Wrapping Up the Semester

CCSP Spring 2010 has come to a close, the campus is empty and quiet, and the staff is missing the students like crazy! For the final blog post of the semester, we reflect on the last couple of weeks of the semester. The last weeks were designated to help students prepare to integrate what they've been learning into their lives at home and abroad, as well as to prepare students for the challenges they'll face after returning home (culture shock, etc.). Plus, we got to just have a whole lot of fun.

After Marine Ecology ended, some of us traveled to Belmopan to check out the Agriculture Fair. Here were booths set up with goods for sale (Western Dairies ice cream, Miss Martha's handbags, and lots of tasty-looking food) and information about many different organizations, including one of our favorites: the Belize Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful day for the outing, and before heading back to the Nab we ended by relaxing in the Belize River.

We then began our final class of the semester: Sustainable Community Development 3, led by CCSP Belize Program Director Derek Rosenberger. This week was a time of readings, discussions, and activities to help connect what we've learned about living sustainably to our lives in the states in a practical way. We researched different products and discussed how they impacted the environment, students presented on appropriate ways to approach different environmental topics for future living, and we picked up trash from the riverside between campus and Succotz. We ended the week by making trash art and displaying it during a Eurotrash-themed party! Everyone went all-out, and we had such a blast!

During our last weekend, we made some visits to town and took it easy, but we did attend the Succotz Mother's Day Marimba with our friend and cook Miss Flora. The Prime Minister of Belize even made a surprise appearance, and we're pretty sure he waved at a few of us.

The final week was Debrief Week, and it was a time of going through what being home might look like and how we could prepare for different struggles we might have, as well as how to translate our experiences to those who want to hear. This was also a week of fun activities. We started the week by making cookies and thank-you cards for everyone that's impacted our program this semester. We also hosted an ice cream social for some local families that have especially been a huge part of our program, and it was a lot of fun to talk and laugh with them once more before parting ways. We finished the first day with a birthday toga party for Patty (Bethel '13)! We played Mafia, made up songs and dances for her, and had cake!

During the rest of the week, we visited the Barton Creek caves, where we canoed into the pitch-black cave system; we played and spectated a final game of soccer with Succotz; we went swimming at the beautiful Cahal Pech resort; and we showed off our skills in the semester-end talent show. At the end of the talent show, we also handed out individual awards to the "graduating class" of CCSP Belize Spring 2010.

A final and traditional activity we did during the week was planting a class-hibiscus. We all took part in digging up the dirt, planting it, and watering it, and it joins previous semesters' hibiscuses by the office.

We then had the inevitable yet unfortunate task of driving to the airport to part ways. It was sad to say goodbye, but we are only separated by distance. We will keep in contact and maybe even visit in the future. We look forward to hearing how everyone impacts the people and places around them with what they've learned in Belize.

Imagining the Earth and Marine Ecology

Two weeks ago, we had a change of pace by diving into Imagining the Earth with Drew Ward. This course, also titled Environmental Literature, challenged us to reconsider our relationship with the earth and what environmentalism means through looking at various selections of environmental prose and poetry. It was an exciting week that not only led us to look at the earth but also at ourselves in new ways. Drew was very enthusiastic about the subject matter, which made it all the more enjoyable for us. On that Wednesday, we took a trip to Mountain Pine Ridge where we had class on the balcony of Five Sisters Lodge, overlooking a series of waterfalls. We ended our class session with a very refreshing dip in the stream, right below another beautiful waterfall.


April 22 was Earth Day! We celebrated by waking up early and planting two mahogany trees, plus some papaya seeds. This followed several days of intentionally focusing on different topics of sustainable living, including food, energy, and trash. It was a fun week and helped us to integrate some of what we've been learning and to think about it in a more practical way!


Following Imagining the Earth, we had Marine Ecology with Dr. Laurie Furlong. For this class, we packed up our bags and left early Monday morning for Glover's Atoll, where we would spend four days studying the marine life. About half of the class was lecture, and the rest of it was getting into the field. We snorkeled right off the shore of our island, we snorkeled way out where the ocean floor plummeted out of sight, and we snorkeled at night! It was an amazing experience, and we saw such a variety of marine creatures, from the brain coral to the angel fish to the Christmas tree worm. It was great to have Laurie passionately teaching this class, and thanks to her we left Glover's Atoll with the experience of seeing first-hand and understanding an undersea world that most people only get to watch through their television sets.