Day Twenty-Six: On Sunday I woke up at about 9:15 a.m. and got ready for Church. A group of us wanted to go check out Sagebrush Community Church so we got on our bikes and headed North. Sagebrush is located in the Paradise Movie Theater that is just past the Bridge on the Island. After Church Cyrus and Casey headed back to Pedro's while Tiffany, Abby, and I all went to The Palapa Bar and Grill since we were so close to it. Not long after we got there Brittany, Savannah, Sarah, Stephens, Ali, and Jessica B. all joined us. We spent time hanging out in the shade, laying out in the water in the intertubes, and had lunch. I tried some Fish Tacos and they were very yummy. We all left The Palapa Bar and Grill at about 2:30 p.m. to go back to Pedro's. Once getting back to the Hotel I spent time hanging out and since I was so hungry (and didn't feel like trying to figure out what to do for supper) I ordered myself a White Pizza from The Restaurant at Pedro's and IT WAS DELICIOUS. It's definitely the best pizza I've had here yet and I'm so glad that I finally tried it since I'm not a big fan of tomato sauce. After eating supper I spent time working on my Blog and uploading some more pictures to Facebook. I also worked on a Tentative Schedule for working with Students as Isla Bonita before deciding to call it an early night at about 10:00 p.m. I wanted to get some sleep since we had our first day back at School on Monday Morning but I ended up not sleeping very well since my legs got eat up by Sand Flies on Saturday Night while I was sitting outside (without enough bug spray on). I woke up twice in the middle of the night on Sunday Night, once at 1:00 a.m. and once at 5:30 a.m. It was honestly the worst night of sleep that I have had the whole time I've been here in Belize yet.
Day Twenty-Seven: On Monday I managed to get up at 7:15 a.m. but was pretty tired after not having a very good night of sleep. I got ready for the day and we all headed to School at 8:00 a.m. The School Bell rang at 8:30 a.m. for Devotion/Opening Assembly and then everyone was dismissed to their Classrooms afterwards. I spent the First Instructional Block working with Dyanara on reading Braille. I decided for us to read Dr. Suess's ABC and we read the pages for the letters A through F. It doesn't seem like much but Dyanara is still in the process of learning to read with Braille and it takes a little while for her to do it. She is also very tired afterwards but she always works so hard. There was a break from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. and for the Second Instructional Block I decided to observe a Class since all of the other teachers of the students I was going to work with for Pull-Out didn't want me to pull the students out of class until after lunch. From 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. I observed Miss Sharon as she taught Language Arts to Standard Five. We had from Lunch from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. and during the Third Instructional Block I worked with Lorena on Reading Comprehension. I let her pick a book, had her read the first two chapters of it, and would ask her questions for her to answer about each Chapter after she read them. I misjudged my time and should have worked with Lorena later so I could've worked with Dyanara during Math but I just spent the rest of my day observing in Standard Five's Classroom. I felt like I didn't make the best use of my time I had at the School but at least I was able to live and learn. After School I stopped by the Pharmacy to pick up some more cream for my Sand Fly Bites on my legs (I got eat up during our Second Week here in Belize and was almost out of it) and then I hung out outside at Pedro's until our Group Meeting at 4:00 p.m. Dr. K and Dr. C went over some Assignments as well as Expectations for us during our last nine days in the Schools and told us that we get out what we put in. I was so exhausted from my first day back in the Schools that I took a cat nap after the meeting. After I woke up I ate my leftover Pizza from Supper on Sunday and spent the rest of my evening in the Restaurant at Pedro's and worked on two more Newsletters (one about our Second Week in Belize and one about our Third Week in Belize) to post on our Facebook Page to keep people updated on what we've been up to during our time here in Belize. I decided to call it a night early once again so I could be rested for another day of School on Tuesday. I took some Benadryl (I also bought it at the Pharmacy) in hopes that I could sleep through the night this time and I did thankfully.
Day Twenty-Eight: I woke up on Tuesday morning at about 7:15 a.m. and had a little trouble waking up due to taking Benadryl like I thought I would. But it was worth it because my legs looked better AND I didn't wake up once during the middle of the night because of my legs itching like I did on Sunday Night. I got ready for the School day and headed to School at about 8:00 a.m. I worked with Dyanara on reading Braille during the First Instructional Block again. This time we read the pages for the letters G through N of Dr. Suess' ABC. I thought during the Second Instructional Block I would just observe a random Classroom again but during Break I talked with Brittany and found out that a girl who is deaf in the Standard Two Classroom was at School. Her name is Nayeli and she wasn't at School at all on the first week we were at Isla Bonita. She only came with her Mom to pick up her Report Card on that Thursday. Brittany talked with the Teacher and asked her if I could come in and work with Nayeli and she was fine with it. I spent time observing for a little bit and then pulled Nayeli out to work on some Sign Language and see what all she knew. She knew most of her colors and Numbers 1-10 but she could use some practice on her alphabet. After working with me for a little bit she kept trying to get up and go back to the Classroom so after having her sign to me to request to go back we went into the Classroom. The Class was doing Language Arts so I worked with Nayeli for the rest of the Second Instructional Block before Lunch. I'm pretty sure Nayeli isn't used to working as much as I had her do with me because she was getting pretty frustrated with me at times but we both persevered through it.
After Lunch I went to the Standard Four Classroom and worked with Dyanara to help keep her involved during Jessica's Math Lesson. After the Afternoon Break I worked with Julio and Genieve on reading during the Fourth Instructional Block. It was my first time working with Julio and Genieve and was more for me to see what level they were at. I felt like I made better use of my time on Tuesday compared to Monday so that was encouraging because I felt a little defeated after I left School on Monday Afternoon since I felt like I didn't do much. I left School at about 3:00 p.m. and then stopped by the San Pedro Town Library for a little bit to visit with Brianne and Nikki. I got along with them while volunteering at the Easter Program and wanted to see how they've been doing since it has almost been two weeks since I last saw them. Plus I told them I would stop by at some point. Brianne did not realize that I was a Special Education Major and told Nikki so Nikki then told me about Camp Starfish which is a camp that she helped volunteer with and is a Two-Week Summer Camp for kids with disabilities. I found out about Camp Starfish a little before I came to Belize because I knew UNCW was having a Field Experience for it where Undergraduate Students can come and help out but I had no idea it was with the San Pedro Town Library until talking with Nikki. I already wanted to come to help at it and after talking with Nikki about it I REALLY wanted to come help at it even more than before. I know I won't be able to this upcoming Summer (considering I'm in Belize already now and I just won't be able to manage it financially) but I hope I can come ONE YEAR and help out at it. Actually...when I get my mind on something I am VERY DETERMINED and go after it 110% and I'm 99% sure that this won't be my only trip to Belize. I may have to work hard, save up money, and be patient, but I will do what I can to come help at Camp Starfish ONE DAY. After getting back to Pedro's I took a catnap, hung out at the picnic tables, went to get Supper at Neri's Tacos, and then spent the rest of my Evening inside the restaurant at Pedro's catching up on reading everyone's Blogs and writing on mine for a while before going to bed. I hated having to stay inside but after getting eat up by Sand Flies the way I did on Saturday (my legs honestly looked SO TERRIBLE) I felt like I had no choice and it really stinks since I'm missing out on spending time socializing with my peers but I have to do what I have to do since I'm scared to get eat up the way I did.
Day Twenty-Nine:On Wednesday I got up at 7:30 a.m. (I was dragging a little bit with getting back into the routine of going to School), got ready, and left to go to Isla Bonita at around 8:00 a.m. I ate my Nature Valley Bar for Breakfast once I got to School and then we had Devotion/Opening Assembly after the 8:30 Bell rang. I worked with Dyanara on reading Braille during the First Instructional Block. This time we read the pages for the letters O through T of Dr. Suess' ABC. During the Second Instructional Block I went into Standard Two Classroom to work with Nayeli again. I was afraid that I may have pushed her too hard on Tuesday and that she wouldn't want to work with me but she didn't get frustrated with me once. I spent time in the classroom helping her on the Language Arts Assignment and I pulled her out of the Classroom to work on Sign Language as well. I honestly think she's not used to having one-on-one attention and I believe she liked it as well as the positive feedback and praise that I was giving her when she was working for me. At 12:00 p.m. I went to get lunch at Lily's with Brittany, Stephens, and Ali. During the Third Instructional Block I worked with Lorena on Reading. We read two more Chapters of the book she chose to read on Monday and I would also ask her questions after we read each Chapter to measure her Reading Comprehension. As I was walking upstairs after working with Lorena, Julio saw me before I saw him and just ran to gave me a hug and asked if I would be working with him that day. It was a really sweet moment because on Tuesday when he had to work with me (and miss Computer Time) he was not happy about it at first so I was afraid he would almost resent me for it but the hug showed me otherwise so that made me feel good. During the Fourth Instructional Block I spent time in the Standard Four Classroom Observing and also talked with Miss Delmy about working with Dyanara on using her Braille Machine to type her Spelling Words. After the School Day ended at 3:00 p.m. I left to go back to Pedro's. I spent time hanging out at the Hotel responding to E-Mails as well as Registering for my Fall 2015 Classes that I will be taking in order to get a B-K Licensure Add-On to my Degree during the next School Year. After being (SOMEWHAT) productive, I walked with Sarah to go get Supper at YJ's and Jordon, Cyrus, Ali, Savannah, Lauren, and Britta all rode their bikes and met us there. Well...I shouldn't say Sarah and I walked all the way there because halfway there Felipe (a guy who works at Pedro's) saw us and gave us a ride the rest of the way to YJ's so that was nice. Sarah and I did walk all the way back to Pedro's though. We unfortunately didn't see any other people who work with Pedro's driving by us on their Golf Carts who could give us a ride after we ate Supper. After getting back to Pedro's I spent time on my Laptop putting together a Document with the Alphabet, Numbers, Clothes, and Colors on it so that I could pull it up on my iPod Touch when working with Nayeli at School so that I could point to each one and we could sign what thy each are. I was super excited about the work I did and was happy to have felt productive for once. I spent some time talking to Maddi and Jessica M. on the balcony before calling it a night.
Day Thirty: On Thursday I woke up at 7:15 a.m., got ready, and left at my usual time of around 8:00 a.m. to go to Isla Bonita. I ate my Nature Valley Bar for breakfast (I just don't have time to eat at Pedro's before I leave since I'd rather sleep as long as possible) and waited for the Morning Bell to ring. I was wanting to work with Dyanara during the First Instructional Block but she wasn't as School so I ended up working with Julio and Genieve instead. Mr. Jaime wanted me to work with them on Reading and Writing. On Tuesday Genieve said she wanted to read a Play and I told her that we could read it the next time we worked together and sure enough when we sat down at the Picnic Tables she opens up her book to the play saying she wanted to read it (I of course was happy because I wanted to take the full opportunity of letting the student(s) have a choice in what we read since she stated it's what she wanted to do because it would've been silly otherwise not to and force them to read something they weren't interested in.) After we read the play I asked them the Reading Comprehension Questions and we talked through them. After answering the questions Julio wanted to read the song "Go Tell It On The Mountain." Since I knew the song it just didn't seem right simply reading it so I sang the first Chorus for them so they could learn the tune of it, sang the first verse, and then they both joined in with me on the rest of the Choruses in between the verses afterwards. It was fun and I enjoyed it, especially because I knew they were interested in it and actually wanted to participate. It definitely made my job of working with them easier. After talking about what "Go Tell It On The Mountain" and what Easter were both about I then had Julio and Genieve write in their Journals 10 sentences about themselves as a way to practice their writing. After they wrote their sentences (with me helping to make sure they were correct) I had them read their sentences that they wrote as a way for them to practice reading as well as so I could learn more about them since it was only my second time working with them. As I was walking Julio and Genieve back to their Classroom Julio asked if we would be working again on Friday and I told him I wasn't sure but we would definitely be working again soon and that made me feel good to know he didn't hate working with me. I really believe these students thrive on the one-to-one attention since they don't get it often. During the Second Instructional Block I went into the Standard Two Classroom (Infant One, Infant Two, and Standard One all joined the Classroom as well) for a Dental Presentation. There were two dentists and they first showed the students a video before talking to them about taking care of their teeth, showing them the correct way to brush their teeth (apparently I've been doing it wrong all these years but thankfully I have a Dentist Appointment not long after I return to the States and I can double check), and provided each student with a toothbrush at the end of it. After the Dental Presentation the Class was doing a Language Arts Lesson on Letter Sounds and since Nayeli is deaf it was pointless having her in there (considering she can't hear and all) so I pulled her out so we could work on more Sign Language. For lunch Casey, Ashley, and I all got food at a Food Stand that is just around the corner from Isla Bonita and is located DIRECTLY IN FRONT of San Pedro High School. We took our food back to Isla Bonita and just ate it there.
During the Third Instructional Block I worked with Lorena on Reading again. We read two more chapters of the book that she chose to read and I continued asking her questions about each chapter to check for her reading comprehension. We had a few distractions and had to move where we were working because of the distractions but we thankfully got through it even though it was a little tough. I was hoping to work with Dyanara during the Fourth Instructional Block (I was thinking she would come to School late) but she wasn't there so I spent time Observing with the Standard Two Classroom outside at the picnic tables as they worked on an Arts and Crafts activity. They were cutting yarn to make hair for the sock puppets they were making. Just before the School Day ended I was talking with Miss Sharon about talents and how I wasn't talented since she was telling me about how people in her family are artists and musicians (her brother was there at the School painting pictures for the Miss Island Bonita Pageant) and she told me that "not all talents use your hands." I wish I could word everything she told me the exact way she said it because it was so powerful but I can't. I can only paraphrase it (roughly) but she told me that I put kids at ease and that they're drawn to me. I wasn't exactly sure what she meant at first so I just kind of looked at her a little puzzled and said, "You think so?" And she told me that she saw it and mentioned how the kids want to work with me. I have no idea when/where she saw it and/or what exactly I did or how I did it but by the end of the conversation I was literally almost on the verge of tears and I am not kidding. I was honestly speechless and didn't even know what to say to that. I just thanked her for telling me that. It honestly meant so much to me. Especially during this week when I have felt so clueless and unsure about myself since I feel like I have no idea what in the world I am doing. I left School at 3:00 p.m. and made a stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things before going back to The Hotel. When I got back to Pedro's I spent some time relaxing/catnapping in the hammock and then made a phone call home before going to get supper at Lily's. After getting supper we went to get some Ice Cream at this place that has BOTH Bike Rentals AND Ice Cream. How funny is that?! I just couldn't get over it. After I got back to Pedro's I then got ready to go to the San Pedro Town Library with Casey and Maddi for the Reading Workshop that Casey prepared a Presentation for. It had a nice turn out of about 20 people including teachers from San Pedro Roman Catholic School (RC), parents, the librarians (obviously), and 4 girls from Massachusetts who are here in San Pedro completing a Study Abroad Internship at RC through their College. It was really cool getting to meet them and learn about their Program and see the differences between theirs and ours. I also got to meet a parent who is friends with Nikki (the librarian I was talking with on Tuesday Afternoon about Camp Star Fish) because she is one of the founders of Camp Star Fish and has a daughter with Cerebral Palsy who actually went to Isla Bonita last year and worked with my friend Lexi who was here last year. I spent a good while talking with Nikki and Dianela and hope to see them again before I leave. After Maddi and Casey almost had to drag me away from Nikki and Dianela (once I get starting talking about something I'm passionate about it's hard for me to stop) we went to get some Ice Cream since Casey wanted some. We ended up stopping at a Frozen Yogurt Place called Yo Mama's Frozen Yogurt and I wasn't going to get anything since I already had Ice Cream but as I saw Maddi and Casey getting theirs I changed my mind and GOT A VERY SMALL BOWL OF IT. We spent time talking with the cashier (it was more of her talking to us about her two children) but it was still fun regardless. Maddi, Casey, and I headed back to Pedro's and then it was time to call it a night.
Day Thirty-One: On Friday I woke up at 7:30 a.m., got ready, and left to go to School at about 8:00 a.m. I rode with Jessica M. and Ashley to Casa Pan Dulce Bakery to get breakfast before going to School. After we got to School I ate my Cinnamon Bun I got from the bakery and then we had Devotion/Opening Assembly at 8:30 a.m. I worked with Dyanara on reading Braille during the First Instructional Block and we read the pages for the letters U through Z of Dr. Suess' ABC's. During the Second Instructional Block I went into Standard Two Classroom to work with Nayeli. Earlier in the day I paid for get a BBQ Lunch for a Fundraiser so I stayed at Isla Bonita to eat my lunch with Joe, Dani, Maddi, Jessica M., Ashley, and Lindsay since we all got a lunch from the Fundraiser. After Lunch was over I saw Nayeli's Dad and talked with him for a little bit and asked him about how Nayeli communicates at home. He said Nayeli's Mom is working with her on Sign Language and he knows a little bit. I let him know who I was and that I was working with Nayeli on practicing Sign Language. I got his e-mail and am hoping to help give him some resources to use to help with Nayeli. During the Third Instructional Block I worked with Dyanara in Standard Four to help keep her involved during Jessica's Math Lesson about Circumference. The Math Lesson only lasted part of the Third Instructional Block so once I was finished working with Dyanara I went back to the Standard Two Classroom and worked with Nayeli some more on the Social Studies Lesson. After working with Nayeli for four days this week I have really fallen in love with her. She is just the sweetest girl and is so very precious. She is really picking up on the Signs I've been teaching as well as using with her, has been very receptive to working with me, and even initiated some High Fives as we worked on her Social Studies Classwork. During the Fourth Instructional Block I spent a little bit of time with Maddi in her Pre-School Classroom and then I just spent the rest of the Fourth Instructional Block in the Standard Two Classroom observing as well as helping Nayeli as much as possible. I left School at about 3:00 p.m. and spent some time relaxing in a hammock at Pedro's. I later got ready and our whole group had to meet downstairs by 5:30 p.m. since the Minister of Tourism was coming to Pedro's to meet us (briefly). We shook his hand, took a group picture with him, and then all headed to Elvi's Kitchen for our "Official Final Group Dinner." Elvi's Kitchen has a Mayan Buffet every Friday Night and IT WAS DELICIOUS. I had so much food on my plate that I could only eat one plate for dinner. There was no way I could get seconds of anything. I didn't have any room whatsoever. After our Group Dinner we headed back to Pedro's and enjoyed a night of Karaoke (per usual) before going to bed.
Day Thirty-Two: On Saturday I woke up at 8:00 a.m. and got ready. All of us that are placed at La Isla Bonita Elementary had to be at Lion's Den to help set up for the Miss Isla Bonita Pageant. The Pageant is something that the School puts on as a way to raise money for the School. We spent an hour (9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.) helping out and mainly spent time setting up tables for the booths for the four girls who were competing in the Pageant and then set up all of the chairs. After helping to set up Jessica and I were walking back to Pedro's when I saw Dr. C and Dr. K at the San Pedro Town Library. There were having a meeting with Nikki, Dianela, and another woman about the group that Dr. C and Dr. K will be bringing down to help out at Camp Starfish in the Summer. We were there for about an hour and it was really neat getting to be there and observe them discussing and planning for the Summer Camp. It was also good background knowledge for me because I really hope to come back sometime in the future and volunteer at Camp Starfish so it'll be neat to see the development of it from now until then. Last Summer was the first time that they had Camp Starfish and for the sake of the kids with disabilities that live here in San Pedro I hope it is something that only continues and grows in the future. After the Meeting I got to ride in the Golf Cart with Dr. C and Dr. K back to Pedro's. Since I had to go back to Lion's Den for the Pageant later in the evening I decided to eat a PB & J Sandwich for lunch at Pedro's and just spend all day hanging out by the pool. While at the pool I spent some time talking with Sally, a woman staying here at Pedro's, and I really enjoyed getting to know her. At about 4:00 p.m. I called it a day at the pool and went to get ready for The Pageant. Afterwards I went to get Supper at Lily's with Brittany, Lindsay, and Savannah. We had to be at Lion's Den by 6:30 p.m. to continue to help at The Pageant (as part of our Community Service and The Principal also expected us to be there to help) and we just went straight there after we finished eating Supper and got there a little early. Lion's Den looked like a completely different place from how we left it earlier that morning. Throughout the day all of the booths had gotten decorated as well as the stage. It was pretty cool how much they got done in just a short amount of time. I had no idea what to do to help when we first got to The Pageant so I spent a little while sitting down since I wasn't sure who to ask for directions of where to go/what to do from. Thankfully that problem was solved for me when Miss Crystal came over asking me to help her cut out some pieces of paper for the raffle. A little while after I finished that Miss Sharon asked me to help out with Jennifer's Booth (one of the girls competing in the competition) so I spent my whole evening at Jennifer's Booth with Maddi helping to sell snacks and drinks as well as running the money we made at the booth to the counters to be totaled. I enjoyed seeing the various students that I've gotten to know during my time at Isla Bonita dancing as well as participating in The Fashion Show. It was a long night but it was a neat experience. Dr. C warned us that the Pageant wouldn't start until a couple of hours after we got there and that it would run late and she was right. People started showing up to The Pageant around 6:30 p.m. but it didn't start until a little before 8:00 p.m. and it ended a little before 11:00 p.m. There were a few people hanging out in the Restaurant at Pedro's after getting back from The Pageant so a couple of us spent some time there before going to bed.
Now that my Fourth Week here in Belize is over I am feeling so many mixed emotions...I cannot believe we've already been here in Belize for exactly a month already. & On that note I can't believe we have a week left here in Belize. It honestly feels like we just got here. Time flies by so fast and I really just want it to slow down. I've been having an amazing time here in Belize but am also so sad that my time here is almost over...I have truly fallen in love with the town of San Pedro (I mean...How can you not love living on an island?) and have honestly gotten used to be here. I'm also not sure if what I'm doing here is making any difference at all...All I want to do is be able to help one student in some way and I have no idea if anything I have been doing and will continue to do will stick at all. I also feel like I have no idea what in the world I am doing and am just trying to make do with what I have. But I guess I can't worry about that and all I can do is just do the best I can with what I know and have learned during my time during my Program at UNCW as well as the materials I have and just pour into the students that I am working with as best as I can and just leave it at that. Also...I know I shouldn't be feeling stressed out (considering I'm in the most laid back atmosphere that I have ever been to in my life) but I am beginning to stress a little bit because our last week here will honestly probably be the busiest one yet as crazy as that seems. I have a lot of work to do as we finish our time here and the reality of having to return home in just seven days is also slowly starting to creep in which means I will have to face all of my responsibilities back home soon (Final Seminar, Final Assignments, Graduation, Work, etc.) but I just can't worry about that right now. I'm still in Belize and that is my priority at the moment. Everything waiting for me back in North Carolina will be there when I get there. I still have a week left in Belize and am just going to not worry about it and take one day at a time. Which honestly...It's all I can do anyway because when I wake up each morning I honestly never know how each day is going to turn out. (Which has been an adjustment but I'm getting there.) At this point I'm just going to make the most of my time left here in Belize and I want to make sure that I enjoy every minute of it! Mixed emotions and all.
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