Trainee Visit

One of my favorite things during training was visiting a current volunteer so I was more than willing to host a trainee from the new group and I'm so glad that I did. I wasn't sure what to really plan for, just thought my visitor would enjoy a taste of village life, so I didn't change my weekend routine much. I met my house guest Friday night in town and right away we realized why we were matched together. Besides KC being the sweetest lady, she was able to explain my stomach issues a little more. (By the way, my stomach lining is no longer peeling, but healing. Woot woot!) We did the usual Saturday morning routine, breakfast at Snack Shack, market time, and grocery shopping. KC even bought me a new shirt. What's with these newbies buying me gifts? First my penpal and then my visitor- I luck out with the matching. Once we made it to Santa Teresa we went to the school for a GLOW meeting. The girls group is just starting and we wanted to hear from those who had gone to camp and plan our first service project, a village trash clean-up in honor of Earth Day. After the meeting we had a late lunch and much needed hammock time, which we were sure to fit in our busy schedule whenever we could. We then went to visit Paulina, taking some thread so she could show us how to make kuxtals. What a neat process. I even got to help! One thing I love about Paulina, she always knows when I want to try- plus she's a good teacher. So yes, I'm making my very own shoulder bag, it's a small one, but maybe next time, there will definitely be a next time, I'll attempt a larger one. After our craft lesson we borrowed a bike and took a ride to kawaiy ha' (horse's drink) I love how different water spots have different names. This one is a nice fresh spring bathing hole I had yet to use and it couldn't have been more perfect after a long, hot day. When we made it back home, the Mas family invited us in for tasty chicken caldo with corn tortillas even though neither of us were very hungry. I'm finding it too hot to eat, the other day it was 6pm and still 90 degrees in my house, luckily there was a nice breeze.
On Sunday I told KC of our church options and she was excited to go to mass even though it was in Ke'kchi. On our way back from church we stopped at the community center to check out the village chairman and council nominations. I'm so happy we went inside to experience the once every three years event. I was surprised to see one man decline running for chairman and the multiple men refusing to be on the village council. After Luisa's younger brother declined a nomination I caught his eye and he almost made a nomination of his own... Miss Amy for village council... hahaha. After the floor was closed, only a chairman election was needed. Since we couldn't vote we went back to my house and KC made delicious potato salad. I never really thought to make potato salad at home, because there's no refrigerator, but I need to remember leftovers are easy to get rid of. The officer that watching the election stopped by to visit and I was glad to have food to offer, not only potato salad but kalalu with eggs, another favorite and tortillas, both corn and wheat flour. Wheat flour tortillas are a treat for me and I guess they taste like adding ground green banana to the corn masa before making tortillas. Interesting. Having someone, "just stop by," reminded me how much I love Belize. The officer was from Punta Gorda and knew the volunteers in town, but even if we wouldn't have had mutual friends the visit still would have been nice. We had more hammock time then went to bake cinnamon rolls with Sarah, which turned out beautifully. Again, it was so hot I was sweating twice as much as Sarah just standing there holding the piece of plastic as she was kneading away. I love my Sunday afternoons with Sarah and that I was able to share the experience with a next Peace Corps. I didn't plan much for the visit, just wanted her to see the joys of typical village life, and believe it was a success. Honestly, we didn't do as much as I would have liked, there were other people I wished she had time to meet, but you can only do so much in a day and a half. Having KC was such an encouragement to me. She kept voicing how great I have it here, which I can't disagree with, and how great of a job I'm doing, which is always nice to hear. This makes me even more excited for my next visitors! Loves and Hugs!