Belize 2015; Day 1 and 2

It was so bitter sweet to get on the plane yesterday. I was so sad to leave but beginning to get so excited for Belize! I got on my first flight out after saying goodbye to the girls and before I knew it we were already in San Salvador. I like this stop because there is a subway right next to the gate for the next flight. I'm not a huge subway fan but I do like the idea of being able to get something quick before my next flight that is also healthy. There is not much to eat in the Managua airport so it is a good lunch time break.
I told the girls that I always like to get on the plane last because I don't like waiting in the line and every now and then I get bumped up and that is exactly what happened on my seond flight. As they scanned my ticket they said, we are bumping you up to first class. Oh yeah....... White table cloth on my little tray and a delicious meal including a salad, main meal, a roll, and a desert. This was only a 45 minute flight and they were really hooking it up. I like flying in Central America. The flights are very comfortable, the planes are very clean and the flight attendants are very professional. It's probably like what flying used to be like in the US. Just very nice experience. So if you ever gear up to travel down here and have some hesitation flying an unfamiliar airline, don't be nervous- it's going to be nicer than any domestic flight in the US.
When I was in the Managua airport I found out that Carol (Doctor) and her aughter Katie, Phil (Soccer Coach) and hi on Zach were all delayed a day coming out of BWI. Apparently Belize has a new law that you need a notarized letter from the other parent saying that it is okay for the minor to travel. This is to prevent one parent from kidnapping the child. A couple of years ago in Belize I met a woman with her kids and I thought they were on the run from something. They seemed like a normal American family- Mom with 2 kids but they were living down here in a house with no electricity in a bad neighborhood without the Dad. They also had no transportation and we gave them a ride home one day. When I saw where they were living I was sure they were on the run from someone.
Anyways, the parents with kids got delayed a day and so I didn't have anyone meeting me at the airport. I was too worried about safely traveling by taxi between the airport and the ferry. I knew I would be okay a the ferry and at the airport but in between the cab driver could just take me somewhere else and no one would ever see me again. So I decided to shell out a little extra $$ and take a little puddle jumper flight to the island. This was awesome- it only took 20 minutes, the view from th air was beautiful. I would love to skydive out here. You can see all the reefs under the water and the islands, and the sun was setting. It was just really cool. and I was really happy that I had safe transport. 
Using the airport wifi to chat with some friends at home I found out that the Ravens game was in progress! So I told the cab driver at the island airport to take me staight to Wet Willy's- this is a Baltimore family-owned bar on the island so I KNEW that the Ravens game wuld be on here and I was certain that this is where the whole group would be. I took all my luggage down the long dock to Wet Willy's, which is an awesome dock bar, I walked in with a huge smile on my face only to see no one. There were 3 loners hanging out in the bar and no one from my group. haha. Luckily, Wet Willy's had wifi so I texted everyone and found out tha they were at Lonestar, a restaurant right next to our condo. At this point I would miss too much of the game to go to Lonestar so I ordered some food and a drink :-) and settled in to watch the rest of the game. What a nailbiter turned heartbreaker. I'm sorry Baltimore... at least we made it this far. I hate losing to Tom Brady too... even if he is nice to look at ;-) hehe. 
I befriended another loner at the bar, Alex, while we were watching the game and then it turned out that Alex was the entertainment for the night! I also play guitar and perform at open mic nights and gigs here and there so I was pretty excited to meet a fellow musician, especially one with the same taste in music. So.... just one more drink after the game and I listened to Alex play all my favorite music while sitting on the dock bar with Carribean air blowing in and the water crashing against the pier outside all the open windows/doors. There was absolutely no better way to start my first night in Belize... and I had a first class flight... man, I'm really lucking out today!
After a while of listening to music I made it back to the condo where the rest of the group was waiting for me! A super-warm welcome greeted me and I was so happy to see everyone. They asked, "Where have you been?" and I replied, "Oh, I got caught pup at Wet Willy's", you know how that goes!" haha and all the returning volunteers smiles and nodded knowing exactly what I meant!
This year we have my brothers Scott and Luke on the trip. This is Luke's 3rd year in a row and Scott's second year! Once you come, you are hooked! Almost every volunteer we have had has returned. Scott has a lot of soccer experience as he played in college and has coached ever since he graduated. Luke has an uncanny ability to motivate, energize, and encourage the kids. He really revs them up and creates a great positive atmosphere to play in. We also have Dave Hinton, a longtime friend who grew up in the same court as my family- we have known each other since we were like 8 years old. Now Dave coach's at Ridgely MIddle School with Scott and I. He coaches with the 7th grade girls, Scott coaches with the 8th grade girls, and I coach the 7th and 8th boys. Kevin is also back for round 3. Kevin is our misbehavior specialist. He claims that he can "identify" with the kids that misbehave since he was such a rowdy kid himself. He turned out pretty well, so I trust him to do a good job with them, he has since the first year! ... and, funy thing is, the kids that misbehave are attracted to him, like they are kindred spirits. haha. Next, we have Nikki who is one of my teammates on the Chesapeake Charge and her UMBC teammate Melissa who both have extensive playing experience and have worked in camps. I am so excited to have some competitive soccer players here this year. Especially, some strong female soccer players. We really need strong female role models on the isalnd for these kids. I know they will do a greta job!
Everyone was so tired from traveling so everyone laid low, haging out enjoying the Carribean breeze for a low-key night. Eventually, one by one, the group faded fast, leaving me wide awake. The travel from Nicaragua is far less strenuous. Just 2 short 45 minute flights to get here. Also, I have been going to bed late and waking up early

every day since I have been away; operating on very little sleep since I left so I think my body is used to it. I stayed up finishing the blog, did a little Ab workout, and enjoyed the quiet beach. It was nice to have some quiet time to myself to really soak in everything that had happened in the past week and to contemplate the week ahead. I was mostly excited that everyone was here, happy, energetic, and excited for a fun week!
The rain came in and the wind was howling all night long. I was nervous, not knowing what to expect for our OFF day tomorrow! My plan was to sit on the beach but it was looking bleak. I was so excited to wake up this morning to find the sun shining with a great breeze. We bought some of the Belizean cinnamon bread last night, eggs, and OJ for breakfast last night. The Belizean Cinamon bread is out of this world. Yuou hve never tasted anything so good. If you want tot try it, the only way is to come here with us and prepare yourself for the best bread of our life.! Truth be told, I ate almost half the loaf last night before I went to bed :-/ hehe.
Egg breakfast with cinnamon bread really hit the spot. I also had my first breakfast tea since before I left. Actually, I had 3 cups. Yum. Luke and Dave went into town to get breakfast and the rest of the group ate at the condo. Since then we have been hanging out on the beach listening to music on these awesome speakers that Scott brought with him. We have the beach chairs set up, the corn hole going and Luke and Dave have spent the day

fishing on the end of the pier. Luke brought a rod with him and was so excited to fish this year. He already caught a fish! How exciting! I hear the hooting and hollering at the end of the pier when it happened! I'm excited to see if he catches anything cool this week. There are a ton of small reef fish in the water since the reef is only 200 yards off shore. You can see waves breaking 200 yards off shore for as far as you can look down the island in either direction. There are also some cool bigger fish out there. I'm hoping that Luke pulls in a barracuda! I went fishing out on a boat once here and caught a baracudda- it was very cool!
I'm hoping at some point this week, the wind dies down and then I'm going to go fishing and snorkeling. I want to go swim at Shark Ray alley where all the sharks and manarays are. Maybe also Hol Chen- where you can find exotic fish and sea turtles. It's pretty cool because its not a long boat ride... I can actually see it form where I am sittinf right now! This program in Belize is so fun because we can only work with the kids when they are out of school until it gets dark so like 2:00-5:30 but we have the rest of the time free and there is so much fun to get into here! The only day we don't have the morning free is tomorrow because we need to get everything organized at the school for camp.
After relaxing on the beach for most of the day, I decided to do a little work out and so I laced up my shoes and went for a run. Along my run I saw a few interesting things  There were two dogs walking down the middle of the

road as if they were having a conversation, not concerned about cars, no people in sight. Where did these dogs come from? I was also pretty nervous running next to the crocodile lagoon. It's a huge lagoon infested with Crocs and typically we just drive past it and never see any, but today I just had a bad feeling. I was on foot and there wasn't much space to zig zag so if a croc jumped out I was just hoping a golf cart would also be coming by at just the right time for me to jump on. Well, this was part of the plan I was formulating while running next to it. Trust me, I had plenty of time to think about it. On the way back when I had to pass the lagoon again I heard a rustle in the bushes next to me and when I looked over a HUGE iguana popped out. I thought, "You scared me, but thanks for not being a crocodile." lol. 
When I got back to the condo it was time for a massage! Mel is our friend on the island who is an EXCELLENT masseuse. Dave, Luke, and I all got $40 massages and they were incredible. I felt so awesome afterwards. Mel really is a talented masseuse. We met her last year on the island when she was pregnant, became fast friends, which of course led to Facebook friends... and turns out her baby was born 4 days apart from Scott's! 
We all showered up and just as we were ready to head into town Carol, Katie, Zach, and Phil all arrived! Perfect timing! 
They settled in quickly and then we all went into town to one of our favorite spots, Fido's, a great place for our first meal! I ordered the Caribbean platter- lobster, grouper, and shrimp and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! Everyone ordered some sort of seafood- that is definitely the way to go here on the island. The seafood is pretty awesome... and  that says a lot coming from someone who grew up in Maryland. 
While we were at dinner we had a meeting about the week. We talked about San Mateo, the community that feeds most of the students to Holy Cross. It is estimated that about 90% of the kids in the school are abused physically, sexually, and/or verbally. There are kids that sell themselves to make money for their parents or are exploited by their parents/older siblings in other ways. Many kids eat their only meals at the school. The children face issues with drug dealers and being used as drug-runners for them. If I were to go into specific detail about the things that our children face here, it would make you cringe. 
On the main land, people typically live in communities with their own race and are very supportive and cooperative. On the island, many people are thrown into the rough living conditions of San Mateo and because its a big mix of people there is much less support and cooperation within the community. This is why sports programs can be so valuable for the youth here. To teach the kids about teamwork, what it means to be a good teammate, cooperation, encouragement, how to overcome difficult situations, build confidence, etc. That is the theme of camp this week, "Teamwork." All of the coaches will be pumping this theme throughout the week and, hopefully, it will have a very positive effect on the kids. 

Once we arrived home from dinner, we all shut it down for the night. We have an early morning tomorrow. We start at the school at 8:30, unpack and inventory the gear and donations, then we introduce ourselves to all of the classes, and then take a walk through San Mateo so all of the volunteers can grasp where the kids are coming from. We will finish the morning just in time to get some lunch and then we start the camp in the afternoon. We have a very big day tomorrow and I could not be more excited to see all the kids faces tomorrow morning in the classrooms... they get so excited when they see us for the first time! ... and it's even cooler now because we have seen the kids grow through the years that we have been visiting the island!

Thank you for following the blog and check back to see how our first day of camp goes! 

Good night from Belize!