Education Week

May 10-14 was Education Week in Belize. On Monday, all teachers on Ambergris attended an ecumenical worship service at the Lion's Den. In each region of Belize, similar services were held at the same time. I was honored to be asked to give the opening prayer. This is the first time a service like this has been held out here on the island. Some of our teachers have gone to Belize City in years past. It was great to see Ms. Sharon and Ms. Monica, former Holy Cross teachers.

Thursday night the Town Board sponsored another event for all teachers on the island -- a dinner at the Lion's Den. Each teacher was given a tee-shirt which we wore to the party. There were free rum drinks and Belikin beer, a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings, live music, dancing and drawings for prizes donated by local merchants. All the Holy Cross teachers and student teachers sat together and had a great time. Several of the teachers won prizes in the drawing (not me). There was also a ladies' game of musical chairs -- one of our teachers won. When the men had their round, it turned into "full contact" musical chairs. One of our teachers won 2nd place. There was a huge pinata, and Deacon Jan was Holy Cross's representative to swing the stick at it. It was a small stick and a large pinata. I think I wounded it but didn't strike the cracking blow. The scramble on the floor for its contents was pretty wild.

Today the schools were all out for Teacher Appreciation Day. (Pay close attention to this part, Hill Center friends). At 9:00 this morning, all the teachers and administrators -- and this lucky chaplain -- boarded a Coastal Express boat and headed north to a resort known as Tranquility Bay. The place totally lives up to its name! This is the most beautiful stretch of beach in Belize, and it is where the island meets the reef. You can almost see Mexico from there.

Most of us just lounged on the beach, but some went out in kayaks. We took snorkeling equipment, but the current was so strong that it was very difficult. Some of us walked all the way to the end of the island in search of a good spot to snorkel, but it was low tide and there was no water! We found some awesome shells, though. The restaurant, The Tackle Box, was built by the original owners of the Tackle Box in San Pedro and looks very much like it. The food and drinks were wonderful. One of the men came and cut down coconuts for us to drink the water and eat the coconut meat. Mmmm....

It was a great day. We laughed so much and really had fun together. It has been wonderful to me to be included in the activities and celebrations all week. Have a great weekend, everyone.