I'm Baltic Avenue! - 10/28/06

So, you may or may not have noticed the fund raiser information on the left of our blog. So far we have had two events to raise funds for the senior trip to the cayes. The first was an incredibly successful community movie night, where we projected the movie “Robots” onto the side of a truck and served dinner to the whole community. Last night, we had a talent show/auction that was wildly successful.

Each student going on the trip and any volunteering community member had to perform a talent, with Melissa and myself acting as emcees for the event. Maria worked concessions with some other students. Between each talent segment, a couple students would be auctioned off to the highest bidder for 8 hours of work on one of the next two Saturdays. Melissa, Maria, and I were also up for bid. I was so worried that my students would wise up and pool their cash, buy me, and make me their slave for a whole Saturday.

Then, the day before the auction, they also figured that out. One of my students said to me in class, “I’m going to buy you and make you spend 8 hours building fence at our farm, then you can finally see how hard our cowboys work!!”
“Um, I never said your cowboys didn’t work hard, Mr. Defensive. I didn’t even know you had cowboys. Calm down.” That whole day my students tried to come up with money and ideas for the work they could have me do. I never prayed so hard…

I was one of the first two people to be auctioned off. The minimum bid was $30 – a pretty good deal for 8 hours worth of labor on any project. I went for $60. Not bad! I went for double the minimum bid! The student auctioned off before me went for $65, purchased by her boss who will make her work anyway. One of my students’ fathers bought me. He owns a farm. I don’t know what I’ll be doing – tutoring their son or kickin’ cow pies all day. I tried to emphasize my talents before the bidding began – I told them I could herd Junior High students and, if you need me to, I can hunt for you with my two guns – at which point I flexed both biceps and kissed them gently. I still only went for $60. I think I need to work out more.

As the night wore on, the bids got higher and higher – the opposite of what I expected. The second to last girl was auctioned off for more than $400. The very last senior girl was auctioned off for $825. Are you kidding? $825? If this were monopoly, those two girls would have been Boardwalk and Park Place. I was one of the lowest bids. I WAS BALTIC AVENUE! Dear Lord, I’m Baltic Avenue! Melissa broke the $200 mark, so she’s one of the high-end yellow properties on the board or maybe one of the green ones. I’m the purple pit stop past Go…

The highlight of the evening was that we probably won't have to run another fundraiser. With the profits from concessions (which was 100% profit since everything was donated) and what we made from the auction, the grand total was $3,780.75. God is so cool! The lowlight of the evening was when two of my students, bless 'em, decided to tell blonde jokes from the internet as their talent. "Why wouldn't a blonde make a good cowboy? Because she can't keep two calves together!" Seriously? Is that my student? I tried my hardest not to react so the crowd wouldn't catch on to how inappropriate the joke was.

It was so much fun though, and the crowd loved it. I had so many students’ parents come up to me and say, “I should have bid on you!” One mom wanted to buy me and give me the day off. She was going to have me ride horses with her son all day. That would have been cool. And it would have increased my final sale price…

The Caye to Our Hearts - 10/23/06

Okay, for those of you who were wondering, the word “caye” sounds exactly like the word “key.”

Melissa and I made a break for Caye Caulker since we had a four-day weekend. She and I broke our backs during the week to get all of my exams graded and recorded by Thursday night so that Friday morning I could record grades and get report cards ready for Tuesday. It was successful! Friday afternoon we drove to Belize City to catch a water taxi to the cayes.
Thank you God for this beautiful country! And for the relaxing weekend. It was instantly rejuvenating. Even the 30 minute ride on the boat was just fun! Melissa, Maria and I took turns facing the wind and relaxing our mouths – letting the wind blow through our lips and make them flap like a hummingbird’s wings. The locals sitting around us pretended not to notice, but they were laughing at the overworked teachers on vacation.

When we got there, a golf cart from one of the hostels was by the pier looking for potential tenants. We decided to take advantage of the ride and opportunity to learn more about the island. The woman driving the cart heard we were teachers from Belize and proceeded to tell us of the school they just built on the island and their desperate search for teachers. I think the three of us nearly soiled our shorts at the same time. Teaching on a tropical island! Dare we dream?

That was right before she also told us that the teachers aren’t paid anything – it’s a volunteer position and the books and other materials are hard to come by. Most teachers there take the water taxi every day to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye to teach at the Island Academy there. Oh well. And just about the time that dream died, so did the motor of the golf cart. From that point on, we Fred-Flinstoned the cart along the path – each of us stuck a leg out the side and kicked it along as our “guide” steered us through the island. It was funny.

Once we chose our hotel (nicest room on the island – thank you Maria for your bargaining powers) we spent the rest of the time swimming and relaxing in the sun. We were a little surprised that there isn’t really a long stretch of beach on the entire caye. There were many sandy spots that allow you to walk into the water, but they’re next to a restaurant or hotel, so not very popular for sunbathing or swimming.

There is a spot on the island called “the split” where everyone swims. It seems the last hurricane that came through literally split the island in half, and the section that was blown away became a great swimming spot with a sandy bottom and some decent snorkeling. Melissa and I rented snorkel gear and swam out there, looking at fish, conch shells with giant hermit crabs, giant starfish, shark rays, urchins … your typical Caribbean underwater life. It was so shallow for so long that we were a scary distance from the shore and could still swim to the bottom of the water to pick up seashells.

It was just so nice relaxing for the few days we were there. We had good coffee, good food, and good company (a couple other teachers with their families came for Saturday and Sunday). It’s not as expensive as the popular Ambergris Caye directly north of Caye Caulker. Though San Pedro on Ambergris has a longer beach, Caye Caulker was the destination for many locals to enjoy the Caribbean culture. It was fun, too, when people asked us where we’re from. “Orange Walk.” Yup. We’re locals. Though, Melissa’s the only one with the skin tone to make it believable….

So, unless we join the pastor and his family next month for a day trip to Goff’s Caye, we won’t go back until December when my Auntie Moe and Uncle Max come down for Christmas. Anyone else for a tropical getaway during the chilly months? I know this great place to take you…

57 Push Pins - 10/20/06

Every morning, my class and I pray together. Some days they’re into it, other days I have to really encourage them. We take turns, one day I’ll pray, the next day a student prays, then me again and so on. I thought that by praying every other day I could help model for them how to lift their petitions up to God. We have a prayer request board in the corner of the room where the students can post a request for our daily prayer. Every time a student reports an answered prayer, they push one pin into the board to give God the credit.

We have had all sorts of prayers answered, from safe travel for family members to sicknesses healed and cheap plane tickets for relatives. By the last day of the first quarter, we had 57 push pins on the board. That’s at least a prayer answered a day. By the end of the first week of the second quarter, we are up to 64 push pins. God is so good! I love how this board acts as a testament to God’s power as well as how He works in our lives. It’s a good faith builder for my students, too.

It’s not the only thing we’re building, though. Bible is just one of the subjects I teach. Unfortunately, many students were not doing so well by the onset of midterm exams. So, I decided to host a study session in the open room by our apartments for any students who wished to get extra help in Science and Belizean History (their two most difficult subjects). I had 15 students show up, including two kids who weren’t even in my class. It was a big success! We played some review games, and the kids who brought their own ingredients got an espresso to help keep them awake to study. Note to self: Junior High students need no additional energy at any time during the day. Overall though, it was an incredibly helpful evening for the students.

So, the first quarter of my teaching job in a private school has come to an end. Here are some things I love about teaching here and some things that continue to challenge me; the yin and yang of Linda Vista School:

Yin

• I get to talk about God with my students
• The community is incredibly welcoming and supportive of teachers
• I live in a tropical country, two hours from paradise
• The other teachers are friendly and supportive of each other

Yang

• I teach 9 subjects every day in only 7 periods, to grades 7-12 (since I also do High School Spanish)
• Food is our biggest expense because we are in a 3^rd world country and everything is imported
• I have incredibly limited access to internet, and my classroom has no access to newspapers, a library, a principal, or classroom technology (overhead projector, VCR/DVD player, computer, etc.)

As you can see, the yins outweigh the yangs. I would not trade this experience for anything, I have learned so much and Melissa and I have grown even closer through it all. Thank you God for bringing us to Belize!

And now, for your reading pleasure, an un-ordered list:

Reasons why I’m crazy … CRAZY!

• I once ate an habañero
• I hate cheese but love pizza
• I moved to Central America during summer, 60 miles from the cool ocean breeze.
• I teach junior high on purpose

I am married to a GENIUS

Nathan has officially finished his first quarter of school in Blue Creek. I know he won’t get on here and brag about himself, so let me tell you all what an AWESOME teacher Nathan is...

Everyone who has known Nathan for any amount of time can recognize he is a natural teacher. He loved most of his teaching classes at WSU and enjoyed all of the actual teaching experience he had before we moved out here. His students have always liked him, especially the boys, and he just seems to have a knack for working with kids during that awkward, energetic Jr. High stage. I have known all this about Nathan, but to see him be just as successful in a foreign country, away from all the comforts of home (like Smartboards and...I dunno...reliable electricity) has been so wonderful.

The kids here really like him, but it is obvious that he also has their respect. They enjoy stopping by the apartment for a mocha or to play video games (which says so much in itself) but they understand he is an authority figure. One day Nathan came home from school and told me about a student he had to discipline in class. The boy was acting out and being disruptive, so after more than enough warnings, Nathan informed him he had lost his recess privileges. Well, that did the trick and the boy calmed down. But not without first saying, "Fine, I don't like you anymore." To which Nathan replied: "I'm here to teach you, not to be your friend," The boy smiled (I wish you knew this kid) and announced in front of the whole class: "You can't make me not like you Mr. Lemanski!"

It's not just the kids who know how great he is either. The parents are very impressed with him. I have heard, "Nathan is absolutely an answer to prayer." "Nathan is just so good with the boys- and they are just drawn to him." "Oh, my son told me he is studying more this year just because he likes Mr. Lemanski so much!"

I am so proud of him and all of his hard work so far this year. Last week he went the extra mile and held a study session for his students in the empty room that serves as our backyard. The kids here have actual mid-term exams, like we had in college, and their marks on these exams count quite heavily toward their final grade in the class. He saw the kids needed extra help and so he just did what comes naturally- he taught them on his own time and his own turf! Most of the students took advantage of this opportunity and got quite a bit out of the extra study session. He even made iced mochas for the kids who brought their own ingredients!

He is intelligent and talented and darn good at what he does!

Caribbean Internet Cafe

We Live 2 Hours From THIS - 10/22/06

We have been in Caye Caulker, an island about 30 miles off the coast of Belize, since Friday evening. We drove 2 hours from Blue Creek to Belize City, left our truck, and took a 30 minute water taxi which landed us on Caye Caulker! Each person who arrives to the island is greeted by a beautiful mural at the end of the pier that reads “Go Slow.” This seems to be more than a motto; like most vacation destinations—it is a way of life.

Nathan, Maria (our neighbor) and I landed on the caye about 4:30 and had only one hour to find a hotel before sundown. We heard from some friends back in Blue Creek that it is better to haggle for a room once you get to the caye instead of booking a hotel ahead of time. That goes against every American bone in our body, but we decided to listen to the locals. We saw a few small places which offered the bare necessities, then we came to Barefoot Caribe (you really should google it). Another teacher had stayed at this hotel for $70 Bz a night, and we told the manager this information upon our arrival. He showed is a nice room and said it was normally $80 Bz, but agreed to give it to us for $70. We pointed to the 3^rd floor tower rooms overlooking the Caribbean and asked to look at them. They were PERFECT! He told us they were $150 a night and went down to $100 right away. I looked at Nathan and pouted, telling the manager we really wanted to stay but that it was too much; Nathan and I were going to use the “just walk away” method of driving down the price. Maria, however, had another plan. She used the straight-forward, in-your-face, I-wanna- stay-here- but- I- am- a- poor -teacher-and-*really* -can’t- afford-to-pay-that-much-approach. It worked!! We are staying in a large king bed suite with air conditioning, cable, a beautiful deck overlooking the Caribbean, and a bathtub (something I haven’t seen since leaving the States)- for $40 US dollars!! Just to put it in perspective, our hotel room is costing us as much as we pay for 4 jars of peanut butter (that info was for you mom!) And check out our view!

The caye is very small, we can walk the length of it in about 20 minutes and can walk across it in less than 5 minutes. We have only seen two motor vehicles on the island; most people seem to get around by bicycle or golf cart. Most of the locals seem to drive golf carts around, but they are careful to observe the posted speed limit- the signs simply read, “go slow.” Golf carts and bicycles are for rent, but our bare feet seem to be getting us around just fine on the sandy streets.

On Friday evening, after getting settled into our room, we met back up with Maria and went to a funky-looking restaurant on the beach called Rasta Pasta; having no idea what to expect. What I certainly didn’t expect was to have one of the best Thai dinners I have ever eaten! WOW was it good! We washed it all down with some Happy Hour Rum Punch Specials and hit the beach--even though it was already dark. We ended the evening sitting on a pier, listening to the water hit the dock and looking at the palm trees on the tiny island silhouetted against the clear, starry sky. Ahhhhh…..

Saturday started with a walk around the caye in search of breakfast. We were pleasantly surprised to find a funky little coffee shop featuring art by 11 local artists. More exciting was the fact that the owner made her own fantastic chai tea and served it to me with soy milk! Yum! We went back to the hotel and changed in bathing suits and got busy sunbathing. We soaked up the Caribbean sun for a while before jumping in and exploring the clear, green water, the white sand, and everything in between.

We found Maria and grabbed a quick lunch right off the beach, from a man selling chicken kebobs and tortillas off his bbq. The beach is lined with people selling bbq every day at lunch and supper time. You can buy chicken, shrimp, lobster, conch, crab, or whatever else the chef was able to catch that day. The smell is irresistible!

Tonight we will again, end up on the pier, with a glass of rum punch. Tomorrow, I think we’ll rent some snorkel equipment and explore the nearby reefs.

My Arm Hair Changed Color - 10/9/06

One of our favorite fruits here is apple bananas, as I think Melissa has mentioned previously. The mother of one of my students asked us to come over to their orchard and pick a bunch of apple bananas since they have so many. So generous! We went to Earl’s house and walked around the banana section looking for a ripe enough bunch to take. He chopped down the tree that had a bunch of green bananas with a machete. Each time you harvest a bunch, you have to cut down the tree it’s on. Then two to three more will sprout up from the base. Otherwise, the plant will die. Don’t ask me why, I didn’t design it...

We learned there are several different kinds of bananas including plantains and crazy purpley bananas, along with the regular kind we get back home and the sweet, tart little apple guys. Those are the crack bananas! I also learned that Earl has not been telling his mother the whole truth regarding his homework and how much he ACTUALLY has. Hmmm….somebody’s busted! It’s so nice when my students’ parents invite us over for some real conversation…

While we were there, he also loaded us up with white grapefruit, red grapefruit, and Washington oranges. I hope he doesn't think this is a bribe to lighten the homework load, because that sure won't work! They also have apricots, a kind of blackberry that grows on a large tree, cherries, and coconuts. The blackberries look like small purple raspberries with a soft stem that you eat with the whole berry. They were really sweet. Freakin’ sweet! The berries are the only fruit we’ve seen with actual color. I want to take a picture of all of them side-by-side for you. The grapefruit, oranges, lemons, limes, and plums are all the exact same color. Green. My students still try to convince me that my life has been a lie; that fruit in North America is dyed and painted to look that way.

We have been quite the hit with the kids lately. We took our PS2 over to a friend’s to play Dance Dance Revolution (the video game at the arcade where the kids are jumping all over the pads on the floor). It was such a hit that somebody brought us a spare television to borrow so we could play it in our own apartment. We couldn’t do it before because there is a small cable Y-adaptor (readily available in the U.S. for $1.25) we needed for the sound. Now, kids shout up to us, “Can we play DDR? Hey! We want to play that dancing game!” Now the Americans have the Mennonites dancing! Gasp! It’s funny, too, because so few of them actually want to try it, but when they do they can’t get enough. Even the “tough guys” are hittin’ the floor and planning on buying their own for their playstations. Too funny.

Oh! We were also offered a microwave to babysit until we leave! The kindergarten teacher has a daughter in my 8^th grade class and two high schoolers in my Spanish class. She’s going to let us use their spare until they need it again. Add that to the fancy “beanless” bag chairs we got in Mexico and you’ve got yourself the beginnings of a comfortable home! Add a little Sirius (on its way soon – thank you Lynda!) and we’re going to forget that we’re not in the U.S.! Except for the heat. And the humidity. And the geckos. And the vultures. And the fact that the Caribbean is nearby and Mexico is to the North of us. And the crazy tropical fruit that looks like this...

Mexico, Mayans and....McDonalds?? - 10/8/06

We spent the weekend in Chetumal, Mexico. Chetumal has a real shopping mall, the Caribbean Sea, and a hotel with A/C and wireless internet! wooHOO!! What more could we ask for?

Driving toward the mall, I had to do a double-take and pinch myself. Ahead to the right....are those golden arches? What the.... Yup, after two months of being secluded from civilization I am in a parking lot of a mall containing Office Depot, Burger King and McDonalds! Not only was there a HUGE Micky D's in the parking lot, there was one in the mall food court and a little McDonald kiosk in the mall that sold ice cream and McFlurrys. Mexico, I am sooo sorry for what my country has done to you... Nathan and I ate at a local restaurant that was trying desperately to be an Italian deli. The food was okay, it definitely looked more healthy than the Big Macs and super sized fries everyone else was shoving down. "No thanks, I didn't eat that back home, no point in starting now." The fries did look good though...

It was so fun to window shop in a climate controlled environment again! I got two new t-shirts and I picked up a new skirt and some jewelry as well. Food is cheaper out here, so we did some grocery shopping. But it was nice to spend money on something other than necessities for survival.

We also got to see an actual movie in a real movie theatre!! We saw Las Torres Gemelas. For those of you who don’t have to watch American Movies with subtitles, we saw The Twin Towers. Suffice it to say, we haven’t seen any previews and, since the title was in Spanish, didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into. If you haven’t seen the movie, take Kleenex. If you have seen it, let us know what you thought. I assumed it would be a political movie about the planes, the terrorists, and Al Qaeda. I was surprised- and glad- it focused on the heroes of 9-11, the every day police and fire personnel and their families. It felt surreal sitting in a Mexican theatre, surrounded by our new Canadian and Belizean friends, watching a movie about the worst American tragedy of the New Millennium. But I was encouraged when the movie ended and the lights came up and I realized it wasn’t only the American girl in the 6^th row that had been crying- everyone was touched by the movie. Kinda like how everyone was touched by the tragedy of the event itself…But I really just wanted to see a comedy.

…Anyway, back to our great weekend…

The hotel was perfect and fairly inexpensive- 650 pesos, which equals $65 US or $130 BZ. The grounds were amazing, the buildings were beautiful, and the rooms were clean (a rare thing around here). The wireless internet and A/C secured it as a hotel we will go back to if we ever make it to Chetumal again by ourselves.

Getting back across the border was another great adventure. One of the guys, Henry, is the High School PE teacher and he bought about 20 gazillion soccer balls, basketballs, and volleyballs in Mexico to use at the school. Abe helped him haggle the duty price down so that he didn't have to end up buying them twice. Nathan and I bought a brand new backpacking bag that will be perfect for weekend trips like this one. We stuffed it with some new blow-up plastic couches for our "living room" and my new t-shirts. When the customs official asked us about the bag, Nathan jumped in and told him it was our "beach stuff." Nice save. Then, he eyed our Sauza tequila and a few computer gadgets and lectured us on trying to bring both across the border. He talked about charging us a duty, threatened to charge us a duty, but when I offered to pay the duty he just put his hand in my face to cut me off and said, "I'm just telling you." I think he thought he was being helpful, but he just confused us.

Also, during the border crossing, we found out it is actually illegal to transport soda into Belize. ILLEGAL! Isn't that insane? Apparently, because there is a Coca-Cola factory in the country, soda is regulated and controlled by law. Of course, I found that out after I was safely on the Belizian side of the border and sipping my cold Diet Pepsi. Rebellion tastes sweet!

So, we are back, safe and sound. We have a few new articles of clothing, some computer parts that make our lives easier, some whole bean coffee and blow up furniture that makes our apartment look a little less like a sparsely-furnished apartment in a 3rd World country and a little more like a college dorm room. But hey, at lease we finally have somewhere to "entertain!"