Monday, May 6, 2013

Student Reflection - Liam


Most people wake up on Monday's and dread the day that awaits them, we here in Belize were ready and relaxed after the long weekend! Good evening readers, Liam Corley here to blog a bit about my recent experiences in Belize. I guess I should start with a brief summary of this weekend's experiences and how it prepared us for our final days in Belize.

As you could guess, Friday we were all pretty tired from our exhausting but exciting week. Dinner on the beach with some native Garifuna dancers was exactly what we needed to get the weekend started off right. Saturday was nothing short of amazing. We had the opportunity to burn a little bit of our energy and go on a pretty lengthy hike in Cockscomb Basin, a Belizean National Park committed to the preservation and growth of the Jaguar population. Though we didn't see any Jaguars, the beauty that surrounded us was enough to get us through the heat and humidity and we had the rest of the evening.  As a team, we celebrated the Kentucky Derby Belizean style and relaxed with the great owners and employees of Cardie's, the hotel where we've been staying. After church in Red Bank Sunday morning, we spent the day at Belizean Dreams Beach Resort. My goodness was it beautiful. This being my first time on a resort, I didn't know what to expect but I promise it met any and every expectation anyone could ever set. 

After the relaxing weekend, we were ready for the next two days of teaching! Our elementary and early childhood teachers changed schools today and had plenty of new experiences at San Pablo Roman Catholic School in San Pablo, Belize. Everything I've heard so far from talking to my colleagues about San Pablo is that their experiences today were challenging but nothing short of a fun and educational opportunity. I, on the other hand, alongside Gillian Griggs and Sarah Flaherty returned to Georgetown Technical High school. I've enjoyed every waking minute I've had at GTH and was ready to start off my week on the right foot, the same way I did last week. Co teaching with my supervising teacher has been incredibly educational for me, I hope she feels the same way. I've had the opportunity of teaching Spanish to 2nd and 3rd form students, a daunting task but I was ready for the challenge. I've spent the past week coteaching concepts that have been previously covered earlier in the year as the students begin to prepare for their final exams and project presentations. As my last day at Georgetown Technical High School approaches, I yearn for the words to show my appreciation towards all those that I have been alongside in this journey. This includes the professional staff supporting and making this trip possible, my colleagues on this educational journey with me, and the amazing support and friendliness of the staff at GTH.

As our opportunity to teach is coming to an end in Belize, I'm lost for words as to how amazing this experience has been for us. I hope that this blog inspires others at Louisville, in Kentucky, in the United States, and around the world to take every challenging opportunity and appreciate that we have those opportunities. The amount I personally have learned thus far is not something that can be captured on a blog or in a book, but something that only you-- the reader-- can experience yourself.

I hope you've enjoyed this blog and gained a bit of insight to our trip.

No comments:

Post a Comment