Happy Thanksgiving!

Since the majority of teachers here are American, we get today and tomorrow off for Thanksgiving, even though Belize does not celebrate it. So today we are having a huge Thanksgiving dinner, with a game of football afterwards. Lots of family and friends are down visiting teachers, so it's been lots of fun lately. Last weekend 5 of us went to Mexico where we immersed ourselves in the culture and went to-- a mall!! We also went to 2 movies, and ate at McDonalds. The excitement of this probably won't translate, but you have to understand there are no malls or McDonalds, and only 1 movie theater, in the whole country of Belize. I did actually have a cool cultural experience, though. It was the anniversary of some Mexican revolution, and there was a 5 hour long parade (I'm not exaggerating). At the end of the parade, some of the Mexican army did demonstrations, like disarming someone who is coming at you with a machete, using a bamboo pole. There were also people in traditional dress- girls with the huge, colorful skirts, and men with sombreroes. Last week was the end of term, and after hours of grading, a trip to Mexico was just perfect.
Anyways, more importantly- I am finally putting up some pictures!! So here we go--
First, a couple of weeks ago, the teachers got together and did a photo scavenger hunt. We had a list of things to take pictures off, and weren't allowed to spend any money. It was a crazy, funny day. So here are some of the pictures!

We had to get a picture with an orchid, and a circus animal (we cheated a little on that one

We also had to be in a boat, and on a bike (we are on the street we live on, by the way)...

Here is my roommates and I on Halloween- Ali was Chichita Banana, Alison was a farmer, Ann went as her laundry bag, I was a pirate, and Miriam was "Spring." I thought it was pretty creative!

This is a Goliath beetle that one of my students brought it. He caught it in Guatemala. That's a normal sized clothespin by it, so you get an idea how big it was.

And finally, here is the most spoiled cat in Benque.