Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Day 3 03/01/2016
Today was a really long yet very productive day!In the morning, I gave a motivational talk to the students of Alvin Young high school who want to study abroad.It was cool to share my experience as an international student studying at MVNU and encourage those who wanted to apply for college in the U.S or any other country . I was able to give a scholarship contact information of the Director of the Belize Education Excellence Society to the students so that they can apply for academic scholarships.We got to install four solar panels; two at Victoria Nazarene School and and two the Log Cab-Inn. Installing solar panels is not an easy thing. It takes a lot of wiring, time under the sun, and climbing roofs! Not to mention that today the weather was 93F, plus the roof are all metal so it was super hot! Putting together two ladders to make it to the Victoria Nazarene School roof was a very dangerous thing but somehow we managed to attach the two ladders and made it to the roof of the two story building. At the campground, Doug was able to fix the WiFi connection at Victoria Nazarene School and at the Cafeteria. We now have access to Internet were we are staying! We ended the evening by observing a breathtaking sunset from the campground! God is awesome!
Today was a really long yet very productive day!In the morning, I gave a motivational talk to the students of Alvin Young high school who want to study abroad.It was cool to share my experience as an international student studying at MVNU and encourage those who wanted to apply for college in the U.S or any other country . I was able to give a scholarship contact information of the Director of the Belize Education Excellence Society to the students so that they can apply for academic scholarships.We got to install four solar panels; two at Victoria Nazarene School and and two the Log Cab-Inn. Installing solar panels is not an easy thing. It takes a lot of wiring, time under the sun, and climbing roofs! Not to mention that today the weather was 93F, plus the roof are all metal so it was super hot! Putting together two ladders to make it to the Victoria Nazarene School roof was a very dangerous thing but somehow we managed to attach the two ladders and made it to the roof of the two story building. At the campground, Doug was able to fix the WiFi connection at Victoria Nazarene School and at the Cafeteria. We now have access to Internet were we are staying! We ended the evening by observing a breathtaking sunset from the campground! God is awesome!
Dr. Skon setting up one of the panels.
Cutting the brackets used to hold the solar panels.
Ghada and Katie putting the brackets in the solar panels.
Dr. Skon and Jason on the roof of Victoria´s Nazarene School setting up the first two panels.
Taking the panels up to the roof and yes this was the two dangerous ladders we managed to tie together with a rope.
Sunset at 6:15pm
Astonishing Sunset at 6:05pm! God is great!
Monday, February 29, 2016
Belize Day #2
02/29/2016
Today we went to the Log Cab-Inn Resort to help with the WiFi connections. The WiFi system had been shut down for almost a month and our professors; Doug Karl along with Dr. Skon were able to fix the problem of the connection. I was able to learn about the WiFi Connection Architecture of this resort and was able to test that the ubiquities were functioning so that all the cabins had wireless internet connection. We also set up a VoIP MagicJack phone for the main office of the resort so that they can make free calls to the U.S. The girls tested that the computers were working to install them in the computer labs in some of the schools around the village. We also tested the solar panels that we will be setting up in some of the schools here in Belize (Victoria´s Nazarene School, San Antonio Pentacostal School, Toledo Christian academy, and Alvan Young High School). We ended up with a trip to the Hardware Store in Belke to buy some of the screws, silicon glue, and the hacksaw jaw. As we were driving back to the campground we appreciated the beautiful Belize sunset from Belke!
Hoy estuvimos en el resort Log Cab-Inn ayudando con las conexiones inalambricas. La conexion inalambrica habia dejado de funcionar por mas de un mes y nuestros profesores Doug Karl junto con Dr. Skon pudieron resolver el problema de conexion. Tambien logramos instalar un telefono de la empresa MagicJack que funciona sobre el internet en la oficina principal para que los empleados puedan hacer llamadas gratuitas a los Estados Unidos. Las muchachas revisaron que las computadoras estuvieran funcionando correctamente para instalarlas en algunas de las escuelas en el pueblo. Tambien probamos que los paneles solares estuvieran funcionando para instalarlos en algunas de las escuelas aqui en Belize (Victoria´s Nazarene School, San Antonio Pentacostal School, Toledo Christian academy, and Alvan Young High School). Terminamos yendo de compras a la tienda de herramientas en Belke para comprar tornillos, silicona y serruchos para instalar los paneles solares. ¡ De vuelta al campament logramos apreciar el lindo atardecer desde Belke y fue muy bonito!
02/29/2016
Today we went to the Log Cab-Inn Resort to help with the WiFi connections. The WiFi system had been shut down for almost a month and our professors; Doug Karl along with Dr. Skon were able to fix the problem of the connection. I was able to learn about the WiFi Connection Architecture of this resort and was able to test that the ubiquities were functioning so that all the cabins had wireless internet connection. We also set up a VoIP MagicJack phone for the main office of the resort so that they can make free calls to the U.S. The girls tested that the computers were working to install them in the computer labs in some of the schools around the village. We also tested the solar panels that we will be setting up in some of the schools here in Belize (Victoria´s Nazarene School, San Antonio Pentacostal School, Toledo Christian academy, and Alvan Young High School). We ended up with a trip to the Hardware Store in Belke to buy some of the screws, silicon glue, and the hacksaw jaw. As we were driving back to the campground we appreciated the beautiful Belize sunset from Belke!
Hoy estuvimos en el resort Log Cab-Inn ayudando con las conexiones inalambricas. La conexion inalambrica habia dejado de funcionar por mas de un mes y nuestros profesores Doug Karl junto con Dr. Skon pudieron resolver el problema de conexion. Tambien logramos instalar un telefono de la empresa MagicJack que funciona sobre el internet en la oficina principal para que los empleados puedan hacer llamadas gratuitas a los Estados Unidos. Las muchachas revisaron que las computadoras estuvieran funcionando correctamente para instalarlas en algunas de las escuelas en el pueblo. Tambien probamos que los paneles solares estuvieran funcionando para instalarlos en algunas de las escuelas aqui en Belize (Victoria´s Nazarene School, San Antonio Pentacostal School, Toledo Christian academy, and Alvan Young High School). Terminamos yendo de compras a la tienda de herramientas en Belke para comprar tornillos, silicona y serruchos para instalar los paneles solares. ¡ De vuelta al campament logramos apreciar el lindo atardecer desde Belke y fue muy bonito!
2/28/2016
Today was our first day here in Belize. We had a great time in Church of the Nazarene in the morning. Most of the people here in Belize dress very formal to go to church. After Church we went to Xunantunich Archeological Reserve and it cost us 10 Belizean Dollars ( 5 U.S. Dollars). It was a great time to explore this beautiful Mayan arqueological site. The name Xunantunich derives from the Yucatec Maya language and means “Stone Woman.” Local legend holds that around the end of the 1800s, a gentleman from the village of San Jose Succotz Belize went hunting near the site. Crossing the base of the Castillo, he was struck by the appearance of a beautiful statuesque Maya maiden, dressed in traditional “huipil” and “pik,”,and dazzling in the rays of the rising sun. As entertainment the mayans used to play a ball game. The ancient Mayans used to play a ball game similar to soccer. The loser team would end up being killed .I also found out that Belize just to be called “British Honduras” in June of 1973. Belize did not gain their independence until 1981. Belize is unBELIZEable!
Today was our first day here in Belize. We had a great time in Church of the Nazarene in the morning. Most of the people here in Belize dress very formal to go to church. After Church we went to Xunantunich Archeological Reserve and it cost us 10 Belizean Dollars ( 5 U.S. Dollars). It was a great time to explore this beautiful Mayan arqueological site. The name Xunantunich derives from the Yucatec Maya language and means “Stone Woman.” Local legend holds that around the end of the 1800s, a gentleman from the village of San Jose Succotz Belize went hunting near the site. Crossing the base of the Castillo, he was struck by the appearance of a beautiful statuesque Maya maiden, dressed in traditional “huipil” and “pik,”,and dazzling in the rays of the rising sun. As entertainment the mayans used to play a ball game. The ancient Mayans used to play a ball game similar to soccer. The loser team would end up being killed .I also found out that Belize just to be called “British Honduras” in June of 1973. Belize did not gain their independence until 1981. Belize is unBELIZEable!
Day 2 & Day 3
We didn't get wifi yesterday. Yesterday we went to the Mayan ruins which was really amazing. Today we went the log cabins in San Ignacio and fixed the wifi and some of the other people tested the solar panels that we will install in various locations. Just look at Denis Gomez's blog post it very detailed and I am to tired to type it all.
We didn't get wifi yesterday. Yesterday we went to the Mayan ruins which was really amazing. Today we went the log cabins in San Ignacio and fixed the wifi and some of the other people tested the solar panels that we will install in various locations. Just look at Denis Gomez's blog post it very detailed and I am to tired to type it all.
Friday, February 26, 2016
Benjamin Kindle - Pre-Trip thoughts
It is the night before we leave for Belize and it is still only starting to sink in that I am soon going to be out of the country for 2 weeks.
I am definitely looking forward to this trip for many reasons. Firstly, I am excited about learning all of the differences between the Belizean culture and my own. I Believe that one of the best ways to become a well-rounded person is to expose yourself to a wide variety of cultures and world-views, so I think that going on this trip is going to really help me become a better person. I am also excited about impacting lives in a positive way. It is thrilling to think that by being on this trip, our group is going to have the chance to help communities grow by supporting their children's education. I have always felt a connection with education, and for many years, I wanted to be a teacher. I think that education is very important in any person's life, and I am excited that I am going to be able to help push education forward in the communities where we are going.
We have all been preparing for this trip for a long time, and it is going to be exciting to see everything that is going to happen over the next two weeks
It is the night before we leave for Belize and it is still only starting to sink in that I am soon going to be out of the country for 2 weeks.
I am definitely looking forward to this trip for many reasons. Firstly, I am excited about learning all of the differences between the Belizean culture and my own. I Believe that one of the best ways to become a well-rounded person is to expose yourself to a wide variety of cultures and world-views, so I think that going on this trip is going to really help me become a better person. I am also excited about impacting lives in a positive way. It is thrilling to think that by being on this trip, our group is going to have the chance to help communities grow by supporting their children's education. I have always felt a connection with education, and for many years, I wanted to be a teacher. I think that education is very important in any person's life, and I am excited that I am going to be able to help push education forward in the communities where we are going.
We have all been preparing for this trip for a long time, and it is going to be exciting to see everything that is going to happen over the next two weeks
Hi my name is Denis Gomez! I am a senior Informational Technology Management major from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I am going to be 740 km (approx. 11 hr 25 mn) away from my first home(Teguz). I am beyond excited to attend this trip because I have the unique opportunity to serve the beautiful people of Belize. Also, I am excited to get to expand my technical/technological abilities by installing solar panels and computer labs in many different villages in Belize. I will be posting some wonderful pictures of Belize as well as unforgettable memories of the trip. Blogging has never been a thing for me but I am excited to use this tool to share with all of you the amazing things God is going to be doing here in Belize through us! Be ready for amazing pictures! May God bless all of you!
Leaving in a few hours
Hi, I'm Katie. I am a junior computer systems and network engineering student at MVNU.
We are suppose to talk about what we are feeling as we prepare to leave. To be honest I don't feel much of anything. I don't think it has hit me yet that we are leaving the country. I think when it gets closer to 2:30 a.m.(which is when we are leaving) I will start getting excited.I just hope I haven't forgotten to pack something. I can't wait though to experience a new culture and help set up the computer and solar panels!
We are suppose to talk about what we are feeling as we prepare to leave. To be honest I don't feel much of anything. I don't think it has hit me yet that we are leaving the country. I think when it gets closer to 2:30 a.m.(which is when we are leaving) I will start getting excited.I just hope I haven't forgotten to pack something. I can't wait though to experience a new culture and help set up the computer and solar panels!
Welcome to the official blog for the collaborative spring break project in Belize and Guatemala. This project is a collaboration of Kenyon College and Mount Vernon Nazarene University students and faculty. Our major goals for this project include:
- SOLAR POWER FOR SCHOOLS - Electricity is very expensive in Belize. It is typically the largest percentage of the budget after teacher salaries. Sunlight is very available. On this project we will be install solar power systems on 2-4 schools (funding pending), and at the lodge we are staying at (to serve as a demonstration, and to help defray food and lodging costs)
- COMPUTER LABS IN SCHOOLS - Creation of internet connected computer labs in schools. Working with students, teachers, administrators, and community people in workshops on how to use computers and the internet.
- FIRST AID TRAINING FOR SCHOOL TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS. This effort, led by emergency medicine physician Dr. Dave Kesig, will train teachers and administrators how to deal with medical emergencies in schools that are remote and often far from hospital help.
The students and faculty will be posting regularly about our experiences, sharing what we are learning by working with our local hosts.
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