Part of the Experience

Last Saturday, we had an excellent adventure.  It was one that actually brought me right back to Italy and a P-day spent in Campania. Well, last Saturday, we took a taxi out to Bullet Tree and met up with our friend, Rosi.  Rosi invited us to go to the river to go swimming with her.  We got to her house and she asked us if we wanted to go for a walk to the ranch.  It was super fun walking up to the ranch.  We walked over to the ranch.  They chopped up some coconuts and gave them to us to drink the water inside.  We then walked on and they pulled out two roosters so that they could fight.  That was actually a bit funny--one of them was trying to tire the other by running around in crazy circles.  We didn't let them fight too much.  We got to try strange fruits.  There was one that was super hard and difficult to eat.  It had a shell, and once I FINALLY broke through, it was just sticky and a little bland.

As we were leaving, they pointed out another fruit that none of us had even heard of.  Then, Rosi's brother climbed right up the tree and threw a bunch down at us.  We had to wait a few days, but they taste like sweet potatoes.  We then headed back to Rosi's, and her mom had made all of us BBQ, tortillas, and cole slaw.  They also made some fruit juice that I was a bit nervous about.  It had homemade ice cubes in it. 

We then went walking down to the river to jump in.  I was surprised by how strong the current was.  We jumped out, went upstream a little and could swim without any problems.  We found a big log and jumped in.  We may have pushed Rosi in.  I also should have been more concerned when Rosi said that her sister couldn't swim in the river because she gets sick when she swims for a long time.

  It could have been the river, or the ice cubes.  It only lasted a day, and then I felt really bad for Erin who spent most of last week home with food poisoning. 

Still, it was a lot of fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with Rosi and her family.  I felt honored to be there, and it was worth getting sick. 

"It's all part of the experience!"

Mary Open Doors Dinner

Oh, the benefit.  So, last Monday Night, the girls got news that their flight had been cancelled.  This was sad for Carly, but exciting for Heather.  Heather got to stay an extra week so that she could go to the Mary Open Door benefit dinner that she organized. It worked out incredibly well!  I felt like it was a tender mercy. 

The beginning of the night... before we were super exhausted.

Friday was a bit stressful as we found out that Anna Silva wasn't going to be able to attend the dinner, but Carmen came totally prepared!  We were trying to pull all the last minute details together and it was very difficult.  I am happy to announce that Sarah "the smoozer' and Heather "the actuary"  pulled it off wonderfully!  The kitchen staff at the hotel was at max capacity.  We had a lot of fun getting ready and I had to laugh when one of the newer participants came in and said, "Wow, I'm proud of you girls.  You all look nice."  Sarah decided against the white sequin dress and opted instead for a Moomoo with a belt (and rocked it!).  We had some of the girls sing and play the ukulele.  They sounded wonderful! And it was the perfect touch to the night.  The Ka'ana resort was absolutely beautiful. 

First Course... lamb ravioli

We did, however, learn a few lessons:

(1)  Have a longer cocktail hour that starts earlier. 

(2) Make the presentation during the dinner.

(3) Take a nap. 

Despite the new lessons to be learned, we had a lot of fun.  They ran out of room in the dining room, so four of us ate at the bar and became best friends with the bar tender.  We asked him what type of drinks he could make for us with our favorite flavors without alcohol.  I wanted something with coconut.  It was wonderful.  Sarah's was totally different and had some strange fruit juice from Jamaica.  He liked the challenge, and said that it was ironic that the girls who don't drink were the ones sitting at the bar. 

At the end of the night, we were absolutely exhausted.  I had gotten up at 6:00 to do Insanity, read, and do my laundry.  It was a glorious morning, but I was tired at 8:30, and we didn't get home until 11. To make it more fun, our trusted Taxi decided to go to bed and turn off his phone.  The resort was nice enough to give us a ride back in the shuttle.  We were calculating the cost of staying at the resort, and it would have been over $300 split between 8 of us.  Not worth it if we are all sharing a room, and most of us are on the ground.  We were so so so so so grateful for the ride back to our house. 

We tried getting a picture of the view from one of the tables. 

This morning, Heather's flight was canceled...again.  We decided that it's because she's not done actualizing.  We still have to finish up the finances of the trip.

On a side note, I added a bid from my dad on a 3 night stay at a resort in San Padro, and he won!  I also got to talk to the Ka'ana resort about what they do with guests who are allergic.  She said that they get it all the time and could totally accommodate the allergies.  I am now excited to take my mom there!  I think that she'll love it. 

Tikal

Thursday morning, I had to wake up at the crack of dawn because we had a tour in Tikal.  We met the tour guide the speed bum outside my house.  I was so excited, and I couldn't sleep.  The next morning was so fun.  We were driven to the boarder, and then we all went through customs and walked across the boarder to get into Guatemala.  We then got into another van and kept on driving.  Someone commented on how the road was so much nicer in Guatemala, but then less than five minutes later, the road turned to dirt.  The road came and left for the next hour and a half.  A herd of cows created a bit of traffic at one point in the drive. 

We then continued on the drive all the way to Tikal.  When we got in the park, the were signs warning of wild animals00one of the wild animals was a wild turkey.  I thought that it was funny.  Just after parking, there was a giant replica of the city.  They explained that most of the city has been over run, and that we only have evidence of the downtown area.  The city was established about 600 BC, and it was fascinating to see how it operated.  There were five temples.

One thing that the tour guide explained was that the Maya Calendar that ends in December 2012 states that this year will be a rebirth, or that there will be a great change in society in this year.  It was really fascinating how he explained his culture.  He told us that he is from the jungle and also explained the precautions that he has to take in the jungle to avoid snakes, and certain death.  He showed us various plants that are edible.  We saw lots and lots of monkeys.  He told us a story of a jaguar that came in and ate a wild bore in front of a group that he was guiding. I secretly prayed that it would happen again. 

I'm not sure I can adequately describe the city. So, pictures will have to do on this one.  I thoroughly enjoyed walking around in the jungle.  It was beautiful to see nature growing around the ancient temples to hide the stones.  I couldn't believe how earth could hide a huge temple so easily.  There were even a few temples that they left covered--it looked just like another hill.  There are theories that every hill is hiding some sort of archeological site in Guatemala.  I now look at the hills of San Ignacio a little differently, especially Cahal Pech, which is an archeological reserve for the area. 

What was missing?  The journey.  It was too simple to just get into a van and go.  Everything was too easy.  Nothing like the quest to find the beautiful beach.  Don't get me wrong, the destination was amazing, but the journey was too simple.  I know that it is not safe for me to travel across Guatemala by bus, but I wish that I could have.  I wish, I wish, I wish.    I probably would have been OK in a small group, but traveling with a bunch of Gringas… not a chance.

New Projects!

Belize Women's Network

 On Friday, I got up early (AGAIN!) and went to Belize City to meet with the Belize Woman's Network (BWN).  BWN is a nonprofit that works with local nonprofits that assist women.  We were hoping to work with them on the Mary Open Doors project, but we took a little different approach.  We went in there and talked to her about what we offer as an organization and told her about what some of our participants do while they are here in Belize.  She was actually very interested and asked for some help  with putting together a budiness plan as an organization to become sustainable. I feel like this would be a great organization--especially since they want the help and want to take the time to create a plan. They also gave us some other GREAT contacts for other projects that we are thinking about.  I am excited about this project! 

Children's Home

Last Wednesday, I went to the Belize Woman's Club.  I am thinking about getting a membership.  It was a great opportunity to learn about projects in the area and I liked how they were organized.  We were able to take a few minutes and talk about the Mary Open Doors project, and they were very helpful.  They did however, point out that they are invited to dozens evens just like this one.  I wish I would have replied with something about this is an organization that falls directly in their mission--helping the women of Belize!  We did have a few women contact us about purchasing tickets. 



 Proof that I live in a sorority.

While we were there, there was a presentation from a local home for abused girls.  They have very nice facilities, and the video pointed out that they do not need anything built--they need money to pay the salaries of the women who run the house.  I was able to talk to the man who gave the presentation after the meeting, and it was really helpful.  They were not even there to ask for money, they went to the Woman's Club meeting to as for support.  Many of the girls come from very broken homes, and they are living in a group home.  They asked for the women to come in and become a 'big sister' of sorts for the young girls--to teach them how to pain their fingernails, to pose for pictures, the proper way to sit, etc.  They also asked for those who can sit down and read to the children.  I couldn't help but think, "I live in a sorority.  They would love this!"  So, I talked to him about it and set up a meeting with the House Mom.

Other Tidbits from the week

Other interesting happenings

1. I fell asleep on the bus on Wednesday.  I woke up to someone trying to steal the headband off of my head.  I didn't realize how funny that was until later. 

2.  San Ignacio is building a new area just for the tourist shops.  It is going to be very nice.  I was thinking about it, and I realized that they are spending a lot more money on the tourist area than they have on building schools.  I was trying to think through both sides of the argument, and decided that they could be doing so because the tourist area would bring in revenue, which would then attract more tourists--many of which come down here to build schools.  It was just a thought from the week.

3.   On Saturday Night all the cab drivers got together for a demonstration through the city.  The all painted their cars so that they said, "Stop the Crime in Belize" and they drove through town honking their horns.  They created a huge traffic jam! 

4.  Today, we went to the branch out at Bullet Tree. Only Sarah and I went and it was a lot of fun.  The McGlaughlins (a senior missionary couple here) picked us up and took us with them.  I enjoyed it because we were able to talk to a lot of people and I felt like we were finally able to make friends with some of the locals.  One of the girls invited me to the wedding of her brother.  I, of course, said yes.  I realized that it is the weekend that my parents will be in town.  I asked if my parents could go to, and she said yes, and invited them to stay with her.  She was so sweet, and I really appreciated meeting her.  Her name was Rosie.  I also met another girl named Natalia, and a young man who is preparing for his own mission.  They were all so nice, and invited us out to go swimming with them next week end in the river out there. 

5.  Jezzele doesn't know it yet, but we took all the marshmallows out of the Marshmallow Matties.  I have tried informing everyone else that the marshmallows are in a bag under the sink, but Jezzele has yet to figure it out.  It is killing me a bit that she hasn't noticed.  I felt so clever.