Living abroad brings with it some advantages and disadvantages. Hefting 40 lb. jugs of water from the store to your house in the blazing heat? Disadvantage. Having the police lend you their four wheeler and letting you pile four people on it and ride with reckless abandon? Advantage.
This week our whole team was able to help the Police Department of San Ignacio clean out an old police station in Georgeville (a town close to Santa Elena). They converted the old substation to a safe space for kids to study and hang out after school. They had already painted things on the wall to make it more fun and less policey.
Now, in Belize (and other Latin American countries) the technique for mopping floors isn't with a bucket like we're used to in the US. They flood the floors using the spigot in the house and then scrub the floors with a broom and sweep the water and dirty (and bugs) out the doors.
In our cleaning we found a tarantula, a few cockroaches, and all sorts of nasty in one of the bathrooms. We had a good time cleaning and getting the center ready for the grand opening later that afternoon. We also couldn't resist locking Kristina, one of our country directors, in a holding cell while she cleaned it out. Don't worry, we let her out after a while.
By the time we left, the center was all ready to open, with a sparkly clean floor to boot. Our other projects continue in earnest and we're excited for our town movie night this Thursday. (Just our way of celebrating Independence Day.)
