Bye Bye Belize City

Are you as shocked as we are? We are already half way there! Our last week in Belize City was filled with dance-offs, hair braiding, and sad good byes.Happy to note that we aren't sick of the glorious sunsets, stew chicken and amazing people! Being our last week, we made sure to fill our lessons with lots of fun and exciting healthy-related games to go out with a bang. We were also able to attend our final karate classes with the Belizean Shotokan Karate Institute. Having an opportunity to work with younger students was so energizing. We would just like to thank the Senseis that so willingly let us join in on their classes. KIA!Krystal & KatWe wrapped up an amazing three weeks at Maud Williams and the YWCA. Each day was filled with something new and exciting. We tried to spend as much time in the classroom, whether that was teaching the QHO curriculum or helping out with math and English. We really loved getting to know all of the girls at the YWCA and appreciated the amazing job that they did braiding our hair. We loved being models in their cosmetology classes!Maud Williams was as energetic as ever! Our primary focus this week was sexual health and substance abuse. It's never a dull moment with a good condom relay.We also joined Paige & Jack at Excelsior on their final day. See the following for more details on that adventure.Paige & JackThis week was filled with so many exciting moments. The students were energetic and excited to learn more about healthy sexual relationships and mental health. Outside of the classroom we were challenged to many games of football and volleyball. We also had an opportunity to attend Gateway's Health Fair and supplementary classes at the YWCA.Our favourite class was the last one that we got to spend with the second form students at Excelsior. After an enthusiastic lesson on substance abuse, we presented the students with certificates, answered their final questions box questions and then participated in a dance off. We can now confidentially sing the lyrics to 'Scooby Doo Pa Pa'. The kids loved all of the games of Jeopardy, relay races and balloon toss.All in all, these last three weeks have taught us so much. The students welcomed us into their schools, were always willing to share and kept us smiling all the while. We said a final farewell to all of our friends in the community (Charles from the furniture store, Fire from the corner store and Chyra, our community advisor). The hardest good byes were with the students that we had formed the deepest connections with. Within the last few days we were able to see the impact that we were having in the classroom and on their lives. We can all agree that we are going to have a hard time leaving all of their smiling faces!We got to celebrate our final days in the city alongside Primary. It was great getting an opportunity to catch up and exchange teaching stories from the past three weeks!Thank you Belize City for all of the love, laughter and excitement. Until next time ♥️ Next stop: Dangriga.