WIIKWEMKOONG—Two dozen students from Wasse Abin Wiikwemkoong High School recently travelled to the Central American country of Belize and the heartland of the Mayan civilization. The students travelled as part of an innovative program created by teacher Jason Thibault where they not only get to travel to exotic locales, but earn high school credits while doing so.
It isn’t all just fun and games, although there was plenty of that, in order to qualify for the credits the students must complete a battery of questions about Belize, its people and its history. As the seat of an Indigenous civilization that rivalled those of Europe, the Middle East and Asia before colonization and subjugation took its toll, the travel holds particular importance for Indigenous youth.
As a relatively small group of travelling students, the Wiikwemkoong squad’s numbers were augmented by seven American students hailing from Texas—adding a whole new dimension to the experience.
“The students were together from 7 am to 10 pm,” noted Mr. Thibault. “So, they became very close.”
Ethan Manitowabi noted that although there were many similarities shared among the two groups, they did have some cultural differences. The same was true when it came to Mayan people themselves. Ethan cited “snorkeling on the reef” as one of his favourite experiences, along with ziplining.
Janvier Cooper agreed that snorkeling was a definite hit. The brightly coloured fish were a big change from the freshwater varieties he would see at home.
Janvier and Ethan noted that the Mayan creation story was similar to that of the Anishinaabe with one rather large difference. “They believed that the world was created on the back of a crocodile,” said Ethan. Anishnaabe legend holds that it was on the back of a turtle.
The students were able to visit a zoo containing animals indigenous to the region. “I got to see a tapir,” laughed Ethan. The zoo was a bit different in that the animals it hosts were all rescue animals who came to the facility with injuries.
Another big hit was cave tubing, where the students travelled through bat-filled caves on large innertubes.
“It was like a Lazy River experience,” noted Mr. Thibault, citing the popular amusement ride at Canada’s Wonderland.
Several students who took part in the trip were attending the Robotics competitions in Hamilton this week, and so responded to questions about the experience through email.
“Going to Belize was a nice learning experience and seeing the sugar mill and the coral reefs was cool,” said student Lanaya Oshkabewisens. “I saw a stingray. The activities were fun and the food was tasty. It was hot there but there was some wind. Learning about and staying in Belize was a good experience 10/10 super fun and interesting.” Lanaya adds, “LMAOOOOOOOOOO yay!”
“I had a great week when I was down there,” said Carmine Wemigwans. “I met new people, saw new places and explored different areas while at the same time learning new things about the culture and history of the country.”
“The Belize educational tour trip was a super awesome experience,” said Tristan Wemigwans. “It allowed me to make international friends, it opened a new point of view to the youth on the reserve, it showed me there’s a lot more to the world and inspires me to travel regularly now. I learned a lot about the Belizean culture, their temples, food and cities.”
“Going to Belize was an awesome time, being able to experience new people and their cultures,” said Javier Salas-Cooper. “And now after traveling to this great new country I am able to spread my experiences with my family and friends.”
The travel course has proven so popular among students and their families that two further trips are planned for next year and seats are already booked.
“I had planned a trip to Paris, but it filled up right away and a lot of people were asking me to set up a second trip,” said Mr. Thibault. So, he set up a second group to tour sites in Italy.
