Greetings, faithful readers of our esteemed blog. This is Kal Colter, one of only two male members of this coterie of sixteen education students. Needless to say, Kyle and I appreciate your prayers in regards to our circumstance.
In all seriousness, I have greatly enjoyed the trip (and the team) so far, and there are no indications that that is going to change soon! Eight days ago, the day before we left for Belize, I was nervous because I just didn't know what to expect. What if one of my classmates was prone to somnambulism? What if I had to learn to recite the Hail Mary in order to teach at my school? What if we encounter dangerous wildlife lurking in the dense foliage? For all I knew, our lodging arrangement was to bivouac through the countryside. I probably should have paid more attention in meetings.
As it turns out, I was right to expect interesting experiences, but very wrong about what kind of things to expect. There have been no sleepwalkers to worry about, but the dogs bark quite a bit at night. I didn't have to learn the Catholic prayers, but I do hear them every day. And we have encountered wildlife, but not so much in the jungle. In just the last 24 hours, we have encountered two scorpions on our compound, some spider webs were beautifully highlighted by the dew (pictured above), and I met Kai, the frog and friendly resident of the third shower stall in the men's room (also pictured above).
Today's most interesting experiences, however, were during the school day. Some kid stepped on a nail (he's okay), a class of five year olds randomly decided to scream their numbers instead of just say them, and a full five of us had the opportunity to teach the entire day! Adapting to a new environment, which, while that is a useful skill to have as a teacher, has been more of a challenge than we anticipated. It's safe to say that we've all been growing and learning on this trip, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to live this kaleidoscope of experiences with this group of people.
So as I settle into my cabana, switch off my single incandescent bulb of lighting, and get into my bed tonight, I will do so with significantly less anxiety about tomorrow than I did 8 days ago... but not before checking the periphery of my room for scorpions.
Unable to figure out the washing machine,
Kal Colter
P.s. -- I was tasked with using nine specific words suggested to my by my friends and family, so if you thought my word choice was strange, that's why.
P.p.s. -- one of the words was "vivacious", which, according to its top definition when you look it up is um... tricky to use in this context. So here it is. Vivacious.
Loved thie update!! :) Breath it all in, kids!! This is an experience you will never forget!! Sending prayers!
Thank you for the interesting, and entertaining, update! 😄😂 It sounds like you’re all settling into your environment and meeting the challenges with grace while keeping your humor. God’s blessings to you all! Many prayers!