Saturday October 3, 2009
I am so excited I am placed in Laguna. I believe that I have intent and a beautiful site. I am so happy to just have a day to do not too much. Today I will go shopping for wedge shoes because for the dress I want to wear it is a long dress and I did not bring any heels. No heels would fit when I was packing my suit cases back at home. However, I only found stilettos… I’ll let you know how that turns out when I wear them on swearing in. I hate heels… you know ever since my foot accident.
Today I spent the rest of my day at Perkups because they have free internet access if you buy a meal or drink… plus they have delicious frozen drinks. I stayed there and uploaded pictures from noon to 6pm. Then I went to Bull Frogs for dinner. Then I went early to bed because tomorrow will be a traveling day.
Sunday October 4, 2009
We left Belmopan (capital of Belize) to go way down south to Toledo!!! Nineteen Peace Corps trainees will be living in the Toledo district! We stayed the night at the Charleton Inn in P.G. I roomed with Emily… we bonded again as roommates lol. We went to dinner with Mike the P.C. leader he told me lots and lots about my village… however, he informed me that Laguna does not have a working internet because they have not paid the bill. I’m soooo bummed.
Monday October 5, 2009
Today I meet my counterpart!!!
My counterpart, Mr. Garcia is the principal of Laguna Government School. I was lucky though that three counterparts showed up to my conference… showing that there is a lot of community support in Laguna. Mr. Che my host father showed up and was super kind. Mr. Chub also attended because he is the chairman of the village.
The conference went very well. Except for the electric going out for a few hours; therefore, they could not show the videos or PowerPoint.
The schedule went as follows:
8-8:30 Coffee and P.C. video… but, since there was no video we played a birthday game icebreaker.
8:30-9 What is the Peace Corps? Our Purpose and Goals
9-10 Meeting your volunteer
10-10:30 Peace Corps Rules and Regulations
10:30 Break
10:45 Expectations
11:30 Case studies from volunteer service
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Getting to Know your Counterpart
2:30 Responsibilities of Counterparts to Volunteers
3:15 Logistics and Dates to Prepare for
3:45 Wrap up/close
Then I rode with Chanda and Alli to my host family’s house!!! I had so many bags… but the family helped me so nicely!
Info about my family
Host Father: (40 years old) Very supportive in the community and PTA. He has 7 children and was married at 17 (it was an arranged marriage).
Host Mother: (39 years old)First and primary language is K’ekchi. She laughs at my attempt of K’ekchi.
My host father is 40 and my host mom is 39. They have 7 children ages 23, 20, 18, 15, 10, 8, and 1, as well as a grandmother who live with us too.
Joseph is 23 works with the water tank.
Carmelita is 20 top of her class and goes to University of Belize.
Asterio is 18 years old and in his 2nd year of high school.
Karina is 15 and in Standard 6 at my school.
Burton is 10 and in Standard 3 at my school.
Shakira is 8 and is in Standard 2 at my school.
Marvin is 1 and is soooo cute!
We live in a thatch house (meaning that the roof is made from palm leaves!)
The floor is the mud/dirt from outside.
I bathe in the river… in my bathing suit.
I use a cement toilet latrine.
I do my laundry in the river.
My house a little creek with a little waterfall and spa… made by God! Hahah
We have a separate house for the kitchen. I have a special place to eat every day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
Mr. Che gave me a mini tour of the community and then we practiced our K’ekchi.
The family sleeps on wooden boards or hammocks.
I sleep on a wooden board and a small/thin piece of foam on top.
Tuesday October 6, 2009
I taught both K and 1st graders in one classroom.Laguna school has 4 teachers that teach k-6. The principal teacher standard 5 and 6 and then there is a teacher that teaches standard 4 and 3, then 2 and 1, and then Infant 1 and 2.
There is a teacher that is pregnant that did not show on my first day. Therefore, I had to teach without any lessons or plans. I taught two grades at once. I found it quite difficult; however, the kids were very well behaved for me… thank goodness.
After school I attended a PTA meeting. They told me that I have to do lots of fund raising. They have a 300 dollar water bill and a 500 hundred dollar bill for internet. Plus many more repairs and things needed for the school.
After the meeting I went home to prepare for tomorrows lessons.
Wednesday October 7, 2009
Today I observed in Standard 3 and 4. I took lots of notes. She did things well… however, I would improve her positive reinforcement in the classroom.
I promoted the fund raising gardening contest to all the students. At the end of the day we went on a nature walk and the kids picked me flowers to wear in my hair. Then we went to the pasture to get the cow manor. I got stuck in the mud… so many times. The other girls were good/experienced walkers in the mud… I kept slipping on the mud.
After that I met the alcade. It was a short conversation; however, I was glad to meet him and get to know more people in the community.
Thursday October 8, 2009
The Package...
Today Ginnie and Anthony came to visit me and see how I was doing in Laguna. They were happy that I was doing so well. They dropped off the package that my father sent me. It was 22 lbs and filled with lots of goodies. The kids were sooooo excited! Mr. Che said I am spoiling the kids… but, I am just being generous lol! I already love my 7 host siblings!
Friday October 9, 2009
SICK AGAIN!
I woke up really sick! I had chills and sweats all night. I woke up with a sore throat, head ache, and fever. I told my host father that I could not go to school today. He told Mr. Garcia and Nurse Jackie. Nurse Jackie made me come to the community phone down the road to tell her my symptoms. She said she would mail (flown by plane) me a package to Punta Gorda filled with medicine. So I waited until Saturday to receive the package. I rested/slept all day and drank lots and lots of water.
Saturday October 10, 2009
Package came and I feel better! Today I called Mr. Garcia to pick up my package in P.G. because I missed the 6am bus. He said okay. The package arrived on the bus at noon from P.G. I was so excited and now feel better since I received my medicine.
Sunday October 11, 2009
Today was an adventurous day. We went to the lagoon in the morning. We took the boardwalk to the lagoon. However, the boardwalk was very beat up. There were lots of broken boards. It was a little nerve wracking. We made it pretty far… we almost made it to the lagoon. However, the bridge was flooded so we could not cross the bridge to see the lagoon.
But, next we had a little snack (oatmeal) and then went to climb the mountain. It was HARD CORE! I kept slipping down the mountain because my tennis shoes have no friction… they are too worn down. I went with my two host sisters, host brother, and host father. They were all very good at climbing. They even did it bare foot. It took longer because I kept sliding on the mud. However, I made it to the top and I got cell phone reception! I made lots of phone calls I was so excited. I didn’t get in touch with my mom… or CECY!
After that I went to K’ekchi church. It was very nice they introduced me and said a blessing/prayer for me. I felt special!
Monday October 12, 2009
Today is a holiday! Today is Belize’s Columbus Day. We all had off from school. Therefore, we went hiking up the mountain again to the cave. It wasn’t as hard today. We took a different route. We also got to the water tower and my host brother climbed it with my cell phone. (I get cell phone service there!!!) What I have to do for cell phone service… climb mountains and water towers lol!
The cave was soooo cool! I really enjoyed it. I have lots of great pics…. Some of the bats in the caves! Thank goodness we brought a lot of flash lights because it was pitch black in the cave.
After the cave I rode my bike with Carmelita to the internet. There was only one really old computer there that I used. It took forever to upload one album. Carmelita said it was because on cloudy days the service is very slow! However, I was happy that I got to send some messages to people back home! Miss you!
After I went to the internet café I visited the pastor of the church. I found out the history of Laguna. I learned that his grandfather and uncle founded Laguna in 1959. Then more families followed. They named it after the lagoon that is in the village. He told me about the mountains, caves, lagoon, and the hardwood trees that were an excellent resource to the villagers for building houses.
After we had dinner and then we discussed cell phone plans. I realized that I should have gotten digicell. We receive digicell service in our house. My smart phone I have to travel up mountains and water towers to get service… uh oh I have to get a new phone I guess. I don’t like to be cut off from the world… without cell phone or internet!!! But, I am learning that people and I can live without it!
Tuesday October 13, 2009
Today I taught Standard V and VI(Grade 5 and 6) all day. Mr. Garcia the teaching principal was at a meeting all day. So I substituted his class. The students were very good. I started the day with my expectations… the four B’s Be Respectful, Be Safe, Be Good Learners, and Be Hard Workers. Then I took attendance and had the kids sweep and clean the classroom because it was very dirty.
The rest of my day teaching included:
1. Read Aloud (How to Save the Planet)
2. Math (I taught frequency tables, tally and bar graphs.)
3. Break 10:30- 10:45
4. Language Arts (Poem called Caring for Animals) I observed and assessed comprehension.
5. Grammar (Taught and reviewed verbs… action words)
6. Lunch 12-1
7. Science ( group project on invertebrates)
8. Art (we created pictures out of construction paper, glue, and beans) The kids were very creative.
After that I went to see Mr. Chub to talk about moving into the teacher house. We discussed… but, I was still confused because he said that the Peace Corps would fix it up, but I would still need to pay rent to the community?
After that I came home and laughed and laughed with my host family. They helped me with my Laguna presentation I will have to give in less than a week. We did a sign and each family member chanted
L… for Lagoon
A … for Awesome host family
G … Great Government School
U… unique saqadilla thatch houses
N… Neat Caves
A… Amazing Mountains
We practiced and practices and laughed and laughed.
Wednesday October 14, 2009
Today I observed in Infant I class all day. I gave my teacher lots of teaching tips on how to increase participation and as well as the tip of the greater and less than signs (the mouth eating the bigger number)
At lunch time I had lunch with the Chub family. It was very nice the chairman invited me to eat with his family. I ate beans, tortilla, and fish; I also had an orange drink. It was very nice. I talked and got to know the family, as well as practiced my K’ekchi. (P.s. he has really really cute girl twins)
After lunch the Ministry of Education came for a spot check. The school was pretty much ready for it. They did give many suggestions. While they were there I taught Physical Education to the Infant I class. It was very enjoyable. I got compliments on my teaching!
After we had a staff meeting with the Ministry and I took lots of notes of their suggestions so that I can implement them quickly.
Thursday October 15, 2009
Today was another nice day at Laguna Government School.
After school I did laundry because I had sooo much! Then we took pictures of each member of the host family. It was lots of fun. They don’t have many pictures of them or individually. So when I go into Belmopan I will print an individual picture of each family member and a picture of the whole family.
Friday October 16, 2009
Today was a very productive day at Laguna Government School. I did a lot of organizing, inventory, and budgeting, as well as straightening up the classrooms. They needed that. Mr. Garcia, the principal, was shocked and so happy how much I accomplished in one school day… he said he could have never done the computer work so quickly.
After school I went to see the teacher house and write down an estimate. We went through each thing that needs fixing. (They estimated 600 dollars). It does need a lot of work. I thought they were going to get a construction worker; however, they said the PTA can do all the fixing up… yet, they will need a plumber and electrician too.
Next I did packing for my trip to Belmopan for our SWEARING in party. I am preparing for all my presentations. I am in charge of making a picture presentation… because I am known for taking many many pictures of everything!
Saturday October 17, 2009
Today I will travel to Belmopan. Riding on the bus is so entertaining. I made great friends with a Guatemala bush doctor and a vagabond from Finland. It was very interesting and I learned a lot from them.
Disclaimer
This website expresses the views of Grace Boswell, who is entirely responsible for its content. It does not express the views of the United States government, the Belize government, the Peace Corps or any other institutions named or linked to on these pages.
