giving thanks

happy belated thanksgiving. hope everyone pleasantly gorged themselves on their favorite turkey day foods last week. we had the opportunity to celebrate as a peace corps family last friday, and it turned out to be quite a feast. orange walk district was responsible for the potatoes. we whipped up delicious mashed potatoes, delightfully cheesy au gratin potatoes, and marshmallow topped sweet potatoes. needless to say, it was a proper feast. on the work front, things have been winding down as students prepare for end of term exams and the upcoming winter vacation. coy and i have been making plans to collaborate with other volunteers and begin researching and planning for future teacher trainings and idea sharing sessions. today was the pentecostal school’s annual “harvest day” celebration, where students brought offerings of fruits, vegetables, and deserts and shared in thanks and blessings with parents and teachers. after each class presented their offerings the food was sold at a reduced rate to raise funds for the school. we had quite the turnout and everyone was in good spirits.

students gathered at the back of the church, waiting for their class to present offerings.

each student was asked to bring a donation of fruits and vegetables in a basket or decorated box. they brought quite the variety...papaya, oranges, potatoes, bananas, chile peppers...you name it!

after each class recited their bible memory verse,
they placed their "harvest" in the collection area.

quite the harvest, eh?

on the homefront, we paid a visit to our soon-to-be home this afternoon. alberto is working hard alongside friends and family to complete the plumbing and electrical wiring. painting is underway as well, and the house is really looking wonderful.

the house is surrounded on two sides by a cow pasture. the owner's father in law is an avid farmer, and has a herd of brahma (sp?) bulls. this particular bull has received special status in the fenced in area closest to the house, due to continued aggressive attacks from the other bulls. we think he'll make a nice neighbor, and have decided to call him oliver.

for the past month and a half, we have been living with a family here in the village. they have been taking wonderful care of us, feeding us well and teaching us about belize and mestizo culture. we even had the opportunity to experience a wedding a few weeks ago. it’s hard to believe that our time with the lopez family is coming to an end, but we look forward to inviting them into our own home and continuing our friendship for the remainder of our time here.

enio and seidy lopez with their daughter, sidney.

she's pretty cute, no?

the past few months have seemed like a whirlwind. before coming here, i read that belize was a laid back central american country with more of an island culture. i read that belize was “good for your blood pressure.” apparently the writer didn’t work for peace corps ☺
in all the mayhem of training and moving from family to family and coordinating meetings and traveling and house hunting and trying to remember names and faces and learning spanish, somehow i seem to have forgotten to breathe. i had to remind myself that one of the reasons i came here was to get away from that feeling. it’s easy to get caught up in everything we think is so important.
so i’ve decided to make a resolution to slow down and enjoy more. i live in belize, for pete’s sake. in spite of the challenges i face, it is still a tropical wonderland.
coy and i have been spending more time outside: on the front porch, on the bleachers at the soccer field, walking around, biking around, whatever. yesterday we saw our first wild parrots since we moved out of cristo rey. they were only two, flying oh so awkwardly and squawking up a storm, but it was wonderful. i am still smiling about it. this afternoon i picked oranges from the trees out back. i am still learning how to select the ripe oranges, as the oranges here are green rather than the bright orange we are used to back home. there’s something even more delicious about an orange you’ve just plucked from a tree. maybe it’s the taste of gratitude. thankfulness. knowing that you are blessed.