Belize: Day Three (Courtney Yancy)

We had another great day today! Starting with a delicious breakfast at the Princess Hotel and a bus ride to Belmopan, Belize. On our way to Belmopan, home of the University of Belize, we were exposed to different cities in the country and their living conditions. The areas we viewed today seemed a little more updated when compared to Belize City. The homes had fenced in yards, which we hadn’t seen before. Most of the homes we’ve seen previously have not had a fence to separate them, so that was different to see. We also noticed that the area had fewer forest areas due to the increased amount of housing and businesses.  Many of the buildings we saw were restaurants, schools, barbershops, and grocery stores. Also in this area we didn’t see as many people outside their homes. In Belize City and some surrounding towns we frequently saw people sitting outside their homes enjoying the cool air.

Upon our arrival to the University of Belize, we were amazed with how tropical the campus was. There were many trees all over campus with great natural nature trails throughout. Our tour guide took us to the Regional Language Center where we met Joseph Sampson. Mr. Sampson gave a great lecture on Belizean history and culture. (He was even the mayor of Dandriga at one point!) We sat in a classroom that had similar desks to the ones we use in the US, and had many windows. The university did not have air conditioning, so each window had vents to circulate and let in fresh air. There were also ceiling fans in the room, which we weren’t used to because US schools have central heating and cooling. However, it was refreshing to be learning in such a free and natural atmosphere. We were also impressed to see that the school had similar technology to what we use. Mr. Sampson used an overhead projector to present his Power Point, which is what we use also! (However, there were technical difficulties preventing us from viewing the whole Power Point)

     

A Few Belizean History and Culture Facts

·      Belize is made up of 8,867 square miles

·      The country is 167 miles long

·      The documented population of Belize is around 350,000

·      In the 18^th century settlers brought African slaves to Belize. The settlers eventually mated with the slaves because there were no women, and creole began. (Creole is the result of the mixture of English and African slaves.)

·      During a war in 1847, Mestizos escaped and found refuge in Belize to avoid the war. During that time, the Mestizos introduced the sugar industry to the country. 

·      The Belizean population continued to grow into the 19^th century when it became an independent country.

·      In 1970, the population of Belize was about 65% African and 35% Mestizo. Now the country is about 30% African and the rest is Mayan and Mestizo.

It was interesting to learn the history and facts of the country and compare it to the history of the United States. The culture here has been preserved so well that the whole country continues to have a rich cultural bond through their traditional dances, and festivals. We also learned that minimum wage is about $150 Belizean dollars a week, which equals to about $75 US dollars a week. I tried to imagine how living on $75 a week would be and it was hard to envision because the cost of living is so high in the US. In Belize, many items are cheaper to purchase, and average annual income is considerably lower so the Belizean economy has to lower its prices to match the people of the country.

Belizean Education

·      The Belizean education system is considered a hybrid of the American, British, and Caribbean school systems. In their system, they have primary school (elementary), secondary school (high school), junior college, and university level education. Many students choose to pursue university level education in the United States, Canada, and Jamaica. We were interested to learn that the exit examinations taken in high school are indicators of where you can study at the university and junior college level. Higher scores on the Caribbean exit exams permit enrollment into the more prestigious universities. In the United States we have similar criteria so we were able to relate to their education system. In order to get into more rigorous programs we have to score within certain ranges on standardized tests, such as the SAT, ACT, GRE etc. We also learned that tuition at the university level costs around $3,000-$4,000 Belizean dollars, which is about $1,500-$2,000 US dollars. We were amazed at how much lower the cost of attendance was in this country. However, the cost of living here in Belize is lower than it is in the US, which explains the price drop. 

Following the lecture, we toured the university. The campus was big, spacious, and beautiful. There were palm trees all over, nature paths, and grassy fields. There weren’t many sidewalks, so we had to make our way to each building through the grass or dirt path. One to two of the buildings we toured had air conditioning, but the rest of the buildings did not. All of the rooms had either a white board or a chalkboard and little to no posters or decorations in the rooms. In the US, all of our classrooms have an abundant amount of technology and room decorations, so it was a change to see classrooms that had a minimal amount in them. After viewing the classrooms and educational buildings we got to visit their gym area and meet some of the university’s athletes! We were introduced to the soccer players that were there practicing, as well as some of the staff. One of their players is even on a national team! It was really cool to meet them! The gym looked very similar to any basketball court in the US, with bleachers on either side of the court. The only difference was that the floor was concrete and not wood. Next, we were able to tour the dormitory. These dorms were very basic, with only the bare necessities. The dorm we toured was a small, non-air conditioned building with several small rooms, a community bathroom and kitchen, as well as a common area. Similar set up as US dormitories, just on a smaller scale with no A/C.  It was an eye opening experience to see and try to imagine what it would be like to live with little power and no A/C.

  

After the tour we took a group photo in front of the University of Belize sign and were on our way to a delicious lunch. Our tour guide took us to The Oasis for lunch where we had fried shrimp, chicken, traditional Belizean rice, coleslaw, and cake. The meal was so tasty and filling! We were so full that we all slept on the bus ride back to our hotel until…. the bus broke down! We had a malfunction with the bus and had to switch busses on the way back to the hotel, but we arrived safe and sound! The rest of the evening we had some free time to work on our daily blog posts and our presentations that we will present on Monday at the Stella Maris School. We are all excited for what tomorrow has in store for us and can’t wait to learn more about Belizean culture and history!

-Courtney Yancy