- Kids are kids no matter where you go. All kids like to have fun and do the same silly behaviors in class, outside of class, etc. I loved how on the first day I observed at Isla Bonita Elementary School I saw a student shaking their pencil up and down to make it move so that it looked like it was wiggling because 1. I've been guilty of doing that when I was younger and 2. Kids still do that back home. Some things just don't change regardless of where your geographic location is and I think it's great!
- Men are men. Catcalling occurs back home but it happens here in Belize far more often. It happens once in a blue moon back home but it happens COUNTLESS TIMES in one day here. Thankfully I had a friend who came last year to warn me about that before I got here so I wasn't very surprised by it when it happened. & In response to it I just do the same thing I do back home: I ignore it, continue about my business (while pretending I didn't notice it), and they don't bother me. It's as simple as that.
- I'm pretty sure there aren't many traffic laws enforced in San Pedro (I have seen ONE Check-Point but)...I honestly see my life flash before my eyes AT LEAST twice a day, sometimes three, anytime I am on the roads here in San Pedro whether I'm walking around or riding my bike. I feel like people just go wherever they want to go whenever they want to without much warning. I've seen who knows how many POSSIBLE accidents SOMEHOW be avoided and the vehicles here are often too close for comfort. I don't think of myself as an aggressive person but here you have to be aggressive when riding your bike and almost fight for your spot on the road when you're riding your bike. On a brighter note...I do like that the longer I've been here the more familiar that I'm getting with the streets here and am able to recognize where I'm at more often and mostly know how to get from Point A to Point B though. I still don't know exactly which streets are Front, Middle, or Back just yet but hopefully I can finally get that figured out before it's time for me to leave. We shall see how that goes!
- Island time (or Belize Time rather) is such a real thing. & I kind of love it. I never know what the date of the week it is until I have to make myself look at it. & Throughout the day I honestly and genuinely lose track of time. Back home I am someone who has to know what time of day it is at any moment but here in Belize I barely look at the clock. I tend to only know what time I need to wake up for the day to be at a Commitment or Obligation I've made and what time I need to go to bed. In between that the time doesn't matter. When I go out to eat most restaurants here take their time to bring their food to you and in America I would be tapping my fingers on the table becoming very impatient while waiting on it but for some reason here in Belize it doesn't bother me. I love how laid back the atmosphere is here and I already know that I'm going to miss it. I just hope that I don't lose myself in it too much so that I can keep up with my Schedule once I return back home to North Carolina. But I am in no rush at all. I can AND will gladly wait to find out while I enjoy the rest of my time here.
- People here in Belize are all so welcoming, open, and friendly. I've been spending a good amount of time talking with some of the people I've met here in Belize (some of the Teachers at Isla Bonita, a parent to a student at Isla Bonita who works at Caribbean Villas, a housekeeper at Pedro's Inn, the librarians at San Pedro Town Library) and they have have open with me and willing to share about their lives and answer any questions that I have asked them. I wasn't sure how people on the Island would respond to us (we're obviously not from Belize-You can tell just by looking at us) and I feel like everyone has been so welcoming. I'm not sure how I would feel if someone from a different country just came into my Classroom or Library Day Camp and started volunteering but everyone I've had experience with here so far has been so receptive and appreciative so it's been very encouraging.
There have been a couple of situations that have happened where I've been somewhat uncomfortable and I've been unsure of what to do while I've been here in Belize but there is one situation in particular that sticks out to me at the moment since it has actually occurred more than once. During our first full week here in Belize (and our first week in the Schools) I've noticed multiple students in multiple classrooms cursing out loud right in front of their teachers and the teachers didn't say a word to them about it at all. Now I'm not naive because I know kids curse...But I just feel like it's something that they do when they're only around their peers and not around adults. At least that has always been my experience and was what I noticed as I was younger. Each time I heard students curse (& I know it's not the worst thing in the world for a student to do but I honestly cringe ANYtime I hear ANYone curse no matter the age they are because I personally just don't like it or see the point in it when there are many substitute words that carry the same exact meaning and don't sound as harsh) but when I heard the cursing I sort of froze and would watch the student and the teacher to see what would happen. The student kept on going about their business and the teacher didn't even flinch. I honestly didn't know what to do because 1. I wasn't sure how the teachers here in Belize deal with cursing and 2. It wasn't really my place to do anything since I was simply observing in the Classroom.
Another thing that made this situation a little tougher for me is that during my experience in working with children I am used to working with children who are not in School yet and during Student Teaching back in North Carolina I was used to working with seven students who are nonverbal so cursing is something I haven't really dealt with much since the children I have worked with never cursed. It hasn't been something that I've experienced or had to deal with yet. Only now has it been something I've had to face. If I was around an older (and verbal) student in America who cursed I feel like I would simply redirect them and tell them that we don't use that type of language. I wanted to do that here in Belize when I heard the cursing but I didn't want to overstep my boundaries while being in the Classroom so I just sat, listened, and observed instead of doing anything about the language that I heard. I'm not sure if the teachers were at the point where what the students did and said didn't bother them as much since it was the last week of School before Easter Break or cursing simply isn't something that seen as big of a deal here (or as big of a deal as it is to me).
I think it'll be interesting to see how the students behave once we return to School next week since they will have been out of School for their Two-Week Break and it will be the beginning of a New Term. I'm still very curious how the Teachers here in Belize feel about students cursing and what it is they do about it to address it when they do hear it (if they do anything or acknowledge it at all) so I'll probably be asking the Teachers at Isla Bonita Elementary about their thoughts and how they handle it once School starts back next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment