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