Saturday by the Sea

It's a little cooler today. Yesterday the high was 88 degrees. (oops, sorry NC). Pretty uncomfortable for the folks who were working outside at Holy Cross. The St. Luke's team one finished their week by painting the "porch" and the exterior of a classroom building.

I spent my day in the cool of the computer lab at a workshop on domestic violence. A woman from Canada has been presenting workshops and organizing interest around this issue in Belize for the past couple of weeks. She is pulling together a variety of resources to build a woman's shelter here in San Pedro. There are only 2 domestic violence shelters in all of Belize (but there are 8 animal shelters....). The 3 speakers are all survivors of spousal abuse, and several of the teachers shared their own stories either of abuse by spouses or of when they were children. The leader had some good information for the teachers. It is estimated that 1 out of 2 children at Holy Cross (and in Belize) is either the victim of physical abuse or witnesses it in their homes. It's pretty clear why the teachers need as many tools as possible to work with the children.

I met the 2nd St. Luke's team at the water taxi around 3:00. Once again a group was thrilled to have gotten out of RDU before bad weather could ground them. We took their suitcases full of donations to the school. Some of Team 1 had gone to the soccer game, where by the way, the boys of Holy Cross played an excellent game that ultimately ended in a 0-0 tie.

Everyone gathered for devotional at Ruby's and then all 27 of us went to dinner together! We had 2 huge tables at the Blue Water Grill. It was a great evening as Team 1 members shared highlights of their week, and Team 2 folks asked lots of questions. We hope the weather will not be an issue for Team 1 as they head home today.

Today most of the group is going out on a beautiful 2-mast sailboat. For me, to get on a boat, there needs to be some purpose or destination. Floating around all day on the water is not my idea of a good time. So, 3 of us are going to Caye Caulker. Yes, that involves a boat -- the water taxi -- but there is a purpose and a destination!! I haven't been to Caye Caulker in 4 years since we started coming to San Pedro. It was the first place I ever went in Belize -- where I fell in love with Belize. It will be interesting to see how it's changed in 4 years. The Sandbox Restaurant has been calling my name -- the world's best fry jacks are there. I will post pictures this evening if the internet will let me.

I am hosting the St. Luke's Superbowl party here tomorrow. I don't have the 52" flat screen projection TV that some of the bars are offering, but we can have a cozier time! Everyone will bring snacks/drinks. I hope it will be fun. I'm not sure where the team loyalties lie or if they are strong enough that we will need to divide the room into the Saints side and the other side (who is the other side???). I hope to have pictures to post of that as well. The real "division" will come Wednesday night when the group splits into the 2 shades of blue for the Duke-Carolina basketball game.

It's about time to slather on my sunscreen (oh, sorry, I did it again) and head for the water taxi dock. Have a wonderful weekend.