I can't believe that we are almost at the end of this amazing experience. Tomorrow is our last day teaching at Holy Cross and then we have a grand finale on Thursday at a school-wide sports day. I am on the green team for sports day and apparently us, the student teachers, have to race against each other in a 100 metre dash and a potato sack race. Should be funny!
We have been here for more than one month and this experience is more than I could have imagined. Initially, it was all about immersing ourselves in the school community and getting teaching experience but it has turned in to so much more than that. We have all made friends in the community and on any given day you can find one of us just hanging out with our new buddies. There are no ulterior motives - just good people looking for good friends. I have always been one to get attached easily and so experiences like this are hard for me to leave. I remember going to Costa Rica a few years back and making friends there and enjoying the culture and community and being so sad when I had to leave. Well, this time in San Pedro has been even more enriching of an experience and it is definitely going to be hard to leave. As a matter of fact, one of the girls has already changed her flight so that she can stay longer. It is real and genuine and is another part of this journey that we call life.
The last two weeks haven't brought anything out of the ordinary. We did get to go to Belize City to participate in a basketball tournament with the girls' team. It was so much fun and the girls had a really good time. We got our butts kicked but the team did play well considering they knew pretty much nothing about basketball two weeks prior. We also talked a lot about what being on a team means and about the sisterhood of women's sports and how this could be the beginning of good times for life with teammates. I know that I am forever bonded with my rowing girls and even if we don't see each other for years, when we get together it is like no time has passed. It was a really cool day for everyone that got to go. I do have to say though that there were aspects that were very un-Canadian. We (15 of us) piled into a taxi van to get to the court and on the way back we all rode in one small pick-up truck. It makes me wonder if we take life too seriously in North America, like we have a stick shoved up our asses - or, if we are actually just smart for being so cautious! It's your call. All I know is that I had a good time!
Next week, we will be heading inland to see a bit more of the country. Our plans are still a bit up in the air but we are planning on going to San Ignacio/Cayo. I'll give the update once we sort it out. For now, we are focused on finishing this week and wrapping things up at Holy Cross. Be in touch again soon. Hope everyone is well.
