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Spotlight on Simmons

Life Lessons Beyond the Classroom

This semester, Simmons Africana Studies Department Chair Janie Ward took more than a dozen Simmons students to the Central American country of Belize for a 10-day, study-abroad/service learning trip. The course's focus was to introduce students to a culture in transition, the indigenous Garifuna people, who are descendents of Caribbean Indians and escaped Black African slaves.

In addition to learning about Garifuna language, culture and religious traditions, the students participated in three days of service learning at a local primary school, where they organized donated books, created posters for the classrooms, and assisted the teachers. Some students worked in a health center, traveling with a nurse who visited local sick and shut-in children. They also set up a home networking system for the nurse's medical office computer.

"Sometimes it's the little things," said Ward. "The nurse hadn't had the time to read the manuals and set up the computer herself, so she was thrilled that we came along, downloaded her software and got the system up and running."

Regarding the experience with the Garifuna people, Ward added:

"Living with and learning from the Garifuna allowed the students to witness how specific elements of the past are woven into contemporary ways of living, and to examine the current challenges faced by an indigenous people in a rapidly changing world."

Here are some of the students' impressions and experiences of the study-abroad trip, in their own words:

"...Belize was filled with history and culture. The beautiful environment added to the historical connections around us. When you experience the Mayan Ruins, the beginning of existence is fathomable. Sometimes because technology and ways of life have advanced so much it's hard to make a connection with ancient pasts. People in the U.S. also tend to suppress feeling spiritual connections or being in touch with your intuition and senses. But being in the Mayan ruins breaks all those barriers. The reality of the past becomes tangible through climbing the ruins and noticing similarities between other ancient cultures. I felt a part of history had been paused and preserved in a beautiful environment. Being from a place where spiritual connection and connection to history isn't high on people's priority lists, it was nice to feel that...."

-Priscilla Rorie, junior

"...I felt like I was at home in the islands. Even in the parts of the country with more of a Mayan influence, I was well embraced and loved all aspects of the civilian and social life that I encountered. Going to opposite ends of the country, meeting great people and immersing myself in the culture made me gain an even better experience. I was able to see the different types of people that inhabited the country. There were people that were from Mayan and Chinese decent, and there were Garifuna. The Garifuna people were the most interesting and most welcoming people that I met there. They are an indigenous group of people that have an African ancestry and were not enslaved like the rest of the Africans brought over to the hemisphere hundreds of years ago...."

-Sasha DuBois, junior

"After ten days in the beautiful country of Belize with nineteen amazing women, it is safe for me to say that my outlook on life has changed dramatically. The amount of things that we, as Americans take for granted is incredible. From things like hot water in the shower, to paved roads, to drinkable tap water, we are truly blessed to live in a country that provides us with endless opportunities...Growing up in the United States and coming from a fortunate family income, I have never gotten to experience living in a third world country before. Even though we were only in Belize for ten days, I know that I will always appreciate what I have, the life that I live and will continue to be generous and helpful to those who are less fortunate, whether they are Americans or from another country. Among countless other things, going to Belize has taught me to really throw myself out there and try hard to encourage everyone to help others, practice community service and lend a helping hand no matter how big or little that may be...."

-Emily Cattalozzi, senior

"...In Belize, an English-speaking country, I did not have to learn a new language, but we did hear people speaking Garifuna, Creole, and Spanish. I also got to try plantains and pineapple jam for the first time... I went to Belize with certain preconceived notions about the level of poverty we would see and the mindset of the people that we would be interacting with, and was able to challenge my own assumptions about other groups. I was able to experience learning in a new form, outside of a classroom through communicating with leaders in the community, through service learning, and through a guided walking tour of a rainforest medicine trail...."

-Julia Battocchi, sophomore