Reflection on Belize: Teaching and Learning in Various Ways (John)

It is hard to believe that our 9-day experience to Belize has been over for more than a week now. The experience was amazing for me, as this was my first time traveling with a group of students beyond the borders of the United States. Any time you travel with students there is some apprehensions as to whether or not everything will go as planned. I will admit that these feelings were greater for this international experience. However, through careful planning (thank you @GlobalMelanie, @CELABelize, and many others that made this experience happen) diverse experiences can be provided to our students (and instructors) that will impact their knowledge, skills, and dispositions for the rest of their lives.

As I reflect on the trip and this past week of being home, I have come to realize the impact of the trip will truly last a lifetime. Again, the trip itself was exciting and educational on many levels, but I believe the events following the trip can be just as important. How can this be, since the travel abroad experience was so amazing? Well, it is because everywhere I went this past week I was able to share the great things that happened on the trip. Yes, the trip has a huge impact on those of us that traveled and actually experienced Belize first-hand, but I believe when we come home and share the experience with others, we are broadening our impact. Not only do we have the opportunity to "re-live" our experiences (which helped me reinforce the "why" of the experience), but we are providing insight to those with whom we interact. Since returning, I shared my experiences with people from the ages of  7 to 77 (maybe even older, but I am not going to ask). Each person asked different questions and had different interests in what I saw and did while in Belize. This is the exciting part of such an experience. Everyone I talked to this past week wanted to know something different about Belize. 


One of the questions that I kept getting really made me think about how people view the "tropics", and in this case specifically, Belize. Everyone wanted to know if we spent time at the beach/snorkeling, etc. I think many people view these countries simply as places where we vacation and relax. While each of us need these experiences in our lives (and Belize can provide these), I was able to share that our trip had different objectives for our students. It was fun to hear peoples' responses when I shared our educational objectives were focused on examining agriculture, education, and what/how knowledge is shared in Belize. They wanted to know more about Belize and these topics, and our discussion quickly turned from "vacation" to a more in-depth discussion about agricultural products (I usually highlighted hot sauces), geography, education, history, and economics.


As I prepared to write this blog, I kept reflecting on something that we encouraged our students to think about during the trip. How is knowledge passed on to future generations? I realized that I have the opportunity almost each and every day to teach in formal, informal, and non-formal educational settings about the experiences that I have had in my life. I believe the last two weeks have allowed me to learn through each of these ways, as well. Prior to our trip we were teaching and learning about Belize in mostly a formal way, then while in Belize we were experiencing mostly non-formal/informal opportunities to learn, and now that I have returned most of my teaching about Belize in the last week has been in the informal setting. We had opportunities throughout the week to learn through experiential learning with our hosts, as can be seen in the included photos. I began to realize that the way we were learning through these experiences, were the same way that the "students" in this setting were learning. Whether it was a youth at Mopan Technical High School or a child in a Mayan family, they were learning in the way that the "educator" believed was best for that situation (formal, non-formal, informal). There are deep underlying philosophies of education, life purpose, and more involved in these decisions, and I am thankful that I had 9 days of experiences in Belize AND now I have a lifetime to reflect and share these experiences with others through my own opportunities to educate others!

John Ewing is an agricultural teacher educator at Penn State University. He can be reached via email at jce122@psu.edu

Post Trip Blog: The Full Experience (Kurtis)

First off, this post definitely won't actually cover the full experience. There were too many highs and lows, early mornings and late nights, and good food and non-vegetarian options (oops) to explain the whole trip in detail.

This was my first international trip in which I felt immersed in the country's culture. In high school, I traveled to Haiti for a missions trip, but we were very sheltered from the rest of the country, and did not leave the orphanage we stayed at very often. That being said, I understand that a week-long experience only allows for so much cultural education. From staying in San Ignacio and walking around downtown, to staying in the Toledo district surrounded by Mayan culture, the experience was both amazing and challenging.

A huge challenge I had was when we stayed in the Toledo district. We stayed at a lodging of the Toledo Ecotourism Association (TEA) in a Mayan community. The lodging was basic, but safe and comfortable. It was refreshing to hear nature so clearly at night, and be able to look up and see the stars so beautifully. After all of these positive aspects, you may be wondering what was challenging. To be honest, the interpersonal reactions we had with the families who hosted us were collectively the most challenging experience. The language barrier and cultural differences made conversation difficult at times.

Two specific interactions which I learned so much from happened our last night and last morning staying at the TEA lodging. The last night, myself and other classmates were sitting on hammocks and playing cards, having some fun before we went to bed. A mother and her daughter, who live in the house behind our lodging, came up and started talking to us and watching us play. After a while, I was confused why they were still with us. It made me think to our cultural education, and how Mayan communities live as a community, rather than as people living together. So, while I viewed our lodging somewhat like a hotel that I was staying in, she saw it as a communal house in which her and the rest of the community invited me to stay in. The second happened the last morning. We were told "breakfast at 7". OK, no big deal. Well, luckily, I was awake at 5:45 and ready by 6, because our hosts came at 6:15 ready to feed us. I was stressed because I had to wake up some of my classmates. Not tell them to get ready faster, I had to actually wake them up. After that, while I was waiting for them to come down so we could leave for breakfast, I realized how I stress unnecessarily about time. (This meal was also where the three vegetarians accidentally ate meat, yikes.)

One final thought, which is very minor compared to all of the things I learned in cultural comparisons, is between the different types of farming in Belize. The first farm we visited, a traditional diversified farm, had bananas. The leaves had brown spots growing from the edges of the leaves. I thought it had something to do with the sun when I first noticed it, but after touring an industrial banana farm on the last day of our trip, I found the real reason. The real problem was revealed by our tour guide; it was a fungus, which the plants on her farm did not suffer from regularly because of fungicide sprays. A very minor observation, but something I thought was interesting.

Being that I want to work internationally after graduation, the cultural and travel experiences I was afforded for this class were invaluable.

Thanks for reading! Come to our final presentation on Monday, March 26th at 4pm in 214 Ferguson Building.

Kurtis Miller is a senior studying Animal Science.

Return Thoughts: Looking Back to Look Forward (Gillian)

Our time in Belize flew by, and I find myself reflecting on a great trip packed with lessons and memories while I shiver from the freezing temperatures and snow in Pennsylvania. I already miss the experiences and sun in Belize but I am so lucky to have had this opportunity and look back on it as a good memory.

Listen, ask, and Experience (to learn!)

Our study abroad trip was way more than just a week-long trip though. I learned lessons and grew as a person, both of which I know will help me down the road, no matter where I go.

I learned how to talk with people. I knew how to before, but not with the same engagement and connection as I experienced in Belize. By finding similarities between us instead of dividing people due to differences, I grew closer to people I had just met and became more comfortable with the conversations once I realized we are all quite similar. I believe this understanding and comfort helped open the conversations to deeper explanations, more questions, and furthered our learning. I can use this lesson to connect with people when I travel, but also around my own town as well. By making connections and deepening conversations and relationships, I will be able to interact with people better, a skill that will be useful in personal or professional relationships, or in daily life.

I learned how to ask questions. Every evening we began to think about what was coming up for the next day and what we were curious about. Allowing myself to think ahead to come prepared allowed me to ask questions that reflected my interest, curiosity, and led to deeper conversations. The ability to ask questions will help me connect with people, explore new experiences, and will deepen my understanding of the things around me.

Not only were the farms producing, but they were absolutely beautiful too!

I learned about agriculture. As the main topic of this trip, this lesson was a bit more expected than the rest, but exciting nonetheless. Touring various types of farms throughout Belize helped me understand similarities and differences within Belizean agriculture and also between agriculture in Belize and the United States. I was quite impressed with the intense knowledge that each farmer has about their farm and their ability to use their lands in a variety of ways: by growing a large variety of crops, by planting trees in specific areas to not only provide fruit but a natural fence line and shade for animals as well, or harvesting for the now while planting and preparing for the future generations to farm.

I also furthered my conversations by asking questions throughout the tours, leading to great questions and answers to my questions. For example, at Mr. Juan’s farm, we started talking about his use of horses in the tourism side of his farm. When he asked what breeds of horses I have and learned that I have quarter horses, we immediately talked about the numerous benefits of the breed and how they are one of his favorites too! However, he did not share my enthusiasm for the thoroughbred which led to more of a pro/con discussion.

The people made this trip extra great!

I learned a lot about myself too and grew in necessary areas for the future. Going into this trip, I was pretty nervous about my ability to travel to the country and then manage everything once I got there. I’ve traveled around the country a lot and have gone out of the country a handful of times, but every trip out of the country has been with my family. This added responsibility posed a new challenge to me, one that I was able to handle! With the support from the professors and other students, the trip went very well. I gained confidence in my ability to travel and manage myself in another country. With this new confidence, I also gained independence as I became more comfortable and felt much better by stepping out of my comfort zone by the end of the trip. Personal growth will help me in my future adventures and travels but also in my school, work, hobbies, relationships… everything!


The lessons were numerous and this trip has definitely been filled with learning and fun. I’m excited to use my new knowledge to connect with people wherever I go while being confident in myself and my abilities. While I miss Belize, the people we met, and the experiences we had, I’m excited to apply these lessons now and in the future. I am so appreciative of this trip and to everyone who made it possible. I’m looking forward to what’s next!

Gillian Warner is a freshman majoring in an interdisciplinary major in the College of Agriculture Sciences at Penn State.

Day 9: My Personal Takeaways (Lex)

The past nine days in Belize have been some of the best of my life. It was educational, enlightening, and most importantly enjoyable. Being able to go beyond the classroom and learn through experience is beyond compare. I love to travel and I feel it is the best way to learn about the world around us. This trip has done nothing but reaffirm that.

I feel my biggest takeaways from this trip, other than the 1,000 bug-bites, would be my ability to interact with the locals. There are three specific moments that I look back on when thinking about how I grew. The first would be our visit to Mopan Tech. We had gone over our presentation the day before and I was really nervous. I hate public speaking and giving presentations. We started our day at the school with a tour before we gave our presentation. The Penn State students were thoughtful and asked questions throughout the tour, but when we were left alone to interact with the students I think we were a little shy or slow to reach out. Not speaking for everybody of course, but I felt this was especially prevalent for me. I didn't know if these kids were going to want to talk to me. It felt awkward for me to walk into their classroom and disturb them from doing their work. When we shifted gears to our presentation nothing felt different. I still didn't think these high schoolers were going to take me seriously seeing that I was the same age they were. I think our group was trying to engage with them but there were some awkward moments when it wasn't working. However, there were some very bright students there that made our jobs easier and participated enthusiastically. I enjoyed visiting Mopan Tech and seeing the things they were doing, but to be honest I was glad that the presentation was over. 

The next experience I look back on was our trip to the San Ignacio Market Wednesday morning. I will try to keep this part brief since this is what I wrote about in my previous blog post, but it is still an important piece in my personal development on this trip. We started in the market as one big group of 8 Penn State students. We all went to the same stand awkwardly asked some of the prices of the foods being sold. Then we split up more into our three groups and Britton, Erin, and I met Daniella. I began to ask her questions on the produce she was selling just like the first vendor. Then I asked her about the local Mayan cuisine. She seemed to light up and began to realize we weren't just tourists but curious students who wanted to learn. She was so happy to share a part of her culture with us. I began to feel much more comfortable and it became a more flowing conversation instead of me just asking about prices. This is the point in the trip I look back on to when I began to switch how I interacted with the locals. Instead of being shy and observing from a distance I wanted to show them that I was curious about their lives. After that, they were more than happy to talk to me.

The third experience I look back to for my development, and also the development of the group, would be the second presentation at the Tumul K'In Center for Learning. I feel that our presentation at the second school was much much better. We were more confident in ourselves and our ability to interact with the students. I felt that I took control with my group to try to get them to participate and enjoy the activity. Once again there were several bright students that made my job easier, but I still feel that overall we did a better job the second time around. In the short moments when our group would be waiting for the others to finish we were able to talk with them and ask questions about their lives and their school. They were so genuinely interested in what we had to say and were able to recognize our curiosity which made them want to share more. Even after the presentation was over, all the Penn State students stayed behind and talked with the students some more. 

With Tumul K'In being a much smaller school (24 students) compared to Mopan Tech (over 500) it was a lot easier to engage with their students on a more personal level. I also really enjoyed our second presentation with the students at Tumul K'In, whereas I was glad to get it over with at Mopan Tech. I was so happy to have a second chance to interact with the Belizean students and learn more about their ambitions. The question "What do you want to do with your life" always scares me and I never know how to respond. Whereas these kids knew exactly what they wanted to do and were eager to share it with us. I am so grateful for this opportunity to come to Belize and interact with such incredible people. Places can be great, but it the people there that make it special. And it's our job as international students to be able to take that extra step to reach out and engage with the people. After all, the best way to learn is by experiencing it first hand. 


Lex is a freshman majoring in BioRenewable Systems/Biological Engineering at Penn State.

Day 9: I can't Belize it is over (Sarah)

With having so much to do and to learn about in the last week some things were strong reoccurring themes. These themes were inclusion of different modes of education, along with education of both male and female youth. With the trip including a visit to a Mayan community, Mopan Technical High School and Tumul K'in Center of Learning, there was a strong connection with many different modes of learning.

At both high schools, the students learned basics that we also cover here in the United States, like math classes. In my high school career, I did not, however, have as much hands-on experience that these two Belizean schools do. At Mopan Technical- the students learned different skills through choosing their path of interest. There were different class paths that students could choose from instead of having set classes with a few elective classes like I did. The students in the agriculture program would take care of their livestock as part of their agriculture class as well as classroom work. The students in some other technical classes went through different stages in their four-year high school programs that allowed different things every year, such as mechanical drawing on paper and then computer work as part of their program. At Tumul K'in Center of Learning- the students had practicals in the morning where they would wake up early and learn different hands-on skills before becoming engaged in classroom work. These practicals include every student and have them physically participate in the traditions and methods of their Maya people. The Center of Learning showed the Penn State group a traditional dance and then taught us the dance through participation, something that some other schools in Belize do not teach to their students.

Another mode of education was how several of the farmers taught their children about their farms. One of the farmers named Manuel said that he planted mahogany trees, especially for his children to come back later and harvest, like the mahogany trees in his fields. This type of hands-on education from one generation to the next about farming also applied to the cooking that was being done in the Mayan community that we stayed in for a couple of days. At one of the houses, the smaller group that I was with met a family with a young child who was already learning to make tortilla by watching her mother and playing with some of the dough. By the time that little girl is starting school, she will also be learning a lot from the people that her community welcomes in, just like our Penn State group. Her older sister Stacey talked to our group and seemed very interested to learn about our culture as well as share her own with our group.

When speaking about inclusion, both schools, Mopan Technical High School and Tumul K'in Center of Learning, included both their male and female students in many, if not all, aspects of their classes. At Mopan Technical High School, the day that our Penn State group took the tour, it was the girls turn to clean out the chicken pens; the boys had cleaned out the pens the time before. The girls did not hesitate to get to work and participate in this part of their class. One of the girls that lead our tour around the school said that some of the girls do not always enjoy doing the hands-on part of the class, but the tasks were still done. At Tumul K'in Center of Learning, all students did the morning practicals that entailed many tasks that may have been seen as a male-specific or female-specific roles in the past such as machete field clearing or cooking. The day that our Penn State group went to the Center of Learning we asked what they did for their morning practicals and were told that they had been doing machete work. Then after all of their students took part in their practicals, one of the boys went to help the cook make breakfast.


Sarah Miller is senior majoring in Agricultural Science at Penn State, with minors in International Agriculture and Sustainability Leadership

Day 8: Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana (Kryslynne)

Today we got the chance to tour a local banana farm. Being involved in the fruit farming industry myself I noticed a lot of similarities and differences between the two farms. Also, I had somewhat of an idea what we were walking into when we went into the field. Even though I'm not as knowledgeable on the fruit growing in tropical climates I was still super excited to learn more about how they do things here in Belize.

On the banana farm, the growers prune or trim the trees after they remove the bunch of bananas. Even though we don't prune our trees after every picking we do make sure they are at least trimmed back once a year. This helps the plant regenerate growth by cutting off the "suckers". Suckers can be branches, leaves, or roots that just suck up all the water and nutrients taking away from the plant itself. If you don't cut off the suckers the plant will suffer. 

One difference I noticed between the two farms is how they distribute pesticides. The farm uses a plane that fly's over the fields distributing the pesticides. Back home at our farm, we use a pull behind sprayer that is attached to a tractor. Both methods have their own benefits but I don't think our farm would be able to use planes as a way to spray no matter how cool that would be. 

After touring the banana farm I personally think it would be easier to grow one fruit than numerous ones like I do. We grow so many different types and varieties of fruits that we have to know a lot more about each individual tree. For example, I don't just need to know how to thin an apple tree I have to also know how to thin a peach or nectarine tree as well. Plus there are numerous varieties of peaches or apples that must be cared for differently. So the fact that they can focus on one type of fruit sounds more appealing to me( lol get it bananas, appealing? no okay). Don't get me wrong, I love fruit farming and I love my farm, but I do think the way they do things is less challenging.

Kryslynne Vroman is a sophomore majoring in Agricultural Education and Extension at Penn State University Park 

Day 8: Banana Trees? No Way! (Olivia)

On our final day in the beautiful country of Belize, we concluded with an exciting tour of Bunches of Fun banana farm, which was something that I was particularly interested in considering my academic emphasis on plant sciences. I went into the tour unsure of how I would be able to connect tropical fruit agriculture with American farming practices; however, I quickly realized that there were far more similarities than differences.

First, our tour guide Evin was an Oklahoma native who did her undergraduate in Agricultural Communications from Oklahoma State University. Clad in her Twisted X moccasins and bright blonde hair, I couldn't help but see a little bit of myself in her. The Belizean transplant found her way to the Caribbean country through an internship, similar to my recent international internship experience in Norway this past summer. 

Throughout the tour, Evin taught us about the morphology of banana plants, common production practices, and environmental stewardship efforts. The first thing that I learned is that bananas are a member of the grass family, so technically there is no such thing as a banana tree because it lacks a woody stem. This is similar to American grains, such as corn and wheat, which are also members of the grass family. 

She also taught us that field waste is composted for six months and then reapplied to banana plants in the field so that nutrients that are taken from the plant can be reintroduced to the soil. I know that all of the students on the trip are interested in environmental conservation and stewardship so this particular aspect of the tour really resonated with my fellow students and me. 

Belize has been an incredible opportunity for me to expand upon my appreciation of global agricultural systems. Agriculture has played a vital role in the development of each and every society, but this trip has taught me that agriculture doesn't necessarily have to look "American" in order for it to be productive. Previously, I never would have considered bananas as a critical part of the global agricultural systems. However, I have now realized that agriculture takes many shapes and sizes. Many thanks to my new friend Evin for teaching me that valuable lesson. Go Pokes!

Olivia is a sophomore majoring in Agricultural Sciences at Penn State