An un-BELIZE-able first week!

Currently, we are all gathered on the porch of our accommodations, reflecting on what seems to be the fastest week of our lives. Last Saturday, we arrived in Belize City and were greeted by our hostess, Anna. She welcomed us into her home, country and culture with open arms. The following day we walked Primary to the bus station and said a final goodbye for the next three weeks, as they headed to Orangewalk. This week, we have been busy getting to know Belize City, our teaching schedules, the local cuisine and it's hospitable community members.Our first week in Belize City has been such a treat. We've immersed ourselves within the community, volunteering at the local karate classes, playing soccer with youth in the area and eating our fair share of rice and beans (or beans and rice). Each day, after returning from school we are greeted by Raphael, Anna's grandson (a.k.a the cutest human alive). He invigorates the group with his contagious giggles and love of spider man. After our little friend heads home, we spend our evenings catching up on the porch, eating pineapple, filling in our journals and working on our lesson plans for the following day. If we find ourselves with enough energy we get the beats pumping and our bodies moving for our Tobata workout.One of the many highlights from this week was during an excursion we took into the Belizean jungle. Our guide, Fernando, showed us that a suitable supplement of protein can be found in termites. Subsequently, we all placed our hands into the termites nest and tried it for ourselves (they were surprisingly minty)!Katrina & KrystalThis week we started peer educating in two schools, Mod Williams and at the Young Women Christian Association. Our class are energetic, engaged and inquisitive. We teach a variety of students, aged 14 to 19. Mod Williams is a brisk walk from our accommodations. We spend our afternoons at Mod, and our mornings at the YWCA. The students at the YWCA are all girls who love music and dance just as much as we do! We have covered lots of the QHO curriculum already, and are excited to be back in the classroom tomorrow.Friday we participated in a community cleanup with the girls at the YWCA. It was a nice way to get to know the girls outside of the classroom environment. We are looking forward to the week ahead and more questions in our question box! Stay tuned for our next blog.Love,K & KJack & PaigeOn Monday, we set up our teaching schedules at Excelsior High School and the Gateway Youth Centre. The first day was busy with three classes that focused on effective communication and goal setting. The students were all eager to get to know more about us, where we come from and why we are here. This curious bunch was filled with lots of enthusiasm and dance moves. They loved all of the activities that let them show off their dancing skills and found it pretty comical when we attempted to mimic them.Thursday was Excelsior's annual sports day! We were lucky enough to witness events such as the 100 metre dash, water balloon toss, "dress up", lime and spoon and tug of war. The students managed to convince us to participate in the teacher's 100 metre race. Sports day was a great chance for us to get to know some of the students better and connect with them outside of the classroom. We can't wait to see them all again on Monday!The students at Gateway participated in a lesson on bullying that was followed by a competitive game of 3-on-3 basketball this Friday. We both gave it our best shot, but were defeated despite the students taking it very easy on us. We were able to redeem ourselves in a game of "Knock Away" (Bump), where the students passed off some skills that helped us shoot a couple baskets.Overall, this week has been incredible. Some of our favourite moments have included talking about Steph Curry with the kids at lunch and getting to know them better through their creative questions. We are both looking forward to the next two weeks in Belize City and all the time we'll get to spend with this eager group.