A Whirlwind Week

I know I’m the worst, but you have to cut me some slack because in 6 months I’ve been really really good about updating on Tuesdays plus with parents here I’ve had a very unusual schedule. But ok, I’ll start with the weekend.

So we’ve already covered when I had to adjust to the shock of seeing my parents in Belize and then after that we took our water taxi while my mom and I took turns talking, I rambling on and on about little things and big things about my life and she talking all about my nephew. So we got to Caye Caulker at about 2:30 and let me tell you it’s the best feeling in the world to just stand on that dock, take a deep breath of the salty Caribbean air, and soak in the blue and green water.

And man what a weekend it was! Of course for me, my idea of a vacation for the weekend were things like I could take a nap if I wanted to or I could read an entire book this weekend! Which I did. It was glorious and reminded me of life before it was completely consumed by Belizean teenagers. But seriously, if you’re gonna go on a vacation, it’s great to bring parents. It’s very different than vacationing as a missionary! We rented a little house (with AC and hot water!!) and since Caye Caulker is pretty small, it was close to anywhere we needed to go. And really the weekend was spent walking around the island one day and I spent the next day reading and just relaxing, taking a break from the sun. It might sound boring, but to someone who wakes up with her mind racing with everything that needs to be done that day and goes to bed thinking about all the things that need to be done tomorrow, it isn’t boring; it’s vacation. So here are a few pictures though to be honest my dad took more pictures that I don't have.

 What it looked like right off the water taxi.

 This is for my friends Dan and Amylia! I was over 1,000 km from your homes!

Mom and Dad before we had to leave our little island

Well Monday came and it was the bittersweet day of returning to Benque. Well obviously my parents weren’t returning. And I say bittersweet because if I got stranded on Caye Caulker and couldn’t return to school for an extra week or month, I wouldn’t complain. But I have to say it was extremely weird being away from all of the other volunteers for the weekend, and I was very happy to see them Monday afternoon. And then my parents were in Benque! If it was weird seeing them just in Belize, then it was downright trippy seeing them in the little non-impressive town I’ve been living in the past 6 months. Since we got into town around 1:30 ish, I got to school at 2 to get some things done and then my parents came at about 4 to see campus and as luck would have it, they got to meet some of my favorite students right away. That whole encounter was hilarious!! The kids were all so shocked that these were my parents. One didn’t believe me at first and I finally convinced him, and then another girl came out and she just didn’t believe it because “they look too young, Miss!” My mom was like, “oh she’s my favorite!” Tuesday and Wednesday I kinda sent my parents off adventuring on their own but not completely on purpose, so before you go thinking that I just set my parents lose in Belize, hear my side of it. Well ok, I told them off the bat that I had to be at school on Tuesday, so they went to Pine Ridge Mountain braving the truly horrendous roads (we’re talking driving at 5 MPH kind of horrendous) to get to the natural pools and lovely views. Wednesday I was supposed to go with them to the Mayan ruins at Tikal in Guatemala, but there was one small problem: my passport was locked in an office at school and the tour group my parents signed up with was leaving at 7:30 am. Shucks. I was really bummed but wanted them to go anyway. And they had an awesome time! They got to see little bits of Guatemala, had an awesome tour guide, and were in a little group with 3 other Americans. And for today well, we have loose plans to go to Xunantunich and then who knows what’s in store for the afternoon? I’m thinking ice cream in Cayo. Or maybe a nap. But napping isn’t really interesting to my parents so that probably won’t be our afternoon activity.

Oh! Also on Wednesday my futbolito team had a game which was marvelous because a) my parents got to see most of the second half after coming back from Tikal and b) my boys won! 3-1. I was very proud of them and they were so cute (though they would die if I called them that to their faces) because one of them especially was very adamant about taking a team picture to send to Kelley since it was both of us after all that adopted them. Here is a picture of them pre-victory:

Some of the most ridiculous boys you will ever meet! Love this team.

Well I think that’s all I got. But next week should be an exciting update, and I’ll leave you in suspense as to why! So until then, keep those prayers coming! We’ve got a very busy couple weeks in store here at Mt. Carmel. Thank you in advance! And hey! It’s Thursday! You are so close to the weekend. Keep rockin it.

St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Totus Tuus, Maria.