One of the four theme areas of the HFLE curriculum is "Managing the Environment." So, when I was offered the opportunity to help organize the 2008 Summer Teacher Institute in Environmental Studies and Culture, I ran with it. This project has been passed down from one Cayo volunteer to another for the past 6 years, and also gave me the opportunity to hang out at the famous Lodge at Chaa Creek for 5 days. No complaints there.
The Institute is an environmental education workshop for primary school teachers from Belize and the U.S. Organized through a partnership between the Belize Foundation for Conservation and SUNY Cortland, it focuses on the Maya archaeology, ecology and ecotourism of western Belize, while also serving as an opportunity for cultural exchange between Belizean and American teachers. Here a group tours Chaa Creek's Maya Organic Farm.
Chaa Creek is a luxury resort with an incredible dedication to ecotourism and community involvement. They've invested an enormous amount of time and effort into the development of their employees, most of whom come from the nearby village of Cristo Rey. They've committed themselves to being the greenest resort around, and are leaders in the ecotourism push in Belize. As part of the workshop, we toured the grounds, including the Medicinal Plant trail, Butterly farm (home to the famous Blue Morpho butterfly) and Maya Organic Farm, and took a night hike to hunt for nocturnal creatures.
What impressed me most about the experience was how quickly the American and Belizean participants got to know each other. Within a day they were staying up late into the night telling jokes, serenading each other with Spanish love songs and teaching each other (drinking) games. A little One Barrel always helps! Courtney was comfortable enough with Earl to play squirrel to his Cohune tree in a dramatic representation of the symbiotic relationships found within ecosystems.
Day 4 was a trip to San Antonio village, Cayo's only majority Mayan community. Unlike the K'ekchi and Mopan Maya that live throughout the southern districts of Toledo and Stann Creek, San Antonio's residents are largely Yucatec Maya, who came from the Yucatan in Mexico during the Caste Wars. In addition to the treat of a Mayan cultural dance presentation, the trip gave the American teachers an opportunity to tour a small village school, a teaching environment far removed from what they're accustomed to back in the States.
The American teachers put on a 4th of July celebration complete with hot dogs and a water balloon toss. We suffered a moment of cultural miscommunication when our host Docio went out shopping and came back with saltines for the s'mores. But we perservered, as you can see from Earl's valiant attempt at Chubby Bunny...
The Institute is an environmental education workshop for primary school teachers from Belize and the U.S. Organized through a partnership between the Belize Foundation for Conservation and SUNY Cortland, it focuses on the Maya archaeology, ecology and ecotourism of western Belize, while also serving as an opportunity for cultural exchange between Belizean and American teachers. Here a group tours Chaa Creek's Maya Organic Farm.
Chaa Creek is a luxury resort with an incredible dedication to ecotourism and community involvement. They've invested an enormous amount of time and effort into the development of their employees, most of whom come from the nearby village of Cristo Rey. They've committed themselves to being the greenest resort around, and are leaders in the ecotourism push in Belize. As part of the workshop, we toured the grounds, including the Medicinal Plant trail, Butterly farm (home to the famous Blue Morpho butterfly) and Maya Organic Farm, and took a night hike to hunt for nocturnal creatures. 
What impressed me most about the experience was how quickly the American and Belizean participants got to know each other. Within a day they were staying up late into the night telling jokes, serenading each other with Spanish love songs and teaching each other (drinking) games. A little One Barrel always helps! Courtney was comfortable enough with Earl to play squirrel to his Cohune tree in a dramatic representation of the symbiotic relationships found within ecosystems. 
Day 4 was a trip to San Antonio village, Cayo's only majority Mayan community. Unlike the K'ekchi and Mopan Maya that live throughout the southern districts of Toledo and Stann Creek, San Antonio's residents are largely Yucatec Maya, who came from the Yucatan in Mexico during the Caste Wars. In addition to the treat of a Mayan cultural dance presentation, the trip gave the American teachers an opportunity to tour a small village school, a teaching environment far removed from what they're accustomed to back in the States. 
The American teachers put on a 4th of July celebration complete with hot dogs and a water balloon toss. We suffered a moment of cultural miscommunication when our host Docio went out shopping and came back with saltines for the s'mores. But we perservered, as you can see from Earl's valiant attempt at Chubby Bunny...
1 comment:
What a hoot! I really enjoy cultural misunderstandings and faux pas situations because they challenge the socks off of you to do the right thing in figuring things out and laughing about it latter.
Cool blog. Thanks for the insights.
Uncle Jim
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