I'm here!

It's already the fourth day of my trip! It's taken a while for me to be able to get a hold of an internet computer and take the time to type this all out. Boy, has there been a lot happening! I'll try and describe it all...we'll see how I do!

So we took our first flight out of Buffalo at six thirty in the morning on Thursday. We took another from Atlanta, and arrived in Cancun at about two-ish. When we got off the plane we were blasted with heat! We then took a coach bus to where our group bus was parked. That ride took a good hour, but there was AC so i took advantage and got some well needed zzzs. Then we got on the bus our group bought (which is a school bus, by the way) and began our twelve hour treck through the Yucatan, out of Mexico and into Belize! We went through the sleepy customs of Belize at about one in the morning. It wasn't too busy! Our last sight of pure American civilization was a quick bite to eat at Burger King.

We arrived at the YWAM base at three thirty on Friday morning. I'd been up for about thirty hours at that point, with no more than about two hours of sleep to my name. It was nice to walk into the house they prepared for us...with a kitchen complete with a stocked fridge and shelves filled to the brim with snacks and ingredients for some tasty meals. We were happy, but tired. The rest was much appreciated!

The next morning I woke up, walked to the front door of the house, and was greeted with the sight of a couple palm trees in the front yard. To the right was a hedge, and behind it is solid jungle. The sound of the crickets is endless...day or night.
The rest of the day was filled with meetings. We learned about the base, about our placements, everything! We also learned the standard food for Belize is rice and beans, just like potatoes are for us dutch! :P

At night I played soccer (or football!) with some kids living on the base whose parents work there. Boy, are they good! They ran us out in ten minutes, and, of course, won the game. That afternoon we had also just received our DSL connection, so everyone was in line for one of the four connections to talk to parents. We also have a phone, so I made a call to my mom to tell her how everything's going.

Another thing our group has come together on was the idea of buying a pool for the base. We're all so hot and not used to the climate that we wanted so badly to swim in the river...anything that was wet! They hadn't cleared a path to the river, and we were getting pretty desperate. So, we asked Kathy, part of YWAM, to see what she could do. She found an inflatable pool available for $500 US. We did the math, and it came out to $30 each! So we all pitched in, and we now own a wonderful pool to use for the next three months, after which we will donate to the base. It will be so nice...considering we're here for the hot season. May will be intensely hot!

The next day I was packed up and ready to go to my first three week placement, which is at Roseglen Christian School. I'm going to be teaching and helping students! I'm staying with a family of two parents and six children, two or which are adopted girls. They're the Hein family, and they are wonderful! They're spoiling Meagan and I here! Their daughters are so much fun and I guess they see us as older sisters!
The food has been amazing, and the hammocks are very very comfortable. Sitting out on the veranda at night is amazing!

So we've been here for just over a day. Today we went to church, and then afterwards we were invited with some youth to go a restaurant they like. I had some of the best chicken wings I've ever eaten in my life there! We talked to them all, especially one girl, Darlene, who's very friendly and energetic...she's basically awesome! Another great thing about Belize is their pop. They have fanta, a brand of pop that just tastes so much better than Canadian and American pop. And pop is so available here...you drink it with anything and everything!

After we ate there, we went back to the church for faspa, which is like a giant picnic at the church. People play sports like "football", baseball, and beach volleyball, and then they all eat together. We spent a few hours there, and a lot of people came up to us and asked us about absolutely everything about us. It was long, but enjoyable. And that brings me to now! This is a very long post. I'll have to cut it off here...thanks everyone for reading this blog faithfully...I'm hoping to get pictures up soon! I'm hoping!

~Elena

ps- the temperature is thirty degrees, and when I wake up I over look a line of palm trees and a grove of orange trees. They're very pretty when the morning sunshine casts shadows. And the oranges taste good too!