The Secret Life of Katy G.: We're here!

The ocean is just a short walk from Pedro's Inn.

We arrived in Belize City on Wednesday in the late morning. We took a tiny plane from Belize City to the island of Ambergris Caye. On the plane, the pilot let me sit beside him in the co-pilots chair. It was so cool! However, I tried to help him steer one time and he snapped at me. The plane ride was a little wobbly and scary at times, but the view was totally worth it! I could see straight through the water and the views of the islands were amazing.

I was traveling with 5 other students, so once we arrived in San Pedro we found the hostel we are staying in and waited for others to arrive. Our entire group is staying on the third floor of Pedro’s Inn. Kristi and I were pleasantly surprised to find that our room has air conditioning and a TV (which doesn't work).

We spent the rest of our first afternoon on the beach. We swam, walked on the boardwalk and explored the local resorts. Our first group dinner was pizza at Pedro’s Inn. Most of us hadn’t eaten all day so we were starving by dinner time. After a busy day of traveling, most of us were asleep by 8 oclock, only to be woken up in the middle of the night by a ferocious rain storm. It was SO loud; I thought for sure it was a hurricane!

Thursday morning our group met for breakfast at a cute local restaurant. Breakfast was delicious, but it took forever. One of the craziest things about Belize is that no one is ever in a rush, or cares what time it is. It’s called “Belize Time” although I have heard the same thing about every country besides America. Basically, people take forever to do the simplest tasks. It took me over an hour to withdraw money at a bank and I was only the 3^rd person in line! It will take time for me to get used to, because I am very time conscious and I like following a schedule.

Thursday afternoon we visited the three different schools that our group is working in: San Pedro Roman Catholic School, Isla Bonita Elementary School, and San Pedro High School. The schools overlook the Caribbean! I will be teaching in Isla Bonita Elementary School. It is two stories tall and the classrooms are claustrophobically tiny. I am super excited about meeting my students today and starting teaching on Monday. The kids are so cute and playful! They love having their picture taken and seeing what they look like on the digital camera.

Yesterday evening we had another group meeting to discuss our schedule and “rules” for living here for the next 6 weeks. There is a local woman, Lara, who is kind of like our tour guide while we are here. She works closely with the schools and businesses on the island to prepare for our arrival. She also arranges our excursions on inland Belize. She explained that the families have been waiting for us since last year, and that we can make a huge impact on the local children. There are 12,000 people on the island and over 50% are under 18 years old. Kids are everywhere. I cannot wait to see what a difference we can make in their lives!