Things are good here. It was weird to be here the first night (Sunday the 9th), but by Monday (10th) it felt good, although still surreal to be woken up by chatter of birds and seeing the beauty of the tropical landscape. All day Monday was a relax/ move in day, and my staff orientation started on Tuesday. It's been hot (85 my first day) then a cold front came through while we were at the beach for our staff retreat (wearing pants and a sweatshirt on Thurs the 13th because it was cold (70ish) cloudy and humid, and it got colder at night). December is usually a rainy month but this December Belize has gotten very little rain, so the dry season is here a little early. However, Wednesday the 12th was rainy because of the cold front that came through. CCSP has a garden, which is growing nicely and some things are ready to be picked. Tomatoes are starting to flower. I'm learning a lot and gearing up for the semester.
Since coming back, I've had a chance to walk through the farm and down along the river in the late afternoon as the temp started to cool. It's good to be looking out on pastures again, and as the cows are always on the pathway to the river, I got to experience the normal Nabitunich activity of walking through the herd of cows and watching them get out of my way.
During staff orientation we have meetings each morning until lunch and then we work on our 'to do list' during the afternoon. I'm the only new staff person, but all the staff go to orientation meetings as things change from semester to semester and we discuss all kinds of details about how we want to set up this semester for the students. To give you an idea of orientation, our first session was on CCSP's mission, community norms and the idea of shalom, which is a large part of our mission. Another session was about the student orientation schedule and who is responsible for planning activities, etc. Student orientation started today when we picked up the students at the airport! Other staff meetings included discussion of staff community, our specific roles, communication, taking time for ourselves, since we work 7 days a week.
Our 'to do lists' are different based on our jobs. I spent my afternoons setting up the lounge area (hangout spot next to dinning room), learning how to tie correct knots for hanging hammocks on the palapa, helping to fix bicycles, reading extra documents for new staff, cleaning the classroom, making name tags for student doors, forming small groups, finding keys for student rooms, and filling them with welcome materials. All good stuff.
Thursday through Saturday morning we had a 2 day staff retreat, which involved staying at a natural beach (hearing and seeing the ocean from our Cabanas), hiking in a national park during the day (which also involved birding and waterfalls), and playing games and getting to know each other at night. Also, listening to a marimba "concert" and dancing!
Today (Wed the 19th) we picked students up from the airport and so our student orientation begins! For the next 10 days I'll be working from 7:30 am til 9:30 at night! Then the students will head off on a travel weekend and I'll get time to relax. So please pray for this busy time, as it is really important in introducing students to life in Belize and stressful for staff to be planning so many activities. We (the staff) are already seeing the personalities of the students come out, and we are excited to get to know them better in the next couple months!
Hope you are all doing well!
Thanks for the post, Joelle. The question I get asked most around here (after they find out how you are and what you're doing) is: How many students are on the program? Since I can't tell them exactly how many, perhaps you can fill us in.
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There are 8 students!
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