I'm originally from Japan and it was a totally new experience going to Belize, a country in Central America. I learned beyond the language spoken and the culture, through interacting with local people and friends I made during the program. The whole experience made me think about myself, my surroundings, and about poverty and happiness, by comparing the life and culture in the U.S., Japan, and in Belize.

One of the most precious experiences in Belize was learning Mayan traditions like making corn tortillas and potteries. I grained corn with tools made from rocks, shaped the dough, and cooked on a hot rock plate for a minute. It was interesting to learn corn-based meal culture in contrast to Japan, where meals are based on rice. Moreover, I was surprised that the way of making pottery was very similar to some of the traditional pottery in Japan. The Mayans had incorporated some of modern technology like electric spinners for pottery, but I was heart-warmed to see that their lives are still close to nature and their traditions are being preserved.

However, not everything went well as I faced the reality of poverty. As I walked downtown with my friends, I saw people sleeping on streets and begging for food. At schools, there were students who couldn't afford low-priced lunches. These scenes got stuck in my head because I was shocked to see really poor people, and there was nothing I could do to help all of them. The problems came from poor education. I tutored a couple students at an elementary school and noticed that the academic level of the students was way behind than the students in the U.S. and in Japan. A 12-year-old boy whom I tutored wasn't proficient at multiplication and division. After the third day of teaching, he started to understand how to work on the problems, and he finally solved one question correctly without any help! I was glad with the outcome of our effort, but also there are many more students in the classrooms having the same problem as he did, and there is not enough time and resources to help them.

Despite poverty being a serious problem, more people in Belize looked happier than people in the U.S. and Japan. The whole country was totally beautiful, filled up with plants and songbirds, very friendly nice people, and excellent Belizean food. Their lives are more closely connected with nature, and they have appreciation for their surroundings, so they are filled up with what they have.

This program was social science based and not related to my major, however, through teaching at a school, I learned how to interact with different individuals as needed. It also made me realize how fortunate it is to have a good education system, and I hope many people take this advantage to visit Belize to learn about their culture and cultures of our own country.

Name: Carol Hogan
Status: Freshman
Major: Environmental Biology/ Microbiology
Hometown: Urayasu City, Japan
Program: Contemporary Issues in Developing Societies in Belize