"Kevina is it true what the Mayas said about 2012?"

Random Tid Bits of Life

Our world map is nearly complete! The kids wanted to label the countries, so they each got a section and had to use the map to find the countries then label...very educational for me too!

The $400 wedding cake, the most expensive wedding cake seen in Silver Creek. This is right after the ceremony where everyone waits to congratulate the couple and give their gift. You then go outside and sit on a bench and someone will bring you food and a drink. You leave after that, or stay sitting if you want a beer/ rum.

The 10 yard walk from the church to her in-laws house.

Brides parents from the neighboring village of San Miguel.

Repairing the freshly cleaned mosquito net before my Father-in-Law comes.

For computer classes!

I am a huge dork/ love shop paper.

The inside of the library before.

Outside world map...before.

Front entrance before.

We had help painting from many peace corps volunteers, Greg's Dad, Luis (the teacher who lives in the village), Christina (the future librarian) and 4 high school students. It was kind of surreal listening to Billy Joel while painting with high schoolers in the middle of a jungle.

Front AFTER!

School side AFTER!

Inside facing side door. Future children's section.

Facing main door, by the window will be Christina's librarian desk/area!

The view from Christina's desk...the adult section.

View from front door.

My summer workshop...Reading and Writing Launch!

Here teachers are watching videos of themselves doing read alouds last year...we discussed what we liked from each and teachers jotted down ideas to use with their own read alouds.

Looking through books and choosing 'I remember' books for the first two week's read alouds.

We then planned a mini lesson for reading, 'good readers ask questions' and a writing mini lesson on good writers get ideas from what they know, 'I remember' prompt

A review from my workshop... I think this was my best one so far if I do say so myself...and the longest (3 hours)

My injury from the 2 ft hole in our bridge. This happened the same day as a wedding and Christening party... everyone was talking about it and after I went home Greg said there was much debating about my fall and what should be done about the bridge. Greg said they were upset that I got hurt. The chairman came over while I was cleaning it and demanded, "let me see your leg." He gasped and said he was sorry that happened and two days latter we had ourselves a brand new bridge!

Greg with Steve/ Seaford...Our favorite baby!

Lynette and I working on posters for our village football marathon.

Our first baptist wedding. The girl only spoke Spanish and the groom ketchi (he knows some Spanish) the translations of the ceremony were quite funny.

The rainstorm INSIDE our house.

Lets talk about rain:

Every evening x-men like clouds (huge flickering masses of dark billowy clouds) roll in from the East to descend upon and scare the daylights out of the villagers. Thunder is not like in the states. There is none of this 1-Mississippi, 2 Mississippi nonsense...you can't even say 'one' before the crack rips the air. The lightning and thunder are continuous and the thunder sounds like it is ripping space/time itself. I have literally JUMPED straight up in bed TWICE and onto Greg from fear. Was I ever scared of thunder back in the states you ask? No, but then again I had more than a net and leaves over my head. Villagers often ask if we have thunder in the states. I try to explain that yes, but we don't hear it as well because all our houses are sealed up, impossible image to portray to my friends here. So I don't know if it's the sound rebounding back from the Maya mountains, or that the storms are worse, or if we're just closer to the heavens but storms in Belize are unlike anything I've experienced anywhere else...here's to another night 'restful' sleep where we will undoubtedly wake up to a beautiful dawn with chicks chirping like it was all a bad dream.

Me and the women making Poch (ground boiled corn packed onto a waha leaf, folded up and boiled.

Frying pig skin...chi chiron what we all eat the day before the wedding/party when we help bake. (man's work)

Man's work.

Right downstream from where I wash...yummy.

Shaving the pig with hot water and knives...it has already been slaughtered.

So there are some glimses into our lives...Greg is playing a football marathon on Friday with the Silver Creek team so look forward to that! Final story:

Mr. Choc, who owns the shop across from the world map, said he really likes to see how we painted the world map, he'd never seen a world map before. He also said, "Mr. Greg I have a lee piece of land you could have and build a thatch and a garden on. That way you could stay as long as you and kevina want."

Seriously considering it.

Tidbits of Life

The Newbies:
On March 25th, 38 fresh, clean and smiling new volunteers walked off the plane stepping on Belizean soil for the first time. We have been anticipating the new group, swapping blog posts, and emails from our pen pals within the new group. As you may or may not know our group is all still here (all but one who left during training). Still 40 strong. We have been brainstorming over the last couple months on how to make sure this new group is like us. We initiated strategy 'Insure New Group's Awesomeness' as soon as they got off the plane. More than 38 of our group and the second years came out to greet them at the airport. We all crowded onto the waving platform and with each plane some whistles and cheers went out as we glanced to Jamie (the knower of all and master training leader) who would shake her head until at last their plane landed. Even though we all knew they couldn't hear we were all in a frenzy screaming and reshuffling to get the best seats to yell for the newbies (several of us, including myself found standing on the table to be the best seat). Some of the new kids even took pictures of us cheering. We then literally ran downstairs to get the best seat to greet them out of customs. You could taste the anticipation. Each one walked off, with civilians sprinkled between, to a cheering crowd...so loud customs came out to tell us to 'take it easy.' We had a chatty bus ride, delightful dinner, then until 10:45 we all mingled on the third floor of the garden. This new group is great, everyone talked to everyone and we even got some new instruments to add to our peace corps band, another ukulele, trumpet, and guitar. Welcome class of 2010!!!!!!!

On the bus to meet them!!

We brought our A-game. This was the 19th haircut I've given...and my favorite.



Waving deck.

Their plane to destiny

Some of the welcoming committee

A few of the new guys!My other pictures didn't turn out...Belizean sun was too bright :(

From the Newbies to the North
Leaving the trainees to, well, training we were off to visit the north. We've never been past Belize (Belize City) and since we had a few days to kill until our flight (and didn't want to spend another 80 some dollars in bus fair to go down south again) we finally went to visit Kev and Coy & Melissa.

We had such a relaxing mini vacation with the undesputed best hosts in Belize... Coy and Melissa. Kevin was right when he said, "Visiting Coy and Melissa is like an all you can eat buffet for your soul." We had Coy's amazing vegetarian chili with huge cokes. They practically give cokes away up north. 1.25 for half a liter bottle, 62 USD cents for 500ml! We chatted about poverty, shared funny stories and learned how to greet people in Zambia (Melissa did the peace corps in Zambia before she married Coy). In the morning we did self directed yoga in their 'La casita' or the 'small house' like a screened in porch. We helped out with their chess tournament, ate some BBQ then it was off to Kevin's.

Kevin lives in the amazing village where there were vehicles in every driveway. Three returned peace corps volunteers married sisters and all live in his village. I also saw a huge trampoline WITH the mesh saftey walls! We got to meet his friend Clarie, who was awesome and might visit us down south! Before we got on the bus to hang out with Adam for our last night Christen met us at the best seviche place for a huge $10 plate.

The familiar orange trucks of the south are replaced with sugar trucks up north.

Fixing Clarie's computer

Kev's palace


Coy and Melissa's house

The chess competitors

I get handed this picture...but I don't know any of these people.

Baw ha ha ha!

Greg getting a run for his money


The busses up north have inspirational quotes above every seat, and sometimes flashy lights that go to the music.

Second Wedding in Silver Creek
I was ready for this wedding. The parents asked me if I was going to help at Brendon's birthday BBQ. The day before I made the decision to wear my freshly made ketchi dress. Would I undoubtedly feel awkward, huge, and make sure all eyes are watching me all day...yes. But the potential for integration was too great to let my avoidance of awkwardness prevent me from wearing it. Hense the greatest day in my village began.

I woke up early with the rest of the ladies in the house. Cleaned the house and the latrine and was off to the creek to do my wash by 8:00. It was already warm and I knew it would be a hot day. The rocks and creek were covered in tiny lavender flowers that continued to fall on my wash and in my blue soap powder which was a lovely contrast. About halfway through my wash a dog runs down the path and eagerly laps up water. He meanders around, snaps at a bug, sniffs around then frolics back up, tail wagging off to his busy doggy life.

When Mrs. Cecilia and Lynette come down Cecilia is frightened by a 'top' which is a crab. She stumbled upon it while she was looking for the broom they keep at the creek to sweep the leaves and flowers so the creek, 'looks nice.' Yup they sweep the creek to make sure it looks nice, you know for the ducks. I love my village. Nim li top. The big crab.

Back at the house I sit in my dress, practice feeling normal, and text Greg (who's at a baptism in PG). After about 45 minutes Margarita flits in (I told them that I was going to wear my dress) and her eyes light up when she sees I'm wearing it. Saturnina hangs up her clothes and then sticks her head in my house and says it's time to go. She hangs Seaford from her forehead and Sheldon runs around us as we walk to the house. As we're walking up lots of the students come up saying that they like my dress. I get a little nervous as we walk up to the door of the cocine. We walk in and all the ladies (30-40) freeze and look up at me. I ask in Ketchi, "Beautiful dress?" the ladies giggle, or nod in approval, some saying, "Mas chabil!" Very beautiful. I go right to work patting corn torillas, much to some ladies surprise. All the preschool and standard V&VI mothers know me kinda well now so I get some small talk with them. I hear a lady talking to my host mom Ms. Cecilia in Ketchi and I hear xkeveen (my village name). In ketchi she says I can bake. My host mom tells her that, "oh yes she can bake, wash at the river, and speak ketchi." I smile as I fix the edges of my tortilla. The general consensus in the village is that I speak ketchi now. I don't. But, I'm trying. So after making tortillas for 2 hours they began passing out bowls of beans. Everyone just sat their bowls by them on the floor or table until all the ladies got some. Then we silently broke for lunch, each grabbing a few of our fresh tortillas. After lunch we started forming circles around the big bins of waha leaves the ladies tore all morning. Soon a few men bring in HUGE tin pales (I could easily bathe in one) full of fresh masa. I sit on the floor and we start to make the poch. I did this last time so I was an old pro. I chatted with the ladies in Ketchi about how I do not have kids and we did this until there were 3, four foot diameter, bins filled with poch. I watched the hard process of preparing pigs feet (the men were busy this whole time slaughtering and butchering 9 pigs for the wedding). I will not go into detail here...but it did involve popping off the toe nails with a knife. Old ladies came and sat next to me throughout the day, one told me, "it is good that you wear the dress." Everyone asked where I got it and a preschool mom said that she just thought I was another maya lady until she saw my face later! By 4:30 I was exhausted and happy and made my way home with a quick stop at the shop to show Christina my new dress.

Yup that's me in the big orange dress!

Making poch with the ladies.

Ground corn, formed into a mound on a waha leaf, then folded into a neat rectangle.


Eating caldo at the wedding

Our Standard III & IV kids sure do have a green thumb!

Cahoon leaves make perfect shade tents! Machettes...Can't garden without em!




Running of the Maya
Every year they do the 'Running of the Maya' from our neighborhood ruins Lubaantun through San Miguel and Silver Creek.







Reading the pamphlets about Maya Day they threw out for us

Our house after redecorating for Kaylyssa.

This chicken actually tried to fight me when I put him out.