viva belice!

WOW. I officially have six days left in San Ignacio. I can not believe I have been here for almost twelve weeks! Time flies...well. sometimes it doesn't haha. but sometimes it does! I won't make this my official "Peace out Belize" blog post, but I really am going to miss the place. and the people I've met.

This week is my last week teaching little brown children how to read! Haha but in all seriousness I am going to miss my students so much! Although they can be a handful, they are the cutest.
One of my students, Henry, always stays after class to help me clean my classroom. When the bell rings, all the other kids grab their stuff and bolt out of the door. Not Henry. He grabs a broom and starts to sweep. Such a sweetheart. His dad always picks him up thirty minutes late so we're always outside sitting on the bench waiting. The other day he was crying because his dad wasn't there yet, so I asked him if he wanted to look at pictures on my computer. He loved it! I showed him pictures of Disneyland, my favorite place in the entire universe. He kept saying, "Wow miss. I REALLY want to go there miss." It made me so sad. I wish every child had the opportunity to go to Disneyland! I know most of these kids need food, shelter, clothing, more than they need to go to an amusement park. But man, I would love to see all of their faces light up with wonder and excitement! :]

I have another student, Micheal, who has a hard time focusing. Especially in the last ten minutes of class. His dad always watches through the window during the last ten minutes. When the bell rang on thursday, he assured me that Michael's mom would hit him and tell him to behave better. I didn't know what to say. That's terrible. Belize (and all other central/south american countries) has such a different culture and belief when it comes to raising your children. Micheal's dad said all of this right in front of the kid, and the class. I wanted to cry. All I said was, "nonono that's okay! Michael is a great student! He just has a hard time concentrating when class is about to get out. Totally normal. Not a problem." I wanted to scream, "DO NOT HIT THIS BOY! He is really trying his best and just needs some encouragement from home!"

Sometimes when I sit down and think about going home, I remember that I'm going to Italia ONE DAY AFTER I LAND IN LA. Isn't that crazy!? Italy!! I have always wanted to go! I am incredibly excited and I feel so lucky and blessed to have this opportunity!! But. One trip at a time. I should finish out Belize before I go crazy for pizza, gelato, and an awesome culture that I know I'll fall in love with.

VIVA BELICE!!

 keep it fresh y'all