Desmond

Student Profile
Who: Desmond
What: 4th Former at Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School
Where: Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize
Why:Because he is Desmond
Desmond Wade is one of my lucky 4th form students this year. He is in the class of 4M, which to you should just mean the crazy class. This class is the one that gives me a run for my money the most. I never know what to expect with them. Their high energy could mean they are really getting into what we are learning or they can’t concentrate at all. Desmond is the one who tells me “I can borrow his computer for the semester”when referring to my computer. Every Wednesday we go to the Adoration chapel for 20 minutes. He is always the last one in because he is ushering the rest of the classes by telling them how to conduct themselves in the chapel. I never have to worry about not laughing when Desmond is around. He brings lot of light-heartedness to the classroom, which at times can be much needed. He is also one of the members of our boys basketball team. I have also seen him step up a lot this year in terms of leadership. He has become quite a leader on and off the court. He knows what has to get done and he does it. I have seen him call out his friends if they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. He is well respected by them and is listened to. Last week I got to watch him and another one of my students, his best friend Julio, write wedding vows for a class assignment. We have been learning about the Sacrament of Matrimony and I had the kids write their own wedding vows using certain criteria. Some of the kids really got into this project. Desmond and Julio asked me to help them after class on Friday. It was a joy to watch them work together and to watch how much fun they had with the assignment.
I (Elisabeth) had the pleasure of teaching Desmond English A last year. I was surprised when he told me that he loves English A (which is only grammar, English B is literature), and I also didn't believe him. As the year went on, I found out that he truly does love grammar! What a strange student. He is a student with a lot of energy, so there were some days I wanted to give him a tranquilizer, but I was also grateful for his enthusiasm. Desmond is a great kid with a wonderful heart, and a pretty good football player too!

Stories that will bring a smile to your face

1. There is a stray dog that is always on the compound of school, the kids have taken to calling him “Chico.” Well, yesterday as Katie and I, along with some other volunteers, were walking out of school Chico came running up behind Katie and tried, unsuccessfully, to bite her bum. I was behind her and stared half in horror and half in amusement as this dog was jumping and playfully trying to bite anything its mouth came in contact with. I nearly fell over with laughter once I realized that she was not harmed.   
2. A couple weeks ago we were walking with Joana, a six year old little girl who is quite close with us volunteers. We were singing the ABC’s together.  You know the little saying at the end, “now, I know my ABC’s, next time won’t you sing with me?” Well, apparently the kids here don’t know that version, instead they sing: “teacher, teacher, no lash me, now I know my ABC’s.”  I was at first struck with the hilarity of it and then I shuddered at the improper grammar.
3. Katie and I were walking to lunch and as is usual, Katie was talking a mile a minute, giving me the morning update and I was nodding my head and listening intently. And then she bit it. All the way down. Before I could help her, laughter was bursting through my mouth and she was frantically grabbing my arm to get back up. Oh, and this was during lunch so about half the school saw. 
4.     The kids have decided that Mr. Joe and I are irrevocably and hopelessly in love with each other. Mr. Joe teaches math and I teach religion, a likely match indeed. Consequently, every time I misspell a word or mess something up they scream “ayyyy! You’re in love with Mr. Joe!” I am just too distracted to teach. It’s quite tragic though, volunteers aren’t allowed to date each other.

Melvin!

A lot of people ask me why I am spending two years of my life in a foreign country teaching high school students.  In reality it is a legitimate question, but to me it just sounds silly.  There are many reasons, but as I start to digest the question, I find that a large part of my answer has to do with the kids. I love them! Don’t get me wrong, there are some days when I walk out of class wanting to run away and never hear the word “Miss” again. But at the end of the day I am so grateful for these little beings that God has created.

Which brings me to the point of this blog, Katie and I are starting student profiles! We want to share how awesome our kids are, so every once and a while we will pick a new student and profile about them.  (The kids have been informed of this, they are undoubtedly excited)

This week’s student: Melvin

Nickname: Mini

Form/Grade: 3^rd/ 11^th

Favorite Sport: Basketball

Favorite Subject: Math!

A word from the teachers: Melvin is one of those students that never cease to make me laugh. He always has something comical to say and is a joy to most people who know him. This year Melvin has impressed me beyond anything I can express. I taught Melvin last year and the boy has done a 360. Last year Melvin frequented the front office more than he would like to admit and while he was a headache he also brought a lot of joy and vibrancy to the classroom. I would rack my brain over ways to keep the boy in his seat, and just to get him to learn, oy vey. But this year, I am not so sure it’s the same boy. He sits in his seat quietly all day, when the list of the naughty kids is on the board, his name is never on it. He pays attention and does his work, never making a comment out of turn. I’ll just say this: Melvin is proof that students do change! I am so proud of him, his transformation is quite impressive, he even won student of the month for September! 

Pictured above is (left to right) Christopher, Melvin, and Nasser. 

Why I’m Not Bringing SexyBack to My Classroom

This year I am teaching all new students, which means they have to learn my rules. One rule that I established last year and will continue to stand by even until I have my own children is that the word “sexy” is not allowed. Seems kind of strict, right? A little too controlling, maybe? I mean, I teach teenagers, they are all about sexy, even the songs they randomly sing in class have the word sexy in them. So why wouldn’t I just make my life easier and give them the liberty to choose whatever words they want to use?

The dictionary defines sexy as an adjective that means, “concerned predominantly or excessively with sex.”  So, if I describe someone as sexy, I mean that they have, before their other qualities, sex appeal. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am fully aware that we are sexual beings and I consider our sexuality a beautiful gift. But the problem with “sexy” is that it does not acknowledge the other qualities of the person.  By saying someone is “sexy” you say that they have nothing to offer except their hot body. You separate the body and soul and become excessively concerned with the body and not aware of the qualities of the soul.  By calling someone sexy, I imply that I am using them for my own pleasure and refusing to see their dignity as a person, they merely exist for my selfish wants. 

What words can they use instead? 9 times out of 10 my students want to say that someone is beautiful, so why not use the word beautiful? The dictionary says this about the words beautiful, handsome, and pretty: “A person or thing that is beautiful has perfection of form, color, etc., or noble and spiritual qualities: a beautiful landscape, a beautiful woman. Handsome often implies stateliness or pleasing proportion and symmetry: a handsome man.  That which is lovely is beautiful but in a warm and endearing way: a lovely smile. Pretty implies a moderate but noticeable beauty, especially in that which is small or of minor importance: a pretty child.” I don’t know how you feel, but I would much rather be called any of the above words than sexy any day of the week.

When I was teaching my kids a few weeks ago, I had them describe their class to me. It was a class of all boys and one boy screamed out, “SEXY!” So I set my chalk down and took time to explain to them what sexy means and what you are implying by saying that. I then informed them that sexy will not be tolerated in my classroom, and the boy raised his hand again and said, ok miss how about silent? I chuckled and said, “I wish that described your class.”   

Take that, Justin Timberlake.

5 Things of this week
1. The classroom is a wonderful place J It always amazes me how much energy I get
when I am in the classroom teaching. It could be five minutes before class and I am
so tired and not ready at all, but once I walk into the classroom and get on a roll I
am never ready for the bell to ring.
2. Mosquito bites are like nail polish for our skin. Every morning I wake up with new
bites. I put spray on. I get to school. I put more spray on. This is part of my daily life.
3. My students are a continual reminder to me of why I am here. They never cease to bring me joy. Yes, there are those days when I just want to run away from them or not go to class, but at the end of the day Elisabeth and I are always falling asleep to each other telling stories from the day that involve our kids.
4. TIB(This is Belize). This is a saying that gets used lot around here.Basically it is
what we say when we refer to something that has happened that seems to us
volunteers to be ridiculously dumb, not needed, taking too long, illogical, etc. I feel
like this year I laugh more at the things I got frustrated with last year. I am not
surprised that orientation week was spent in a room with non-working AC, reading
slides word for word about how to manage a classroom. I am not surprised that it
took two Friday to get down the “Friday Schedule”due to Mass taking place. There
are just some things that will always be and will not change.
5. I missed the heat!Weird I know, but I really did. All summer long I was walking
around wearing sweat pants and hoodies. The kids at the summer camp I worked
at this summer thought I was insane for always being so bundled up. When I got
off the plane in Belize one o fmy first thoughts, after the one “it is nice to be home,”
was “it feels good to be sweating again.” It isn’t too bad right now, but there are
some days when you get out of the shower that you took not because you needed
to clean up,  but because you needded to cool down, and then you continue to sweat three minutes later. Such is life.





It's Belle! So she really doesn't like her picture taken, seriously, every time I have a camera she gets that look on her face like I'm torturing her and she runs away. But she looks great!   

Have you ever had a to-do list so long that instead of ticking the items off one by one you decide to become incredibly overwhelmed and do something totally irrelevant anyway?

Yea, me neither.

I mean, the pile of journals and papers that need to be graded, my grade book that needs to be filled in, the posters that are waiting to be made for my homeroom, and the three lesson plans that need to be created are not daunting…okay, maybe just a little. But hey, I try to stay positive.

We are now about halfway into the second week and there seems to be a never-ending pile of things to accomplish. It’s no one’s fault but mine though, I am the teacher, I am sure my kids would love to not have any homework for a change; I guess I’m not that nice. 

Today as I was going around and checking homework, one boy told me he had forgot it at home. “That’s too bad,” I replied, and I moved on. “But, Miss! Can I turn it in tomorrow?” he asked, I replied “class, what is my policy on late homework?” A storm of answers followed that question, most of them were playing with me and saying “you get an A!” But finally one little boy answered, “you can hand it in but you get points taken off.”  “Very, good” I replied. And then the boy asked me “how much points?” (that’s a direct quote) I thought about it for a minute then I replied “ten,” and I watched his jaw hit the ground, “nah, miss! Five.” So I said “ok, but you are going to have to bring me some chocolate.” His face lit up and he said “Miss, I will bring you the nicest chocolate ever!” I doubt that he will be able to find me the nicest chocolate ever here in Benque, but you never know! I also hope he knows I was kidding…

In other news, Belle (my dog), is not pregnant! For a while we thought there was a possibility that she was, but yesterday we all but confirmed that she was not.  Judging by the amount of male dogs hanging around outside my fence I can guess that she is in heat.  However persistent they may be, they certainly will not be allowed in, the last thing I need is a liter of puppies to take care of. I hope they get the picture and take a hike because I don’t like what they are leaving behind.

Breakdown from the first week (Elisabeth)

Number of weeks into the school year:  .5

Number of times I have been over my course expectations: 7

Number of times I have mispronounced my new students’ names: approx 11

Number of hours in the classroom: 10

Number of hugs received: over 100

Number of times my old students have requested to have me back: enough to make my heart ache.

In the past week and a half we have had staff orientation, a nerd party to celebrate my birthday, freshmen orientation, and the two days of regular classes.  Staff orientation was packed with the usual workshops on how to lesson plan, assessing students, motivating students etc.  The nerd party was for us volunteers to get to know each other better. What better way to get to know someone than to see their awkward side?  Freshmen orientation consisted of us teachers telling the newbies the rules and showing them where their classes would be taken.  And finally, the first two days of regular classes consisted of going over rules and expectations, course outlines, and explaining to my former students why I am not teaching them.  As much as I want to be back in the classroom with them, I know that God works in mysteriously good ways.

                     Above is a picture of me with my Takis cake, my favorite Belizean snack!
                                                          All credit goes to Joe, he is a decorating genius!

Week 1- Halfway there! (Katie)

I can’t believe it is already Wednesday of the first week of school. In some ways it feels like
it's almost the last week,in that things around here never change and the kids are just as
wonderful and crazy as ever. It also feels like I am waiting for something to begin. I am at
the same school, in the same house, but it will be a completely new year. We have new
volunteers mixed in with some old.

All of the volunteers, new and returning are great. They are really enthusiastic about
getting the school year started and about being the best teachers they can be. It wouldn’t
be Our Lady of Mount Carmel high school without something wild and crazy happening.
Schedules that we were given are thrown out the back door, classes we thought we were
teaching change, etc. Things that as a returning volunteer I have come to expect. It's funny
watching the new volunteers wonder if things will always be this crazy and unexplainable.
In some ways yes, things will always be unplanned here, but in other ways things will start
to calm down.Being here in Benque, Belize will be home.

It feels great to be back in the classroom teaching again. This year I will have a lot more
teaching hours than last year,which is music to my ears. Something happens when I am
teaching and I get an energy and excitement that I don’t normally have. The Lord has
definitely already graced me with great students and with words to give to them.
Last year most of the new volunteers said that the second year is the hardest. I know this
year will bring new challenges and crosses along the way, but I also know it will come with
new joys and laughs as well. My hope and prayer is that I am going to be expecting a
challenge to come along or to be in anticipation of what is going to come next. One of the
many beauties about this place is that you have to live in the present moment. Taking my
day one second, one hour at a time is a must. I never know what is going to come up. If I
happen to pass by a new student,an old student, or a friend and we end up catching up for
two hours instead of grading the pile of papers I have waiting for me, then that is what will
happen.
In other great news because I know you were all wondering…our dog Belle looks better
than ever!She has so much energy this year and gets so excited to see us everyday when
we come home from school. Her coat is nice and shiny and she looks younger than ever. I
think the five little pups at the end of the semester probably took a lot of life out of her.
She still has no idea how to go for a walk using a leash, but hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

We’re back! We have been in Benque now for 112 hours but it feels like we never left.   Coming back was just like coming home, not to sound cliché or anything, but it’s the truth.  There are many things that are just the same and many things that are new.  For example, new volunteers! Katie and I are two of the four returning volunteers who will be working at the High School and there are five new volunteers working with us this year.  Another new thing is that Katie and I will be teaching different subjects this year.  We have both been moved to the religion department and are currently going through all the new curriculums and lesson plans. 

For me, the greatest thing about coming back is seeing all my students and fellow staff members that I missed very dearly.  Within the first couple hours of being home we had seen about 8 students and each time I felt a part of my heart come alive again.  I didn’t realize how dearly I loved these kids, but boy I was ecstatic to see them again. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and I wouldn’t trade the time I spent with them this summer for anything, but it just made me realize that it’s not the place, but the people.

Picture above is last year's volunteers; we miss you all tons!