"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others" --Mahatma Gandhi

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Cultural Capital

Sorry I didn't write yesterday. I wasn't feeling well so I got cranky and I don't think anyone wants to read about cranky Sarah. I think the excitement of first getting here started to fade and the exhaustion hit me. I took a nap, drank a lot of water, and was all better. We did eat wonderful food last night though. We had our first business class at 7 so we had to eat dinner separate from everyone else.I ordered the fish, which I thought was red snapper, but it ended up being barracuda. How cool is that?!? It still had eyeballs and everything but I promised myself I would try everything possible. It was SOO good, wow. I went to sleep early last night so I could be ready and happy for a new day. Today was awesome. I need to find a new word to describe my days because it is becoming redundant, but that is all I can think of! I am genuinely in awe being here. Dangriga is the cultural capital of Belize with the dominant culture being Garifuna. This morning I went to two different schools. The first one was somewhat like what you'd expect at home. It was standard 6, equivalent of about 8th grade. They were rowdy and uninterested in what we had to say. After teaching q lesson at that school, I was able to go into a school somewhat out of town that is entirely of Garifuna decent. It was like day and night. We had the same exact lesson plans yet the students at Gulisi,5)3 Garifuna were so much more attentive and respectful of us. They addressed us as Miss and Mr every time they spoke and they wanted to learn about what we had to say. We split them into groups and each group had to creat a product, evaluate the cost, and sell it to the class. It was so cool to see how creative they were. It was also kind of interesting to see kids running around the school grounds swinging machetes. I am so glad I got the opprotunity to teach in one of the most cultural based schools in Belize. After leaving Gulisi, we had a little bit of free time so a few of us took naps on the rooftop. Favorite thing ever. Before dinner we hung out by the soccer field/beach playing with the kids and getting to know some of them outside of school. They have no adult supervision and are just free to roam the city! So different. One little girl gave Emily and I a little gift and my heart melted. Those are the times when we feel like we are appreciated here and what we are doing is worth it. We had dinner at why not island right next to the water and then headed to teach a business class. Two little boys showed up the the business class which we thought of as only for adults. I volunteered to work with them because I wanted to know what they were there for. One of them, Michael, wants to be a scientist and the other, Frankie, wants to be an engineer. They were 15 years old and they came to a business meeting. I asked them why they came and they said they just wanted to talk. Two hours later, I did not want to say bye to them. Once again we ended our night on the rooftop, all 16 of us. Each night gets sillier and sillier. I love everything about this experience, even if I have to bare the heat. 













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