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Thursday: The San Antonio School Thursday morning was warm and muggy, like every other morning that week, and after breakfast our group piled into the ProBelize van and headed back to the school at San Antonio, First, though, we stopped at a cafe in San Ignacio for some doughnuts. However, we don't need to tell the other group – the ones that headed to Succotz for a hard day of work in the hot sun – about that now, do we? After our secretive doughnut stop, we bounced our way down the dusty dirt road for 45 minutes and finally got to San Antonio, where I spent most of the day working with an electric drill. That's because, as you know by now, I love power tools!
I spent much of the day at San Antonio working with my friend, Ramon, the pastor, and enjoyed his constant cheerfulness. I had brought an extra pair of work gloves from Portland and since this was our last day, I asked Ramon if he’d like them. As I dug them out of my daypack, his eyes grew wide with appreciation and he was extremely grateful. To me, they were just a pair of $10 gloves but Ramon treasured them, and I treasured his appreciation.
Experiences like that made me aware of how much I take for granted in the U.S. – like clean, running water at the turn of a tap, electricity at the flip of a switch, and grocery stores stuffed with more food than most people in the world can ever imagine – and how much a simple gift can mean. We also donated several books to the school that we had brought down from America, which the teachers greatly appreciated. There's no better gift in the world, I think, than a book for someone who's eager to learn.
We finished the sidewalk later that morning and installed hinges on the classroom walls so they could swing open for school assemblies. Also, Gary, Tom and others installed sheetrock above the partitions to reduce the noise between classrooms. So we completed all our work and were happy, the teachers were pleased, and all was right with the world. A Kind Farewell (Part 1 - San Antonio Style) This was our last day at San Antonio and to show their appreciation, the teachers cooked us a great lunch of tortilla chips, a cheesy and delicious salsa, mashed potatoes, gravy, and watermelon juice. It was a simple lunch but it meant a lot to us, just like simple gifts like gloves and books meant a lot to them. As we ate lunch with the teachers in the school’s cafeteria – a small, rustic screened building with a few benches and tables – I enjoyed getting to know them, partly because my father had worked closely with dedicated Latin American teachers such as these several decades earlier.
At lunch I sat between two teachers and we started discussing Belizean politics. As in the U.S., Belize has two main political parties, called the PUP and UDP. Unlike Americans, though, Belizeans wear their politics plainly on their sleeves and are quite vocal about their affiliations. There had been a lively presidential election in Belize just a week earlier and, by a landslide, the UDP threw out the PUP after 10 years, so everyone was happy and there were victory parties everywhere. In another 5 or 10 years, the UDP will be replaced by the PUP and, once again, everyone will celebrate. So in that way, it's also like the U.S.
We then started talking about the U.S. presidential primaries that were underway. Figuring that the teachers didn’t know much about American politics, I explained the U.S. presidential election system to them in simple terms. As I slowly told them, "There are two main parties in the U.S., the Democrats and Republicans, and every four years, there’s a presidential election.” The teachers politely listened to me prattle on for a while, talking in easy-to-grasp terms but then one of them interrupted me and said, “Yes, we know about that. Did you see the South Carolina primary on CNN the other night? Boy, I thought the debate was great, especially when Obama talked about Social Security…”
This teacher, Carlos, obviously knew a heck of a lot more about American politics than I imagined – and probably a lot more than most Americans. I quietly laughed at myself for underestimating their knowledge of America. During the week, though, I discovered that many Belizeans pay a lot of attention to events in the U.S., mainly because what happens in America has such a big impact on their lives.
Since this was our final day, Carlos and the school’s principal stood up and each gave us a very kind speech, thanking us for coming down to Belize and helping to fix up their school. In return, I stood up and told the staff how much we appreciated them for inviting us into their village and sharing their hospitality. The words on both sides were heartfelt and all of us – teachers, villagers, and the ProBelize staff – felt a bond that transcended borders, languages and cultures.
During my week in Belize I received much more than I ever gave back, something that was especially true during this last day at San Antonio. The teacher's words touched me deeply, especially when Carlos asked us not to forget about them after we returned to America. No, I wouldn’t forget about them nor my amazing experience in Belize. Not ever.
Above left: Michael and Cecelia conferring on Thursday morning at Chiclero Camp, our base in San Ignacio, before heading out to San Antonio. Above center: That's me outside the ProBelize office in San Ignacio. Above right: Thursday morning on our way to San Antonio we stopped for doughnuts and coffee. Our other group, meanwhile, was slaving away in Succotz. Uh, maybe I shouldn't have said that...
Above left: Gary and Ramon working on a partition. Gary, a dentist in Portland, is one of the best photographers I've ever met. Above center: Our finished sidewalk, ready for use. Above right: As Ramon shows, our hinges worked great, too. The middle panel comes out and the end panels swing open, so the school can have an assembly.
Above left: The modest but well-used fifth grade library. Above right: I spent all day Thursday drilling. The walls were soaked in arsenic as a preservative, so I wore a dust mask. Thoughts of a cold Belikin beer got me through.
Above left: Sylvia, Sheila and Coleen cleaning up the classroom. Above right: Coleen, Cecelia and Laurie kicking back on the Chiclero veranda Thursday afternoon. We worked hard that week but got a lot done.
Above left: Belikin is the national beer of Belize and it tastes great after a hard day of work. Two of them taste even better. Above right: Sheila and Urban saying goodbye to our contractor, Michael (with Belikin in hand). Michael enjoyed working with us as much as we did with him.
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