june celebrations

as the school year sputtered to an end and promises of summer freedom began to peek around the corner, the air was filled with excitement and party fever. high school classes wrapped up first and before we knew it, coy and i were invited to several graduation parties around the village. in the curious custom of northern belizeans, we arrived, ate delicious food, sat alone listening to loud music, and eventually departed after giving thanks and congratulations where due. (case studies are underway regarding this interesting party trend…more information to come.)
on june 18th, the guinea grass pentecostal school celebrated the graduation of our standard 6 class. the church was decked out with balloons and garland, caps and gowns were donned, and everyone packed in to congratulate the hardworking class of 2009. our neighbor, carlos, was honored as the valedictorian, with the 4th highest score in the nation on his PSE (primary school exam). two certificates of appreciation were awarded this year by the school manager/pastor of the church. the first went to mr. carrillo, the dedicated standard 6 teacher whose determination and encouragement motivated his students to put forth their best effort up until the end. the second award went to…drum roll, please…me and coy! it was really thoughtful of them to recognize us in front of the whole school community and acknowledge us for our efforts. it really means a lot to us. needless to say, our award is proudly displayed on the dining room wall for all to admire.

as if one school celebration weren’t enough, the principal decided that an end-of-the-year thanksgiving celebration would be a pleasant way to bring the year to a close. each class contributed by performing a song, sketch, or poem. the teachers even got together and sang a song! standard 3 had everyone on the edge of their seats when 2 students came up to the stage and performed a rap...it was pretty amazing. they might have stolen the show if it hadn’t been for infant 1’s stunning reenactment of “daniel’s brave friends.” sorry, standard 3, but cuteness wins nearly every time.

after spending an entire week packing and counting every text book in the school, i felt i deserved a break. coy and i took off for placencia to celebrate the annual lobster festival. in case a sandy beach and warm, gentle waters of the caribbean weren’t enough to bring on a state of bliss, nearly every restaurant and shop in town set up a tent on the beach to flaunt their goods. there was lobster EVERYTHING—lobster curry, lobster fajitas, lobster pies, lobster tail with butter, lobster sandwiches, and much more. and of course, there was that delicious sausage on a stick. it had nothing to do with lobster, but it sure was delicious.
friday night, the peace corps football (soccer) team played against the placencia football club at the main field under the lights. it brought on a decent crowd. our gibnuts put up a great fight, with coy as goalie for the first time ever! he was a total rockstar in his first real game. in the end, placencia won 4 to 2, but no one went home disappointed. after the game, coy was awarded the honored game jersey, which he wears with pride around the village.
the peace corps ladies played afterward and unfortunately endured a heavy blow early on, when goalie/peace corps volunteer extraordinaire miss mica was badly injured. although she didn’t know it at the time, she had actually broken her ankle in two places. ouch! sorry, miss mica. i wasn’t able to focus much on the game after that.
anyway, a weekend laying on the beach and eating lobster was just what i needed. many other peace corps volunteers attended the festivities, so it was also a nice chance to catch up with everyone while eating delicious food and shielding ourselves from the punishing sun. (seriously, we laid under coconut trees.)

and so, ladies and gentlemen, that was june. somewhere in there we also attended a three day intensive spanish training and hosted a birthday dinner for our friend and counterpart, arnaldo. what can i say? it’s all part of being a peace corps allstar.