September in '86

2007-04-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

Spring Break

For our spring break Erica, Marieka, Arianna and I headed to Guatemala. Arianna has family there, so we went to visit them as well as "experience" Guatemala. It was quite an adventure to say the least. By the end of the trip we all agreed that God was probably using this trip to show us just how wonderful Belize is and how grateful we should be to live there. Belize doesn't smell like sewage and there aren't men walking around with machine guns everywhere. I think we were all ready to kiss the ground when we crossed the border back into Belize at the end of the week. :)

This picture was taken on the way to Tikal- Myan ruins about 1 1/2 hours from where we were staying. I wish I had a picture of the bus we took the day before from the border of Guatemala to Sainta Elaina. It was a 15 passenger van, yet there were 22 of us inside. Let's just say that you got to know the person sitting next to you quite well.

This is all four of us at Tikal. The ruin site is over 4km in size. It was amazing to see. We hired a guide who walked around with us for four hours telling us everything imaginable about these ruins. We climbed a whole lot of steps that day.

This is at Arianna's family's house. Erica, Marieka and I slept in that bed that you see right behind Erica. It was quite cozy. God totally used the living situation at this family's house to show us how much we take forgranted. This 8 person family lives in a house with just three double beds. They have running water only at night. The mother cooks in a kitchen with no electricity on a two burner coleman like stove. It takes all day to wash the clothes by hand in the outdoor sink. Yet, this house is filled with joy and love, despite the circumstances.

This is the family's kitchen. I was working on rolling out the dough for patties- they make for a great, nutritious deep fried breakfast.

We had lettuce eating contests.... I think the picture explains it all.

So while we were very ready to get back to Belize, we did have a fun time in Guatemala. We were shown extreme hospitality by Arianna's family and shown genuine love. It wasn't the vacation we were expecting, but God showed us that we make the plans by He directs our paths!

Home

2007-01-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

I am back home. Christmas break was wonderful. It was a much needed time away. It was great to see family, to get some rest and to have some great friend time. Yet still, I was excited to get on that plane headed back to Belize, and I was even more excited to walk off that plane into the 90 degree heat of this amazing country. There really isn't anything I love more than 90 degree January days.

I was thinking today- something that I like to do occasionally- about where I was last year at this time. It is so neat for me to look back and see what God has done since then. Last January I was considering applying to MTW but had no idea where I wanted to go, I was getting ready to graduate and was basically confused by life. Not that I have much more figured out now, but I do know that it was God's will for me to be here in Belize. That is evident to me more and more every day. It is awesome to see how when I actually stopped freaking out about it God totally directed my plans. He brought me here, to Belize, for a reason. I could have ended up anywhere else in the world, but it was His will to bring me here. He knew that this was where I would be best used at the time. The people that are in my life now He brought across my path for His perfect plan to be accomplished. How cool is that?

I am so bad about stressing out about the future and about what God might have planned next for me. But when I stop and think about it I realize that He has never before left me stranded, and I have no reason to fear that He might this time. God is amazing and He has given me a life to enjoy.

I really am in love with life... Yesterday when I went to school for the first time since being back I went into my class room to clean things up. These huge ants had invaded my room- they were everywhere. One of my students, who was with me at the time, called them "flesh eating ants." She said that when they bit you it felt like they were ripping out a piece of flesh. That made me pretty determined not to be bit by them. Bug spray doesn't kill them, so we spent almost an hour stomping them all to death. We were running around the room trying not to get bitten and squishing as many ants as possible. By the time we finally killed the last one the whole floor was littered with ant bodies. Wendy and I laughed as we stood there staring at all the ants we had killed. When else do you get to chase a bunch of ants around trying to squish them? Things like this just make me laugh. Life is random....

2006-12-15T16:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas Break

Today was the last day of school before our three week break for Christmas. It is hard for me to believe that four months of school have gone by. In ways it seems like I have been in Belize for so long, but at the same time if feels as if I have just arrived.

Mitchell- He is our next door neighbor and practically our child. He spends many a evening with us. He reminds me of my little brother, Caleb.

Today we had our Christmas party at school. Our homeroom all brought food, and we exchanged gifts. Then we took turns trying to beat the pinata. The kids made me try. Once they had me blindfolded they spun me around and around and then pointed me towards the tree. Then they started to yell in spanish "enfente" (forward) as I blindly ran into the tree. They seemed to think it was quite funny. Wonder why...

So that is permanent marker on my white board... Somehow the kids just can't remember not to use permanent marker on the white board. Oh well. I guess it is good for them to work on their scrubbing skills and for God to work on my patience.

Danery worked as our DJ for the class party. They are all about their reggaton.

Here are the boys (most of them at least) from 1A. The girls totally outnumber the boys.. However, I haven't heard the guys complain yet.

After an insane week of classes, our Christmas program and then class parties I am ready to crash. I fly home tomorrow morning. It is so strange to think about leaving. I pulled out my suitcase tonight from under me bed and just sat there staring at it. I am going home. It is so weird to say.

Island Style

2006-11-28T16:46:00.000-08:00

San Pedro/ Cay Caulker

Island Trip!

Janelle and I headed to the islands for a long weekend of fun. The weather was amazing and the sun hot. We laughed endlessly, ate eveything in sight, showered in salt water, rode bikes everywhere, got sunburnt, pretended to be sailors and continually thanked God for the amazing life He has granted us.

Janelle and I rented bikes in order to get around San Pedro. We ended up riding all over the island racing each other to who knows where. Going fast to no where in particular.

This was on our sailing excursion off of Cay Caulker. We went on an all day sailing trip and went snorkeling in several different places. The reef was amazing, and we saw sharks, rays and tons of beautiful fish. The guy on the right was the first mate. He had quite a life, and we shared many laughs on this trip. "Pump it Up"

Beautiful San Pedro. Most people get around in golf carts. It is nice because the streets aren't overcrowded with cars. The golf carts are a bit expensive though to rent, so we just stuck to the normal biking. It is better exercise anyways.

So this is what your hair looks like after several days of salt water and no shampoo. Pretty sweet.... It stood completely up. I kind of didn't want to wash it even when I got home to Corozal and back to "mom" Erica who had my shampoo.

2006-11-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

The boys trying to move the volleyball net poles. How many boys does it take to set up a volleyball net?

2006-11-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

Our Beach Cleanup Group- Sweaty and Dirty

Beach Cleanup

2006-11-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my homeroom class did a beach cleanup day. Out of a homeroom class of 32 students 14 of them were able to come, which was quite impressive seeing as most of them had to catch busses into town. And the fact that they were all at the park right on time was even more impressive to me. They actually told me that I was late because I walked up right after the bell rang 9 a.m. At first the kids were a bit hesitant at picking up any trash at all, but when I told them that I would buy the person who picked up the most trash a coke, suddenly picking up trash was fun.
An hour later we had collected 8 full bags of trash along the beach front. We were all dripping with sweat and filthy. I didn’t want to even think about what was on my hands. We found a dumpster to throw our trash bags in and then went to the “beach” to swim. The girls jumped in with their clothes on but the boys opted for playing volleyball instead. They all kept talking about how they wanted to see Erica’s and my house, so I invited them back to the house for lunch. Two loaves of bread, a 4 pound can of tuna, lots of popcorn and 2 gallons of Gatorade later they were all fed. They all crowded into our little living room pulling up stools, plastic chairs and sitting on the back of the couch. They were laughing and screaming and making fun of each other. They ended up putting on a war movie, and all 14 of them crowded around our little 12 inch TV. Only the boys stuck it out for the whole movie- they didn’t leave our house until after 2 p.m. The girls gave up after about an hour, frustrated by the boys’ extra sound effects and enthusiasm over the movie.
It was fun to have a full house though and for the students all to be here. Everyday I am more and more thankful for these kids. For Ervin, “the teddy bear” who makes me laugh every time I see him. For Ian, who has said less than 20 words since I first met him. For Samir, my “protector” and handyman. For Seleni, who calls me her “mom.” For Ruby, whose laugh is contagious. I am thankful for these and all of my students. For the way that they make me laugh, make me want to scream and make me want to be kid again.

Mexico

2006-11-04T14:49:00.000-08:00

Last Friday Erica and I went to Mexico with our church for a football game against another church. The border is less than 11 miles away, so it is a quick trip. Once you get to the border you have to go through customs on the Belizean side (Non Belizean citizens get the privilege of paying a border fee) and then on the Mexican side as well. We went to the football game, which we lost, and then went with the church to the expo fair. It was almost 11pm when we reached the fair, yet all our Belizean church friends were still rearing to go- even the women with little children. The fair was great, and we rode rides, played games and wandered through the maze of booths, vendors and screaming auctioneers. It was around 12:30 am when we finally left the fair. Erica and I had decided to spend the night in Mexico and take the public bus back to Belize the next day. So the church dropped us off at our hotel, and we crashed. Our room had shutters to keep out the early morning sun, and Erica and I slept until 10:30am. That hadn’t happened since I had moved here, and it was much needed! We wandered around the town of Chetumal all day Saturday, enjoying the market and then going to the so called “mall.” It has been three months since I have been inside any store of substantial size as nothing like Wal-Mart exists in Belize. However, in Mexico there is a Sam’s Club, a Wal-Mart extension, a movie theater… and I could go on and on. Erica and I seriously just wandered around open mouthed. It was the weirdest thing to see after being away from anything like that for awhile. As nice as it is though, I really don’t miss it that much. Simplicity in life has actually become a bit more comfortable.
Sunday we went with our church to the town of Orange Walk to march in the parade of churches. All of the churches from Belize come together to march for about three hours. The churches create their own floats or dances and parade together throughout the town. It was a bit cooler than normal in the morning when we started marching but by mid day we were all roasting, and I had a nice shirt tan. It was neat to see all the churches join together though, and the whole weekend was a great opportunity for Erica and I to spend more time with people from our church and get to know them better. It is neat to see these relationships growing and them open up more and more to us.
After the weekend’s busy activities it was hard to get ourselves back into the school mindset for Monday. I started feeling pretty sick Sunday night and by Tuesday afternoon I had a nice cold and sinus headache and had lost my voice. My kids were so cute and were continually making fun of me for my deep raspy voice. They kept saying- “Miss! You sound like a man!” They were as cooperative as kids can be though and worked to listen extra hard as I whispered for all my classes. I was out of school Wednesday, but by Thursday I had regained enough voice to teach again. So I am on the mend from that thanks to Erica who, being the great room mate that she is, made me chicken soup and hot tea and took great care of me!

Life

2006-10-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

Our Shower. We have rigged it with duct tape so that the cords will stop falling down and shocking us. It is really quite scary looking. The Belizeans call these type showers "widow makers." Wonder why...
These ants won't leave our kitchen. We have tried everything from sprays to bleach to boiling water.... We have just decided that they can stay.
This is Cinty's. Basically the Belizean's Wamart. It is packed with anything and everything you might need. The problem is just finding it.
The outside of Cinty's. We seem to go there at least once a week for something.
Our kitchen. We had just finished rearranging. I was trying to put in hooks on our shelves. It wasn't too successful.

Truck Driving and Ruin Climbing

2006-10-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

Everyday on the way to school we drive past the unexcavated ruin in the village of San Wakine. It is more like a huge hill in the middle of a sugar cane field. The brush is high and thick all around it. The girls talked about climbing it for weeks, and Erica and I finally decided to give in to their request. Friday, after school, we lathered on the bug spray, and I drove the truck through the cane fields. It has been months since cane season ended, so the path was all grown up. The brush was as high as the truck. I prayed the whole way that we wouldn’t get stuck in the potholes on our way to the base of the hill. The girls were so excited. The “ruin” was extremely over grown. We climbed up grabbing on to vines, branches, rocks and anything else we could find. By the time we reached the top of the ruin we were scraped, sweaty and laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. The view from the top was amazing. We could see the mountains of Mexico, the bay of Corozal and the many sugar cane fields. It was breathtaking. The climb down was even more fun than the climb up. We ended up just sitting and sliding most of the way down. The girls would literally dive straight into the brush and just roll. It is times like these that are priceless. The relationships with the girls and the times we have shared are just incredible.
Last weekend one of my students, Heidi, came over in the morning and spent the whole day with me. She sat and talked to me while I graded student’s tests and then we went and got Belizean barbeque for lunch. The whole time she was just spilling her life to me. It is amazing how open and honest these girls are. We ended up going down to the beach and playing volleyball until we were both burnt to a crisp. I had errands to run and she tagged along for those. We went out to one of my other student’s, Carlo’s house, and picked oranges at his house. We filled up a five gallon bucket and a huge sack with grapefruits and oranges. Heidi served as my translator between Carlos’ 10 brothers and sisters and me. I love being apart of my student’s lives outside of the normal school day. I am learning from them and just continue to treasure these relationships.
Erica and I had a “party” this weekend. It was Erica’s birthday on Tuesday, so we invited a bunch of different people over for a get together on Saturday. A few of the teachers from school came, some of the missionary families, next door neighbors and town friends. Our little house was full of people. It was a fun time, and I couldn’t help but feeling like Belize is really home. My house here feels like home. Corozal Town feels like home. These friends here feel like family. One of our neighbors stopped by Saturday morning, and I invited him to our party and told him it was Erica’s birthday. Literally two minutes later, he came driving back by with a birthday cake in hand. It is little things like this that continue to amaze me.
This evening we went to Carlos’, one of my students, house, for his little nephew’s baptism. Catholic baptisms are quite a huge deal, and they had musicians, dancing and tons of Belizean food. Erica and I ate escabeche, a spicy onion soup, complete with chicken feet. This was the second time today we were served chicken feet. This afternoon for Sunday lunch we had tamales, which is ricotta and chicken wrapped in a half cooked corn tortilla which is then wrapped in a banana leaf. It is definitely not one of my Belizean favorites. When you cut into them you never know what part of the chicken you may find- the gizzard, neck, feet. They are like cracker jacks- you never know what prize you will get when you look inside!
So yes… life continues on day after day. Each one is new and different. Each one presenting new challenges, new laughs and new trials. God is good.

Prayers

2006-10-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

First, I would like to thank you all for your continual emails, letters, prayers and thoughts. It has been so encouraging to know that so many of you all are praying for me as I am here in Belize!
God continues to amaze me. Everyday is filled with adventure and learning. I feel like I am being challenged and truly growing. Some days I feel exhausted and stretched to the limit, but God continues to restore me and fill me up. I look forward to going to school each day. Being in the classroom is so satisfying. To see the progress the students have made since the beginning of the year is encouraging. I am hoping that above all they see the importance of our Savior in everything that is being taught and that they understand the sacrifice that has been made so that we may have eternal life. This is stressed each and everyday at school, and I pray that these students will learn what a real relationship with God is and that they will not just have Biblical knowledge but they will also have the zeal to put this knowledge into actions to change the country of Belize.
As for prayer requests, the most immediate one at this point would be finances. As most of you all know, I did not complete my fundraising before leaving for the field. Because I am a one year intern MTW, however, allows you to enter the field without your full support raised, believing that it will continue to come in while the missionary is on the field. Yet, my support has dropped off almost completely. I know that God will continue to provide for me as He always has. However, there are certain expenses here that can not be avoided such as extension of stay permits, housing expenses and fuel for the truck. I am confident that God will make ends meet and that He will supply my every need. I know that Belize is where He wants me to be and that He will not leave me in want. Please pray for these financial needs though. If you are interested in financially supporting me I thank you. All donations are tax deductible and can be sent to:

MTW Donations
P.O. Box 116284
Atlanta, GA 30368

Checks can be made out to MTW. Please mark all donations with my name, Julie Williams, and the account number 018249.
Please also continue to pray for direction for me. I feel like I am being used here in Belize and that there are so many needs to be filled. At this point, I can not imagine leaving after only a year. I know, however, that God will direct me and show me where He wants me to be. Please just pray for patience on my part as I seek out His will for my life.
Thank you, once again, for your prayers. It is encouraging to know that I have such a strong prayer team! Thanks also for keeping up with the blog. Hope you are enjoying it.

Volleyball

2006-10-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

We had the volleyball girls from Corozal over for dinner. Erica cooked, as normal, and I was in charge of the clean up crew. We have a way of making washing dishes fun. :)

Erica and Stacey- a first former. She is precious.

The Corozal volleyball girls on our couch. What a crazy evening. These girls have way too much energy.

Oh yes- the joys of whole chickens. Erica has fun cleaning our birds.

Crazy girls- This is Haidy and Megan. They are two of my first formers as well as volleyball players. They also ride to and from school with us everyday. They are two very unique girls. :)

Rainy Days

2006-10-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

It has been raining off and on for the past two weeks. We are in the middle of the rainy season, and we are getting our share for sure. Saturday I got the pick up truck stuck in the mud at school. The roads are all washed out and muddy, and there are huge potholes of water everywhere. Thankfully, when I got stuck at school, there was this guy from Alabama there who was down visiting, and he jumped right in the mud and helped push me out- in his dockers, boat shoes and everything. I was impressed. Yesterday Erica and I went to go for a bike ride, and our bike locks had rusted shut in a weeks time. We pulled out the WD 40, and after a few minutes of spraying, scraping and jamming we got the locks free. Our yard is a soupy mess of mud, and our shoes are constantly wet. My Rainbows haven't had a chance to dry out this whole time, and my feet are stained a nice brown color.

Yesterday afternoon Erica and I went and played volleyball with some of the girls from the team. There was a beach barbeque going on and loud reggae music playing. The court was one huge mud hole. There were a few boys playing on the court and they let us join them to play a game. We all ended up covered in mud, and I took a few nice dives right into the mud hole. The back of my shirt and my shorts were covered with slimy mud. It was fun though, and we played for several hours. Then we biked the girls to our house- two girls per bike. Erica and I are getting pretty good at riding double. One person sits on the seat like normal and then the other girl sits on the handlebars. Then we go riding down the streets, dodging pots holes, speed bumps and crazy drivers. We were told that it is actually illegal to ride like this, even though this is how the whole town rides, and seeing as their are no policemen we figure we will be allright. We figure that, in this case, it will be easier to ask for forgivness than ask for permission.

2006-10-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

The back of my pickup truck. Erica and I are going to start fundraising for a bus...

2006-10-06T18:22:00.001-07:00

They were doing an experiment with washers and paper towels

2006-10-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

Science Class for my 1st formers

2006-10-06T18:21:00.001-07:00

Oh yum...

2006-10-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

Even the Belizeans break a sweat from the spicy food

2006-10-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

Here's Willie's reaction to the hot corn. :)

2006-10-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

Belizean Corn- It is sweet corn covered with cream, cheese and hot hot hot pepper. They love it! This is third former Willie.

Saturdays

2006-10-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

Saturdays- my favorite day in Belize. There is something about a Saturday. I don’t know if it the promise of being able to sleep in or just knowing that, even though I adore my students, it will be a day where I don’t have to answer hundreds of students’ questions.

Every Saturday Erica and I sleep in. “Sleeping in” has a new meaning for me now. Here in Belize sleeping in means sleeping until around 6:30am, maybe 7am if the butcher gets a late start on the pig slaughter. By 7am the sun has already been up for an hour and a half and is streaming in our windows. We load up in the pickup and head to the market. Saturdays at the market are amazing. Every vendor is freshly stocked, proudly showing off their fruits and veggies. Usually we take one walk around, looking at everyone’s produce and evaluating what looks the best. Then we take another walk stopping at the invidual vendors and purchasing. We bargain occasionally but in most cases the produce is already so cheap that we don’t bother. We stock up on watermelons, pineapples, bananas, mangoes, tomatoes, corn, oranges, peppers, cilantro, potatoes and occasionally some freshly caught shrimp or fish. Every weekend the vendors seem to warm up a bit more. I always buy my watermelon from the same man- he is missing a few teeth, and his skin sags with old age. He has amazing watermelons though. When I ask him how much per pound his watermelons are this week he always pulls me to his side and whispers, “Well everyone else is selling them for $.60 but I will give it to you for .$50.” The guy who sells oranges bring his pickup truck each Saturday piled high with oranges and grapefruits. The first week we bought he gave us 6 for a dollar. This Saturday he gave us 8 for a dollar. J

After the Market Erica and I come home put away our produce and then head back out to buy our weekly staples. Now at home I could drive to a store like Publix or even better Walmart and in maybe half an hour have the basics for the week- all from one store. Well, here it take a good hour or two and trips to at least 3 or 4 different stores. We get in the truck and head to Dee’s first. They have the type of bread that we love as well as fresh eggs and tortillas. Then we head to Blue Sky which has a good selection and spices and dried beans. Then off we go to the next store for pasta and milk. And thus the morning continues- one store after the next until we have managed to get the basics. Getting everything in one stop is something that is totally taken for granted in the States.

This Saturday after the normal market and grocery run Erica started cooking for Sunday lunch. I laid around watching her- as usual. J The normal Saturday street vendors came down the street selling tamales, fresh bread and corn icrecream. This Saturday though a vendor selling Mexican Hammocks came down the street. And thus began our adventure for the day. I was taking out the garbage when he first came by. He asked me, in broken English, if I needed a hamoock. Erica and I have been talking since we moved in about getting hammocks for above our beds, so this was perfect. I invited him in and we spent the next half hour looking at the different hammocks that he had- single weave, double weave, one person, two person and family hammocks. Erica already had hooks in her room so we tried out the hammocks and finally decided on two that we liked. All of our communication with this hammock salesman was in broken English/ Spanish and demonstrations, as we would act out various things that we were trying to say.

So now we had hammock. Erica had hooks so we went ahead and put hers up. I, being the impatient person that I am, also wanted my hammock up in my room. So Erica and I set out on a quest for hooks. We went to Cinty’s which is a jumbeled mess of everything imaginable. There are small pathways throughout the “store” as you weave in and our of furniture, appliances, tools, toys and everything else imaginable. We finally found hooks that I thought would do and then we headed to the hardware store. Erica and I had visited this hardware store once before for cement nails so we had already thoughouly embassarraed ourselves and we were fully prepared to do so again. I took my hooks in to show the workers and they described what they thought I would need. A couple of them came to help me, as well as a young man who was shopping in the hardware store. About 20 minutes later they had me buying a different kind of hook from them as well as screws and sinkers. They asked me in I had a drill, which of course I did not. I think I must have had this extremely confused look on my face as they talked about bit size and how to best drill into the concrete. Well, the young man who had been helping me this whole time then proceeded to ask me if I understood what all I had to do. Of course I did not so I shook my head “no.” The next thing I knew he was offering to come over and install the hooks for me. He had been in the hardware store buying some cable he needed for a remodeling job he was doing at his Aunt’s and he had a drill. He said he was more than happy to help.

Within the next hour my hammock was neatly hung in my room above my bed. Adolfe, the guy from the hardware store, and I worked measuring and marking, drilling and screwing. My whole room was covered with a fine layer of cement dust, but my hammock was hung. I was so excited and could hardly contain myself. Before Adolfe could even leave I climbed up on my bed and hoisted myself in. It was absolutely amazing!

Shortly after Adolfe left one of my first form students, Arelia, who lives down the street came over to ask for help with her Bible homework. A few minutes later we had put together a huge time line on the kitchen table and were marking it with Biblical events. She stayed for several hours after her homework was complete, following Erica and I around as we worked.

Later that night, after Arelia had left, I crawled up into my newly hung hammock and laying there thought about how amazing each and everyday is- especially Saturday!He

Dinner

2006-09-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

One of our neighbors from down the street randomly brought us dinner tonight. Erica and I were exhausted from school and didn't get home from volleyball practice until after 6pm. We were just sitting at our table staring at each other, not wanting to move. Then we heard a honk outside and there was our Godsend of a neighbor- with hot dinner and two glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice.

Ah... the unexpected little things in life...

2006-09-24T07:49:00.001-07:00

"Little Eddy"

2006-09-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Going for a swim

2006-09-24T07:48:00.001-07:00

Cabanas

2006-09-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

Little Kitty

2006-09-24T07:44:00.002-07:00

These boys are amazing horse riders

2006-09-24T07:44:00.001-07:00

My friend the monkey

2006-09-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

The Ferry Across the Belize River

2006-09-24T07:43:00.001-07:00

Beautiful Belize

2006-09-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

In the Jungle

Banana Bank

2006-09-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

Friday morning we had to pull ourselves out of bed early in the morning and force ourselves into the motions of heading to school. We started off the morning running behind, and I felt like I was behind all day. After Thursday’s crazy festivities and many hours of marching the kids were all dragging as well. We suffered through classes, getting as much work done as possible. Everyone was a bit short on patience- including myself.
After the long school day was through, Erica and I headed down to the southern district of Belize for a night away. Some of the other missionary interns, as well as some MKs, joined us. We drove down through Belmopan, the capital of Belize and into the Cayo District. We took the medical clinic’s van, and Erica and I were delegated to be backseat riders. The ride there was on quite rocky and bumpy roads, and we continued to fly up and down in our seats, banging our heads on the van ceiling multiple times. It was a beautiful drive though. It was neat watching the Belize terrain change as we drove by. Corozal District is relatively flat and very dry, yet as we headed down south, mountains rose from the horizon, and the terrain became more and more green. When we entered Cayo District the lush vegetation began as did the jungle of Belize. By the time we reached Banana Bank, in the heart of the jungle, the sun had set. We were staying in the middle of the jungle on the property of one of the missionary’s friends. When we piled out of the van we were greeted by the buzzing of mosquitoes and the hollering of monkeys. The husband and wife that own Banana Bank purchased the 8,000 acres over 25 years ago. Since then they have built cabañas for lodging, a dining hall and villas. They also have hundreds of free range horses that run on the property. We sat around a huge oak table and had dinner together, listening to the owners tell us stories of Belize”back in the day.”
Saturday morning we woke up early, as always, with the rising of the sun. We wandered all around the property and explored the art studio of the owner’s wife. She paints these amazing oil paintings of the people and animals of Belize. We also tried to get the monkeys hanging in the trees to come to us, but instead they would just stick out their tongues and scratch their read ends. The nature of Banana Bank was absolutely fascinating. There were parrots and peacocks throughout the property and even a jaguar (he was in a caged in area.) It was neat to wander around and listen to the different birds and animals screeching and hollering. The trees were amazing as well- huge mahoganies that several of us couldn’t even reach around. Banana Bank sits right on the Belize River- a mucky and extremely fast flowing body of water. They have a little ferry boat attached to a line that will ferry you across the river to the opposite bank. It was quite a neat little operation as the ferry worker was bailing water from the boat the whole way across.
We had an awesome family style breakfast and then saddled up horses to go riding. A Belizean named Eddy came along as our guide as well as his six year old son Little Eddy. J Little Eddy could stand up on top of his horse while riding, and was absolutely precious. His English was perfect, and he loved talking about his horses. We rode all through the jungle- though mud holes, river beds and fern forests. It was a beautiful ride! After two and a half hours of riding I literally stumbled out of the saddle. My legs felt like jelly, and they are quite sore this morning.
We left Banana Bank in the afternoon and headed to Belize City to pick up some dentists that are coming to the clinic for the week. We are all so excited because when dentists come we all get out teeth cleaned! It’s like Christmas!
As much fun as it is to get away it is still wonderful to come back to our little house in Corozal. We didn’t get back last night until around 10pm, and Erica and I were both just glad to be home. Back to the familiar sounds of the neighborhood dogs and chicken, to the smells of the meat market behind out house and to the pile of school work that needs to be graded. It’s comfortable here.

2006-09-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Life

2006-09-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

My Girls of 1A

2006-09-21T14:17:00.001-07:00

Me and Roger

2006-09-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

After our march

2006-09-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

The Flag of Belize

2006-09-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Our Student Body

People watching the parade from their houstops

Dulce (one of my first form girls)

My Girls from First Form

Our Homeroom Banner

2006-09-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

Carlos- One of my first formers

Abby and Bessy- First Formers

My Trouble Makers :)

The Packed Streets During the Parade

Cornerstone Drummers

Belize at 25

2006-09-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Belizeans’ independence from Britain. It is incredible to see the energy that fills the town. They have been working to decorate the town since I arrived here, over a month ago. There are flags and banners hanging from every store front. Schools practice from the first day of classes working on their presentation and their marching skills. The people are proud- proud of their freedom and proud of their country.

Last night there was a parade, and the streets were filled with Belizeans celebrating. Erica and I walked around for quite a while, visiting the street side vendors and mingling with the locals. It is a neat feeling to feel apart of their celebration. I felt as proud of Belize as I do my own country. Then they had a firework show last night at midnight. Erica and I watched it from our front porch, as we live just a block or two away from where they were shooting them off. The little kids on our street were squealing at the launch of each firework…

This morning we were up early to gather at the civic center for marching. We have spent many an afternoon at school working on our marching skills. We learned the commands and how to stand at attention. It is not something taken lightly here at all. Each homeroom class at the high school was responsible for making their own banner to carry as well. My kids and I worked on our banner on Monday and painted a Toucan, which is the national bird, as well as “A Nation Alive, A People with Pride, Belize at 25,” which is the slogan this year for Independence Day. The kids were so excited about marching, even though it was over 100 degrees outside. They were all in uniform, neat and crisp. There are no hats allowed in the parade and no water bottles as well, so we were all left to the scorching heat. We marched for over 2 ½ hours through the town of Corozal and down by the bay. There were six different schools marching as well as the leaders of the town council and the military. The streets were lined with people cheering, screaming and waving flags. The students marched proudly holding their banner high. We even had some Cornerstone boys playing the drums. They were amazing considering they had only one day of practice.

We all survived the march and the heat- no one fainted! It really did make me proud to be here and proud to be apart of this country- in the small way that I am. It was encouraging to see the whole community pull together and celebrate this huge event in Belize history. They are truly a nation alive!

2006-09-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Normal day to day activity.... the grind. Waking up, working, eating, breathing. Except for me it is not the grind. It is instead, an adventure. Each and everyday is something new. The sun always rises a few seconds earlier than the previous day. The breeze always seems to blow a slightly different way into my bedroom. My uniform fits just a little bit differently and seems to be a bit more wrinkeled. My hair falls in a different way. The clouds make news patterns across the sky. The heat is just a bit different everyday. Something new is always going on in my students' lives. I teach something unique, and everytime my students react to it differently. I grade various essays- none of which are ever the same. I eat the same peanut butter sandwich, but it seems to taste a bit better each day. I am a different degree of tired everyday at the end of school. The sun sets a few seconds earlier each evening. The mosquitoes buzz slightly different each night. The lizard droppings are in different places inside the house. The shower sprays in a new direction each night. And every night I go to bed a bit happier and a bit more content than the night before.

2006-09-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

Horse Riding in the village

2006-09-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

My Girls

2006-09-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Me and the Roomie... Watching our students dance

2006-09-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Corozal Market

2006-09-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

Riding to Church

2006-09-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

Boats of the bay

2006-09-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

My new friend "James" (I gave him that name"

My Life

2006-08-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

This is my first post. Okay, well I guess that is obvious. Hopefully, this will be a way to keep people informed while I am in Belize for the next year. I will try my best to keep it updated and have pictures of life in Belize. So enjoy..