Day Five

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Our last day at Tumul K'in. We arrived by bus in the morning, as usual...in the midst of a pouring rain, not our "usual" Belizean weather experience thus far. The rain was relentless! Warm, but not gentle. We were grateful for rain ponchos and indoor work. We all had much we wanted to accomplish before we had to leave Tumul K'in and our work day took on an even more urgent pace.

By the end of the afternoon we were tired but very pleased with all we had managed to squeeze in to our final hours at the school. Benches and tables were completed and brought to the main dining and gathering room. New shelves were built and carried to the library. The library was organized and clean with a place for (almost) every book! Jeff's grand masterpiece - the trestle table! - was finished enough that it was ready for easy assembly at a later date.

The staff and students of Tumul K'in were so kind to us -- over and over again telling us how much they appreciated the work we had done when we were there. St. Annians and Tumul K'inians gathered together at the end of the day to celebrate our week together, the work accomplished and the friendships and connections made. The students played the marimba for us (beautifully!) and treated us to a dance performance as well. We were each presented with jars of honey made at Tumul K'in as gift of thanks and, in turn, we sang "You Are My Sunshine" to them -- with our thanks and appreciation for a wonderful week at the school.

After the bumpy bus ride back from the school, we quickly cleaned up and left again for a very special dinner with the Maya Leaders Association in the Maya village of Laguna. Cristina Coc's parents welcomed us into their home for a traditional Maya meal of caldo -- a rich broth with chicken, pork, purple yams and cassava. They shared with us their struggles, as Maya people, for civil rights in Belize, including the land rights issues that are currently being heard by the Supreme Court of Belize. It was an enormous honor to be welcomed and to hear their heart-felt stories.

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