Belize
Costs:
$1,209 program fee + airfare and tuition (may be included in your spring course load if you take less than 18 credits including this course)
Prerequisites:
Junior Standing & Instructor Permission (Interview Required)
Overview:
Families and communities across the world face the challenge of inadequate food resources. Join this course to learn how food insecurity is experienced across different communities and cultures, with special consideration of its impact on children. First we will examine the meaning of hunger, food insecurity, and health in the U.S., with a close look at Vermont households that struggle to put food on the table, despite the availability of “safety net” programs. Then we will take a trip to the beautiful country of Belize, where food insecurity also lurks in a land of plenty. During eight days in Belize, we will focus at the local level in the city of San Ignacio, the second largest city in the country. Students will engage in service learning opportunities related to local food and agriculture, with an emphasis on nutrition in the health and public school systems. We will consider the different approaches in the U.S. and Belize to address the food, nutrition, and health needs of children, and their ultimate impacts. Although Belize is an English speaking country, the population is diverse, including Mestizo, Creole, Garifuna, Maya, East Indian, Mennonites, & Chinese. Spending two nights with a Mayan family will help students develop a deeper appreciation for one slice of the Belizean culture, learning how they eat, work, and live. For further exploration of San Ignacio, we will visit its open-air café’s and the lively fruit and vegetable market in town. Trips outside of town to Mayan ruins, a medicinal trail, and sites for hiking and cave tubing will fill out our experience of this rich and fascinating country.
For More Information
Please contact Linda Berlin if you would like to take part in the class via Linda.Berlin@uvm.edu.
Belize
Costs:
$1,495 for program fee, $816 for airfare + tuition (may be included in your spring course load if you're taking 18 credits or less)
Prerequisites:
Permission of the instructor
Application:
Overview:
To explore the complex bio/psycho/social/spiritual impact of health, illness, and health care facing woman daily, comparing and contrasting young women's health and influence of spirituality and other factors between USA and Belize. Increasing the student's understanding of these influences in their own lives' as well as others.
Description: Belize is small tropical country, located in Central America nestled between Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean Sea. Belize is an English speaking country with rich culture and diverse population including: Mestizo, Creole, Garifuna, Maya, East Indian, Mennonites, & Chinese.
Arrive in Belize City on Sun. Jan. 1 and travel to the mountain city of St. Ignacio ( 2nd largest city). St Ignacio is near several Mayan ruins, a Mennonite settlement, 2 rivers, jungle and much more. Check out this website.
Immerse yourself in the culture, life and healing aspects of the culture of Belize. For 14 days you have an opportunity to learn from healers, psychiatrists, health care professions that augment the rich depth and cultural exploration offered by Estelle. Morning and some evenings are spent in experiential and didactic course presentations and seminars. You explore the implications of these diverse perspectives on the life of women in Belize and how culture and spiritual beliefs impact the lives of women around the world.
In the afternoons and weekends we will visit local Mayan ruins, botanical gardens, attend religious gatherings, enjoy local foods & culture, have the opportunity to explore the town, nature and wild life, go hiking, cave tubing, canoeing & kayaking on the rivers, rent a bike, share our experiences with each other and residents of this beautiful country.
The last 5 days we will spend in Hopkins, a Garifuna town (south of Dangriga- on the Caribbean Sea). We will continue with classes here, as well as enjoy homemade Garifuna meals, meet with a Garifuna healer, visit a Garifuna temple, meet with a priest, HIV positive women and more. In your free time try snorkeling off the 2nd largest coral reef in the world, or just enjoying the town, beautiful beaches and warm ocean waters while you reflect on your 2 weeks experience.
For More Information
Please contact Estelle Maartmann-Moe if you would like to take part in the class via Estelle.Maartmann-Moe@uvm.edu.
