Week 1- Halfway there! (Katie)

I can’t believe it is already Wednesday of the first week of school. In some ways it feels like
it's almost the last week,in that things around here never change and the kids are just as
wonderful and crazy as ever. It also feels like I am waiting for something to begin. I am at
the same school, in the same house, but it will be a completely new year. We have new
volunteers mixed in with some old.

All of the volunteers, new and returning are great. They are really enthusiastic about
getting the school year started and about being the best teachers they can be. It wouldn’t
be Our Lady of Mount Carmel high school without something wild and crazy happening.
Schedules that we were given are thrown out the back door, classes we thought we were
teaching change, etc. Things that as a returning volunteer I have come to expect. It's funny
watching the new volunteers wonder if things will always be this crazy and unexplainable.
In some ways yes, things will always be unplanned here, but in other ways things will start
to calm down.Being here in Benque, Belize will be home.

It feels great to be back in the classroom teaching again. This year I will have a lot more
teaching hours than last year,which is music to my ears. Something happens when I am
teaching and I get an energy and excitement that I don’t normally have. The Lord has
definitely already graced me with great students and with words to give to them.
Last year most of the new volunteers said that the second year is the hardest. I know this
year will bring new challenges and crosses along the way, but I also know it will come with
new joys and laughs as well. My hope and prayer is that I am going to be expecting a
challenge to come along or to be in anticipation of what is going to come next. One of the
many beauties about this place is that you have to live in the present moment. Taking my
day one second, one hour at a time is a must. I never know what is going to come up. If I
happen to pass by a new student,an old student, or a friend and we end up catching up for
two hours instead of grading the pile of papers I have waiting for me, then that is what will
happen.
In other great news because I know you were all wondering…our dog Belle looks better
than ever!She has so much energy this year and gets so excited to see us everyday when
we come home from school. Her coat is nice and shiny and she looks younger than ever. I
think the five little pups at the end of the semester probably took a lot of life out of her.
She still has no idea how to go for a walk using a leash, but hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day.