Ballin' in Belize: November 2012

It's off to work we go!

After a fun Sports Day, we had Work Day at the school on Saturday. Basically, it was a day of yard work to improve the safety and appearance of the school grounds. Parents are invited to participate and the teachers are required to come help. The idea is, "This is our school, let's show that we are proud of it!"

I was surprised when we arrived how many students came to help without their parents. The main projects for the day were creating paths between the school buildings, chopping down weeds, and building a fence around the school property. The paths were made using crushed rocks. The men and boys had a truck full of these rocks and they dumped bucket and wheelbarrow loads along the path. These then had to be raked level and packed down with a homemade tool that was a heavy block of wood with two wooden handles.

The weeds were chopped using a machete, which takes a lot more muscle power than it looks like! I was amazed at these 7-10 year old children who were chopping away with their machetes, leveling weeds with ease, while I struggled with mine. I was also amazed that it's perfectly normal for children to use machetes here! Can you imagine an elementary school work day in the States where they pass out machetes to the students?!?

Trying out the machete. See the expert behind me? ;)

Cheryna shoveling rocks for the path

Lisa shoveling...

I had fun with the machete...when I wasn't panting and aching from using it!

D'Elise painted some tables and bookshelves

for her classroom :)

Danger! Melissa and D'Elise with the machetes!

Taking a break with some sweet Mayan kiddos. The littlest ones were there

with their mothers, who were planting flowers next to some of the school buildings

These three kids showed me how to use my machete...and put me to shame!!

So. Cute.

Melissa and her directing teacher pounding

the rocks that will make a path.

Resting after our hard work!

On the walk home, we took a different road than usual and passed these houses:

Sports Day!

Friday was sports day at our school, which is equivalent to play day or field day in America. Each standard, or grade, wore a different colored t-shirt, and participated in organized games and races. Standard IV, my kiddos, wore yellow and played with the Standard V group as well. [There are three Standard IV classes and just one Standard V. I teach all of those children, because the teachers teach a specific subject and switch classes during the day.]

We started the morning right at the Bull Frog: with

Thanksgiving leftovers! Yay for turkey and french toast and

Cheryna, who asked if we could have the turkey! ;)

At sports day: some of my kiddos with my directing teacher :)

Stephen from my class, whom I have nicknamed

"Stevie Wonder," did a backflip off this post!!

Wheelbarrow race

Lime and spoon race

This was an interesting race....and one that would NEVER be allowed

in the States. I think it was called "The Horse Race," or something similar,

and involved the students carrying one another piggy back (while running) to

one side of the field, switch positions with the partner and run back!

The other standards in their different colored shirts

My directing teacher running alongside some of our boys to

motivate them during a race! ;)

Three legged race

I went to visit Ms. Melissa...and her students were shading her from the sun!

Of course we had to try the "Horse Race"

The Banana Song ("Peel banana, peel, peel, banana!")

After lunch, we didn't have any more races planned, so we sat

and watched the kiddos play in the field. It was quite nice.

Melissa and I surveying the damage back at the hotel....

I can honestly say it's my first November sunburn! ;)

Thanksgiving in Belize

If we're perfectly honest, we will all admit that we got pretty homesick on Thanksgiving. We got to see about 10 minutes of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the television before leaving for the school, which brightened our spirits. We got excited when we found out that the Bull Frog was serving a real Thanksgiving dinner that night!! I ordered extra salbutes (my new favorite food) from Roxanna (my new favorite person) at lunch at school. They were fantastic, and I was VERY thankful for them!! ;)

Paige and Chrissy at lunch

Melissa and I are thankful for salbutes and Roxanna

At the hotel that night, we each ordered the Thanksgiving special. It was comforting to have one another, as we all missed our families. We went around the table and said what we were thankful for. Everyone mentioned how thankful we are for this opportunity and this GREAT group of girls! We have really formed a bond! When the food arrived, we held hands I said a prayer thanking God for His many gifts to us, most of all, His Son. We have so much to be thankful for!!

Such a happy sight! And great meal! :)

Lisa and D'Elise at our Thanksgiving dinner

Paige and Cheryna

Melissa and Paige

Chrissy and me :)

Our Thanksgiving dinner (we even had pumpkin pie for dessert!)

Teaching Days

I have been teaching all day every day now. My directing teacher has been so kind to let me jump in like this, and so helpful giving me the lesson materials and information, especially since she teaches social studies and I don't know too much about Belizean history!

One of my very favorite things about teaching in Belize is how much of the gospel I get to teach. Each morning begins with a half hour "Spirituality" time. There is no set curriculum, and since my teacher has handed me the reins, I get to teach on whatever I want. This week, I shared my favorite verse with them and we talked about what it meant.

Christ died for OUR sins! He did nothing wrong, yet He took our punishment

once and for all to bring our unrighteous selves into a relationship with a holy God.

Another favorite lesson I taught was an art lesson on Henri Matisse's collages. The children really enjoyed learning about Matisse and then creating their own collages from colored construction paper my mom sent down with me!

The lesson, in a nutshell :)

Working in groups to share paper

Showing off their finished collages

This past week was also a bit sad for us, as our beloved professor, Dr. Kemppainen (Dr. John, Papa John, Father John, PJ, etc) left us to go back to the States. Dr. White has since joined us, but we were sad to have Papa John leave, and we were on our own for three days! Luckily, we feel we know the area of Belize we are in well enough to get along by ourselves. We also started walking to and from school to save the bus money. We had taken a bus every day so Papa John didn't have to walk the mile or so to school everyday.

The sunset while we were out to dinner with

Papa John his last night in Belize

Saying goodbye to Papa John early Wednesday morning

On our walk to school, I noticed a plantain tree

We also saw several turkeys wandering about! And, since it was

the day before Thanksgiving and we ARE Americans,

we stopped for a photo op! ;)

Walking home from school with my little buddy :)

She is just too cute! We talked the whole way :)

Tapirs and Tigers and Toucans, oh my!

After the Garifuna Settlement Day festivities, we headed to the Belize Zoo. All the animals are native animals of Belize. The safety regulations are much different than in the States, so we were able to get REALLY close to most of the animals! We even touched a few! I got some great pictures!