2005 Daily Journal

Day Eight: July 26, 2005

2005 Q & A

Our last full day in Belize began with a relaxing choice between beachcombing and yoga. After breakfast, we traveled an hour by boat along the shoreline to Monkey River, a village of 200 people. Although school was out of session for the summer, the children came to the school for lessons with our teams.

Carolyn, Jamie, Elsa and Mary engaged the children in scrapbooking. Eli, Ann, and Anne taught a greeting song and a numbers game with puppets and dice. Karma, Germaine, Janet and Melinda had the children enact bats echolocating mosquitoes in an outdoor tag game. Alden, Cindy and Linda led the children in making electrical circuits.

Eli presented a $400 scholarship from the Harnett Country Reading Association for a Monkey River student to attend high school. Our whole group brought school and hygiene supplies for the Monkey River students and teachers.

Over a typical Belizean lunch of chicken, rice and beans, we listened to punta music. The rhythm worked the whole group into a frenzy of dancing. Punta dancing is all in the hips.

In Placencia, we supported the local economy by buying hot sauces, recado (a Mayan spice mixture), jewelry, wooden bowls, fabric, and baskets.

2005 Daily Journals
Day One: July 19
Day Two: July 20
Day Three: July 21
Day Four: July 22
Day Five: July 23
Day Six: July 24
Day Seven: July 25
Day Eight: July 26
Day Nine: July 27

Previous Years' Journal Entries
Belize Institute 2003
Belize Institute 2004