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?