroughly.
This is our last week in the schools and I hope to make the most of it! It has been quite an experience so far…So who knows what the week will bring. J
Until next time, J
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