Feature Editor- Jana McBride |
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| Volume 26, Issue #2 |
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September 22, 1999
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Feature Editor- Jana McBride |
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| Volume 26, Issue #2 |
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September 22, 1999
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| STUDENTS STUDY IN BELIZE... by Seth Ramaeker, ad. manager |
| Many college students attend summer
classes to make up a class or perhaps get ahead. But imagine a class
that takes place in the beautiful rain forests and coral reefs of Belize.
That’s what 19 NIACC students, five participating students and two instructors experienced as they traveled as a group to Belize this summer from June 15 - June 29. I was one of those students. Belize, a country that recently achieved its independence, is a small country in central America next to Guatemala. Carol Schutte, a NIACC Biology and Anatomy instructor, organized the trip. “I found out about the trip through professional conferences where they described Central America,” Schutte said. Schutte said she then contacted Save the Rain Forest, an environmental organization. That organization directed her to a local Belizen organization called Program For Belize. She soon organized meetings for a potential group of students to study abroad. I found out about the trip through a friend and decided it might be interesting to go. The meetings provided general information about the trip and Belize that included general gear we would need, vaccinations, passports and information on Belize. In addition, we talked about the flora and fauna of Belize and what to expect with the rainy season approaching. When June 15 rolled around, we all met in the NIACC parking lot at 9:30 a.m. and then drove to Des Moines for a flight to Chicago. From Chicago, we went to Miami and then from Miami to Belize City. I didn’t know what to expect when I got off the plane, but one thing I knew for sure was the blasting heat that hit me when I got out of our plane and the lack of air conditioning available throughout our stay was almost unbearable. At the Belize airport, we met one of our instructors for the rain forest, a man named Roberto Pot. The drive to our camp was two hours of bumpy, dirt roads on two fairly nice buses. The buses took us as far as they could until we reached an orange grove where the roads where too bad for the buses to continue. We all piled onto a white, Ford F-250 with raised steel sides that resembled a cattle truck. From there, we had a slow half hour ride over rutted, dirt roads. We reached our camp late in the afternoon dusty, dirty and tired. Before arriving at our camp, my expectations were low. I thought that we would be staying in tents the whole week we were there. To my surprise, we came upon a recently constructed wooden building with attached bathrooms. They also had solar panels so we had running water and lights. The only major concern with staying in a dry wooden building in the middle of the rain forest was that scorpions would come out at night to eat the insects that were nocturnal. So, every night we would have to check for scorpions in our beds and shoes. Our rooms rarely had scorpions, but the men’s bathroom had four. Our time spent in the rain forest dealt with learning about the region and the sustainable forestry practices that Program For Belize uses to help preserve the rain forest, as well as helping the locals support themselves without harming the rain forest. We not only learned about the rain forest of Belize, but also the culture. One day, we spent the entire afternoon at an archeolagical site called Lamanai. Our guide, Nazario, explained to us the traditions and culture of the ancient Mayans. Although the rain forest was full of culture and excitement, the week we spent on the island was by far the most beautiful. We arrived on Calabash Caye (pronounced key) after an hour and a half boat ride. The ride was gorgeous and the deep blue of the open ocean seemed surreal. The week we spent on the island, we learned about the mangroves in the back of the island and the barrier reef about 150 yards off the beach. Everyday we would have two hours of lectures and then we could go out to the reef to study the reef ecology. We also had to do a project dealing with the reef or the mangroves, so we could conduct research while on the reef. On one occasion, the instructors planned a mangrove snorkel to the back of the island. We split into two groups of 12 and drove around to the back of the island. Vicki, our instructor, told us the proper way to enter the shallow water. The water was only three or four feet deep, so we couldn’t use full leg strokes or it would stir up the sediment on the bottom of the mangrove floor. The only problem was the mangrove upside down jellyfish that lived on the bottom. This really didn’t bother me except that there wouldn’t be one or two jellyfish, but ten or twenty. Having a group of 12 swim in a channel that perhaps was only five or six feet wide was a challenge in itself. Luckily, no one got stung and the mangroves turned out to be pretty interesting. Getting into the dock at the end of the mangrove was also pretty exciting. As soon as we got out, hoards of mosquitoes assaulted us from every angle. These mosquitoes came at us with a blood thirsty vengeance, even if we ran out onto the beach they would follow right behind. We would virtually have to jump in the ocean to get them off of us. One of the best things about the trip was the group and the instructors that took us on the trip. We were all thrown together to live in the jungle and a practically deserted island for two weeks. To everyone’s surprise, everyone got along really well and, in fact, some academic relationships have budded between the instructors and students who went along. New friendships were formed and hopefully will last a lifetime. Thanks to NIACC’s Carol Schutte, Craig Zoellner and Tucki Folkers, the group had an opportunity of a lifetime to learn and live in another culture. In addition to the participating instructors who went along on the trip, the students’ participation in Belize was commendable in the fact that they took genuine interest in the studies that took place. |
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| FOREIGN LANGUAGE GIVES EDGE... by Jenn Litterer, ast. editor |
| The nurse, once a NIACC student,
picked up a clip board, and entered the somewhat calm ER waiting room.
A few patients with family or friends perked up in hopes to hear their
names. “Mrs. Castello?” the nurse asked.
“Si,”a scared Hispanic mother holding a small, sick child in her arms answered. “Vengan para aqui, por favor,” the nurse said. A little relief filled the mother’s face as she got up from her chair and followed the nurse into an examining room. Many college students are required to take a foreign language, and most of them finish their requirements in high school. However, the advantages of a foreign language goes beyond the classroom and a grade. Pat Crail, a NIACC Spanish instructor for 20 years, gave three basic advantages of a foreign language; travelling, jobs and academics. According to Crail, travelling is the most fun advantage. Being able to communicate with a native speaker from the country makes for better relations, even if it’s a lousy translation because the individual might speak lousy English, Crail said. Also it gives a student the ability to ask the important questions like where is the bathroom. “They like you better because you’re trying,” Crail said. Alicia Alarcon, a NIACC Spanish student, said she enrolled into a foreign language so she could travel to Mexico to visit her mother’s family. “I would like to hold a good conversation with them,” Alarcon said. With the world shrinking, knowing a foreign language helps students get a head in their work fields especially with nursing. According Crail, she has been approached to teach nursing students Spanish. However, for other working joes, financially they can earn more and find a job easier as more businesses become international. Crail said today many employers (not just the ones seeking someone to speak another language) realize that learning a foreign language takes effort and time. She said it shows that a student is capable of sticking with something, and “the ability to apply yourself.” Of course, the grade and all the classroom work pays off academically, yet one language helps another. “Learning a foreign language helps you understand English better,” Crail said. According to Crail, by learning vocabulary from another language, students builds their English vocabulary. Alarcon said on some days she finds herself learning more about English than Spanish, especially about direct and indirect objects. If a NIACC student, who has never taken a foreign language class, is interested NIACC offers three foreign languages; Spanish, French and German. To enroll for any of these classes a student needs to check course offerings at Student Services. |
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| LANGUAGE OPPORTUNIY, INC... by Jenn Litterer, ast. editor |
| Learning a foreign language can open
a world of opportunity in the world of business and one Mason City woman
has developed a business based upon that principle.
The Language Opportunity Inc. training center, a spacious room located in the Southbridge Mall, helps people with needs related to language and culture said Colleen Hovinga, part owner of the corporation. According to Hovinga, the main clientele includes businesses as the corporation provides language services on the site of the business. On the side, Hovinga said she tutors and helps Spanish-speaking people learn English. “We decided to focus on Spanish,” Hovinga said before the business starts to expand into other languages. According to Hovinga, when someone has the ability to be multilingual he or she opens up to creative problem solving opportunities. “I think every culture and language have unique experiences and lead to a richer life,” Hovinga said. No one can separate language and cultures as words from a language paint a picture about the culture, she said. According Hovinga, the importance of knowing another language helps as everyone lives in a world connected by the internet and planes. Since Americans live in a society that is multicultured, understanding another language is even more important. Almost on a daily basis, there are opportunities to speak another language Hovinga said. “It is a tool. You can chose to use it every day,” Hovinga said. She said that tool can be used via the internet, visiting another country, welcoming visitors from another country, and marketing or buying products. The spacious room reflects the big opportunities that Hovinga and the Language Opportunity Inc. offer. |
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