life on the island with grilled cheese sandwiches

Life on the island has gotten a bit busier lately. The projects I am working on are moving along and I have just gotten signed on to a few more. Oh well.

The education project I have been working on is at the point that it is coming together thanks to the funding agency CORAL. I finally have a direction, or more accurately, multiple directions that it is headed. I am going to go to San Ignacio (out west) to meet with the printers on Thursday. I am going to try to convince the others in the group that the "book" we put together is in the form of questions and answers. Mom sent me some examples of this type of book and said she and her students like it. (YEA, teacher friendly!!!!) Then we will also have games that are laminated so they will last longer.

ACER- the Ambergris Caye Emergency Rescue group meets on Thursdays, well sometimes. It has been slow lately since two of the founding members are out of the country. We have a group, Bandage International, from Canada coming the first week of December to do training. I am supposed to be setting up some of the details, but I haven't heard from the guy from Canada.

The first weekend in December is going to be busy. The first (Saturday) is World AIDS Day. I will be assisting for activities to raise awareness and educate the public on HIV and AIDS. The second (Sunday) is the 2nd annual Holiday Lighted Boat Parade. Last year we had 8 boats. This time we will probably double our numbers.

Apprenticeship Program- We had graduation 2 weekends ago for our second group of kids. We are getting ready to start the next batch. It should go smoother. This will be the third "class" and not during the hurricane season. We still have to get letters of references and performance reviews for most of the kids from the last class. So far 11 kids have graduated from the program. There is an article in the paper and a bad picture of me... I tried to do a link directly to the article but it doesn't want to load for me. Click HERE instead, enter the site, then look for the article, if you want.

The graduation took place the weekend I had a house (nearly) full of guests. Four fellow Peace Corps Volunteers joined me in San Pedro to get certified to SCUBA dive. They spent most of Saturday in the water and were cold when they got back to my house. I made a not too bad version of hot chocolate to warm them up. They were enchanted with some of the ingredients of my refrigerator. I have chocolate syrup, cheese, and pickles and a somewhat secret stash of Easter treats still left. I have the privilege of having access to the only good pickles in Belize. I have Mt. Olive pickles. To say this is actually a bit of an understatement. I buy Mt. Olive pickles in gallon jars. Why you might ask would I spend such a large chunk of my budget on pickles? Comforts of home. I ask you why spend $16.10 Bz for a medium size jar when I can buy a gallon for $17.00? Yes, I spend the equivalent of $8.50 on a gallon of pickles and I am on my third gallon (The diving crew ate one by themselves and they did replace the gallon.) I don't want to think of the others that I bought before my discovery. PLEASE! don't tell me how much they cost in the States, my wallet will be upset. What could I possible do with that many pickles? I have invented the Best Ever Grilled Cheese in Belize for my friend Dawn. Turn your stove on low. Place your kamal (flat metal disk) or frying pan on the burner. Lay two pieces of bread on your cooking surface. You take a pickle and slice it "Sandwich Stacker" style and put it to the side. For each piece of bread, butter one side, put mayo on the other side. Lay one piece of cheese on each of the pieces of bread, on the mayo side. Lay slices of pickles on top of the cheese of one of the slices of bread. When the cheese starts to bubble up turn the stove off. Toast the bread as dark as you want it. Place the pieces of bread together and enjoy. Be careful though, the cheese will drip. (Sorry Mom!)