Unlike the other students we won’t be using any of those silly Belize puns, but our day was nevertheless un-BELIEVABLE.
Today started out like every other day: students sleeping in, boys locked out of their rooms and sleepy teenagers sleeping around the breakfast table. We were all eager to be able to finally meet the high school students at Corner Stone High School.
When we got there, we were welcomed by one of the hottest days of our trip. Then, we all played ice breaker games to build bonds but at the same time tired us out and had us sweating like pigs… The games were a great opportunity to get to know the students in a carefree environment.
Following that, we joined them in their chapel room to set up for their cultural fair which will be taking place tomorrow! For the fair, the students were each given a Belizean culture to study and then present about it. Prior to leaving for the trip, we as a team were asked to set up a Canadian based booth. We gathered pictures of us doing activities in Canada and items that will help them see what Canada is all about. This fair will be happening tomorrow…so tune in for an update on what we learnt on tomorrow’s blog.
After that, we were able to experience a typical Mayan celebration meal- which consisted of cooking pork under the ground. As seen in the pictures above, they dug a massive hole and filled it with rocks and other flammable items, such as wood and palm leaves. The dry palm branches were lit on fire, which caused the dry logs to catch on fire (the logs were placed over the hole with rocks on top). When the logs were completely burnt, the hot rocks fell into the pit, and the pot of meat was placed on top of the hot rocks. This was then covered with fresh palm leaves, then dirt on top. The cooking process took 3-6 hours depending on the type of sauce the meat was marinated in.
After lunch, our team and the grade 12 students hopped onto a bus, and two of the students showed us their Belizean’s homes. The families were very hospitable and welcoming. Right away we were offered fruits and drinks to show us more about their culture and way of living. One house even gave us sugar cane that was freshly cut in front of us. Many conversations that we had through this were very insightful on the Belizean lifestyle. One family even had a chicken that reminded us exactly of Darius with his big poufy hair!
After our tour, we played sports with the Belize students until the bus picked them up. We were able to share the game of “bump” with them! After the bus picked them up, we enjoyed the outcome of the “Fiery Meat Hole” (Sabrina). The meat was delicious as we put it on tortillas!
We just closed the night off doing devotions and are now off to the grocery store to grab drinks and snacks. Surprisingly, this store is the largest in Corozal even though it is only a quarter of the size of any store we have in BC!
- Sabrina, Jae-Lynn, and Blake
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