TCC Graduation

The culmination of High School at TCC works something like this. On one day at the end of May, after all their final exams and most of their Caribbean Examinations, all of the Seniors, or Fourth Formers, anxiously await the posting of "the List." The list includes all the names of those students who will be graduating. I have never experienced soo much anticipation and so much worry regarding a list. Since the beginning of the week students have been questioning and wondering if i know of the list, if i can find out how to see it, if i can look for their name, if i know how many failed, if i know how many passed. Soo many questions, so many worries. And of course i was not allowed to tell them anything at all about the contents of wan said list. (wow the kriole is really coming out on this entry). I heard so many sob stories, so many pleas, at one point i thought a girl was going to cry she wanted to know so badly. This is to topper. This morning as i groggily walked down my front stairs to get some bananas and oranges at the market, mind you this was at 6:45 in the morning, some of my students were passing my house and asked if i knew about the list. WHAT!!! i had literally woken up 10 minuets before, i hadn't even changed out of my pajamas and they were asking about "the list"!!

We'll today at aprox. 11:30 the list went up, and let me tell you it was amazing!! Only 8 out of the 200ish students didn't graduate and so there was a lot to celebrate and a lot of people to celebrate with. Forth Form students were hovering all morning and as the principal came out of his office they all bum rushed the bulletin board to see if their names was on the coveted list. If it was there were screams and tears of joy, if not it was mostly just some tears. After the initial celebratory cheers everyone begins to sign their name upon their fellow graduates, some mark up each others uniform while others come prepared with a white tee shirt. After weeks of worry and anticipation they finally know they have the answers they've been looking for.

So many experiences I've had this year have brought me back to High School. But none as strong as this one. While I'm not too sure how i feel about publicly posting the graduation list for all to see, because those students who do not make it are publicly embarrassed. Seeing the faces of those who did was amazing. The sheer joy, happiness, relief, and in some cases surprise was actually heart warming. It's something i often times wished i had in High School; a culmination of all the work i had done, one defining moment, where i could scream and say YES! the last full day of school wasn't really anything because you still have review, the last class wasn't really the end because you still had exams, even the last final exam was anti climactic because you were usually alone as you left the test. I guess the one thing i could relate it to is the tossing of the hats at graduation, that last fleeting moment as the Class of "whatever" with the people you grew up with.

Well enough with reminiscing. For me i think this also signifies a moment of importance, as students asked me to sign their shirts and told me thanks and gave me hugs i realized that i was a part of their final year at TCC. Students who i hadn't really had that much face time with came up to me with huge smiles and markers asking me to sign their shirts. It was one of the first moment at TCC that i actually felt like i belonged, connected, like i maybe had some impact or affect on their lives. It was a good feeling. one I wasn't expecting. One i can hopefully carry with me to next year.

Congrats to all graduates all over the world!

just a glimps (more to come soon)

so this morning on my way to work (i was a lee bit late so around 7:40am) i passed a man on his bike with two 3 feet long iguanas hanging over his handle bars. I wish i had a camera to depict this image more clearly, but use your imagination. I couldn't help but stair at this abnormal (for me) and strange sight passed me by seeming completely normal. He proceeded to hail me (call out) "igua, rasta gyal."

Just another morning bike to work...

"If it's not raining you are not in PG"

Yes that is a direct quote from a presenter we had in our classes today. And by golly that man could not have been any more correct. At this point in time I have given up on defining any type of seasonal weather here in Punta Gorda. No spring, no fall, no winter, no summer, not even a wet or dry. It just rains. I remember in elementary school, first grade I believe, I watched the movie about a girl who lived in a town where the sun only appeared for about half an hour per day, or something ridiculous like that. The rest of the time it was monsoon season, torrential down pour time. The movie was quite depressing for a group of 7 year olds, but anyone familiar with my first grade teacher Ms. Nielsen won’t be surprised by this selection. The little girl had a dream, she wanted too badly to plant a seed and watch its flower bloom in the sunshine. But unfortunately her evil classmates locked her in their classroom during the one hour of sunshine during which the flower bloomed and they ran happily outside in the sunshine. Now I don’t recall if this was the ending of the story or not, but in my 6 or 7 year old brain this was the memory which stuck. While my experience with the rain isn’t as depressing I do find myself CRAVING the sunshine and soaking up as much of it as I can when it does decide to grace PG with its presence. The rain has not really become something I loath, nor has it become a real hindrance (although biking to work this morning was difficult through the rain, I did not expect because when I left my house it was sunny, it takes me 6 mins to bike to work, did I mention I was wearing a white shirt and khaki?) But the rain has become one of those elements of life I have taken as normal, much like the woodlice, cockroaches, and at one point mice. Here in Punta Gorda it rains that is what it does. Its amazing how often I am reminded that going with the flow of life and accepting things for their positive gifts. The positive aspects of rain; EVERYTHING is green green green, my skin never dries out (nothing ever dries out), I can get a lot, and I mean a lot, of reading done.
During times of great rain I'm learning you don't really need the sun to bring you hope or happiness. Those things can come from any surprising sources.


ps it started raining/torrential down pouring today at 720 and is still going now at 1121 lets see how long it lasts.

Myth Busters

Inspired by a recent blog entry by my room mate Pat i have decided to write a blog entry about common myths or beliefs i had prior to my experience in JVI that have now become completely busted by my life and experiences in Belize.

1. myth: All dread heads are Rastafarian
lesson:you DONT have to be rasta to be dread
2. Myth: i cant live in a small town
Lesson: i can actually enjoy a town smaller than Islip (pg has less han 5,000 inhabitants)
3. Myth: i cant possible ever get cold in a tropical climate
Lesson: a girl from new york (me) who used to keep her windows open all winter can feel cold in 72 degree weather.
4. Myth: you become accustom to your surroundings
Lesson: I can never cease to be amazed by the natural beauty of this country
5. myth: showering everyday is necessary
Lesson: its really only necessary to shower every week
6. myth: shaving your legs is necessary
Lesson: shaving your legs is only necessary about once every 2-3 months if at all
7. Myth: you will loose weight if you move to a developing nation and only have 5$ per day for food
Lesson: any girl in a developing nation where rice beans tortillas and corn are the staples of a diet will most definitely gain weight. (despite pretty regular excercise)
8. Myth: driving six hours is way too far to only stay for a weekend.
Lesson: Traveling 6 hours on a bus is totally worth it even if just for 2 days of time spent with friends.
9. Myth: a person can't live on 60$ per month.
Lesson: a person CAN live on 120 belize per month and actually SAVE!
10. Myth: rats and cockroaches are gross.
lesson: Rats and cockroaches are only part of life and they can actually keep us company (jk)
11. Myth: Itching mosquito bites actually helps (i know this isnt true but i refused to believe i couldnt stratch)
Lesson: Mosquito bites actually GO AWAY if you leave them alone, especiall if gotten at night, and on your face.
12. Myth: your body is your body no matter where you are in the world.
Lesson: Sometimes your body can attack you from the inside out, things take longer to heal, and random bumps rashes and bruises come from myserious places or causes.
13. Myth: not having my cellphone for a few hours was difficult.
lesson: (which i sort of already knew) Not haveing a cell phone is PHENOMINAL and LIBERATING
14. Myth: the rainy season ends in December
Lesson: (never believe anything you hear about the weather) last weekend (in february) it rained for 3 days straight.
15. Myth: 2 years is a long time.
Lesson: two years is a long time, but totally necessary to really fully attempt to understand this job, these people, and my reason for beign here.

Well i hope you liked my 15 busted myths. there are many more lessons i have learned since being here but these were the easiest to articulte. haha enjoy!

happy valentines day everyone!

Wow its been a long long long time since i've updated, (in Belize they like to repeat things for emphasis, my repetition for long should probably be about 10x longer, but I'll save space and my fingers). But i did preface this blog with the warning that i probably wouldn't update all that often. It's not that life hasn't been interesting, or eventful or blog worthy, its really that a I'm having a hard time putting my experiences into words. How to discern what i am seeing feeling and doing is difficult and then putting it into blog terms is hard for me. However i did make some attempts, well one attempt really, i had a whole reflection about an experience in the small villages of Belize. complete with beautiful descriptions of sun rises, small hill side villages and maya traditions. And then my flash drive went missing and my entry went with it. So is life in Belize, going with the flow is my new mantra, even more than it was before. So while this really doesn't do much justice to my experience or to those of you who actually read and want to know about what I'm doing, seeing learning and experiencing, right now its all i can offer.
so here are the major events
Gurafina Settlement day: Celebrations commemorating the settlement of the Carib people in Belize a day/night of partying and celebrating culminating in a reenactment of the settlement right outside our house at 6am.
Thanksgiving: we went on retreat with the Belize city volunteers to Trinidad Farms a jesuit retreat house up north. We cooked more food than 8 people could possibly consume in two meals let alone one. the boys made a kite and i had some really great conversations and reflective moments. We also played soccer in the sunset with the local kids!
End of the School year: i gave a final exam (eek) its weird being on the other side of the classroom and assigning exams. thankfully most of my students passed and i felt ok about how the semester went! 1/4 of the way done thats INSANE
Christmas: it was weird being away from home and having warm weather, but i was able to appreciate what Christmas is really about. friendship family and a deepening of faith. So while i didn't actually receive any materialistic gifts i was given the gift of love and appreciation. Which is pretty awesome if you ask me!
new years; slightly uneventful i was in Belize city for the week, which was awesome!! got a sense of the city. the people and what life is like up there for the volunteers and visited with some good friends.
Now; i'm back home and starting school all over again. i'm being a little stricter (its hard) and planning Career day/expo/week. So i'm running around like a little crazy person trying to get local businesses to come and speak. its good because i'm getting a better sense of town, of who/what is out there and i feel as thought i'm being productive.

me: i am healthy again (no knee problems) and i've started retraining for the Belize city half marathon in August.
Well thats all for now Sorry this is so quick and unedited. I'll try to be better in the upcoming months maybe a good new years resolution will be to update at least once per month. Well hold me accountable, and insist upon it, if i start to slack!

i miss home and snow and everyone who reads this!!
la paz a todos!

Part of an Email from my mom which i thought was pretty inspiring. I promise i will update with my actual reflections soon enough. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the chilliness of fall and the Obama victory. I know beliseans sure are, well maybe with the exception of the fall chill.

The ABCs of Life

Accept differences

Be kind

Count your blessings

Dream

Express thanks

Forgive

Give freely

Harm no one

Imagine more

Jettison anger

Keep confidences

Love truly

Master something

Nurture hope

Open your mind

Pack lightly

quell rumors

reciprocate

Seek wisdom

Touch hearts

Understand

Value truth

Win graciously

Xeriscape

Yearn for peace

Zealously support a worthy cause

How to Build Global Community

This is something i stole from Kristen a fellow volunteer in Belize City

From the Syracuse Cultural Workers (SCW)

**This was sent to our community from one of the former JVs who left Belize earlier this summer.

Think of no one as “them”
Don’t confuse your comfort with your safety
Talk to strangers
Imagine other cultures through their poetry and novels
Listen to music you don’t understand
Dance to it
Act locally
Notice the workings of power and privilege in your culture
Question consumption
Know how your lettuce and coffee are grown: wake up and smell the exploitation
Look for fair trade and union labels
Help build economies from the bottom up
Acquire few needs
Learn a second (or third) language
Visit people, places, and cultures—not tourist attractions
Learn people’s history
Re-define progress
Know physical and political geography
Play games from other cultures
Watch films with subtitles
Know your heritage
Honor everyone’s holidays
Look at the moon and imagine someone else, somewhere else, looking at it too
Read the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Understand the global economy in terms of people, land, and water
Know where your bank banks
Never believe you have a right to anyone else’s resources
Defy corporate domination
Question military/corporate connections
Don’t confuse money with wealth, or time with money
Have a pen/email pal
Honor indigenous cultures
Judge governance by how well it meets all people’s needs
Be skeptical about what you read
Eat adventurously
Enjoy vegetables, beans, and grains in your diet
Choose curiosity over certainty
Know where your water comes from and where your wastes go
Pledge allegiance to the earth: question nationalism
Think South, Central, and North—there are many Americans
Assume that many others share your dreams
Know that no one is silent though many are not heard—WORK TO CHANGE THIS"

Solidarity, building global community no matter how you say it recognizing the struggles of those around me is key to recognizing my place in the world and my purpose within that place. I have always known this was important but it is things like this which remind me how much of an impact my simple decisions or actions can affect an entire group of people.

Keep thinking, loving and living globally!
Em