if you were to pick one day that sums up our trip:

Tuesday was pretty much the CRAZY day (see below):

6:45am wake up to go to radio talk show
7:30am "My Refuge" Christian Radio Show
9:00am talk to a classroom of kids... unexpectedly as the other car goes to the marketplace (ehem..)
10:00am Painting a health clinic, Rae gets massive ant bites
12:00pm Lunch and Presentation with Rotarians at George Price Center
1:00pm Lady of Guadalupe School, 2 class of Std. V
3:30pm Meet the Mayor of Belmopan at City Hall
4:00pm Debrief at colorful park (best one)
4:30pm Talk with TV show editing place --> riding the Clown Car
5:00pm Chill at Caesar's
5:30pm Go film for the TV Show
7:00pm Pick up Chinese food dinner
8:00pm University of Belmopan Basketball Game
10:00pm Shelly's House - debrief and planning for teacher's workshop

ok, so isn't that crazy?!?

I went into Belize hoping for an open mind, so that I can absorb whatever alllll of anything the moment I stepped off that plane. The humid sunny weather immediately hit me making my skin moist and slightly sticky. I had to take off my NorthFace IMMEDIATELY. What else? I love the tamales off the streets: 2 belizeans please. and Marlon was so cute, I think he's gonna get all the girls with that eyebrow raising trick of his.

It may sound selfish and a little bit like an unequal trade of things but I definitely got more out of this trip than I contributed. I'm taking away the hint of Belizian culture, food - mostly Habanero hot sauce, friendliness and hospitality, earth - with mud on my shoes, the beautiful weather - look at my peeling back, and can't forget my body being covered with mosquito bites.

But not only that, I got more than I expected, considering I was going in there inspired by the passion for social justice and the realization that we as Americans are so fortunate and should use the spoiled resources we have. I as a Christian, am called to care about the issues of this world like social injustice - whether it be local like homelessness right in the middle of Evanston, or it be international with the stigmas people face through an HIV positive test. Going to Belize was like a slap in the face... look around you EunJoo! In one neighborhood you saw a broken down shack, with their neighbor having a 3 story mansion. What a disparity... and what is an AIDS victim to do to battle those stigmas that they face each and every day? Restoring the roof and painting the AIDS victims' house was a crucial point for me. It put a face to injustice. I had so many questions.. where was the mother?, was the father out of work?, are the children going to school?, what was that nasty scar on the boy's leg?,how long have they been living in the condition they were in? - minimal furniture, leaky roof, and dirty floor? Maybe we are always afraid to face certain problems and issues of this world because they seem so big and overwhelming or seems like an impossible problem to fix. But we need to overcome that fear and face it. Help it! We may not see the immediate impacts of our week's worth of HIV/AIDS awareness but in time it will come to fruition. Whether our contribution was that it encouraged one student to talk to their parents about the issue or whether a passer-by sees our hand-print painting on the soccer field wall, it's not really a concern. What we can do as this issue is still hard on our hearts is to bring it back to THIS community here. eh~ .. more of my reflections later. it's still all a jumble of many many things. :)