Day 4

I don’t even know where to begin with today’s amazing experiences. By far, the most rewarding day since we arrived. This morning we woke up to the great view of the Caribbean Sea right in front of our hotel. Today we were scheduled to visit preschools in town and visit the University of Belize for a Q&A forum to meet with parents of children with any speech or language disorder in the area. I set my alarm at 6:30, but of course as always, didn’t wake up till 6:45 a.m. I was filled with excitement and was ready to go visit some tiny humans. Belize, thus far has been an unforgettable experience. Although it’s only been 4 days since we arrived, the snorkeling, paddle boarding, and kayaking and the food have been incredible. Many do not have the opportunity to travel to Belize and to be able to do such things is something I am truly grateful for. We ate breakfast, which in my case was comprised of cereal (Corn Flakes) and fruit at Beya Suites before taking off to the preschools. It had been a while since I’d eaten them. I remember being at my grandmas in Tamaulipas, Mexico and I recall always adding sugar for a hint of sweetness. We didn’t leave the hotel at 8:30 a.m. as we had planned, due to pharmacy stops and a couple of other bus delays. Nevertheless, we made it out at 9:30 a.m. and arrived to the first preschool for the day.

We arrived at Progressive Early Learning Center where we greeted about 30 students. We met a couple of the teachers, who then pinpointed some of the shy students. There I met two wonderful four-year-old girls who touched my heart with their joyful faces as soon as they saw us. The girls split up into groups and we visited with the different children using materials some of the girls had brought. One thing I was really surprised by was how similar the preschool appeared to those in the U.S. Not only that, but the teachers also had the same enthusiasm to teach their students and surround them with a learning environment. Although teachers may be teachers in every country, they don’t always have the same resources. This preschool did not have any A/C, it was a small place for that many students and there were many other distractions that prevented us from hearing much of what students and teachers were saying. When we left this place, our bus decided to break down so we waited a good ten minutes before we were back on the road.

After this, we visited St. Benedict Roman Catholic School. We went into a classroom and there we interacted with about 15 students of about 4-5 years old. Here, my partner and I visited with two little boys who were two very playful individuals. Again, we used materials to provide them with therapy and played a couple of games, one which included scaring Dr. Al with cat masks. The kids loved Dr. Al’s reaction to the cats and wanted for us to scare him too.

We left for lunch, which was quick as everything was already prepared for us at Marian’s Bayview Restaurant. We had options there, but I savored some delicious BBQ chicken, vegetable rice, and spinach casserole. Oh and I almost forgot, my favorite part, the corn bread which was the absolute best. They also offered some black fruit cake.

 We continued our route and arrived at Little Flower Roman Catholic School where we saw older children running around in the playground. We thought we’d be working with older children. As we walked to the back of the school, we passed by many of the classrooms with older children, not expecting to see any little ones at this site. Once we stopped in front of the classroom and looked inside, we saw the tiny humans I love working with. This classroom had about 12 students so my partner and I had only one student to work with. This boy was so delighted to see us he had even asked if we were going to be his teachers. As we started working with him, we realized he was shy but opened up to us as we asked him about his friends and family. As a farewell, the children sang a song for us, gave us hugs and made us feel special.

The last school we visited was Forest Home Methodist Church, where my partner and I screened a 7-year-old bilingual girl speech/ language problems. Her teacher had concerns and we took her to a room and visited with her while informally assessing her language skills. We later found that her mother at home spoke Spanish, she was taught in both English/Spanish and that her first language was only affecting her second language. We told teacher she would catch up soon and that it was only a delay. She was more than happy to hear the good news. Here, we played games, sang with the children and I even got to ride a bike that belonged to one of the boys. Needless to say, I almost fell on my face.

Although, the Q&A forum was a nerve-wracking experience, being able to provide any help and being thanked for it is far more rewarding than I ever imagined. This was the one event none of us were expecting or prepared for. Here, a fellow classmate and I met with a parent with a with 5-year-old child with autism who came to us seeking help and advice for her child’s behavioral and communication problems. We collaboratively interviewed the parent on her child’s abilities and provided all the strategies and tips we could. We listened to her struggles moving from place to place and how the transition had been difficult for her and her son as she had still been in school. Before the event was over, she was so excited she wanted us to meet her son. We did and he turned out to be the sweetest boy. I played games with him and interacted with him then took him over to interact with the rest of the kids. We told his mother that we hoped the strategies and tips we had given her would help in the near future. She thanked us for all and I couldn’t help but feel tingly.

The day ended with dinner at Waluco’s Restaurant. I ordered chicken strips and fries and we all enjoyed to some live entertainment from some drummers. Now this was a great way to end the day. We learned how to dance punta and paranda, two types of genres they dance to in Belize. We even had two of our girls dance with the performers. This day has definitely reminded me the reason I’m doing what I’m doing. These memories will forever stay with me and hope to one day become like these teachers and parents we met today. Passionate and devoted to helping these children.