LOVE this...

So after watching this I know this song and dance will become your favorite. It definitely changed my life. Oh how I love and miss my Belizean/Reggae music!

San Ignacio Goodbyes....

"Because of your faith, my JOY is full..."

 

So for those of you who don't know....my adventure in Belize officially came to an end. I am back in good old America. As happy as I am to see my friends (and FAMILY soon!), have my bed back, not be sweating from every pore of my body at all hours of the day, to drive, and eat salads....at the end of the day I REALLY miss Belize. A lot. I'm gonna miss:

• Bus Rides 
• The Jungle 
• The Fruit Market and cheap BANANAS 
• The colorful buildings 
• Cayo Twist 
• Oaties 
• The Punta/Reggae Music (don't worry I definitely got as much as I could before I left tho, obviously) 
• Hearing all the accents and CREOLE 
• Walking Everywhere...especially the steep hills ha kidding 
• Flayvas 
• Li and Hudsons 
• 4Runners EVERYWHERE! 
• How everyone repeats words 3x: "morning, morning, morning!", "that is deep, deep, deep", or "it is hot, hot, hot"... I LOVED it. 
• Belizean Time...everyone's at least a half hr late so I fit right in! 
• Doing Turbo on the ROOF 
• Octavia Waight and our tender friends there 
• The Simplicity of life 
• Being honked at EVERYWHERE we went 
• The children 
• The beautiful flowers everywhere 
  • The great lines we would get from EVERY guy we passed

• HUGE avocados 
• The AMAZING, life-changing pineapple 
• Palm Trees 
• Riding in the tender Purple Van and cramming as many people as we could inside

But above all that, I'm gonna miss the people more than anything. The people in Belize have honestly changed my life. They were friendly, loving, caring, funny...I love them so much and will definitely go back and visit them sooner rather than later! Here are just some of my favorite people in the world and some memories and lessons I learned from them:

This is Richard. He may or may not be the funniest person I know. Clearly, as seen in the picture above. This man could literally talk to you ALL day and keep you entertained. He has done the most random things in his life and always has a good story and "a friend" that can help you out with whatever you need. Richard is also probably the kindest person I have ever met. He always has a community project he is working on to help those in need and he does them just out of the good of his heart. He uses so much of his own money to give those less fortunate a better life. He truly was such an inspiration of someone who is constantly serving and putting others before himself.

Richard helped us with the square foot garden project we worked on. Within the first hour of meeting him he had a nickname for me. The nickname was Bebe (a flower in Belize) apparently its just what he does. Some of my favorite phrases of his are, "Oh Sacremento!" and "God Bless America"....you would hear these almost every 5 minutes from him. AND he had a RED '96 4Runner so of course we were instant buddies. If we ever go back to Belize, we would definitely be staying with him and his family. We love them a lot.

This is Anthony. He also helped us with the square foot garden and is Richard's buddy who helps him with a lot of his community projects. This man was known for appearing out of NOWHERE, honking/waving/almost hitting us and taking us on random car adventures. We would just hear him yell out his window at the top of his lungs to get in his car. Normally this would be a dangerous thing to do. But we trusted Anthony with our lives and knew every car trip would be a great story. The trend of our adventures seemed to always be with barbers?? Don't really know why but thats where he took us. Benque, Santa Ellena, Succotz...we've been there with Anthony. He also maybe wanted Kayla to be his girlfriend. Again....this also could've been classified as creepy, but not with Anthony. We just would laugh.
One of the major things I learned from Anthony was how well he treated people. This man treated everyone he met as his good friend. One day when we were talking about life he told me to always remember to treasure everyone you meet because you never know when you are going to need them. It just really touched me and I could tell he really lived by those words. So my goal from now on is to sincerely treasure everyone I meet and to not take life for granted. Thank you Anthony for the great memories.
 
These are some of the little kids in the neighborhood we would play soccer with. (NOTE: please disregard jaden smith's older brother aka me with the braids). These 2 are brothers and ah I just loved them so much. Marco on the right was our buddy. We would see him the most and were even able to be there for his baptism. He was a crazy kid that felt instantly like a little brother. He could make me laugh so hard...I kinda became a little kid whenever we were together. People who know me well know I can't control my laughter like at all so if that annoys you, you wouldn't want to be around me and Marco. I just hope I get to see these kids soon before they forget about us!

And then there's Mama Kay. I know I have said this 80 million times, but she has changed my life. Her faith and determination will continue to inspire me for the rest of my life. She has been through SO much in her life but continues to be happy, raise/provide for 2 wonderful kids, live life to the fullest, serve everyone around her, and make everyone laugh. We had some REALLY good laughs. Some things should probably not be shared ha...we had a lot of fun. She called me and Kayla Laman and Lemuel....apparently she thought we were trouble makers. But deep down she knew we weren't. I learned so much from this woman...from her amazing recipes to how to properly hang clothes to dry. But above anything I learned the importance of loving and serving others. This woman sacrificed so much to help others and make them feel important and loved like her own children. I want to be just like her when I grow up.

And finally there's Mama Kay's daughter Kayshel. I loved this girl so much. She had a heart of gold. We instantly became close because of our love of music. And she was the only girl in the Sunday school class that didn't laugh at me whe I didn't make sense. I miss her so much already and I know we will stay close even though we are far apart.

Ultimately...Belize was amazing. I want to go back already and hope I can one day I can visit all of these people again. The first line in this post to me just sums up how I felt about every person I met. These people had so much faith and love towards life and I feel privileged to meet them. I am so grateful for the experience I had to live among and learn from these amazing people. I am forever changed because of this experience. You betta BELIZE it! :)
Peace and Love.

to hell and back again...

So I realize I have fallen a little behind in the blog posts lately... life has been CRAZY! I have officially ended my adventure in San Ignacio :( But I do have about 4 or 5 blog posts I still need to update about it all so stay tuned. First up is ATM.

The ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) was basically the BEST experience of my life. It was amazing! We started off early in the morning, met with the entire group, got the air conditioned van (we were local favorites of the owners so we maybe got the special treatment), drove to the place where we hiked to the cave, then we got all our equipment to begin our adventure into the cave.

With out headlamps on we went into the cave. I have been into a cave like this before but it wasn't quite as cool as this was. We were literally swimming through formations, climbing up and sliding down rocks, up close to old mayan pots from FOREVER ago...it really felt like we were back in their world. It was so clear what life was like for them and how they were so concerned with making sacrifices to make their lives better. It was clear these people were in trouble at some point to go as far as sacrificing people.

It was for real incredible. I would recommend this trip to everyone! Its a once in a lifetime experience and will literally change your life. Our tour guide Aaron told us the cave back in the day was believed to be the underworld and that the Mayans were probably high on shrooms when they were investigating...so we basically went to hell and back  in one day and were told to pretend we were high the whole time to really get the full experience. Ha ya don't really know whats that like but I can imagine it was pretty trippy. Anyways it was awesome....definitely a must if you ever go to Belize. I loved every minute!

thoughts on a thursday...

This week in Belize has been good to me. Lets be honest, life is always better when I'm around Belizean kids ALL day. Since monday, we started a summer camp up in Succotz and it has been amazing. The children there are the most precious kids I have ever met and I of course fell in love with all of them. I'll give a complete recap of the camp on a later date but today was just a day of a lot of deep thinking. Weird I know.

This is cute Miguel. I know I introduce a lot of people on here....but the world needs to know how great these people are. This child may or may not be my carry on when going back to the states. I first met this little boy Tuesday when I saw him and his little brother watching us during our camp. I could tell he wanted to play with us but was too shy to just come over. I finally walked over and invited him to play...he of course said no but after a little while he finally joined in. This boy was really the sweetest little boy I have ever met but being around him honestly made me so sad. I could just tell by how this boy dressed and the look in his eyes that he doesn't have very much and has been through a lot in his life.

I just kept thinking what this boys life will be like. Will he live in Succotz his whole life, will he be able to go to school when he's older, will he stay out of trouble, does he have enough food to eat, is he loved by his family, does he have a mother and a father...all of these thoughts kept racing through my mind. Its not very often that I run into children like this in the states. Yes, many come from hard situations but everything here is so different.

Cute little Miguel ended up being my little buddy for the rest of the week and I just pray for him to continue having the sweet personality he does for his entire life. I don't think most of us can comprehend some of the circumstances these kids come from but they continue to be kids...happy, full of life, loving, creative, forgiving...in a way these children seem so much happier then back in the states. Life is so simple for them here. They don't have video games, ipods, TV....they just play with each other, outside all the time. It got me thinking about poverty in general. How most of those who don't have as many material things, seem to have so many more spiritual gifts and appreciation for life in general. AND those who have a lot of material things, seem to be lacking the appreciation for so many gifts in their lives.

I have truly had an extreme wake up call as to all of the blessings in my life. Coming here has made me realize I have SO much to be thankful for that I take for granted everyday...running healthy water, a college education, a bed to sleep in, food to eat, a loving family, a car, clothes...the list could go on. But being here has also made me realize that all of the material things in the large scheme of things truly DON'T matter! I have come to see that life is so much more then the things we have...it's about finding joy in the journey. It is by loving, serving, and caring for the people around us. It is finding hope and peace through a loving Heavenly Father and his plan for us. It is by appreciating the blessings in your life and not constantly wishing you had more.

Miguel and so many others here have taught me a lot. It is hard to see some of the circumstances these people are in but the faith and love these people have is truly incredible. There is no reason to be sad because in reality, they truly have so much. I just want to do more in my life to help these beautiful people. I want to spend my time doing things that will make them happier. I have been extremely blessed in my life and have every reason to give more to those around me. Which is what life is about.

I love these people and am forever grateful for the lessons I have learned from them that have literally changed my life. I feel in a way they have helped me more then I have helped them. I just really love this place. :)

PROUD to be an American!

Even though I am in Belize...my heart was with the great U.S.A. all day. I love this holiday a lot and was really sad to not be home for it this year! I have NEVER been out of the country on this day before in my life and I can say I don't think I want this to ever happen again. I missed it too much! I missed being home watching fireworks with the fam and friends, eating really great BBQ food, playing games, singing proud to be an american at the top of my lungs, and going to a rodeo. But there's always next year and I'll make sure its extra AMAZING!

While being here in Belize I have come to appreciate my country more than ever before. I really am so grateful that I was able to grow up and live there all my life. I truly take so much for granted. Here are some reasons why my heart fills with joy when thinking about my beloved country:

1. We have CLEAN, purified water from our faucets. enough said.
2. We are given so many opportunities to improve our lives....through education, jobs, etc.
3. For the most part, our country is clean....there aren't crazy amounts of trash everywhere
4. We have so much freedom to live how we want....especially as a woman
5. I can buy apples ANYWHERE and ANYTIME I want that aren't 2 dollars each
6. We invented the chocolate chip cookie, Coca-Cola, the Post-It, blue jeans, the i-Pod, Starbucks, RayBans, Converse All-Stars....
7. America realizes the importance of helping others in times of need...from the earthquake in Haiti to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, we’ve come together to do our best to help those in need.

There are so many more things I could have added-- but I just am grateful. Grateful for my country and I feel so blessed to be able to go back to my homeland soon. I have LOVED Belize and there are many things here that I wish would happen more in the states but I do love and cherish my home. There have been and continue to be rocky moments but for the most part this country is beautiful. Happy FOURTH OF JULY AMERICA!!!!

meet Herbert...

We love this man a lot. He's definitely pretty much wasted every time we see him but it adds to the excitement right! He may or may not have talked to me for like a half hour about how similar our hair was and to never forget that, "God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son"....he said that to us a lot...so I especially felt a special bond between us. And apparently he used to be a professional soccer player back in the day but when he broke his foot, his life kinda went downhill. So of course I had to post a little video tribute I chesterly took of him while we were talking...sorry for being so loud. Hope you enjoy this tender man as much as we did. He just really loves Bob Marley. Gotta love the people here in Belize!

Octavia Waight...

The beginning of this past week, not gonna lie, was a little slow. Our big hike/trek thing with youth from Belize, that we were so excited about, ended up crashing and burning. Only four of our volunteers were able to go because the people in charge were not exactly the easiest to work with and didn't want to accommodate to our schedule. We were really bummed that it didn't work out, since we had been planning for weeks to make it happen, but we have learned that we just have to go with the flow here.

So in an attempt to find more projects in the community, this last Tuesday Kayla, Shelbi, and I headed over to San Ignacio's nursing home, Octavia Waight, to spend some time with the tender older folks there. It was going to be a pretty chill day, but it was much needed after a weekend of not feeling too great. As always I instantly fell in love with everyone there. I really have a deep, deep love for old people. I love their stories, I love their cute old-people voices, I love their advice, their cute outfits, I love how much they love talking and having company...I just love them. a lot. We had worked at Octavia Waight before to paint their physical therapy room so we had met some of the residents there but oh were we in for a treat. 

 

Much like American nursing homes, the ladies here LOVE to get their nails painted. We just painted and chatted with these cute ladies and honestly could have done it all day. They were so precious. There was a slight language barrier at times...they knew some english but most of them always answered in spanish. And old people speech slurring in spanish is pretty much impossible to understand but we still loved every minute.  Let me introduce you to some of our new friends...

 This is Juanita....she was the most lively one of the bunch as you can tell. The moment this lady saw us she clapped her hands, motioned us over, and gave us a kiss on the cheek like we were her long lost children. She just loved having company and could probably chat with us all day long about anything and everything. She was one that we knew probably understood english but would only respond in spanish/her own language because it was nearly impossible to pick out ANY words this woman was saying. But she had hand motions and expressions like I've never seen before that helped us understand almost completely what she was talking about. We loved this woman a lot.

 

 This is Paulita. She was darling. She had the cutest little outfit on too. This woman looked like she was quiet and shy but once you started talking to her she was so friendly. She loved talking about her big family, especially her granchildren, and how she loved having them visit. She was the only one who could speak really clear English. But I'm not so sure how well she understood it becuase she didn't quite understand the concept of me telling her to let her nails dry? oops. Once I would paint them, she immediately would scratch her face, wipe her eyes, or itch her nose so this poor lady had nail polish all over her face. I tried to get off as much as I could but there were still some stragglers...but I loved this woman a lot too!

 This is Marguerite, this woman also couldn't speak very good English but was so cute! She was the singer of the group. All of her friends would constantly beg her to sing to us all. Again, we couldn't make out what she was saying at all but she just smiled and clapped and we definitely made her feel it was the best song we've ever heard, and it secretly was. She was so cute! 

And don't worry Juanita made sure to make Kayla and I have our moments to shine while we danced in the middle of our little circle. And by dancing I mean twirling around, clapping my hands, doing some cool jumps, and maybe adding a few shouts too...basically making a complete fool of myself...but don't worry they thought we were professional and cheered after we were done. Basically Marguerite's song was definitely a highlight of my trip so far.

 

And this sweet lady...we never really got her name, cuz she unfortunately doesn't remember it because she has Alzheimers...was adorable. The moment she saw Kayla she almost burst into tears saying how she hasn't seen her in years and has missed her. She really thought Kayla was her long lost friend...of course Kayla played along the whole time since she does have alzheimers. It was cute/funny/sad...

We then stayed and listened to a Minnonite family (like ahmish people) sing...the residents were really feelin their hymns. Then we just chatted a little more and went on our way to our next project.

I just loved visiting with these cute ladies and even though it was a simple morning project compared to some of the other things we do here, I learned so much. I just love people and love being a part of their lives. I realized how little things truly go a long way and you don't have to have these huge sustaining projects to make a difference....you just have to take the time to love people and find the good in everyone.

I truly have learned so much in Belize but above anything I have learned that life is about the people. It is about the relationships we make, the service we give, the love we share...its about learning from one another and helping other people along their journey. There is always service we can give to others and we don't have to go on these big humanitarian trips to do that, I'm lucky I had to privilege to, but we can find opportunities EVERYWHERE to help people. I just pray I can keep this motivation to constantly try and help those around me. I really just love life and feel so, so blessed today. Happy Saturday!

Belostomatidae...

Ya I didn't know what this word meant either until...THURSDAY, when we were trying to figure what exactly was under our oven. A Belostomatidae, also known as the toe-biter and alligator tick, is one of the largest bugs of the Americas and I unintentionally had the privilege of meeting one. Apparently he decided he wanted to take a peek inside our kitchen and walk around the place a bit.

Thankfully he didn't get into our bedrooms to live up to his name of the toe-biter but man it was DISGUSTING! I don't think a bug has ever made me scream louder or instantly almost pee my pants. I can honestly say nothing inside me felt bad when we kicked the guy outside and maybe stomped on it and killed it to make sure he wouldn't be back again. I was happy actually, oops, I want to keep all my toes thanks. So ya big bugs like this exist...I hope I don't run into anymore for the remainder of our trip here. SO GROSS!