Heart Stirred: Go, Give AND Receive

Hi friends! I'm super happy to be able to bring you a guest writer for this week's bonus post! A stranger whom I quickly became good friends with, Tracie, will be bringing us back to my time in Belize, the second leg of my gap year. Enjoy, as I did! Belize 2.0 By Tracie Thibault …

Since I’ve been gone

Since I last wrote I've left Belize and moved back home. That's because I was living in Belize. A foreign country. A developing country, at that. I moved there...to live...on my own....for 9 weeks. Sometimes I'm still surprised at that. I mean, it's kind of crazy. But, as I always say, I'm kind of crazy. …

Chocolate and Books

Fair trade chocolate and library books! What more could a girl ask for. On Saturday I got to bring my students (5 kids) to town. Their family of 10 has one bike and not enough money to take the bus on a regular basis so they only go into town about once a month. That …

Tik’al, Guatemala

First time in Guatemala. First real conversation with Spanish speakers in Spanish where they actually understood me. First time buying a beer. First time staying in a hostel. It was an adventurous weekend. Teresa, the other American I live with, and one of the women we went to Lime Caye with went to San Ignacio, …

Doing so much

When it's a matter of spending my time preparing for my tutoring lesson (aka learning how to teach) or writing a blog post, I'm going to choose the former. Blogging is also lower on my "to do" list than visiting Mayan ruins in Guatemala or spending the night on what was basically a private island. …

Life ever-changing

Fun fact: There is a tree here named the Gumbolimbo that is colloquially called The Tourist Tree. This is because its bark turns red and then peels off, like a white person’s skin when it gets sunburned. As someone who consistently gets sunburned, I find this hilarious. A huge part of this gap year has …

Cultural diversity, etc.

Mennonites, Mayans, and Creoles Oh My! I’ve mentioned before how diverse the people of Belize are and now I will attempt to elaborate. Since getting here on the 11th I’ve learned so much. There is a big difference between reading about the many ethnic groups that call this beautiful country home and actually experiencing the …

A full day

As the drizzling rain suddenly turned to pouring buckets, we ran up the hill to the small church building in which we were leading a Confirmation retreat. Once inside I noticed the open windows hardly let in enough light to read by, so I reached for the sting attached to a light bulb above me. …

In awe

A glimpse at my usual schedule, so far: Note- all of this is done in English (though their accents aren’t always easy to understand) 5:30am wake up 5:45 prayer with sisters and “the girls” in chapel (on the property) then drive about 10 minutes into town 6:30 Mass at St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church …

Punta Gorda, Toledo District, Belize, Central America

Belize. That’s where I live. I got here a week ago but it is still sinking in. It’s only for two months, or it’s for a whole two months. My perspective changes by the minute. In the weeks and months leading up to the voyage here, I told many people I would be temporarily moving …