5:00am: Rooster(s) crowing loudly
5:15am: Me thinking about shooting a rooster
5:30am: I fall back asleep
7:00am: I actually wake up
I groggily throw the covers over my head as a few girls bustle in and out of the bathroom, getting ready for the day. Some are brave enough to take a cold morning shower but often I can only bring myself to stick my hair under the faucet (and end up taking showering in the afternoons or evenings). I try and find a suitable teacher outfit and usually have to steal a slip from B across the hall (she is very generous). Half of the girls are already downstairs grabbing some coffee or going to the rectory for a quick breakfast. I am in the second shift of girls and usually miss breakfast.
7:30
Uh oh. I need to dry my hair FAST.
7:45
I need to leave but I'm not ready yet.
7:50
Leaving.
We walk to school---down the clay road, and up the main road then across the basketball court and up another road. We take a right, and the school is on our left.
8:00
Sign-in to the attendance log, slip through the teacher's lounge, thank God that I have my own office and race up the stairs. I open my office grab the key for the chapel and open up the chapel. As I travel the campus and climb the stairs there are "Morning", "Morning, Miss," "Good morning". When I get up to the second floor the first form girls cry out "Good morning, tia!" (Good morning aunt). I reply, "Good morning mis sobrinas!" and they usually giggle at my Spanish-attempt.
8:30-9:30
Plan out the week:
-Figure out which homeroom is doing Mass on Friday and print out a sign-up sheet and readings for the class.
-Print out adoration schedule for teacher's lounge
-Remind teachers that have adoration today of the time
-Go to the teacher's classroom at the adoration time to remind them
-Figure out which class is schedule for confession after Mass on Friday
-Get adoration meditation stuff together
-Go over notes for teaching Sacraments class this afternoon
9:30-11:30
(Adoration scheduled throughout the day)
Learn song on guitar or pick out songs that the students can sing with me
Pick some good songs from my laptop to play for them
Read reflection or make one myself based on Sunday's readings
Have them write down petitions/reflections/or have silent prayer
11:40
Lunch (YES!)
Go to the rectory (hopefully with other volunteers) and eat some salad, chicken, rice and beans, and maybe freshly baked bread or tortillas. Sip some instant coffee with cinnamon and sugar (be careful with the cinnamon though because if you hit it too hard it will pour out!)
12:10-1:00
Tie up loose ends. If there is a retreat on Friday, make sure we get in a meeting and remind speakers/participants. Print out and pass out retreat invitations to kids. Make a checklist of things to bring on the retreat so I don't forget. Activities for retreat????
Scan over music for class (if it is Tuesday or Friday) and play on piano. Remind myself to give Jugs if I need to.
A student might come in at some point in the day to chat about anything from Justine Bieber to serious family issues or school problems. This is when I get to grow closer to students and begin to understand their struggles.
1:00pm
Music class with boys. Are they angels today or crazies? One student loves Lady Gaga and shows me a picture of her after prefacing it with "Want to see my girlfriend?" We pray for Lady Gaga's conversion. Boys touch the keyboard and I threaten with a JUG (detention type thing) after school. I count seconds and keep them after class for that many seconds.
1:10pm
"W, sit down!" "R, stop touching the keys!" "Ro pay attention. Stand up! Everyone needs to be standing with their feet shoulder width apart!"
"Miss, I don't like this song."
"Me either. Let's sing that other one."
"The piano is out again."
"Can you check the chord?"
"Ro, you are standing on the chord."
"Look, if I hold it, it stays on."
"Then you can hold it I guess."
1:20pm
Singing. They sound pretty good. Aw, they're so cute. This is so great they are singing and it's wonderful and...
"Iz, why are you at the window? You need to be standing over here."
(Shoots me a grin). W stands on a chair.
"W, get off the chair." (He gets off)
(Grins)
"Boys, we need to be practicing!" (Mentally tell myself I need to be more strict) "Boys, do you want me to send you to Miss M [the dean]?"
"Noooo."
"Good. Pay attention and stop being ridiculous."
1:40pm
"LaaaAAaaa-laaaa-laaAAAaaaa-laaa-laaaa"
(Random boy from a different elective class walks in)
"Why are you here?" -Me
"I got kicked out of my class."
"Well, why do you think you can come in here?"
"Uh..."
"Okay. Goodbye! Everyone wave bye!!"
"Byeee" - the boys in class
(Random student leaves).
1:50pm
Bell rings.
"Wait boys, we have 2minutes and 32s seconds of silence."
1:51pm
Silence. (Or if someone talks we add on seconds)
1:52.5
"Alright, get out of here. "
I have also recently adopted the "kick-them-out-of-class-if-they-are-over-the-top" mentality and will be using that much more frequently next semester.
K and W grab the piano and help me bring it up to the second floor for the girls class in classroom 2C.
2:00pm
"Ladies! LADIES! Class is starting!"
Girls trickle in. (Remind myself to be more strict)
"We are going to pray now!"
We say prayer.
2:05pm
"Miss, which song are we doing today? Do we have a quiz?"
I might end up teaching music theory if I did it with the boys. On those days we do half music theory and half singing. Let's pretend I was teaching theory.
2:10pm
"So which note is this?"
"A half note."
"Good. What is this?"
"A time signature."
"Good. Which note is this?"
"A whole note."
"No, I mean which note as in the letter of the note."
"A!"
"No..."
"C!"
"No..."
"D!"
"No..."
"E!"
"No...look at your notes! Remember the lines?"
"...G!"
"Yes! Good. You all need to look at your notes though."
2:25pm
Start singing. The girls sound pretty good.
"Good!"
About five girls are starting to chat and are trying to slip away from the group.
"Girls, you need to be SINGING."
They barely move their mouths.
Sigh.
2:35pm
We are trying to do two-part harmony and we are almost there but not quite. We repeat.
2:40pm
The announcements cut in.
"GooOOOod AfternOOooon. Please listen for today's anounncements."
Of course we can barely hear anything because the speaker in this room is remarkably quiet and the girls are remarkably chatty.
"Girls, quiet down so we can hear the announcements."
Bell rings. Cheers heard throughout the school.
3:00pm
Sacraments class if it is Monday in my office otherwise, talking with students or just relaxing.
3:45pm
Hang out with students after school or relax. If it is Thursday we have a staff meeting.
5:00pm
I'm hungry.
5:30pm
"Anyone want to go to dinner?" A few of us walk to the rectory for dinner.
6:30pm
I either chat with volunteers or head over to adoration.
7:00pm
Mass
8:00pm
Go home! Yay!
8:30
Hanging out at our house. Some people are grading or venting or just talking.
9:30-10:pm
Sleep.
:)
"Our senses themselves are dumb. They take in experience, but they need the richness of sitting for a while through our consciousness and through our whole bodies...Maybe Away from Paris I could write about Paris as in Paris I can write about Michigan."
-Writing Down the Bones
_______________________________________________________________________
The Beauty of Belize
Part I
I was greatly inspired after watching the movie "The Human Experience" this Christmas weekend (I highly recommend it---it is now on DVD). It follows a few different young men as they travel the world to better understand the unity between all human persons, the beauty of life, suffering of life, and the purpose of life. As I was watching this movie with my family this evening, I was moved to write about Belize. I would like to reflect on the beauty of Belize, its culture, and people in a few different posts while I am home.
When first arriving in Belize, immediately I noticed the green palm trees that were absolutely everywhere. It was gorgeous! The greens were lush and the landscape was unlike anything I had ever seen. We were in a whirlwind through Belize, squeezed into a white van and bumping through the rural landscapes. I saw cows, sheep, more palm trees, simple colorful houses, dirt roads, people on the side of the road waiting for buses, and fruit stands. My favorite part of the drive through Belize came up as we were suddenly confronted by incredible mountains and hills. Sheep were grazing and hill after hill was rolling. It reminded me of the Gospels when Jesus would sit upon green hills and preach the Beatitudes or parables. I imagined myself sitting upon a summit, pondering life and praying. It was stunning. In between the views, new and old volunteers told stories and reminisced or described families. I noticed, to my discomfort, that seat belts were not a primary concern in this van but was again distracted by the scenery and new faces.
Benque, the town where we live, is simple and lovely because it has found its way into our hearts. The streets are made of a white and grayish clay that is quite fluffy beneath ones sandals. However, it is a dangerous path after rain. I can vividly recall five of us girls walking to the school on a weekend after it had rained. I remember a girl up ahead of me saying, "Should we go a different way?" and three of us agreed that we were fine. About one minute later I felt a little heavier but ignored it. About a minute and a half later I noticed that my sandals were sticking to the clay. Two minutes past and I find that my sandals are becoming quite heavy as I call out, "Girls, I'm having trouble walking,". When I look up, I notice that some girls have taken off their flip-flops or have walked to the side of the road. I am now "the one that fell behind" as I stare down at my flip-flops that have assumed a shape like two clay boats. It reminded me of those boat shoes that Da Vinci is wearing in "Ever After" when Drew Barrymore is floating on her back in that river. After quite a bit of struggle, we trampled over into a man's yard who had turned on his water to help us out. He must have chuckled when he saw a bunch of "gringas" with shoes eaten by clay and our legs and feet covered in the grey road. We stuck our feet and flip flops under the faucet. He was a wonderful, kind, older gentleman that rescued us from the "quick sand" of our own road.
Greetings from Rhode Island!
I have returned stateside (I just recently learned this phrase and I like it) and am enjoying the little luxuries of home, the comfort of family, and the laughter that comes with seeing much-missed-friends! However, I have also found myself in need of funds in order to return to Belize next semester. I was made aware of this a few weeks before the end of the semester. It was a bit of a blow but I thought and prayed about it for a while. I was strongly considering staying home this semester and getting a job because of the lack of money even though I hated the idea of leaving these kids half way through the year. Fr. M (the priest in charge of the volunteers) told me that he wants me to come back and to assume I'm coming back.
Fr. M along with Mr. R (principal) want to fund-raise for me. However, I would still like to ask you all if you are able to give to please email me at bdeacutis@gmail.com because any amount will help to lighten their load. Honestly, any amount is helpful from $5, $10, $20...anything! I know it is so difficult right now with money (economy, holidays, etc.) and that is why I have waited a few weeks before asking. Please keep me in your prayers and thank you for your support!!
-Bethany
I had a terrible flashback to my sophomore year high school Spanish class the other day. I remember my young, straight-from-Spain teacher who tried her best to get us interested in Spanish. She was not always strict enough with us and I always wondered why some of the kids were so rude to her...and why I didn't always take her seriously enough. Then I realized...I am sort of like this teacher now! The "foreign"-doesn't-completely-know-how-to-properly-discipline-teenage boys-while-teaching-music. How humbling. Isn't life funny?
And maybe when I go home and I sing in my church choir again at some point I won't talk when Mike is teaching the soprano or tenor part. Maybe.
Next semester: Miss Bethany... also known as that insane, dictator, music teacher. The students will be saying "What happened? She was so much easier before."
Trying to get stricter with my boys. I made the unfortunate and common first-time-teaching mistake of being too soft in the beginning and trying to crack down months later. Alas, I am still learning.
Yesterday was first form girls retreat. Our theme was "Behold, you are beautiful, my love" from Song of Songs. We focused on authentic beauty and split up into three "stations" where we gave talks on different aspects of beauty and life. Miss Betsy spoke about the beauty of healthy relationships with friends and with guys. I spoke about internal and external beauty, focusing on Blessed Mother, modesty and the beauty of innocence. Miss Katie gave a testimony/talk on Christ and the beauty of our friendship with Him. Then we had a special guest appearance by their favorite teacher, Mr. Tom. They are all in love with him and when he showed up to do his talk they were all cheering and squealing...it was pretty entertaining. He spoke about the love he had for his sisters growing up and that they should always remember that they are precious and worth waiting for. It had a special quality coming from a man. Finally, we had a panel where the girls could ask anonymous questions which ranged from: "How do I know if a boy really loves me?" "Is it a sin to be a different religion?" to "Can I have a date with Mr. Tom? Where and when?"
(view from Chapel Hill - retreat center)
We always end the day with adoration, confession, and Mass. It was a good day, but definitely exhausting. I think the repetition of our talks (we had to do them three times each) was the most tiring. Mr. Tom said he spoke with some of the girls at lunch and they were touched by our talks. Hopefully they were moved by something, even if we are just planting seeds. Next week is first form boys retreat...God help us all.
Frequently Asked Questions about Belize
I took this from my friend Dave's blog. I thought you would all find it interesting!
Is Belize its own country? Where is Belize?
Yes, Belize is its own country as of September 21, 1981. It was formerly known as British Honduras when it was a British territory. It is located in Central America. It borders the Caribbean Sea to the east, Guatemala to the west and south, and Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula to the north.
Where do you live in Belize?
I live two hours from the coast on the border of Guatemala and Belize in a small town of about 11,000 people called Benque Viejo del Carmen.
What language do they speak in Belize?
Because of its British influence, the official language in Belize is English. It is the language that everything is taught in at school. However, most Belizeans' first language is Spanish. In Benque Viejo del Carmen, I speak with all of my students in English, however, most of my students speak Spanish to each other and with their families.
First Language:
Spanish 50%Kriol 37%
English 5.6%
Garifuna 5%
Maya: Kekchi, Mopan, Yucateco 5%
German 3%
Chinese .8%
What are the primary ethnicities in Belize?The primary ethnicity in Belize are the Mestizo who are the descendants of Amerindians and the Spanish. The Kriol are the next highest ethnicity who are the descendants of African slaves and their British owners. 
Mestizo 34%
Kriol 25%
Spanish 15%Mayan 11%
Garinagu 6%
Mennonite 3%
Other 6%
-East Indians
-Chinese
-Taiwanese
-Lebanese
Is it really poor down there?
Yes. Belize is way poorer than you would think. There are many shacks and shanties that are very dilapidated. And yet it's not as poor as you would think. It depends from house to house and family to family. Most houses are in good condition, however you will see that 34%-58% of homes are indeed in poverty. Most do have running water and most do have electricity, but there are many that do not. In Belize, you can see a family of four living in literally a huge mansion or you can see a family of fourteen living in a two-room half-outside half-inside wooden shack in the same town. The latter is probably more likely though.
What religions are in Belize?
80% Christian
- 50% Catholic
- 29% Protestant
--Pentecostal 7.4%
--Anglicans 5.3%
--Seventh-Day Adventist 5.2%
--Mennonite 4.1%
--Baptist 3.5%
--Methodist 3.5%
10% Other
-Jehovah Witness
-Mormon
-Hindus
-Muslim
-Ba’hai
-Rastafari
10% Non-believers
What is the culture like?
Belize has a very interesting culture. It is a mixture of Caribbean, Latino, and Mayan culture. It is a very laid-back machismo culture that realizes spending time in the present with individuals is more important than meeting deadlines and making appointments. The family is very central to Belizean life, however, often due to problems with male servant leadership families are divided and split up. Traditions and rituals are considered very important. In general, there are a not a lot of opportunities past high school and so there can be a lack of educational and occupational drive. The people are very, very friendly and have an excellent sense of humor.
How did you hear about Belize?
I am good friends with one of the missionaries and he told me about it. I was interviewing for jobs and Belize kept on coming up in my mind and heart. I prayed and thought about it for a while and realized that I believed God was asking me to come here and serve.
What organization do you work for?
I work with a religious order called the Society of Our Lady of the Trinity (SOLT) which was founded in 1958 by Fr. James Flanagan. The goal of the order is to model the relationship of Mary with each person of the Trinity through the different vocations who work on ecclesial teams of priests, brothers, sisters, deacons, SOLT families, and SOLT lay single people. The Belize mission was started in 1967.
What do you do for the mission?
I teach high school sophomores (2nd form) boys and girls singing/music theory twice a week and I am the campus minister. I plan retreats, organize confession and adoration schedules, lead adoration, lead RCIA/sacraments classes,
How much do you get paid?
I am provided with food and housing. Besides that I am a volunteer teacher who earns a weekly stipend of US$17.50 or BZ$35.
What do you eat?
A very basic diet of rice, beans, eggs, and tortillas. Some days we will have ground beef, chicken, soup, or beef chunks.
Are there other volunteers with you?
Currently there are 11 other American and 1 Canadian volunteer teachers ranging from the ages of 20-30. Some teach English, Math, Religion, Science, and Music.
How many students do you teach and what do you specifically teach?
I teach 29 students total (9 boys and 20 girls). I teach music theory (notes, key signature, time signature, timing, and I'm trying to teach the circle of fifths right now) and singing. We work on choral pieces, simple hymns, pop songs, or Christmas music.
What are the students like?
A lot of them are coming from broken homes and/or very tough cultural, financial, familial, and personal problems. Yet the students are very child-like with a very funny sense of humor. They are very loving and they thirst for the truth of faith, hope, and love.
Is it safe where you live?
It depends. For the most part, yes. However, there have been some dangerous incidents but those seem to occur very late at night on the weekends. We tend to stay put in the evenings.
Is it really hot in Belize?
Yes, absolutely. It is around 85-95 degrees every day with humidity in the 70%-85% range. The sun is much more direct in Belize and it is not uncommon to be sweating constantly.
What do you do during your free time?
What free time? Ha! Everyday we wake up, walk to school which starts at 8 AM. After school we usually stick around and watch volleyball, basketball, or soccer games, staff meeting, or I have my RCIA class or Handmaidens (girls group). We head to dinner at 5PM, have Eucharistic Holy Hour at 6PM, Mass at 7PM, head home at 8PM, rest and relax and maybe do more work or relax by watching a movie, talking, playing cards, or something else. On the weekends, we either clean the house, do laundry, play sports, watch a movie, go out to eat (Chinese food or Benny's, a favorite restaurant of ours), once in a while we travel, go to the market, grade, prepare for future classes, etc...
Do you like it?
Yes I definitely like it. It is a wonderful job but it is very challenging and it has forced me to step out of my comfort zone in many ways!
