Zoo Pics

Final Days

The final day of teaching and school counseling was successful for all of the students.  The difficult part was saying goodbye to the students and teachers that we have come to know.  The children and teachers hugged us and waved as we left the village schools.  It is amazing how close that we have become in such a short time.  The UL group went to Arts Festival to see the students perform on Tuesday night.

The school teachers and administrators were extremely complimentary of the UL teacher ed student's teaching skills, professionalism, preparation, and thoughtfulness about culture.  All three schools want us to come back to work there again next year.

On Wednesday, we drove back through the mountains toward Belize City.  We stopped at the capital city of Belmopan to eat lunch.  After lunch one group went to the University of Belize for a tour and to see the US Embassy and Belize government buildings.  The other group went to the Belize Zoo.  We reconnected at the zoo and drove back through Belize City to our hotel for the night.  After an excellent dinner, we met to talk a bit about the trip. 

I'm so proud of the UL group for their hard work and preparation for this trip.  They were flexible in the midst of changes.  They were respectful and kind to one another as well as those that we met on our journey.  Each of them has the gift of teaching, counseling, and working with young people.   It was wonderful to hear their stories at the end of the work days.  They learned so much about teaching and themselves.  It has been a joy to work and travel with them.  Parents, loved ones and UL faculty, you too should be very proud of these wonderful young people.  They represented the US, the University of Louisville, and the College of Education and Human Development in an exemplary manner. 

Thank you to Dr. Sandra Duncan who was willing to bring school counselors to the schools for the first time.  Her group did a great job.  

My special thanks to Margaret Zettergren and Nicole Glenos who were the interns from the Administration of Higher Education program.  They were wonderful to help with every aspect of the trip.  These two young women are creative, resourceful, and intelligent.  They can plan a trip, run a budget, organize meals for 19, plan excursions, carry 5-gallon bottles of water, drive large vans, and get tires repaired.  There was nothing that they would not tackle.  I'm especially grateful to them for their leadership.

We head to to the airport this morning, but the memories of our journey will stay with us for a lifetime.  It has been a great trip!  -  Margaret Pentecost

Pics from Sunday and Monday

Kristia's Belize Experience!!!!!

Time has definitely flown by! I can't believe I only have one more day of teaching left. I taught three days at Red Bank and just completed my first day at Independence. Luckily, I was placed in math classes at both schools and was able to gain some teaching experience in my content area. Red Bank was a challenge at first. The students were very quiet and took a while to warm up, but whatever they did it was always with a smile. The next fews days were a lot better! The students were participating and eager to see me everyday. My last two days at Red Bank I taught five girls in Standard 3 a dance to "Here I am to Worship" (a song selected by their teachers) with the help of Dr.Pentecost. They were too cute! They worked very hard and enjoyed learning new dance moves. Unfortunately, they weren't able to get their paperwork in on time to participate in the local festival but decided to perform it at their graduation in June. I was sad to leave Red Bank but excited to switch to Independence Primary School. My first day at Independence went pretty well. The school is filled with many cultures and the students are a lot more social. At Red Bank each teacher taught every subject; however at Independence, the Standard 5 teachers were responsible for one subject and rotated between each class after every break. I was put to work today and taught 3 classes back to back over classifying triangles. The students made a pop-up chart and a pamphlet to show their family and friends what they learned. Overall, this trip has taught me a lot about lesson planning, teaching, and reflecting. Even though we may be in a different country, the steps needed to take to be an effective are the same. Can't wait to see what else the trip has in store for me!
                      -Kristia

Weekend Fun

What a wonderful weekend! Friday evening, we drove to Dangriga where we ate a fantastic dinner on the beach. Our meal was followed by a performance by the Garifuna drummers and dancers. All of our students, including the faculty membes, joined in on the dancing! Saturday, we took a day trip to the Placencia beach, where we went snorkeling for the morning. Several of us got to see huge starfish and other tropical fish. After snorkeling, we had lunch at the Tipsy Tuna, a little restaurant on the beach. We had some time to swim in the ocean and shop at the local craft shops. Sunday, we went to the Cockscomb Basin rainforest and took a hike to a waterfall. Afterwards, we went to Jaguar Reef Resort, where we were able to relax and have fun at the ocean.

-Nikki

Teaching in Red Bank

Today is Day 5 of teaching in Belize!  I am learning more everyday about how schools in Belize operate.  The classroom teachers I have worked with at the schools in Independence and Belize have been great.  The teachers organize effective and engaging lessons with very little resources.

In Belize, I am reminded daily of how blessed we are in America.  On my first day at the school in Red Bank, I was looking around and thinking that it was much more rustic and in a much poorer environment than the school at Independence.  That morning, I was talking to the teacher at Red Bank and he said, "I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.  We have so much here."  I smiled, speechless and humbled by his statement.

That same day, in the afternoon, I wandered to the classroom next door and found they were playing a singing game in the minutes before dismissal.  The class was seated with their desks in a circle and the students were passing around a ball that looked like it was made of masking tape.  When the teacher said "stop," the student with the ball choose a song and started the class singing.  The songs the students choose to sing included My God is So Big, Were You There When They Crucified My Lord, and Deep and Wide.  As they sang This Little Light of Mine, all three different verses, it was all I could do to hold back tears.  My mind went back to my high school yearbook, my senior quote was "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine."  As I sang along with the Belizian children, in their open-air, cement floor classroom, I knew that this would be a moment I would never forget.  This entire trip has been  an amazing and eye-opening learning experience.  Thanks for following along!

Becky Owens

Weekend Days

We packed the weekend days with several Belizean cultural and natural experiences.  The day started early on Saturday as we loaded up to go to Placencia to snorkle on the second largest barrier reef in the world.  We swam in the Caribbean Sea and enjoyed time on a couple of small islands.  Next we had some time to shop in some of the local arts and crafts shops on the Placencia.  Lunch in a little sandwich shop on the beach.  All in all, a great day. 

Sunday was filled with church in Red Bank for a few of us, and the rest went to the Cockcomb Basin Jaguar Preserve for a hike to the waterfall and to see some of the rainforest.  The groups met in time for lunch in Hopkins Village.  We took some time to relax, play some volleyball, kayak, and eat at the Jaguar Reef resort.   Everyone had a great time and came back rested and ready to prepare for teaching tomorrow.  - Margaret Pentecost