The Easter Bunny Found Me in Belize

HS Band interviews and documentary
Easter Sunday- Living Word, Estels, packing
*privileges

Getting ready for our trip inland was exciting and worth the wait. We made it through Easter weekend and kept ourselves busy until the very last minute before we left. Natalie, Jeanne, and I interviewed Derrick and the high school band for our video. They had practice at their high school and we listened to them laugh and goof off as we got our video. This is coming together in a surprisingly good way and there is a fundraiser being planned for him. Things are looking good for him!

A Belizean Easter is a sight to see! After a leisurely Easter breakfast at Estels, we ventured over to the Living Word church. This day was full of performances from the youth with dances and skits. Everyone was joyful and Easter eggs were passed out with verses and candy. After the service, there was a potluck lunch with homemade Belizean foods. Delicious! Seeing the differences between the Belizean Easter and American Easter was interesting and makes you think about the privileges that we have back home.

We experience power outages frequently for many different reasons. People cannot pay, people cut the lines for intentional looting, or the weather factor. Can you really imagine? During the middle of school there may be no power for a while because the government increases the taxes and somewhere along the line someone cannot afford it. The same goes for the water around here. Believe it or not, even though we’re on an island, all of Ambergris Caye was without running water for three or four days. Something about no payments and lack of filters. Can you really imagine this more so than the power? Businesses suffered and people suffered including our smell!

Overall I’ve learned that people make do with what they have and if they don’t have it they don’t need it. What a great way to live and so unstressful. The Belizeans have a thing or two they have taught all of us and I am forever grateful for it!

Mayan Adventure

Since Natalie, Jeanne, and I began our video documentary of Derrick we have found many new friends. Derrick has a high school band with his brother, Maverick, and two friends William and Lucio. They wanted to take us to an unexcavated Mayan ruin and as they always say "When in Belize..." So of course what do we do but rent bikes and go on our adventure. We pack our bags for the day and peddle several miles south on the island and then turn off into the jungle. All they kept saying was "go fast" so to us Americans that’s code for "What were about to do could be illegal." So what do we do but peddle fast! We have to put our bikes in trees so as not to be seen and we begin to trek through a mucky jungle. After I fell into the water I gave up on trying to stay somewhat clean and embraced to mud. We walked for half a mile and came up to a mound of dirt surrounded by trees and conch shells. This was it! There was broken pottery on the ground, stairs, walls, and wells. It was amazing to see all of this. The "guides" got us a little lost and after running from mosquitoes and eating almonds off the trees we made our way back. What better to end the day than going straight into the ocean to clean off with shoes on and everything!

Dancing in the Moonlight!

I am officially enjoying my Easter break this week. After hosting an “Easter Camp” at the library for the children in town, we are exhausted and relaxing. Every day we read to the children or with them, did arts and crafts, played games, and sang songs. On Wednesday, the last day of the camp, there was an Easter egg hunt in the library. It was so fun to watch all the children scurrying around to find the most candy and eggs. Children all around the world get this concept I guess.

We are also officially celebrities here in San Pedro. Today we walked into our usual grocery store and the man working told us we were in the newspaper. Granted I don’t know how much it takes to be in the local newspaper, but there we were on the last page! It was a story featuring the “teachers” hosting the camp at the library. Not only that, but we are known all around town now. People we know stop and offer us rides on their golf carts and we get good deals on things. Who knew teachers were appreciated so much!

Last night we went to eat dinner with Dr. Paul, the consul to Belize. He and his family were down here on their spring break and invited us to their place for dinner and dancing. You can only get there by water taxi so we got on and saw the most beautiful sunset as we rode the seventeen miles north. Dr. Paul and his family were waiting for us at the dock when we arrived. We ate the most delicious American meal that I have longed for- hamburgers, French fries, and ice cream. It was splendid! I think all of our plates were clean after that- rice and beans doesn’t give you the same satisfaction as a hamburger! After dinner we danced with everyone in the outdoor pavilion with the full moon reflecting on the Caribbean Sea behind us. Truly a beautiful sight!