We returned from Barranco late last night to arrive at Ixcacao once again. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to reunite with our family. Their bright smiling faces, laughter and kindness just really make us feel like we are not just welcome in their home, but genuinely part of their family. We couldn't wait to share with them our experiences of the weekend and they laughed so hard at our American perspective on the Belizean way of life. At one point, Lucresha and Henry came in giggling and laughing with something behind their backs. Henry had Ned and I stand up in front of everybody and he did a very sweet presentation. Lucresha handed me a gift wrapped in pretty tissue paper. It was a lavender traditional Mayan blouse that Abelina had made for me!! It is so beautiful and fits me perfectly. Really, how incredibly adorable is this family! Henry then handed Ned a coc (a woven basket shaped like a turtle) and a calabash - a carved out shell from a nut traditionally used in Mayan cacao ceremonies. They thought Ned could use this for any future chocolate classes. WOW! We went to bed that night feeling so loved and really blessed that the universe had somehow managed to connect us with this wonderful Mayan family.
We had discussed with Nicole, our ProWorld project manager, some of the projects or improvements we'd like to do at Ixcacao and Nicole told us we had some money allocated for projects. Yippee!!! We had a "family meeting" last night and everyone was just talking over each other with ideas bubbling out. After much discussion we decided upon fixing the chocolate making area downstairs.
First thing this morning while donning my new Mayan outfit, after the kids had gone to school, Juan, Abelina, Ned and I were having coffee and discussing the project. The decision was made to spruce up the place with paint and do some rearranging of the area. We were all gathered around my iPad looking at Mayan colors. I had actually googled "Mayan colors". Once again, old world meets new. Well, a very animated discussion was in place looking at yellow, turquoise, green, orange colors when a van full of Czechs (9 in all) pulled up. Ay yi yi yi. It was the first tour! They weren't supposed to arrive for another hour and were only scheduled for the hot chocolate and chocolate making tour. We all jumped up and were running around like crazy picking cocoa leaves and flowers, making hot chocolate, roasting beans, grinding coconut etc. We knew there was going to be a small group of 4 people for lunch, but now these people saw some of the things we were cooking in the kitchen and they too wanted lunch! All of a sudden Abelina heard a Mayan harp and started showing Ned a traditional dance step. Next thing you know she's teaching Ned the man's part. In the middle of all this craziness those two are dancing!!! Crazy kids.
Abelina, like the captain of a ship, was directing us to do this and that. She had Ned and I doing double time cutting up vegetables and washing dishes as fast as we could. Poor Juan never had a chance to even eat breakfast and was just giving one chocolate making demonstration after another. The groups of Czechs were almost done with the tour and were all squeezed into the "factory" space when the door opens and a group of TEN people arrived without an appointment wanting the chocolate tour. At this point things were just comical. We were trying to clear off the first large group table, make more hot chocolate, more cocoa leaves and flowers, etc. Meanwhile, the second smaller group was ready for their lunch. All 4 of us were like choreographers, each doing our own dance, while juggling and trying to keep out of each other's way.
Abelina has two sets of sinks in her kitchen. Only one is hooked up with water and is used. The other one is next to the stove and doesn't have a faucet. I assumed it was hooked up for drainage, but not water coming in. WRONG. At one point, while trying to be helpful, I drained the cooked callaloo in this sink. Abelina, in her very cute Mayan accent, is saying over and over "Where is this water coming from? Where is this water coming from?" Yeah, it was an open drain and everything was drained in the underneath cabinets and all over the floor. Oops. Some help aren't I?
Turns out the last group of ten were ex-pats from Canada now living in Belize. When we were giving them our background, one of the gentlemen said he too had worked at Apple! He was a business specialist out of the Toronto office. We both laughed at how far afield we have strayed from our technology days at Apple. He knew the Executive Briefing Program (the group I used to manage while at Apple) a galaxy far far away.
Once everyone left we all took a short break and then decided to all go into town, pick out the paint colors and buy supplies. It's about a half hour drive into PG and every house, building or Mayan woman with colorful clothing we passed, someone would shout out, "What about that color?" In reality, unlike going to a Home Depot in the States your choices are pretty much limited to what is at the 2 hardware stores in town. The first store was a complete bust with only about 4 colors, none of which we liked. When we reached the second store, BINGO! We looked at the 12 colors available and everyone was in agreement. I have a cute picture of Juan, Abelina and Ned all pointing to the colors chosen. We did a lot of other errands and returned about 7. Everyone was excited to get started on the project and so we all tackled one of the rooms - there are 5 in all. Even the kids, Henry and Lucresha pitched in. Update: The room looks great!! Terracotta walls with turquoise trim. Very Mayan.
There is a tour scheduled for everyday the rest of the week. I think the plan is for Ned and I to be holed up downstairs doing the painting and repairs while Juan and Abelina continue to run the chocolate tours, etc. upstairs. Carmelita, Abelina's sister will be coming back for awhile to help out. Looks like it's going to be a very busy week indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment