Culture Inland/Culture of Belize in general

Coming inland I instantly noticed a lot of things that were different with the culture.  First of all, there are a lot of cars.  Imagine this: think of Wrightsville Beach, but very few people own a car...actually almost no one owns a car but there are many taxi vans.  Most people walk, ride bikes, golf carts or mopeds.  That is what I was used to in San Pedro.  Well here, in San Ignacio it is the opposite.  The streets are covered with cars and I actually have yet to see a golf cart.  I have seen some bikes, but it is still nothing like San Pedro.

The area here is also a lot smaller. I actually like it a lot.  It reminds me of home, or more like Danville in a way.   Most things are within walking distance.  There was also a place that sold produce, it was much like the Farmer's Market.  If I traveled back to Belize, I could see myself traveling back to San Ignacio.  I might love the beach, but there is just a different beauty in the town of San Ignacio.  The atmosphere was a little cooler and it rained which was definitely a nice change in pace.

Now that you have experienced the cultural heritage of Belize, what have you learned that gives you insight into the children and families you are working with?

The life here is simplistic in many ways.  I feel people here live as if there may be no tomorrow.  From what I have noticed, there is probably not much of "saving  money" here, although I'm not positive of that.  Everything is about enjoying the moment we are in right now.  I think that I can see this reflected in the classrooms.  In away I see this reflected in the behaviors in the classrooms.  The students really enjoy their days spent in the classroom and they live to enjoy every moment spent at school.  The students may be out of their seats a lot and always wanting a hug, but to them, life is short.  Joy is found in the smallest things here in Belize.