First day of class

Well we just had our first day of classes, and it was
quite a learning experience! Lesson number one:
nothing in Belize runs on time. Assembly was supposed
to start at 7:45 am. At 8:10, it started. The periods
were all shortened, but the bells to end the periods
were inevitably 10 minutes late. My last class was
supposed to end at 1:55, but they didn't ring the bell
until 1 after 2. Basically, this means I wrapped the
lesson up several times, realized I wasn't done, and
kind of came up with things on the spot to teach. The
periods are an hour and five minutes long regularly.
This, I have discovered, is a very long time. I have
two classes of boys, with over thirty in each class.
The number is not set yet, as kids keep wandering in
during the day. My first class was pretty wild, but I
guess I managed to scare them pretty good. One of the
teachers who has them later in the day said the
students think I'm mean! I'm actually glad to start
off with that reputation, because it means they will
probably behave. My other boys class is really quiet;
it is quite a contrast. I kind of like the wild class
better because they have so much energy, and I feed
off it. My end of the day class is 36 freshmen girls.
They are very sweet and quiet. Some don't speak any
English, so it will be challenging to teach them. We
started off with an experiment testing how long
different kinds of gum's flavor lasted (winterfresh
outlasted dentyne ice, if anyone is interested). I
really will have to work to draw these girls out of
their shells, they are so shy. In other news, today
we got shelves in our house, which is very exciting.
We haven't unpacked yet because we had no place to put
stuff! We still don't have any chairs, but one of our
neighbors who works for the school said we could
borrow some of theirs! People are very generous here.
That's all for now, I need to go home and sleep :)

Benque

So I'm finally here in Benque, which is a lot different then what I imagined.  The town is fairly large, and most everyone has electricity and water (except today-- the whole town doesn't have any running water, which is an interesting experience!) There is a lot of diversity in houses-- some are what you would expect in America, and some are wooden shacks.  There are four of us in my house, including the two other steubie girls!  It is a nice, basic little house.  I am happy because it seems clean, and I haven't seen any major bugs, just a gecko here and there.  There are definitely tons of critters here.  Yesterday one of the guys caught a tarantula and was carrying it around in a tupperware.  Today at breakfast, a cockroach ran up my leg, which was definitely a first.  We eat all our meals in community at the rectory, which is really nice.  The group of teachers here are really amazing.  There are a couple of guys from England, including a film director who wants to make a short film while he is here.  It is a great place for an FUS grad- a slow transition from the bubble.   We have done a few days of orientation, which was like a crash course in teaching and living in Belize.  I will have three classes to teach; a science class for freshmen girls, and two sections of sophomore boys biology.  I was pretty shocked at the lack of equipment here.  They have about 15 microscopes, but only three of them actually function to some degree.  They have 10 or so bunsen burners, but no gas lines, so they aren't usable.  The assortment of stuff is puzzle ling-- there is a whole box of sterile bags for the autoclave, and thousands of plastic pipets in a trash bag.  Everything was donated, I'm sure, but it is sooo random.  I am going to have to be very creative for labs.  School starts on Monday, so we are all busy making lesson plans and cleaning out classrooms (which involves a lot of gingerly moving things and waiting to see something scurry away).  Other then that, adjusting to the heat is my biggest concern- I have never felt anything quite like it.  The internet connection is slow and inconsistent, but hopefully I will be able to post on a regular basis.  That's all for now!

Monday, August 23, 2004

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My flight leaves at 6am tommorrow morning ( I have to be at the airport around 4 am...) so please say a prayer that everything goes smoothly! I get a little nervous about flying, so before confirming my flight and seat, I researched on the internet which seat on the plane is the safest-- it turns out there isn't a safest seat. Comforting!

Friday, August 20, 2004

Novenas and Donuts

Tommorrow starts the Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel!  You can find it at the EWTN website if you want to join us.

 

Before I leave, I'm trying to eat foods I know I won't be able to get in Belize.  This morning: Dunkin Donuts.  yum :)

 

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

This last weekend I attended Becky and Elijah's wedding in Portsmouth. It was so beautiful! Elijah's brother Avram gave the homily, and I think everyone was crying at least a little. It was wonderful to see all the Steubie people, and to play frisbee... :) The next day I drove to my cousin's wedding, and stopped at a butterfly conservatory on the way. There were thousands of butterflies flying around, and they sometimes landed on me! I got a nice preview of Central American butterflies-- my favorites were the huge blue ones and the ones with partially transparent wings.

This is funny-- the add at the top of this page is done by Google, and they match the add to the theme of the page. Usually, the add on this page is for textbooks, but today it is for Terminix and "Amazing Edible Insect Selection Serving Candy Lovers Since 1927"!!