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!
3 Comments:
Hey!!! Glad to hear that there haven't been major bug infestation issues. FYI, did you know you can email posts in? It can save a lot of time because then you just need to go to one website to check emails, write back, and post entries. Just do a search for email in the help section and you'll find what you need.
Wow-what experiences! Keep us posted. I will be starting my teaching experiences along with you! Let us know if we can get you specific equipment.I just got back from CUA. A lot of parents have Stuebenville connections from other children going there. It was a rushed three days as all orientations are but it seems they have an active Campus ministry.Amy's room is very small but she has a really nice room mate. The most beautiful site I saw all weekend was when I came upon a garden beside the Basilica-a quiet oasis with a fountain surrrounded by flowers in the shadow of the golden dome-there kneeling on a scarf facing each other was a Mother and her son holding their rosary beads as they quietly said the rosary. I was mesmerized-the DC traffic was but a few yards away and yet they were in concentrated prayer to Mary. They were, I think from the Phillipines and I realized that here was a Mother who had raise a son who was not embarassed to kneel in prayer with her but also here was a Mother who was praying with her son before she left him in another country entrusting him to God. As a Mother I felt her pain in leaving her son and saw how blessed she was. I quietly left as I felt like an intruder even though they did not notice anyone else. Take care of yourself-May God watch over you-Love, Mom
Hi, Cathleen:
Sounds like fun! I was wondering - do they call the cockroaches cockroaches down there, or do they have cute little euphemisms for them like they do in Florida (Palmetto Bugs...). For your first microscope experiment, I always found that, after explaining the parts of the scope, the kids were fascinated by looking at simple things (try a little newsprint, or, have them pull a hair & study the follicle under scanning & low power. A feather works well, too. For high power, scrape some squamous epithelial cells from the inside of the cheek lining & dye it with methlyene blue (or any other stain you have). Remember - keep it simple. The best teachers are the ones who can reduce a complex idea into simple language - also, try to relate scientific concepts to the student's environment & daily life experiences - practical applications make things lots easier to understand.
If I can offer any other teaching tips, just give a yell.
Uncle Ed
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