Fancy Schmancy - 5/19/07

We are staying at Chan Chich Lodge in Gallon Jug, Belize. Mom arrived in Belize on Tuesday the 14th and enjoyed seeing our daily life in Blue Creek but was anxious to begin sight-seeing. We planned a day trip to Chan Chich, so she could walk in a real rain forest, see monkeys, and have a look at some ruins. But, she couldn't resist the beautiful thatch-roofed cabanas and so, here we are. Nathan and I have been to this spot for day trips on several occasions, but this is our first time staying over night. We have enjoyed the manicured lawns, the grass-covered ruins, the playful primates, and the colorful birds. Now we have enjoyed the feather beds, double head, rain-water shower, beautiful hot tub and pool, and, as you already saw, the bidet. Each time we come to Chan Chich we experience something new and different. I can honestly say that bidet was..."different."

Mom had a great time at the ruins and really enjoyed the hike through the rain forest. She saw spider monkeys and listened the roar of howler monkeys while relaxing on our porch during her morning devotions. There were so many great pictures of the hotel and grounds that I just had to do a slide show. If you are ever curious about the world that inspired "Apocolypto", Chan Chich is a great place to explore their world. Our cabana was surrounded on three sides with Mayan buildings and the entire resort is built on what was once the market area in the middle of dozens of Mayan temples, oratories, and residence buildings. All of the Mayan architecture in this site remains covered. The owner of the site believes this will help preserve the buildings. So, since mom wasn't able to see what the actual ruins look like, we will take her to Lamanai tomorrow.

Enjoy the slide show and I hope it inspires you to visit Chan Chich!

It's A Wonderful Life - 5/18/07

Scorpions underneath. Detention ahead. Tarantulas behind, boxes every-where. Crabby kids. Hot wind. Mangoes and exams; Ascension Day and wet chalkboards – overflowing garbage cans and final goodbyes.

These are the sights and sounds of a school year ending in Belize. I watched as my classroom was turned upside down and the books boxed up for the summer break. The desks and chairs were stacked in the corner and the kids ran excitedly from school like lizards on hot sand – most of whom I will never see again. Others I will still run into at church or in the community before we leave for good – which will be on June 14th. It is bittersweet because although I hate to say goodbye to everything and everyone here, it will be so much fun visiting friends and family again.

Melissa and I enjoyed an unforgettable, life-changing year in Belize. Through it all, there were steady reminders that I am in fact teaching in a foreign country – besides the view of the sprawling savannah of Belize outside one window and the hills and wide valley of Mexico out the other. For example, my students were almost all bilingual and many spoke with Low German accents. When my students didn’t like something, they might describe it in their Mennonite German by saying it’s “for sheet.” And only in Belize would a student come to school Monday morning pointing out bite marks on her legs and arm from where she was attacked by a monkey over the weekend. Only in Belize would a student say after coming to school, “I had a scorpion in my pants this morning.” Only in Belize would I walk to school and have a shard of painted Mayan pottery poke through the heel of my sandal and stab me in the foot. Only in Belize would our neighbors complain of the swarm of killer bees that nested outside the door of what used to be our apartment (which also serves as the general store.) Only in Belize would my students bring me gifts of tropical fruit throughout the year. By the way – did you know that cashews come from a fruit that looks like Dr. Seuss designed it? Cashewfruit is crazy looking, and delicious! (The More You Know….)

Throughout this experience I have seen that God has truly filled our cup to overflowing. Why us? Why have we been given so much? I can’t say. The only thing I can say is “thanks” and “to God be the glory.” We have been so blessed.

I had a terrific school year, but it came to a screeching halt at noon on Wednesday, and I’ve been busy with report cards and permanent records since then. The last two weeks were actually quite difficult. My kids – bless ‘em – got it into their heads that teachers have no authority after school on the last day of the year. Therefore, in their perfectly logical junior high minds, that meant they could try to earn a detention by the last day and then skip out on it since I would have no recourse. Or so they thought…

Now, this age group poses its own special challenges as it is, with their broken junior high brains and all. Add to that situation 76% of them trying to earn a detention. How fun was that! Oh boy, I wish I could do that every day! It was just swell! And even the best kids get crabby when you’re only days away from summer break.

In the end, two kids did in fact earn a detention on the last day – they pushed it just far enough. Unbeknownst to them, I had already discussed the situation with the board and cleared “extracurricular activities” for students to participate in on the last day of school. The parents were called, and after serving a lunch detention on the last day of school, the two lucky winners stayed behind all afternoon on what was supposed to be a half day to help me count books and organize the bookshelves of the student library. A real class party, Mr. Lemanski style!

Really though, even at their worst these kids are great. This community has been blessed with a whole generation of good kids.

But good or bad, the school year is over, and Melissa’s mom arrived on Tuesday to visit us before we go home. That put us in “tour guide” mode. So now we’re at a resort in the jungle together and I’m slowly unwinding. As we were sitting in the lounge sipping rum punch, listening to parrots and smelling tropical wildflowers growing at a plush resort in Central America, I thought to myself, “Wow, now that the school year is over, all three of us here are unemployed.” So now I’m wondering, “Why do so many people complain about being unemployed?” I think it’s terrific! In fact, I may never work again…

In the meantime, we’re preparing for the process of returning to los estados unidos. It will be most bueno. I hope to be able to see as many people as possible as soon as possible, because I miss you all! So, see you soon and take care!

N8

Grad Trip '07! - 5/6/06

This weekend, Nathan and I were invited to go back in time to our Senior year of High School as we chaperoned the 12th grade class trip to San Pedro (Ambergris Caye to you Americans). It was a blast but "ooooo eeee!" you couldn't pay me to be a High School girl again! There was more attitude and cutting girl remarks than I remember experiencing at good ol' Henry Foss High School!

There were 12 of us in all; 8 girls, 2 boys, and Nathan and I. The boys were in HEAVEN on that island surrounded by tanned bikini-clad women! I could write an entire blog about the boys and call it "Mennonite Boys Gone Wild" but since so many Blue Creekers read this, I'll just say, "a good time was had by all." Nearly all of the girls bought bikinis (the height of Blue Creek rebellion) and they all giggled when they wore them together in the pool (after dark.)

All but two of the kids had their hair braided and the boys went on a SNUBA trip. SNUBA is a cross between snorkeling and SCUBA. You have oxygen like SCUBA, but the tanks stay on the boat and you have a tube that connects to the tank. SNUBA allows you to stay underwater for about 30 mins. and swim at about 20 feet without having to be SCUBA certified. The boys also proved to be smarter than the rest of us. They decided to spend the $10 BZ to rent bikes for a few days. This made getting around a lot quicker and cooler!

While the kids were running around the island, spending money and having a blast, Nathan and I mostly hung out at the amazing resort which had a private beach (very very rare on the island) and a beautiful pool. We have already been on so many trips and are planning to spend lots of $$ when mom comes to visit next week, so we tried to make this trip as cheap as possible! It wasn't too difficult either, since we all raised the money for the lodging and we made our own meals! I tell you, these kids know how to travel: Spend all your money on an AWESOME place and just make sure it has a kitchen! We brought 2 coolers of food along with a suitcase and a cardboard box filled with "snacks." We were set.

I don't want to make it sound like we didn't perform our chaperon duties. We made sure all the students and luggage made it to the island and back home. We also cooked all the meals and did all of the clean up. We went into town with the kids the first few times and we, of course, set down a few ground rules. But, these are good kids. When so many kids are getting alcohol poisoning from drinking games and sleeping around on their Senior Trips, these kids rebelled by swimming in the pool after hours (even though they still asked our permission), buying bikinis they won't wear without shorts and Cuban cigars that they won't smoke. Chaperoning this group wasn't too tough.

So, another great weekend with fun company. My tan is a little darker and I have stayed at yet, another, georgous hotel in Belize. I am going to miss this!