I woke up in a good place today. Cabin 6 ("Toucan" Cabin) was quiet, but filled with 4 epic souls, souls which have established this cabin as the best - by far. My roommates are awesome. Anyway, a trip to Mt. Carmel school, where we toured the school and mentored leadership to the students, followed a delicious breakfast at Jaguar Creek. We ate an amazing lunch with the students while listening to Marimba music (which the student Ian taught me to play), and all enjoyed engaging with them. I was lucky enough to be called "Justin Bieber" for the entire time I was there. We then piled in the cars to visit the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich, where we walked on structures thousands of years old and stood atop the main structure, which allowed us to see for miles around, including across the Guatemalan border. We then visited Edward, one of our favorite locals, who moved to Belize 35 years ago from Los Angeles, and is really 75 years old but looks 20 years younger. Quite the character; a man you want to meet. We then drove home to Jaguar Creek, where we swam, ate dinner, and are now sitting and writing blogs.
Our school experience was incredible on two levels: one for the class and the other for ourselves. Regarding the curriculum, the trip helped us teach leadership (in the process, learning it better ourselves) and was a hands-on experience on what our text The Sustainability Revolution calls "The Fourth E: education" (20). The Mayan ruins were (of course) fulfilling - one cannot go to Belize and miss the ancient marvels - and talking with Edward was quite enjoyable.
Going to sleep tonight will feel great after such a packed day, but all the different activities make each day feel longer. And there is probably no better place than Belize to have a long day. A long "class" day in Belize is just not quite as rough as a normal class day back home.
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