Final Day Teaching in Belize

            When I first thought about applying to come here, I was very apprehensive because I didn’t know what to expect. I literally waited to the last day to apply. Everyone I talked to that has come before me has told me how life changing the experience is, but I didn’t understand what they meant until now. I don’t even know how to explain this to anyone who hasn’t had this amazing opportunity has been. Today was the most emotional of all. My students all wrote me individual cards to tell me goodbye and made me a sign that I WILL be hanging in my own classroom soon. We were lucky enough to be able to have lunch with all of the staff at San Pablo today and there were many speeches, gifts and tears. These teachers were incredibly generous using their own time, money and resources to make and give us amazing and thoughtful mementos from this trip. It took everything in me not to cry from all of the love and respect that was in that lunchroom today. I truly hope to be able to return one day and hope whatever difference I may have made here sticks with the students and teachers the way what they did for me will stick to me. The teachers and principal of the school are some of the most inspiring, dedicated, and compassionate people I’ve ever met, and I hope to be half as good as they are in my career. 

-Jen 

Words cannot even express how sad and happy of a day we had at Red Bank today. Being our last day there, it was filled with smiles, hugs, and lots tears. The teachers and the students will forever have an impact on each of our hearts tremendously. Looking at my teacher, he has taught me so much about red bank and how to become a better teacher. He shows such a passion for his profession and his students. He showed me every day the impact I am leaving with him and his teaching. He also expressed how I was impacting the students. I focused very strongly on writing in my classroom. Every single one of my students these past six days has grown in their writing and learned their passion on what they like to write about. I hope their writing only advances in the future. 

 At the end of my day today in the classroom, I decided to give one boy my backpack from the school. Here in Belize they do not have as much as we do in the states and their backpacks are torn, dirty, or old. I asked my teacher which student needs my backpack the most and he pointed to one of the little boys I clicked with a lot these past six days. He was always playing with me, getting extra help from me one on one, or making jokes with me. When we were leaving at the end of the day I pulled him aside and handed him the backpack. He then ran away to the outside of the classroom and started crying happy tears for receiving a new backpack. This truly showed and gave me a wonderful rap up of how much the students cherish us being there and the supplies we bring with us. 

This experience cannot even be put into words on how much the students and teachers have changed our hearts as we leave to come home to Kentucky in a few days. 

-Abby