my weekend

My sister asked me last week what my weekend plans were, to which I responded, “Well, probably reading, journaling, just relaxing; nothing much.” It would be my first weekend in Belize without plans and I was looking forward to it. But then, I got a phone call on Friday from Romaldo(Albert, the high school principal’s wife) who asked me if I had plans Saturday night and if not, they wanted to have me over for supper. I could not be more excited! I had plans; true, honest to goodness plans with a family! It’s funny how at home, making plans was like brushing my teeth, routine and usual; here, making plans was a rarity and to go to someone’s home; oh la la! So, on Saturday, I knew I wanted to make something to bring to their house, but my options were limited, to say the least. They do not have many options for baked goods, chocolate(for baking) is VERY hard to find(many of the locals have told me they have to go to the Mexico border to get it) so I settled on Dunkin Hines cake mix:) . Cooking is something I now feel more comfortable with, but baking—that is a whole ‘nother story! Let me back up and say that to cook on the stove, you have to light the eyes with a match; I realize, this is something some of you may be used to but I, for one, was not. That, however, I have (somewhat) mastered by lighting a paper towel, turning the eye on and sticking the paper towel into the eye, at which point, a huge flame erupts and then you run the burning paper towel to the sink and quickly turn on the water. There have been some close calls as I have almost burned a finger or an arm. Well, to use the oven, you also have to light it but the problem is, I couldn’t find the eye or the part you are supposed to light, so I got my flashlight, and proceeded to lie down on the kitchen floor to look, with flashlight in hand, where one might light the oven. I tried one spot, with a burning paper towel; to no avail; I tried another spot, and POOF, it worked but not without me almost singing my eyebrows. I chuckled to myself when I thought how cute I would be going to my host and hostess’ house tonight as Presh, but with no eyebrows! Thank goodness, I was able to jump back, jump up and run to the facet! Whew—quite an ordeal!!

So, the cake was baked, the icing was on and they picked me up at 4:30 for dinner. Wondering why I was asked on what I felt like was the early side, I soon realized that Romaldo wanted me to come that early to learn how to MAKE pizza, starting with the dough. I LOVED every minute of it---watching her knead the dough, helping her cut up the toppings; the whole process was MUCH more fun that buying Boboli’s(sp) from Harris Teeter and slapping on some toppings or running to Mafiozas and buying a pizza. No—this was a process and made me appreciate every bite! It was a great Saturday night!

Today, I met Mrs. Lacey and we went to San Pablo, a nearby village, to continue with the video. I am not sure if I have said this in a previous blog but when Melanie was here, she had offered to help Mrs. Lacey record some of the history of the Presbyterian churches in the area, since the Laceys had started a total of 10 of them here. Melanie was able to record about 4-5 of them so that left me with helping with the rest. So, this morning we went to San Pablo and for the next 4 1/2 hours, I sat there and heard nothing but Spanish!!! The service and the video portion(Mrs. Lacey asked questions of the congregation; questions of the history of the church, as they remember it and I recorded) lasted about 2 ½ hours and then the preacher and his wife invited us to their home for lunch where again, Spanish was spoken for the next 2 hours. I found my thoughts quickly wandering and then ½ way through the day, I laughed to myself as I thought –what if I just stood up and spatted off some Spanish; that would get everyone’s attention. Thank goodness for a thing called willpower b/c I stopped myself from doing just that; it would have been funny though:) You kind of feel like if you hear it for THAT many hours, you should know how to speak it….just like that! After lunch, we went to Mrs. Lacey’s house and took our Sunday afternoon naps and then went to the 5:00pm Cristo Rey service, again in Spanish, and I recorded their history. A long, but fun day; just wished I had understood most of it!

This week, I am supposed to go to Belize City to meet with two people; one a principal at a school and the other, a lady that works at the YMCA of Belize, with whom we(Belize Project/Sports Servants) have a relationship. I am taking the bus (it takes about 2 hours) so I hope I don’t lose an eardrum with the LOUD music for that long. It should be quite an adventurous week as I’ve heard Belize City is like any big city; lots to see and do and lots of people. I have been so used to the laid-back, low-key lifestyle of Corozal and the small villages that I might have quite the culture shock in Belize City. It’s funny b/c the few people I’ve told here that I am heading to Belize City have had the same reaction—“Oh my, be careful” but found out tonight(from an American I met at church) that they are saying that b/c they are soo used to village/low key life; if I have been to Atlanta or New York or heck, even Nashville, I should be fine! We shall see!