It's been a while...

My apologies for the wait but it is crazy how fast time goes by.

So Mar had left and I got right back into the swing of things at work. I went to my first brothel/bar and it was quite the experience. The first one we went to only had one girl that day so the YAM member had a one on one talk with her. We went over to a bar/brothel across the street where there were about 8 girls that day. It is shocking to see these girls because not only do they look so young but they are such pretty girls (I guess they can use that to their advantage). It is hard to sit in there and not act like I was disgusted to be touching any part of that building...

This month has been crazy with the pap smear promotion taking place. I have been non stop working in the lab entering names, information, and results. Some days it feels like I am entering up to 200 names!

So before and while Marielle was visiting I did not want to mention this HUGE spider I had seen in the house a few weeks prior to her visit. I woke up at 3 a.m. one morning to go to the bathroom and completely regretted waking up for there in the middle of the hallway was this palm sized, thick legged spider (I never felt my heart beat that far out of my chest). My only reaction was to freeze at first but then I tried to kill it with this book. I threw the book on top of it but the weight of the book was nothing compared to this spider and it scurried away. It disappeared into the linen closet. Oh man, it was hard for me to sleep that night. I quickly shoved a towel under my door which has not left since that fateful night! Needless to say, just before Mar's visit I spotted the man eating spider in the bedroom next to mine. I ran to get Daniel to kill it so of course the whole family came down to check it out....apparently I was overreacting according to them but this spider was like nothing I had ever seen outside of a zoo (normal to them, terrifying to me!). Daniel lost it in the room so my fears were not put to rest....

Well his cousin was staying with us (in that room) before she left to go back to the U.S. The morning of her departure she yelled to Daniel to come kill a spider. She had caught the spider and wanted him to kill it!! Yayyyy!! I was oblivious as to what was going on because I was waiting in the car to leave for work when Daniel came out and told me that he had killed the spider but that Terry told him to leave it in the toilet for my arrival home....SO FUNNY TER!

;-}

That evening after work, the women of the BFLA had a volleyball tournament to partake in to celebrate Women's month. I spent the afternoon ironing on decals onto t-shirts for the team. Team name: Sex Busters! We won the first two games and I scored the winning two points in the first game! We thought we dominated at that point but then we had to sit out until our third game....we cooled off to much and ended up losing to "the pink transformers." It was so much fun though and we got certificates for participation. It felt great to bond with all these Belizean women while making a fool of myself ; )

That Friday, Ana and I instructed a women's session for young girls ages 14-17. Ana gave presentations while I helped with passing out papers and setting up the activities. We had about 36 girls and things started off slow but eventually the girls got really into it. It was nice to be on the other side of an event like this and really pay attention to what the girls were saying/asking and how they reacted to different things.

After the session, I went to Moon Clusters (hey, I have to get my fill before Easter). Raf was there and the place was packed with school kids. I ordered a supreme choli (oreo and what not) and went on my way home. Mmmmm it was delicious! : ) When I got home, I got hooked on the show: Dr. G. Medical Examiner. I could not imagine dissecting human bodies and then having to tell their loved ones what happened to them.....but somebody has to do it. I have a lot of respect for someone like her because at the end of the day, she goes home and spends time with her family just like many other people.

On Sunday we took Daniel and Terry's boat, "Sponge Fab," out to Goff's Caye with the whole Fabro family. It seemed as though we were leaving the dark clouds back with Belize City. As soon as we arrived, I got right into the water and pretty much remained there all day (coming out to get food or my camera). Goff's Caye is just a beautiful place...nature at its best. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to visit there twice!

I keep forgetting to mention how many times I get asked how old I am and how often people have a hard time believing I am 22. It's so funny because I honestly get asked at least once

a day if not more!! I tell everyone it's the lotion I use ; )

For a while it seemed as though we were in the eye of the storm and just as we were leaving the clouds started rolling in. We headed straight for them too!! It was a wet and wild ride home but we made it safely! The boat that left after us got lost and ended up South!! They had to have the coast guard come get them! When we got home the power was out and went on and off for the remainder of the evening. It was the first real rainy day since I've been in Belize and I co

uldn't complain because we had a beautiful day out on the island!! : )

Monday did not start off so well as I received bad news from home that put me in a damp mood for the remainder of the day...just as I thought the homesickness was going away it crept right back up on me.

I woke up Tuesday feeling a little bit better but was still sad that I could not be home to give my support. They had cut up fresh fruit at work so I enjoyed some pineapple and orang

es. Raf brought me a choli in the afternoon.... which I always enjoy ; )

I woke up really early Wednesday morning to do some race for the kids' school. Talk about a good wake up!! I ran ~2 miles along the sea and back to the kids school. I felt good ab

out myself passing a bunch of kids and some parents who looked in shape. Little did I know I was in for a lot of exercise that day.... we got home and both cars were dead so I had to walk most of the way to work. It didn't bother me but boy did I regret it later when my muscles were bothered.

I realized several more things that I am grateful for....the fact that I used to get very nice Easter baskets and having a washer & dryer at home. The reason I mention these is because I was helping Arthur send out letters to principles at different schools for an Easter egg hunt sponsored by YAM. Two kids from each school would be allowed to attend. I wondered how they pick which two kids could come. Ana proceeded to tell me that the principles of the schools would pick two kids that would probably not receive anything for Easter....ouch. I was reminded of what I have always taken for granted...not only a whole Easter basket but just a simple Easter egg filled with candy or what have you.

The reason I mention how grateful I am for a washer & dryer is that this shack of a house I walk past every morning on my way to work has lots of garbage and broken objects in the front yard. One of those objects is a refrigerator tipped on its side. Well on this morning, a woman was outside with two buckets and a bag of soap....washing clothes. It reminded me of the o

ld days before washers and dryers existed but this is not the old days and they do exist yet this is

all some people have to resort to to get clean clothes.....

My eyes get opened more and more each day here............

Being the last Friday before Good Friday and Easter, Ana and I ordered fish for lunch. Now to be quite honest with you the place we ordered from was really sketchy and I wasn't quite sure I could eat anything from it. I mean this place was literally a shack with 'a hole in the wall' (which Ana and I refer to as the name of the place). When we got back to work with our food from this hole in the wall, I was astonished to see how delicious this food appeared. Not only ap

peared but tasted!! It was fabulous to be exact!! They had such a nice presentation, so m

uch food and it was delicious! It really goes to show don't judge a book by its cover!

Man has it been hot lately....woke up sweating Saturday morning! I hung my whites out on the line (which is not only energy efficient but my whites were whiter and smelled absolutely amazing after!). I showered and met up with Ana, her husband and daughter where we walked to the Women's festival at Constitution park. They had pedicures for $10 (5 US) and that saved me from having to paint my toes later (the girl did a really nice job too!). I bought this handmade shirt from this woman who had some beautiful pieces. I think I was her fir

st sale of the day because her daughter was so excited to show her mom the money! That made me feel really good : ) I bought a couple bags, some handmade earrings and this really cool belt made out of the part of the can that you pop it open with! Each person I bought from seemed so excited to make some money which made me feel great because I was helping them out along with getting some cool new stuff!

It was a nice afternoon to go to D'Ceviche Hut with Terry, Marts, and their friend Jody. I

ordered a shrimp cocktail and a chilata (lime juice and salt that you mix with the beer of your choice). Everything was delicious (as always!) and it was nice bonding time with the girls : )

That night Raf had a party to celebrate his birthday from earlier in the week! It was so much fun and a received a golden conch for my initiation into the crew (I had to speak dirty Creole lines in order to be accepted). Everyone got a kick out of it and I met some fantastic people! Raf's family is so sweet and his mom (visiting from Chicago) was just so catering to me! She gave me her contact info and told me to come visit her in Chicago! The party was so much

fun, we drank and danced all night long! It was worth the 20+ mosquito bites I received....

Just another relaxing Sunday here in Belize. I had spent the night at Raf's and spent the morning with his kids and wife. They are such a beautiful family. The kids seemed to really like me and Raf's wife, Delmi, is just the kindest person. She made us breakfast and we chatted for a while before I went home. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and

keeping cool.....

I have met some amazing people here in Belize along with discovering some amazing things about people. I have taken too much for granted in life and being here has opened my eyes to many new things! I wish more people had the opportunity to see what I have seen here and let it change them for the better also....

<3

an unBELIZEable week with an unBELIZEable friend!

Woo sorry this is so late! I've been having too much fun!!

As you know, the week started off great by going to Goff's Caye! We had Monday off which worked out perfect to rest up from the previous day of fun! Also good because the excitement of Marielle's upcoming visit would have got the best of me at work : )

It turned out that I could not sleep very much that night!! Too excited for what was to come! I arrived at work and my supervisor had just come back from the 'Concasida' (which was an AIDS event in Costa Rica). She said that it was quite the experience. I had ADD all morning and I think everyone was getting frustrated with my pacing through the building : ) I made a promise to Ms. Bulwer that I would be her slave when I got back if she would agree to let me have the rest of the week off.....and of course she did because she's amazing!!

Mar arrived right on time and Ms. Bulwer had me hide behind a car while she greeted Marielle. I popped out and we both started screaming! It was just so exciting that she was here and I still could not believe it! I brought Mar into my work and introduced her to everyone while giving her a tour of the building. Everyone was so happy to meet her because that meant that I had finally stopped pacing ; ) We had to wait till Terry got to work to grab the house keys so in the mean time I brought Mar to try the horchata drink (rice drink). She loved it!! I was so happy because it was really hot when she arrived which allowed her to feel the real Belize how I did when I arrived. She was also excited to be wearing flip flops and shorts : )

I couldn't believe how much Mar had packed when I told her she wouldn't need pretty much anything! Turned out she wore almost all the same things all week too (we practically lived in our bathing suits). Of course the first thing I had to do was bring Mar to Moon Clusters! On the way to MC we bought matching handmade bracelets hehe. At MC we ordered chicken quesadillas along with a choli for Mar and a double shot for myself. She fell in love!! Now she can go back and express how good it really is! On the way home we bought some groceries and stopped in a couple of the little stores downtown to browse. It felt so good to have a slice of home visiting : )

Mar seemed to like the front deck just as much as I do, to sit and enjoy the sea breeze and view. We relaxed there for a bit then planned out what we wanted to do for the week while Terry fed us spaghetti [nothing like Mar's first Belizean meal to be pasta ; ) ] Mar fit right in like I knew she would.

I did not sleep very well again because the excitement was still getting the best of me! Mar and I got up early and had breakfast on the deck before a fabulous day of snorkeling! Terry brought us to the tourist village and it was complete chaos with 5 cruise ships being in and a majority of the people being college spring breakers.

We arrived at Spanish lookout which was on the opposite side of the island from where I had snorkeled last time. We had an hour before snorkeling so Mar and I walked to the other side of the island (with our complimentary rum punch). When we were snorkeling, all Mar could keep saying was that she should've been a marine biologist! haha I think she found her new love! We saw some pretty cool, colorful fish and we got to hold a conch shell (followed by me telling Mar that she will be eating that when we go to D'Ceviche hut). We arrived back at the island and had an hour to relax and eat. It was soooo hot that day so a cold shower felt great when we got home!

The evening was chill. We went to Wagan's (the $5 store) and of course I bought some more things. Mar got some good stuff too! We got home and watched 'Precious' with Terry. That movie is really heartbreaking. The rest of the evening was spent on the front deck : )

I finally got some sleep which was much needed for an exciting day at the ruins! We originally thought the tour we were taking was cave tubing and the ruins but they were traveling to the furthest ruin site so we had to decide between the two. Of course we picked the ruins because you don't get that option everyday! Our tour guide, J.R., was fantastic! I learned so much more about Belize that I was not aware of. He talked the whole way to the ruins about the landscapes and different things about Belize. It was neat to see how the environment changes the further inland we went. I also got to see many of the places that I type into the cytology database!

When we arrived we had to take this raft-like, wind ferry across the 'safe' river to get to the park. The river is considered safe because there are no crocs, snakes, or piranhas. Once we got to the park entrance, we had to hike up this large hill to get to the ruins. It was so hot out but still felt great! When we first walked up to the ruins, it didn't seem like much till we turned the corner and there was this HUGE 160+ ft structure. J.R. was great at describing the history of these ruins and each specific structure. The name of these specific ruins is Xunantunich (stone lady) and revolves around a story of a lady dressed in white with fire red eyes who disappears into a wall. I even went all the way up to the top!! Of course, I came down on my butt : )

You could see Guatamala from the top! It was just amazing! It was like nothing I had ever seen before and so much better than some boring museum. All the stories we learned growing up and I was finally getting to see it with my own eyes.

On the way back we stopped at this restaurant where they served us chicken, rice & beans, and coleslaw. Mar loved it! It was good but I can't say I am very found of the combination anymore. Climbing back into the bus called for siesta after the fiesta....and that we did! Mar decided she didn't want to miss a thing and stayed awake while taking a picture of me sleeping : }

When we arrived back at the tourist village, Mar and I took the opportunity to walk around and check out all the booths. We both bought some souvenirs while I got many ideas of souvenirs that I want later. Apparently the tourist village is the place to go if I want to get hit on A LOT or find a party to attend (none of which I would actually attend to). Mar and I decided after all the calories we had burned off from sweating that we were in much need of some more Moon Clusters : ) We walked there and I finally ordered the caramel choli while Mar got the choli supreme (oreo choli). Both were absolutely delicious which I expected nothing less!

We arrived home to clean up, post pictures, and Mar bonded with Dani (the youngest) by doing the puzzles my mom had sent the boys. Terry came home and decided tonight would be a great night for Mar to try ceviche! Mar loved it!! (She would fit in just as well as I do!) Again, another thing she can go back and express that I don't exaggerate when I say the things here are fabulous! After a long day and a good workout (climbing ruins is not for the faint hearted), Mar and I passed out!!

We got up early the next day and set off to the cayes (pronounced keys) for a majority of the weekend! We caught the 9:15 am boat to Caye Caulker which takes about 40 mins to get to. The boat rides are nice though because you get to stare at the beautiful blue water and pretty islands along the way!

Caye Caulker is a really cute, rustic beach town. All the buildings are so colorful! Right off the boat, a 'taxi' guy caught us and said he would take us to the beach. The taxis here are golf carts. It was quite the bumpy ride but it was nice to see everything on the way! Mar and I were the first to the beach and we rented two beach chairs and an umbrella. Our plan was to just relax....

Relax we did! We got in the water a bit before deciding to have lunch at the Lazy Lizard (right on the beach!). Just getting in the water and walking out a ways, there were so many colorful fish and two little guys kept swimming right in between our legs! From time to time they would even poke us!! Mar and I really wished we had snorkel gear at this point...

For lunch, we decided to finally try the infamous 'panty ripper' which is coconut rum and fresh pineapple juice. It was delicious! A perfect beach drink if I do say so my self. We met this woman named Lurosa from Oregon who has been traveling for the last 2 and a half months by herself. She's been to Mexico and Costa Rica and this will be here last week in Belize. I could not imagine traveling like that by myself! She was such a kind woman though so we sort of adopted her for the afternoon.

While having lunch, I noticed a boat docked that had a sign that read: Snorkeling gear for rent $5 belize. It couldn't have been more perfect!! We got our gear and headed right out onto the reef. It was sooo cool to see so many colorful fish along with huge orange starfish (not like the ones we picked up in Maine with skinny legs but more liked the webbed starfish). I later found out that a fish I spotted was called a lion fish (venomous but afraid of humans) but in Belize they are trying to rid their waters of the lion fish because it is eating so many of the other reef fish. They offer $50 for each one you bring in! I wish I had known that because I spotted 2!! Mar kept snorkeling while I decided just to swim. The water here is just amazing and refreshing!

When we were finished, we slowly made our way back towards the water taxi to catch the boat to San Pedro for the night. We stopped at little tables and stores on our way. We also got ice cream that was melting faster than we could eat it!

It only took about 20 mins to get from Caye Caulker to San Pedro. San Pedro is a beautiful beach town. I was told to call Miguel (the son of the lady who's hotel we would be staying at) to set us up. He gave us directions and it was only about 2 blocks away from the water taxi. It's not hard to get lost in San Pedro because it is 4 parallel streets with beach on both sides. Mar and I showered quick and headed right back out.

We walked around for a bit to get ideas of where we would like to eat but ended right back across the street from our hotel at a place called Elvi's kitchen. Their special that night was a Mayan buffet. The food was absolutely delicious and so filling! The restaurant had sand on the floor so you never really got away from the beach feeling (not complaining what soever). After dinner we made our way to Playa lounge (a really outdoorsy lounge that we had seen from the water taxi). This place has couch like seating with pillows galore! Let the drinking begin!

Mar and I paced ourselves because we were so full from dinner but I ordered captain and coke (my drink!) while Mar had a sex on the beach (her drink!). There was a band playing so we chilled out and listened to them for a bit while random strangers came up to chat and leave. It is quite interesting, the people you meet abroad. Many people seem to be from the mid-west. Miguel and his friends came to get us around 9 p.m. and then the party really started!

They first took us to this quaint, local karaoke bar. It was really dark in there but a very chill place. We didn't stay there long and headed to Bar 208 at the San Pedro airport. REALLY NICE bar! We hung out there for quite a while before heading over to Jaguar Temple club. The club had an outdoor area and the inside club. We hung outside for a bit where Miguel's friends sang 'happy birthday' to him (it wasn't really his birthday but they always pretend it's someone else's birthday when they go out to get free drinks). It worked because the bartender brought over shots! You learn something new every day haha : )

We started dancing outside and made our way into the club! It was sooooo much fun. They switched the music up from english speaking music to spanish. It was great though because no matter what the language, I danced away to the beat. I forgot how much I love dancing and had Mar going too! More and more people came as the night carried on. It was such a great dance atmosphere!

We left the club when it closed around 3 a.m. and everyone seemed to gather outside in the park where food vendors were waiting and willing. From there Marielle and I did not sleep. We chilled till sunrise. Sitting on the beach watching the beautiful pink sunrise was so amazing! It was like nothing I had ever seen before! One of the pictures above is us at sunrise on the beach.

From there we found a place right on the beach that was open at 6 a.m. and ordered french toast, potatoes and coffee! Mmmmmm. We couldn't believe we had stayed awake all night but kept right on going. We stopped in several gift shops and got some nice San Pedro stuff. We made our way back towards to docks to go.....PARASAILING!

It was funny because the guy handling the equipment on the boat remembered seeing Mar and I at the club and said that we looked mean as hell! I could only laugh and tell him that that must of been close to closing time when we were worn out. There was a couple from upstate NY with us that went first! I was getting nervous because my fear of heights was taking over but like I said before I came down here....I will not say no. Therefore I would not let this fear get the best of me. If I could climb ruins I could certainly do this!

When the couple came down, the lady offered to take one of our cameras and take pics of us! So we got both pictures from down below and pictures from up above!! It was unBELIZEable! You could see so far and so much in the crystal blue water! It was sooo neat to be above the world's 2nd largest barrier reef! Not only does San Pedro look beautiful while you're there but from the air! Ugh words cannot describe!

Arriving back down, Mar and I both started feeling a bit queasy. It's a lot of motion especially after a night of drinking, dancing, and not sleeping! We got free beers upon arrival back at the pier and drinking that made me feel much better ; ) Mar on the other hand was not feeling so hot so we decided just to catch the next water taxi and head back to Belize City.

Mar and I showered quick and both passed out for a majority of the day. I woke her up around 8 to see if she was feeling well enough to go to a local birthday party we had been invited to but we decided to relax at home and ended up passing out again ; ) It was much needed and we had already done so much!

Sunday morning Mar woke me up and we made breakfast and ate on the front deck. I could not believe how great the weather had been for her entire trip so far! This morning was a bit cooler but still beautiful. Terry dropped us off at Old Belize which has a history museum, restaurant, and beach. The museum was really interesting and I really liked how it was set up. You start off in a rainforest with caves and move on to Mayan temples and huts. From there you head to the beginning of Belize industry and finish in a small 1900 town. It was fascinating to see how Belize developed as a British colony.

After the museum, we decided to do ziplining! The zipline at Old Belize starts at this high tower on the museum side and you shoot over towards the farthest end of the beach. The guys that ran it were sooo friendly and great instructors! Wow, now that I think about it I really conquered my fear of heights on this vacation! Ziplining was soooo much fun and would be so much better in the rainforest! A picture of Mar's face at the end is absolutely priceless with such glee written all over her! It was a great finish to our trip together.

After ziplining we enjoyed some lunch at the restaurant. The food was delicious along with large portions that were so filling. If we had known they were so big we would have just shared! With all the excitement and filling food it was time for a nap on the beach. We found two comfy beach loungers and parked our butts there for the remainder of the afternoon. One amazing thing we recognized was the very large fan in the bar cabana on the beach. This thing had atleast 10 ft blades! Don't worry I got pictures with Marielle sitting underneath for comparison! It was also written on the fan base: Big Ass Fans (self explanatory see).

We arrived home to relax for the evening. I can't believe how much we accomplished and how much fun we had! It was so sad that our time was coming to an end : ( Mar spent the evening bonding with the boys by playing video and board games while I uploaded pictures of our adventures and captioned them. We both took soooo many great pictures! Monday came too quickly!

Luckily due to our ride situation, Mar got to come to work with me and we got to spend her last couple hours in Belize together. I was definitely missed at work and they had loads for me to do! Mar finally got to meet Raf (who brought her to the airport). I was so happy they got to meet because they are both such AMAZING people and Mar had the opportunity to tell him how much she loves Moon Clusters : )

"...true friendships are characterized by grace, truth, forgiveness, unselfishness, boundaries, care and love in gigantic and mutual proportion."

I am so lucky to have a friend like this in Marielle. I am so glad I got to experience Belize with her and could not ask for a better friend! I call her the love of my life because she is that one person outside of family that I can ALWAYS turn to. We always have such great times together and I could not ask for anything better. I am lucky to have someone with such a great spirit as her in my life and wouldn't trade it for the world! I love you Marielle and I am so glad you came to visit and experience this with me : )

6 down, 10 to go!

I heard it feels like Spring up North. Sorry to rub it in but it feels like Summer here ; ) At least to me anyways.

This week was very repetitive in tasks at work. We prepared little gift bags for every 25th patient to celebrate the BFLA's 25th Anniversary.

The nights were nice and comfortable this week. I think I am adjusting to the weather because the weather only gets down into the 70s at night and I find myself sleeping with a blanket and sheet.

I wore the beautiful skirt my mom had made me on Tuesday and everyone commented on it. Raf said she should open a shop down here and sell them but I continued by telling him that she said she will never make one again.I felt very Belizean because I also wore my local bought earrings made out of coconut shell and the sandals I purchased that are similar to what girls down here wear.

Ana and I are planning a trip to Placencia (in Southern Belize) at the end of April because I would like to go there and surprisingly she has never been! It was also finalized that Sunday I would be joining coworkers for a day trip to Goff Caye! So excited!!

On Wednesday I tried 'horchata' which is a sweet drink made from rice. It was really good and reminded me of coconut milk. Ana suggested trying the cantaloupe, watermelon and many other natural fruit juices they make. After lunch, Ana and I went to a local resource center for young mothers and pregnant teens (Y.E.S.-Youth enhancement services) to give a presentation on STIs. The girls were very grossed out by the pictures we had but I made it a point to tell them that yes they're gross but this is reality and can happen to anyone that is sexually active.

Thursday we finally got a venue for the youth retreat in April but it is at a place that Ana was avoiding because there is nothing to do around the location. We left at 5 to go to Crooked Tree for a YAM meeting. I wish we could have arrived there when it was still light out because I would really like to see the lagoons we drive through during the day. After Crooked Tree, I was invited to attend a Red Cross get together with Ana (her husband works for Red Cross). I met the director, Lily, who was so funny and really nice. I also met several people from Norway who are here working on a project with the Red Cross. It was a nice little get together with wine, dessert, and guitar playing with singing. The house we were in is a beautiful house near the Princess Hotel, right on the sea. Ana was telling me that they throw some pretty crazy parties and while we were there they were planning one in May.

On Friday I entered about 100 patients into the Cytology database. This month will be really busy with the pap smear promotion at several clinics. After work Terry took me to this little store that had clothes and bathing suits for $5 Belize (2.50 US)!! I bought 5 summer shirts and I am excited to go back because I did not have the chance to look through everything.

We went to the D'Ceviche Hut later that night with Alberto. For the first time I was not feeling the ceviche and come later that night I would know why. I had two beers while at the hut and then we went to a basketball game at the sports center. I ran into Dorothy who I had taken Creole lessons with! It was so good to see her and I have been meaning to give her a call. She bought us a beer and we chatted for a bit while watching the game. She said that I must be doing very well with understanding Creole because she asked me if I had realized she just said everything in Creole and I understand everything! I knew after a few weeks I would get the hang of it : )

We left the game just as I was starting to not feel so hot and as soon as we arrived home I got really sick to my stomach. I'd like to think it was the mixture of ceviche, different beers, and the heat from inside the sports center. Luckily it did not last long so I knew it wasn't a bug.

Saturday was relaxing. I cleaned up my room and got things ready for Marielle's upcoming visit!! Around 5 we went to Daniel's mom's house to celebrate Lupita's daughter's 12th birthday. As always there was so much delicious food and drinks. Of course there was a beer in front of me before I even sat down but I surprisingly felt good enough to drink it ; )

Sunday was a great start to the week!! Woke up early to get ready for a day on an island with coworkers. They picked me up around 6:30 a.m. and were the first to arrive at the pier. One of the pictures above is the sunrise! We had 22 people going with us and we rented the smaller boat. We had to leave a couple coolers and crates of drinks to come on the other boat because there was too much weight in ours.

The ride there was beautiful with the sun rising and passing other islands. It seemed as though we were leaving the darker clouds with Belize City and heading towards the sun! We arrived at Goff Caye which is a 1.2 acre island with less than 10 palm trees, some bushes, and a couple cabanas on it. They just renovated the island and put bathrooms on it but they had them locked?! Upon approaching the island I was in awe. The crystal waters, white sand, and essence of the place is nothing I have ever seen in person. Already I did not want the day to end : (

We were the first people to arrive on the island and my coworkers did not wait a second to start drinking! They had bottle after bottle of whisky and beer. I guess this is island life : ) I think I spent the first two hours letting it all soak in. The 2nd boat arrived and come to find out a girl I had seen at the Y.E.S. building was there. She introduced herself to me as Polly. She is from Nebraska and has been here for 7 months for a Jesuit program similar to Peace Corps. She will be here for 2 years all together. I was happy to have met someone close in age to me and she mentioned that she has roommates to so I look forward to having people to go out with.

It was an amazing, relaxing day on the island. Food, beer, swimming, sun....can't get much better! I loved every second of it and it was really sad to leave : ( It was tempting to take a nap under a palm tree but I could not waste a second of this natural beauty. It was an amazing day and a great start to the week. Marielle arrives on Tuesday and I am looking forward to whatever we can get into together.

As they say here....You better Belize it! : ) <3