Nothing much going on here. Today is the first day back to school. The kids are very excitable today :) Still working on my portfolio.
Some interesting conversations going on. We had test corrections in class today for the life skills test that I gave. Again, the students here are just like home.The grades were all over the board. For test corrections we picked the questions that the students seemed to have the hardest time with to go back over. One was the difference between prescription medication, OTC meds, and "drugs of abuse". Now I guess I can admit that I had preconceived notions that this was "common knowledge". I was wrong. I had a student come up to me today and ask what an example of a prescription drug was. I asked her to think back to a time when sh was at the doctor and he wrote her one. She said she had never had a prescription written from a doctor. I was taken aback. It turns out, after asking a couple other students, that they had never taken a prescription drug either. I realize that a lot of Belize is developing but this is not a country that looks third world, especially San Pedro. I was really surprised by this.
Another conversation that we had in chemistry class was the fact that Belize's barrier reef system, a world heritage site since 1996, is facing possible delisting due to the degradation of the reef. It was interesting to hear the kids talk about what that meant to San Pedro. They realize that tourism plays a huge role in the economics here. They also realize that "money talks", as one student so simply put it. There is a lot of development going on on this island. That means more tourists and more money but at what cost to the environment. They were also discussing a story that some guy hit the reef on his yacht this past week. He supposedly ripped out a huge chunk of coral. Yet, according to the paper and the students, there were no repercussions for his actions. He was not fined. What kind of example does this set for the students and people who live here?
On a lighter note....we all tried a true Belizean delicacy today....ARMADILLO!!!! The Mayan call it wetch. It was a little scary to see the whole body boiling in a pot! But I tried not to think about it and tried a little piece. Taste like chicken, imagine that.Why does everything taste like chicken?!?!?!
Some interesting conversations going on. We had test corrections in class today for the life skills test that I gave. Again, the students here are just like home.The grades were all over the board. For test corrections we picked the questions that the students seemed to have the hardest time with to go back over. One was the difference between prescription medication, OTC meds, and "drugs of abuse". Now I guess I can admit that I had preconceived notions that this was "common knowledge". I was wrong. I had a student come up to me today and ask what an example of a prescription drug was. I asked her to think back to a time when sh was at the doctor and he wrote her one. She said she had never had a prescription written from a doctor. I was taken aback. It turns out, after asking a couple other students, that they had never taken a prescription drug either. I realize that a lot of Belize is developing but this is not a country that looks third world, especially San Pedro. I was really surprised by this.
Another conversation that we had in chemistry class was the fact that Belize's barrier reef system, a world heritage site since 1996, is facing possible delisting due to the degradation of the reef. It was interesting to hear the kids talk about what that meant to San Pedro. They realize that tourism plays a huge role in the economics here. They also realize that "money talks", as one student so simply put it. There is a lot of development going on on this island. That means more tourists and more money but at what cost to the environment. They were also discussing a story that some guy hit the reef on his yacht this past week. He supposedly ripped out a huge chunk of coral. Yet, according to the paper and the students, there were no repercussions for his actions. He was not fined. What kind of example does this set for the students and people who live here?
On a lighter note....we all tried a true Belizean delicacy today....ARMADILLO!!!! The Mayan call it wetch. It was a little scary to see the whole body boiling in a pot! But I tried not to think about it and tried a little piece. Taste like chicken, imagine that.Why does everything taste like chicken?!?!?!
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