Dear Wilmington Friends,

Hello! It's Ms. Gibson! I am here in Belize...

Can you tell what kind of tree is behind me?

Yesterday, I went scuba diving at the coral reef! I saw lots of animals that live in the water--fish, sea turtles, stingrays, even sharks. Here is a picture of one of the sea turtles we swam with...

I've also been to the beach here in Belize. Check out this photo...

Tomorrow I will meet our Belize friends at school. I am excited to meet them and tell them about what Wilmington is like. How are you all doing?

Have a good day!
-Ms. Gibson

Diving Adventure No. 1

I'm sitting on the porch this evening...

...and I want to post about the events this morning. My first diving adventure!

One of my goals for this trip is to try new things (how cliché, right?), and I think in the half week I've been here, I've done a good job. I've tried a lot of fish (even lobster...bleh). I've ridden on a tiny, 12-person plane to get to the island, even though that wasn't much of a challenge; I was stoked. And now, I can say I've completed my first scuba trip!

Several of us got our diving certs before leaving the U.S., so we could dive here in Belize. We wanted our first dive to be shallow (~30 feet), so we could get comfortable in the water before doing an 80-foot dive. So, we went to Hol Chan Marine Reserve, and it was absolutely beautiful. I don't have any photos of marine life to share yet (underwater disposable camera, meh), but I have this one of me putting my gear on:

The water is so clear; it's impossible to tell if you're two feet under or 30 feet. We saw sea turtles, several sharks, stingrays, an eagle ray, and an eel--and other creatures whose names I do not know. Check out these two bizarre creatures:

We also did some snorkeling at Shark Ray Alley. As the name suggests, this site attracts a lot of nurse sharks and stingrays. The nurse sharks swarm the boat when you arrive, but when they realize you don't have any food (fish, in case you're wondering) for them, they ditch. Consequently, our dive master warned us to jump in as soon as the boat stopped--or you'd miss out. So, of course, I throw on my fins and mask/snorkel and am the first one in the water. What a weird feeling it is being surrounded by 20-30 nurse sharks, measuring 4-6 feet long, by myself. Pretty wild! They disappeared very quickly, leaving behind lots of stingrays.

Overall, I had a fantastic time:

And afterwards, the group of us who went diving grabbed some lunch on the beach:

On the way back to the hostel, we saw a child playing with his dogs. Love this:

Our First Week

We've been in Belize for two full days now. Let me give you a run-down of what's been up.

We arrived in San Pedro via plane on Wednesday morning. The island is very small, although it seems very large to us who don't know our way around. There are three main streets--front street, middle street, and back street. So, the first day, we didn't do too much touring...mostly settling in our rooms and hanging around Pedro's, the hotel. On Thursday, the group walked around the island. This is when we started to get the hang of those three streets. We saw the beach (beautiful!) and the bay on the other side of the island:

Today (Friday), we toured the two schools we'll be at. The high school literally sits on the beach:

There's no AC in the high school, and it's a little hot. I will be at the primary school, Isla Bonita, and I'm so ready to get started. There are eight classrooms and 108 students. My role will be pulling students out for 1:1 and small group instruction. The principal told me there are several students they have in mind. I'm hoping to observe the classrooms and see if there are any other students I might want to work with as well. I will be able to to set up my own schedule for working with the students, which will be great practice for when I get my classroom in the fall.

The culture here is very interesting. I taught my American students that people in San Pedro drive golf carts around instead of cars, but I did not know that there is essentially no traffic patterns here, save for a few stop signs. The right-of-way goes to the most assertive golf cart driver/cycler/pedestrian. My preferred ride? Bicycle. It sure beats walking. Also, the food is great. My group and I are trying to find the cheapest places to eat on the island. Yesterday a few of us got burritos and pupusas for $5 Bz ($2.50 American) for dinner:

Any questions?

Global Awareness

Isn't that the main purpose of the IFE? More specifically, to provide teacher candidates with:

"an opportunity to collaborate with Belizean teachers and provide instruction to Belizean children, merging US teaching methodologies with Belizean strategies."

I think the opportunities mentioned will be extremely exciting but also humbling. One of the things I learned in my US internship is that there is more than one right way to do things. Potato, potahto, right? And I learned that in a classroom that emphasizes structure and consistency! Imagine how exponentially increased that concept will seem in a completely different culture.

For example, my understanding is that Belizeans don't plan. I'm not talking about lesson planning; I'm talking about planning in general. (They probably don't see it that way. They probably think, "Americans don't relax," which is a fairly accurate generalization.) But if you know anything about me, it's that planning saves my life. I plan so that I can relax. So it will be difficult trying to assimilate into a society that shuns planning.

I think it will be like this for more than just the planning aspect. That's why I want to remember the "more than one right way" philosophy. Another way I see it...

"Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life." Proverbs 19:20

Just because I listen and learn something new doesn't mean I have to agree with it or apply it to my life (but maybe I will!). One thing's for certain: I never will if I never stop to listen.

Enough philosophizing. I need to go pack. This time tomorrow, I'll be on a plane to Belize City!

We leave for San Pedro in 2 days!

Some logistics:

• A group of Watson College of Education interns are heading to Belize for 5.5 weeks.
• The trip is referred to as an international field experience (IFE).
• We are primarily chilling in San Pedro, Belize.
• We will be observing and teaching in local schools in San Pedro.
• We're pretty excited!