Day 3

It's hard to believe that it is only my third day in San Pedro. I've already seen so much of the island, met so many people, and my tiny room at Pedro's Inn already feels like home. I absolutely love it here. Everything is so beautiful, bright, and colorful- the town, the beach, the people, and even the food. I've already ventured all over this little island and there is still so much left to see. I am bound and determined to see it all.

Yesterday we toured the schools that we will all be working in. We visited three schools that would be the equivalent to a K-8 school in America, one pre-school, and one high school. Nothing was like anything I had expected. In my head I pictured tiny shacks, quiet and packed full of students, with nothing but a chalkboard (maybe) and a teacher. But the schools we visited yesterday were far from what I had envisioned. Yes, they were small, hot, and crowded, but there was much, much more than just a chalkboard. There were desks, dry-erase boards, and lots of educational posters and materials covering the walls. Also the classrooms, and sometimes even the outside of the schools, were painted in bright colors and beautiful murals. The students were lively and happy to be in school and to meet us. At a few schools students were jumping out of their seats to come meet us. That is one thing that is definitely different from the US. The students had much more freedom to roam around the classroom and even go outside whenever they pleased. I am very excited to begin working in the schools!

We visited the high school last. It is located literally on the beach. There is a cement wall about eight feet high all the way around the school and if you look over it, you can see the water. On our walk back down the beach to Pedro's, we saw a local fisherman cutting up his catch and feeding the scraps to pelicans in the water. Then, much to our surprise, we spotted a huge stingray swimming right around the man's ankles eating all of the scraps falling into the water! It was so cool! I ran right in the water, in my sneakers and all, to pet the giant stingray. It's body was probably about three feet across. Just a bit further down the beach, we saw another man doing the same thing, with about six more stingrays at his feet! 

I can't wait to see more of what Belize and San Pedro have to offer. It's only day three and I never want to leave!