A Day in Georgetown

Today I had the opportunity to explore Georgetown and conduct community interviews. After myself and few fellow students were guided to an area we took the freedom to walk up to different homes and ask a few questions. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming as well as polite in answering our questions. This was an experience I was not able to have in Cebu, but am very happy I had it in Belize. It gave me a chance to really connect with the people of Georgetown while also discovering more about the community. For me, I enjoyed learning about the various health concerns peolpe had. While most said they did visit a doctor regularly and took medications, I found the older generation relied more on home remedies. Beyond community interviews, I was able to conduct health interviews around the dental clinic. I found some language barriers here, but had more detailed conversations. Tomorrow I will be in Maya Mopan for community interviews and am interested to see if their answers differ from Georgetown. Hopefully, I will be able to upload some pictures of the trip later

-Leigh Anne Hendricks, Nursing

Pictures and video from Georgetown Classrooms

Ingrid with the Standard 4 students



Cynthia with the younger students

April, Carol, Dr. Boyd, David, Kelley White, and other students at the Dental Clinic in Georgetown

Classroom number 2

---Posted by Stephanie Routh, Justice Administration

Interviews and Teaching Day 1

Today I had the chance to conduct health interviews outside the dental clinic, and also got to teach in the classroom in Red Bank. During the interviews, I acquired some good information on health, stress, family, and satisfaction. During the afternoon session, we covered topics of Action, Passion, and Bullying.

One of the interesting experiences I had involved the students that I was in charge of in my small group. First of all, the students were a little shy, and they weren't responding well to the questions. After a few questions, we strayed a little off topic and got to talking about different languages. I happen to know a little Spanish and Korean, so we got to talking about that. It turns out that most of the students speak 2-3 different languages, and some even know 4. You could tell they were pretty good when they picked up and remembered different phrases you explained to them. After that they all were more open and talkative, and it was a lot smoother sailing from then on. I think it just goes to show you how building trust and building/initiating relationships can help you move forward. I also realized during the small group discussions that I may be the only Asian American that these students ever have a chance to interact with. Talk about being an "Ambassador", I was representing a whole different culture to them. From my previous experiences abroad, this is not too uncommon in a multi-cultural setting. One person can change the way you perceive a country or culture. It was pretty cool, and I felt like I left a good impression on them.

Overall, it's been a great ISLP experience so far. It's also been a blast getting to know all of the different team members throughout the trip.

Wade Smith
Communications

Teaching Day 1

"Knowledge is power." This simple quote defines one of the most debated and institutional topics...education. No matter what country you are from, what your goals are, or how to set out to accomplish them, education will help set you on the path to success. During our first teaching day, I had the opportunity to teach in the community of Red Bank. Approaching the school, I had an expectation of what was to come; however, our visual imaginations never match with reality. The school was one building surrounded by dirt and grass. There were 5 class rooms that contained around 20 desks. The inside of the classroom had walls covered with posters about many topics including: dental anatomy, digestive tract, order of operations, and a map of the world. During our first program, JA, it was hard to get the kids to open up about bullying. Many of them felt intimidated or shy to talk about such an important subject. Toward the end of the program, they began to come out of their shell and participate in the activities. We followed the JA program with the project designed by the Communication team. This project worked well with keeping the kids active and engaged; however, we discovered that no matter what country you are in, kids will be kids. They began to get distracted and we worked to maintain order in the classroom. This problem was exemplified by the teachers absence throughout most of the day. After finishing with Communication, we moved onto my project....the digestive system. I was excited to take on the challenge of controlling the classroom and presenting the information in a way in which the kids could retain. I have always had a desire to teach and this experience allowed me to test my flexibility and adaptability. Making the GI system interesting can be a challenge, but my fellow nursing students and myself, met this challenge head on. Whether it be a simple game of GI fun, oatmeal in pantyhose, or GI beach ball fun, knowledge is a universal concept. During this experience, I learned not only about the culture of this great place, but a lot about myself. This day is the first of many to come. I am confident that each day will bring a new learning opportunity and a change to test my boundaries and push me into trying new things.

Julie Wischer
Nursing

Dental Clinic Day 1

After a few days of exploring different areas and cultures around Belize, the students and faculty from each of the disciplines worked to open the doors of the dental clinic this morning in Georgetown, Belize. Upon our arrival, around 9 am, after an hour van ride from Dangriga to Georgetown, we were met with several people who were seeking a much anticipated treatment in the dental clinic. Although we were faced with rain, quite a bit of set up and organization of materials ahead of us, the clinic was up and running effectively by about 10 a.m. I had feelings of nervousness and excitement as I was experiencing many new things all at once. It was a bit intimidating, but also very exciting at the same time, to have the opportunity to interact with others from another culture and be granted the ability to positively influence the health and well-being of others. I was totally surprised today by the wealth of knowledge that our patients possessed in regards to their dental health. My first responsibility in the dental clinic included collecting health information from the Belizean people who came looking for work on their teeth and each of them seemed to know exactly what areas were problematic. I was shocked by how amazingly friendly the people were and immediately felt right at home with each of the people that I was able to interact with. I can certainly say that I was welcomed with open arms, as were the rest of the students and faculty members on the trip. It was truely an unbelievable experience to be able to relieve problematic health situations from patients in the clinic, and I can say that I have never seen anyone be so appreciative for anything in my life. To say that today was a lot of fun would be a significant understatement, and I can only hope that tomorrow will be as rewarding and enjoyable!!! Go Cards!

-Michael Rolf, Dental

Work Day Day 1!

As much as we loved the play time we had, today was our first work day which I feel everyone was nervous, but excited at the same time. We were in the Red Bank doing Community Visits, which consisted of groups of 3 to 4 students walking around the village speaking with residents. We discussed family structures, their culture and aspects of their health issues. This went very well. We were able to gain a lot of good information. Many of the residents we spoke with were females, because their partners were working at the farm plantations. Around noon the students in Red Bank gathered at a hut where a village women had cooked us (a very large pot) of rice and beans (YUM). After lunch we moved to our next work area, which was at the dental clinic in Georgetown. There we were working with the patients before getting treated asking them about their family and community health issues. This was very interesting since the people in Georgetown were much more open and willing to answer our questions than the residents in Red Bank. Some of us did get pulled from interviews to help the dental students with patients (by holding the light, getting tools, cleaning tools) and for students that are not in the dental department this was a once in a life time opportunity. Tomorrow we start off the day back in the dental clinic and then community interviews in Georgetown!! Can't wait!!

Cynthia Jackson And Kelly White
Justice Adminsitration

Our trip so far...

I feel like the previous two posts explained our day today pretty well (Monday) but I figured I would share what we did the previous two days. We arrived at Belize around lunch time on Saturday where we ate lunch at the airport. We stayed our first night at Cahal Pech Resort, where we watched our Louisville Cardinals become BIG EAST CHAMPS! On Sunday we went to some Mayan ruins. At one point we had one of our fellow students take a picture of us from atop the ruins, we were at the field below making a giant "UL"... which turned out great on film. Later that day, we went cave tubing. It was an incredibly unique and fun experience, we had flashlights on our head to light the way. That night we arrived to the Pelican Beach Resort where we will stay until the end of our trip. The resort has an ocean view and is beautiful to say the least. The bar even has milkshakes (I'm having a chocolate one right now ;) ) and serves great breakfast and dinner for us. I can't wait for the days to come, it's been a relaxing first few days but it will be exciting to get to work and experience more of the culture. Hopefully the great weather will stay and the trip will continue to be a rewarding experience!

-Stephanie Routh, Justice Administration

Today was a day full of island adventures! We took a scenic boat ride to the Southwater Caye island and made a quick stop near "bird island" where our tour guide, Alton, shared facts about the native friggets and boobies. The rest of our day consisted of snorkeling, kayaking, beach volleyball and frolicking on the beach. After some fun in the sun we had an appetizing lunch of fried fish fingers, sauteed squash and plaintains. We ended our day with a brief tour of the island and traveled via speed boat back to Pelican Beach where we ate dinner, planned for our work days and applied hefty amounts of aloe vera. As the excitement of the day winds down
we look forward to the new experiences the upcoming days hold!

- Ingrid Irwin, Nursing

Hello from Belize!

It is the end of day two in Belize and so far I have had a great time. Today we took a forty minute boat ride to Southwater Caye, a small island off Belize in the Caribbean Sea. I was really looking forward to snorkling since I had never been before. We were taken on a small boat to some reefs in the sea and spend thirty minutes snorkling with a guide. It was very exhausting but I got to see a barracuda and touch a sea cucumber.

Josephine
Communications

Soon, soon, soon -- We go to Belize

Our team is in its final, final, final (yes, down to the very last detail) stages of preparation, and we are very excited about leaving for Belize on Saturday morning! We are comprised of the following groups doing the following projects:


Primary school in Red Bank and Georgetown -- At the schools we have the following disciplines:

Nursing -- educational programs on the cardiovascular system and the gastrointestinal system; through hands-on projects and active discussions, students will learn about these two body systems

Justice Administraction -- educational program designed to prevent bullying and stop bullying when it occurs; students examine types of bullying, roles involved, and methods to end bullying and create healthy relationships

Communication -- educational program on life success; students discover components of success and engage in activities designed to facilitate their learning and goal achievement; called LEAP, this program helps students "jump" forward to success


Dental clinic in Georgetown -- In the dental clinic, we have:

Dental -- Free clinic staffed by dental students and assisted by others; directed by three UofL dentists; provides oral exams and a variety of different dental procedures (e.g., extraction, filling).


Community interviews in Red Bank, Georgetown, and Maya Mopan -- Each day we will visit with people in the community. In these community interviews:

Interdisciplinary teams of students -- visit area gathering places and homes; talk with people about life in the area; learn about the community, families, relationships, and health care as well as share information about UofL and their lives.


After spending weeks designing programs and training, we are ready to be in Belize meeting people there and working with them.

We hope that you will read our blog and experience our trip with us!

Dr. Joy Hart
Communication Faculty Member