Woke up with a spring in my step...okay after Ned brought me coffee in bed! Nothing like coffee grown on your own farm, roasted and freshly ground to start off your day.
After a cold shower which I kept telling myself that I would be grateful for in a couple of hours due to the humidity, I finally showed up for breakfast. The kids were already long gone for school and Abelina had fixed another amazing spread. Fresh eggs made with her own salsa, (homegrown peppers & onions) with papaya and those all too delicious fry jacks. Knowing this would be our last morning to enjoy breakfast at a leisurely pace, we all savored the moment and hung out a bit.
There is a big group coming in tomorrow so Juan left to prepare his presentation and Abelina, Ned and I went to work organizing the newly renovated chocolate area. We worked hours and hours right through lunch and into the mid afternoon. During this process we presented Ned with several challenges, such as can you just move a shelf from here to here? I don't know how Ned does it, but he made it work. First in order was prying the old shelf off the wall and breaking two hammers in the process, attempting to screw the shelf into the new wall and realizing the screws were too short, then the only masonry bit he had was completely melted down on the tip. He ended up switching to a bigger bit, he split a piece of wood with a machete then pounded it into the bigger hole and then nailed the shelf to the wall with big common nails. Juan aided by using a chain saw to cut up a pallet for the support piece. Yeah, ain't no need for a Home Depot around here, we got Ned on it! The matching shelves at the front of the chocolate factory, with products for sale, look pretty snazzy.
Simultaneously, while organizing the chocolate area we were also all pitching in to make another batch of chocolate. It's so cool we all know the drill. While one was working the crankenstein, someone else was winnowing, another roasting. So fun.
About 5ish, I couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Time to break out the Panty Rippers!!!" Henry, by this time had set up an entire DJ booth. How freakin' awesome is that?! We had speakers, a computer as command central and music blaring throughout the village. Turns out that last year Abelina and Juan had won a huge raffle. It included the DJ speaker set up. They also got their fridge and freezer as a result of the raffle. How ironic is it that today the water ran out and we were scrambling to fill up buckets of water and tonight we have a pretty serious DJ booth under a thatched roof. So Belize.
Abelina, continuing my cooking lessons, had me make the beans, taught me her killer curry pork recipe and showed me how to make Belizian chicken and tortillas. Okay kids (Molly, Megan and Josh) be prepared to be my testers over Thanksgiving as I go solo. My tortillas didn't exactly match up to Abelina's. During dinner, as Juan picked up another tortilla, he held it in front of his eye and peaked at me through one of the holes. Funny Mr. Juan. Even sweet Luchresha held up a rather deformed one and said, "I think Debi made this one." Juan then commented on the beans and said they tasted a bit burnt. Yeah, once again my contribution.
Right before we sat down to dinner, Abelina handed me a package and OH My GOSH, she had an entire Mayan outfit made for me! I couldn't believe it. Naturally, I put it on immediately and started dancing. I was even lucky enough to have Henry as my dance partner. I am so excited to have the beautiful woven skirt and delicate white blouse with little lace edges on it to wear tomorrow. Turns out that the Mayan Women's Toledo Cacao Growers will be here all day (starting at 7) for a chocolate lecture and presentation. (Toledo is the name of the district we are in). I'm so honored to receive this beautiful gift and even more importantly, to have Abelina as my friend. We've had so much fun these past two weeks together and I so appreciate her kindness and patience as she has taught me so many things about her traditions and culture.
After dinner Juan broke out the microphone and entertained us with his karaoke. In case you haven't picked up on it, Juan is a natural ham. Got to love these marketing types... Henry and Lucresha drew us a picture of Ixcacao and Henry wrote us a poem. Absolutely touching and darling. I know both of these will be proudly displayed in our home. Later on, I played a couple of games with Lucresha while Ned, Abelina and Juan went back to brewing up some chocolate. Those 3 live, breathe and of course, eat chocolate 24/7! Love this family.
Henry's Poem:
To Debi & Ned
Thank you for all your help that you gave.
The week may be short
But full with fun like sports.
You guys cheered us up
And helped us a lot
You took away the rot
In the house
Even worked hard when the day is hot
The work you helped us with was tough
For you
Like painting on the cement that was rough.
I hope you guys learned something new
And thank you for helping with the machineries.
I hope you enjoyed your stay with my family.
Thank you
Henry Cho
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