Un-BELIZE-able

After more than two years of not blogging and putting my wanderlust into hibernation I am so excited to have an adventure coming up in the spring.

Last year I decided to go back to school to get my education degree. I knew that it was going to take some patience and sacrifice (I realize this is not real sacrifice) but I have really fallen in love with traveling and was on a nice roll that had to come to a screeching halt when I became a student again. It's all good though. I trust that when you follow your path and let things unfold for you in your life, other things will fall into place as well.  And, fortunately for me, the education program at VIU offers the option of doing one of your teaching practicums in a school in Belize. Without hesitation I jumped on the opportunity!

So, after 3 months of waiting to hear whether I am one of the chosen ones I am so excited to say that I will be taking off for a new adventure. So stoked. Already dreaming. There are 10 of us that are going. The cool thing is that VIU sponsors the trip but they let us, the students, take care of a lot of details such as flights and booking our accommodations. I like the flexibility and the independence. Totally my style.

I don't know what life's going to bring once I am done with school but I definitely could see myself living abroad at some point in my life. And, I think this is a great way of getting some experience working in another country. The traveling that I have done has been so amazing but I have never worked abroad. This will give me a real sense of what that feels like.

As for the school in Belize that we will be working in - is not an international school. Rather, it is a local school in San Mateo on Ambergris Caye. The dynamic at the schools in Belize will be very different from Canada so it will be a new challenge to have to teach in their environment and cope with the differences and so on. It would be easy to glorify this experience and forget what is the true goal of this opportunity.  It is amazing that we will be able to immerse ourselves in another culture while gaining experience in our field of study. It  is going to be hard yet hopefully rewarding. If anything, it will be a huge learning experience.

Everything about this opportunity has my name written all over it. I'm really looking forward to working with locals - getting right in with the nitty gritty of the Belizean culture. That is one thing when I have travelled - I want to get right in there. Me with them, them with me - all one - no separation. Let's learn about each other. What makes them tick and vice versa. I learn about you, you learn about me and we can all gain more global perspective.

I will continue to blog as our group prepares to leave in April and then, while we are away. Keep checking back for updates.