Bonus Family

This week has been all about getting back into my regular work "routine"- if you can even call it that. I haven't yet succeeded in doing this, mostly because I'm playing catch up with things that fell behind while I was helping to manage volunteers at Barzakh Falah. I'm feeling like the visible progress will start coming back in the next few days. 

In the meantime, we had another very momentous occasion to celebrate- Leo's Standard VI (Belizean 8th grade) Graduation. Super proud of my Belizean bonus brother. He graduated with honors and is continuing onto high school next year to pursue science. He also gave a wonderful speech at his graduation ceremony about first impressions, forgiveness, and the future. He's going places this one!

Leo's graduation is particularly important because not all Belizeans make it this far in their education. Although school is "mandatory," it also costs money. Fortunately this family has always been able to make it work for their 4 kids, but not everyone can. Leo's pursuit of his high school diploma will give him a world of opportunities that are out of reach for some Belizeans.

Leo tolerating hundreds of family photos

Post-graduation celebratory snack time

It feels like we've been doing a lot of family celebrating recently- since just last week, my youngest Belizean bonus sister, Yahzarrah, turned 7. And how else do you celebrate a super stars birthday other than a karaoke party? Although the most important activity was definitely the piñata, Jasmin and I had a pretty good time taking silly selfies.

Boop

One of the best "benefits" of my co-op has been being adopted into this family. I think that anyone who is thinking about an international co-op, or who has secured an international position, should thoroughly consider living with a host family. Yeah- it's not always a walk in the park. But when else are you going to have the opportunity to get to know people that closely? I think if I had worked this same co-op position, but lived in a rented single apartment, it would have been a completely different, and less fulfilling experience. 

We've started talking about the fact that I'm leaving in 4 weeks from today and I am completely unprepared to leave. I have so much more I want to do in terms of work- I will absolutely be continuing my work remotely from Boston. But I'm even having a hard time picturing myself back in my apartment in Jamaica Plain with my two quiet, adult roommates. In Belize, you can stuff yourself silly with street tacos, tostadas, burritos, and barbecue for less than $2.50 USD per meal. I'm also not quite ready to cope with my American-sized grocery bills. Whether I'm ready or not, that flight is coming closer every day- so I'm just trying to make the most of my remaining 31 days.