My Lessons From Abroad
The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship remains one of the most significant accomplishments of my academic career. The objective of the scholarship is described on its website as: “to create lasting impacts both at home and abroad through cross-cultural exchanges encompassing...
Read More
Living abroad: Tips from a young Belizean QE scholar
Moving to somewhere new can be a challenge, especially when it is hundreds of miles away from home. Not knowing anyone or what to expect can be overwhelming, and quite frankly scary. However, this monumental transition from home does not have to be bad. The way you experience things can be altered...
Read More
Reflections
It has been an amazing year in Canada! Reflecting on my many new relationships, experiences and adventures, I feel grateful for the opportunities that studying abroad has provided to me. A major accomplishment this semester was working on the VIU Intercultural Week project. I had the opportunity to...
Read More
The Different Options…
“One percent. Two percent. Three percent milk?!” This is the first thought engraved in my memory about Canada. You must be puzzled ... “What?!” You must be wondering if I didn’t see the beautiful array of lights illuminating the dark Vancouver night sky as the plane descended, or the groves of pine...
Read More
Connectedness in body, mind and spirit
Coming to Canada has been one of the most meaningful learning experiences in my life. Arriving in the summer afforded me the opportunity to swim in its beautiful blue ocean and to savor some of its breathtaking floral gardens. I am shocked at how people of such a wide range of cultural identities...
Read More
VIU student returns home to Belize after year in Canada
I was surprised to find that upon returning home to Belize after a year in Canada, the most difficult thing for me to accept was that I was experiencing aspects of reverse culture shock, which is essentially feeling out of place in your own culture. It hit me the moment I departed from the airport...
Read More
VIU student relfects on learning about resilience from time in Belize
After a month and a half of getting used to the heat, the rainy season rolled in with thunder and lighting and, well, lots of rain. In Belize the rainy season stretches from mid-May until Fall. While the rain is not falling consistently as it seems to on Vancouver Island, it does pour very hard...
Read More
VIU student leads a community planning event in Belize
On Sunday July 16, 2017, all of my training in public community consultation was put to the test at a unique community planning event I organized and facilitated in Belize. The event was in the form of a World Café, led by myself as well as co-facilitators Eric Sanchez (fellow VIU Master of...
Read More
Learning to Listen in Belize
“Good Morning!” “Buenos Dias!” “Gud Mawnin!” “Buiti Binafi!” A morning greeting comes in many forms in Belize. Located in Central America nestled between Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras, Belize is rich in cultural diversity and its residents speak one or more languages including: English, Kriol,...
Read More
VIU Student Learns Importance of Water Quality Monitoring in Belize
Water is essential to sustain life. Unfortunately, human activities can pose huge threats to the quality of the water and health of coastlines. In Belize, activities such as fishing, tourism, dredging, coastal development, transportation, agriculture, and aquaculture can result in eutrophication...
Read More
