God Bless Belize...

and their world-wide web...

Well, so much for the internet pirates doing their job. The internet at school is back down again, so I'm here at the Green Dragon Internet Cafe in Cayo (the "city" about twenty minutes from Benque) which is an odd hangout for american students, volunteers, backpackers and tourists. My favorite thing about the Green Dragon is that you can get coffee just like in the states. My least favorite thing is that sometimes backpackers have an odd philosophy on showering that can be smelled as soon as they walk in the door... But, this is Central America... Everybody sweats! (Not to mention the music choices... Everything from the BeeGees to Celine Dion to random spanish to the Star Wars soundtrack on right now).

So, I'm beginning my fifth week as a teacher! Last Friday my roommates and I celebrated our one month anniversary in Belize by going out for Chinese food. It tastes remarkably similiar to the Chinese food in the states, the only difference is that in the states there aren't any geckos running around the roof while you eat your sweet and sour chicken!

Let's see, what else? Yesterday my friends and I took a day trip to Pine Ridge, which made me miss Hilton Head in a sort of bizarre way. You drive through the jungle of Belize and end up in this spot with pine trees and waterfalls! The pine trees mixed with palm trees looked just like my backyard, minus the whole waterfall bit. It was gorgeous though, and the trip through the jungle to get there was fun too.

We had an interesting cultural experience last Tuesday-- it was Belize's Independence day. They celebrated a whole twenty three years as a country. They really live it up, they had a celebration in the streets with an odd mixture of "traditions" that they seem to have borrowed from other cultures. For example, there's a torch that is carried from the capitol to all the different towns to light the "independence torch" and a "Miss Independence" is crowned at midnight (she was in my homeroom, I was so proud of her!) and they perform different songs and dances. At midnight, they give a twenty one gun salute (they soldiers couldn't find their blanks so they played it on the drums instead) and raised the flag. This was followed by a very impressive fireworks display, which was rather ambitious of them considering the fact that the only fire truck in town was running around in one of the random parades, several miles from the location of the fireworks. They had parades all day which consisted mainly of people in cars. Cathleens favorite "float" was the "jump up truck" which is a truck with loud music that people dance behind... It was just cool to see how indpendence day is celebrated in a country where most of its citizens can remember the day that independence was gained!

School is going well, my students continue to make me laugh and sometimes cry a little, sometimes at the same time. As I've mentioned, their creativity and compassion is so incredible to wittness and the more I get to know them the more they surprise me in many ways. For example, today they presented projects on the parts of the mass. I was a little dubious as to whether they'd pull them off, they just didn't seem to be getting anything done in class. However, they handed in some very impressive projects today. I have no idea when they did them or how, but they were so proud of themselves! Another student has been telling me that she teaches Sunday school in Guatemala-- she's so quiet in class I would have never guessed! Then, there's also the heartbreaking stories you start to hear as well... About all the kids who havn't seen their parents in ten years because they've been working in the United States or who don't believe that God exists. So, the kids are also giving me reasons to pray more each day too!

Thank you so much for all who are thinking about me and praying for me and my students. This school continues to show me what God can accomplish!

back on-line... for the time being

Oh, the internet. For the time being, it is back in business. Well, almost. I am listening to the experts discuss why it isn’t on yet in the background. But, it’s expected to be back in business shortly.

So, what have I been doing with my life without the internet, you ask? Lots!

This past weekend we had Friday off, and a group of teachers went to Caye Caulker for the weekend. I was rather skeptical about the weekend in that first, Hurricane Ivan was looming off the coast and second, I just spent all summer on the beach and how different could it be from that? But I was sold on the idea by the other teachers so I went. Well, turns out that the beaches on the Carribean are VERY different from the barrier Islands of South Carolina. The water is totally clear, it’s so warm and Caye Caulker is the neatest little island—probably only a couple miles long and totally covered in sand. There’s no paved roads, it’s all golf carts. The buildings are all thatched roofs and really bright colors. The sweetest thing was that it’s the off season and we landed in one of the nicest hotels on the island for about $13 belize a night (that’s $7 in the states!), because we agreed to not use the air conditioning (we’re used to it!). It was gorgeous, right on the beach and… we had hot water! That in itself was such a luxury! Plus, it was just a great time with the other teachers, to get to know them outside of school. This is such a diverse crowd of people!

My third week of teaching has ended uneventfully… I’m meaner than ever to my class of boys (which is expanding by the day… I’m up to 34!) While the girls and I are getting along just swell. Honestly, they’re all great kids, but the boys need more discipline, that’s all. I’ve had them writing “I will not make noises in class” almost every night, slowly I’m winning the battle for “leader of the pack” with that bunch. Then, the fun can begin. On the other hand, the girls are just darn cute and their personalities are really starting to come through. They say the funniest things, I’ve started to mimic the way they complain about their work (they always say “eeeh, miss” when I give them work to do) and I’ll turn around and say it back to them and they all laugh (it’s a challenge to make them laugh because often they don’t get sarcasm...). Alison Robezolli has started playing for the masses we have on Friday and I was so proud of them because they sang like angels this morning! I taught them the songs yesterday and told them if they were good and participated at mass, we’d have class outside. I could hear them all singing the whole time! It’s been a challenge to get good behavior at mass, but the principal gave us permission to “clonk them” if need be, and I took that liberty when the boy sitting next to me had his foot resting on the bleacher behind him when he should’ve been standing. I whacked the sole of his foot with my hymnal, all the while thinking that it’s going to be hard to be back in the states where I could get sued for that (and that’s probably something I should keep quiet about… don’t tell any future employers, ok?).

Our house continues to be without chairs and loaded with geckos, but we have two welcome additions—a washing machine and a small refrigerator! Cold water is great to have, but the real excitement is the washer. It’s funny to see how archaic it is though-- washing our clothes consists of taking the washer outside, filling it with water from the spigot, turning it on so it can swish the water and clothing around then releasing a plug that drains it manually. You put them into the spinner which is attached to the machine, spin the soap out, and then repeat this a couple times to rinse the soap out. You put them back in the spinner and then hang them up to finish drying on the line. It sounds like a lot of work, but after doing wash by hand for three weeks, we’re SO not complaining!

Ok, so I should probably post this since the ‘nets up again and showing signs of slowing… So, keep me and my students in your prayers and I miss all of you and am praying for you all too!

so, our pirated internet continues to allow very infrequent access, which is why some of you havn't heard from me in a while. Anyways, it's been a good opportunity to appreciate the time we're given!

I just want to give an "amen" to all my FUS people who were rather vocal when a certain presidential candidate came through town. Man, who researched Steubenville as a good place to campaign!

My second week of teaching went well, today was an especially effective lesson. As my "celebration" step (for all you ecclessial methods people) to conclude the week, I played "Everything" by Lifehouse and related it to the Eucharist. The kids hadn't heard the song before and they really responded! Even my group of (now 35) boys really got into it, discussing it in class and then asking to hear it again. Some of them even copied the words I handed out into their notes. These kids LOVE music, they just eat it up when I play songs for them... the quality is so poor too, I just use my discman and portable speakers. They all have to stay so quiet so that everyone can hear it and while the music's playing, you can hear a pin drop!

Tomorrow is a holiday for Belize, so we don't have school. Being a teacher on a three day weekend beats being a student any day! We're going to head out to the Cayes, weather permitting. Rumour has it our house is getting chairs today too, so we're all pretty excited about that. However, I'm saving the fiesta for the day we get a washer... the whole hand-wash in the sink method is very difficult, I'll never take a washing machine for granted again!

Internet vs. Water...

As a preface to this e-mail… Our internet was turned on today for one hour so that we could check e-mail, I guess turning it on much longer than that has the powers that be afraid of the system crashing again. This is the latest update, I wrote this yesterday so that I’d have something to post when the ‘net came back on! Apparently the entire Belizean Internet is pirated from the States or something like that (I hope I don’t get shot for posting that knowledge on-line), and it’s not unusual to have these sorts of problems. So, here’s my post from yesterday:

It’s Monday, September 6. I don’t really know when you’ll all read this because the internet has been down for three days already, with no hope of a solution in sight. I’m in the computer “lab”, listening as the nerds-turned seminarians-now being called upon for their nerd skills hunch over the main computer, exclaiming about how archaic the internet system is in Belize. The absence of the internet has had an interesting affect on all of us... There’s always a feeling of isolation from the outside world that comes with the territory of living in a second world (ok, in my opinion, the absence of the internet bumps it down to 2.5 world) country without a phone, radio or even a daily paper. The internet is sort of our “link to reality”, the thread that we desperately cling to in hopes that if we keep sending out signs of life to our friends and family in the states, they won’t forget about us and keep us updated on “life in the states” that we’re missing out on. However, that line has been severed and everyone’s feeling it. It makes me wonder what in the world it was like here before the ‘net was set up! Incredible!

We’ve set about comparisons about what aspect of modern convenience we’d sacrifice for the ability to communicate via the world wide web. Anne, my housemate, has concluded that it’s easier to go without running water than the internet. I don’t know if I’m ready to concede that, but we’ll see how long this lasts.

Am I being excessive here? Probably. But that’s how it is right now, and it sure puts things into perspective.

So, life as a teacher gets progressively harder, but in an incredibly rewarding, “I’m growing as a person” way. I’m beginning my unit on the Mass, and I handed out a survey to my kids on Friday to find out what they wanted to know based on what they had been asked/ told/ observed at mass with school. My discovery that only about half of my students are Catholic has led to my realization of the need for a balance of not just catechises but evangelization and even apologetics. Catechesis always necessitates evangelization, but the misconceptions these kids have are different from what I’ve heard in the states so it’s required a lot of explanation in my teaching. I just spent about an hour on creating a worksheet for my class tomorrow. I know that good Catechists aren’t supposed to rely on textbooks and teachers editions, but after creating EVERYTHING I use from scratch this semester, I’m really going to be grateful for the first teacher’s manual I set my hands on! (Speaking of which, if anyone reading this has the teacher’s manual or chalk-talk books or worksheets/ tests for Faith and Life grade 6 and would like to mail it down here, PLEASE, contact me by e-mail!)

So, beyond teaching, we’ve also been settling into our neighborhood and getting to know Belize a little better. One of my students lives in the Evangelical Church across the street (“Church” in the sense of the word that it’s a living room) and she chats with me on the way home sometimes. It’s been an awesome challenge on my part and Ali’s, because we both have students living right across our house who are (along with the rest of Belize, it seems) watching our every move. I’ve always been inspired by the quote attributed to St. Francis to “preach the Gospel at all times and use words when necessary”, and this opportunity to be a wittness to our students every moment of the day has really been a great honor and challenge. My student across the street is a great girl though. Very bright and articulate, she’s given me many opportunities to learn more about where my students are comming from. Her mother has been in the states for ten years, she lives with her grandparents and other relatives. She tells me that she wants to go on to sixth form (their junior college) because she wants to help her grandparents. Myself and the other teachers have been really inspired by the fact that selfishness and the desire to serve themselves is very foreign to these kids (even the behaviour problems...). Their motivation for an education is a sincere desire to help their families. Their responsibilities are incredible for their age--- they do so much work for their families and then balance their studies (hypothetically speaking) on top of all that.

Please keep me and my students in your prayers!

laundry, trash and teaching!

Hello all! I just want to give a special shout-out to all my Franuniv, to let you know that you’re all in my prayers as you begin your first week of school. Especially you seniors! You’re in charge now, eh? Make the most of your leadership on campus!

So, speaking of Franciscan, we just got our final roommate at the “spice house” where I live (I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that’s the name of our house yet-- It’s because I guess it used to house a bunch of party girls), now it’s Steubenville Central America because besides Alison R, Cathleen and Anne (a girl who went to Franuniv. For a year as an exchange student from Massachusettes), we have Faustina and Gertrude’s older sister Miriam Bianchi! Isn’t it a small Catholic world? Miriam looks just like Faustina, every time she walks into the room I think it’s her. So strange… Anyways, she’s here as a nurse, not a teacher, so it’s nice to have some diversity too.

My first week as a teacher is almost over, (praise him… go on sonlife) and I’m totally in love with these students. I must say that I’ve really softened up for the girls but I still shock myself at how strict I am with the boys (but then again, there’s more than thirty of them and some of them are bigger than me, so what choice do I have?). I gave my first quiz today, and only one of the kids failed it! I was pretty excited to realize that they’re comprehending the material and I can probably even speed up with them. This week I’ve been teaching the Incarnation and Revelation, to establish the foundation of the rest of the semester, and I’ve really been trying to get them to think about why they believe what they believe. I’ve explained to them that Religion is a class that isn’t about a subject but a Person, a Person who loves them and wants them to have faith in Him. The advice of Deacon Cal is still in my head-- just get them to realize that God loves them, and you’ve accomplished something in class. So, right now, everything is sort of going back to the love that God has for them and the invitation he’s giving them to follow him… That way, I can relate the rest of the class—all the doctrine we’re covering, to the love of God… I just have to say that all of you who are in the Religious Ed. Program at Franciscan right now are preparing for the most incredible job in the world! To sit at my desk every day and try to think of new ways to teach these kids about God brings me such joy!

Now, life as a missionary holds new… discoveries… every day. Case in point, on Tuesday I attempted to do laundry by hand, since we’ve yet to get a washing machine. We’re rapidly discovering that doing laundry and then allowing it to air dry actually causes stains in your clothes! Amazing. However, as I washed my clothes in the sink, I reflected on the miracle of modern appliances and realized that I will NEVER take a washing machine for granted again. On the brighter side, one of our neighbors who works at the school has extended to us the generous invitation to throw our trash away in her trash bin which is exciting, because the alternative to that is burning it in our back yard. We feel bad depriving the neighborhood of the spectacle of five white girls attempting to burn trash, but this solution is much more convenient (especially considering the delicate nature of the trash produced in Central America… those of you familiar with the plumbing here know what I’m talking about).

It’s starting to sound like a LOT of rain is about to fall very quickly, so I’m going to try and dash back to the teacher planning room to finish entering grades. I just want to thank everyone again for the thoughts and prayers! Please keep it up as every days offers new challenges! Also, I’m glad to hear all y’all on Hilton Head aren’t getting washed away right now!